Conveyor motor having bellows
OwnerDennis A. Trestaininventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A differential impulse conveyor having a conveyor motor which uses bellows to provide the driving force for the conveyor. The conveyor includes a housing within which is mounted the conveyor motor. The conveyor motor has a pair of bellows, a drive plate and a fluid control system. The drive plate is movably mounted between the bellows. The conveyor plate is mounted to the top end of the drive plate. The fluid control system includes a main control valve, a pair of limit switches, a pair of valves and a flow control valve. The fluid control system allows for inflation of one bellow at a greater rate than inflation of the other bellow.
Claims40
A conveyor motor for moving a conveyor plate to move objects along the conveyor plate, which comprises:
- (a) a drive plate movably mounted, having a first side and a second side and connected to the conveyor plate;
- (b) a first bellows mounted adjacent the first side of the drive plate and configured to contact the first side of the drive plate and having an inlet;
- (c) a second bellows mounted adjacent the second side of the drive plate and configured to contact the second side of the drive plate and having an inlet;
- and
- (d) a main control valve in fluid communication with the inlet of the first bellows and the inlet of the second bellows wherein the main control valve is configured such that a rate of inflation of the second bellows is greater than a rate of inflation of the first bellows.
A conveyor for moving objects, which comprises:
- (a) a housing;
- (b) a drive plate having a first side and a second side and movably mounted in the housing;
- (c) a first bellows mounted in the housing adjacent the first side of the drive plate and configured to contact the first side of the drive plate and having an inlet;
- (d) a second bellows mounted in the housing adjacent the second side of the drive plate and configured to contact the second side of the drive plate and having an inlet;
- and
- (e) a main control valve in fluid communication with the inlet of the first bellows and the inlet of the second bellows wherein the main valve is configured such that a rate of inflation of the second bellows is greater than a rate of inflation of the first bellows.
A method for moving objects, which comprises:
- (a) providing a conveyor including a conveyor motor having a drive plate with a first and second side and a conveyor plate connected to the drive plate;
- a first bellows adjacent to and configured to contact the first side of the drive plate and having an inlet;
- a second bellows adjacent to and configured to contact the second side of the drive plate, and having an inlet;
- and a main control valve in fluid communication with the inlet of the first bellows and the inlet of the second bellows;
- (b) providing a fluid source;
- (c) connecting the fluid source to the main control valve;
- (d) activating the main control valve such that fluid flows from the fluid source into the inlet of the first bellows such that the first bellows inflates at a predetermined rate of inflation of the first bellows wherein as the first bellows inflates the first bellows contacts the drive plate and moves the drive plate toward the second bellows;
- (e) activating the main control valve such that the fluid stops flowing to the first bellows and such that fluid flows from the fluid source into the inlet of the second bellows such that the second bellows inflates at a predetermined rate of inflation wherein as the second bellows inflates, the second bellows contacts the drive plate and moves the drive plate toward the first bellows such that the first bellows deflates wherein the predetermined rate of inflation of the second bellows is greater than the predetermined rate of inflation of the first bellows;
- (f) activating the main control valve such that the fluid stops flowing to the second bellows and such that fluid flows to the first bellows such that the first bellows is inflated at the predetermined rate of inflation of the first bellows and wherein as the drive plate moves toward the second bellows, the second bellows deflates;
- and
- (g) placing the objects on the conveyor plate and repeating steps (e) and (f) to move the objects along the conveyor plate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.