US 4,340,406 A · Pressurized gas accelerators for reciprocating device

Abstract

A reciprocating traversing apparatus discharges material onto, inspects marks, or cleans a device that it is traversing is provided that has reduced requirements for a driving motor, and has smoother traversing motion. A traversing mechanism has a driving motor with horsepower and torque requirements to maintain operational speed of the reversible traversing mechanism. The driving force to overcome inertia of the traversing mechanism when it reverses to traverse in the opposite direction is provided by a gas cylinder with extending arm. The traversing mechanism moving in a track has a gas cylinder at each end of the track. The extended arm of the cylinder engages the mechanism as it approaches one end of its traverse. The arm is depressed, and when the motor reverses the arm is extended by gas pressure to its original position. By the extension the arm accelerates the mechanism up to is operational speed. The motor continues to drive the mechanism to the other end of the traverse, where the mechanism engages the extended arm of the other gas cylinder.

Claims17

Dependent claims

In an apparatus for reciprocating a movable glass fiber feeding device traversing along an axis having means for supporting and guiding said device along said axis;

and means for providing the traversing motion to said device along said axis in a single horizontal plane, the improvement comprising:
(a) a pair of engageable means each having a movable extending member and where each is affixed to an end of said axis so that the movable extended member engages said movable device and is compressed when the movable device approaches the end of the axis, and
(b) a gas supply source connected to the engageable means to extend the engageable means engaging the movable device to apply acceleration force to said device to initiate reciprocating motion to the device to traverse along said axis in the opposite direction.

An apparatus for reciprocating a movable glass fiber feeder for continuous glass fiber strand along an axis, comprising:

(a) means for supporting and guiding said glass fiber feeder along said axis;
(b) drive means for providing motion to said glass fiber feeder to move along said axis in a reciprocating traversing motion,
(c) a pair of engageable means attached one at each end of said axis for applying accelerating and decelerating forces to said movable glass fiber feeder at the termination of each reciprocation stroke of said device, wherein each engageable means has a movable member and gas cylinder where the movable member extends from and is movably connected to the gas cylinder which is affixed at the termination of the reciprocating stroke of the movable glass fiber feeder so that the extending member engages the reciprocating movable glass fiber feeder as the feeder is moving in a direction toward the extended movable member and from such engagement the movable member is compressed into the gas cylinder to decelerate the movable glass fiber feeder and so that while engaging the movable device the compressed movable member can apply an acceleration force to the movable glass fiber feeder to move the device in an opposite direction when pressurized gas in the cylinder is increased, and
(d) container means of pressurized gas connected to the cylinder of the engaging means to supply pressurized gas to extend the movable member of the engaging means to accelerate said glass fiber feeder in the opposite direction to the direction at which said glass fiber feeder first engages the engageable means.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Pressurized gas accelerators for reciprocating device

Life of this patent

Pressurized gas accelerators for reciprocating device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17