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US 4,537,669 AGranted
Apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles
OwnerRobert McInnesinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles comprising a container adapted to contain a liquid cleaning, plating or coating material. A barrel is at least partially submerged in the container and supported for rotation about its longitudinal axis. A novel support for the barrel comprises a pair of rings concentric with the barrel and suspended by a plurality of rollers. Laterally spaced stationary end walls are mounted in fixed positions covering the ends of the barrel. The barrel has end openings and the stationary end walls fit within the end openings. A novel discharge chute extends from inside the barrel to the exterior thereof.
Claims28
In an apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles, the combination comprising
- a container adapted to contain a liquid treatment material,
- a barrel adapted to be at least partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a longitudinal axis,
- means for rotatably supporting said barrel so that it is partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced baffles on the inner periphery thereof, said baffles extending radially inwardly and forming an acute angle with said inner periphery such that when said barrel is rotated in one direction, said baffles agitate the articles, and when said barrel is rotated in the opposite direction, said baffles elevate the articles and cause them to drop,
- laterally spaced stationary end walls mounted in fixed positions covering the ends of said barrel,
- and chute means extending from the interior of said barrel adjacent one end wall through an opening in the other end wall such as to receive articles dropped by the baffles by gravity and discharge them from the barrel.
4 more elements
In an apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles, the combination comprising
- a container adapted to contain a liquid treatment material,
- a barrel adapted to be at least partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a longitudinal axis,
- means for rotatably supporting said barrel so that it is partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said supporting means comprising a ring,
- means mounting said ring on said barrel in concentric relation therewith,
- anti-friction means rotatably suspending said ring,
- said barrel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced baffles on the inner periphery thereof, said baffles extending radially inwardly and forming an acute angle with said inner periphery such that when said barrel is rotated in one direction, said baffles agitate the articles, and when said barrel is rotated in the opposite direction, said baffles elevate the articles and cause them to drop,
- and chute means extending from the interior of said barrel such as to receive articles dropped by the baffles by gravity and discharge them from the barrel.
6 more elements
In an apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles, the combination comprising
- a container adapted to contain a liquid treatment material,
- a barrel adapted to be at least partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a longitudinal axis,
- means for rotatably supporting said barrel so that it is partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced baffles on the inner periphery thereof, said baffles extending radially inwardly and forming an acute angle with said inner periphery such that when said barrel is rotated in one direction, said baffles agitate the articles, and when said barrel is rotated in the opposite direction, said baffles elevate the articles and cause them to drop,
- and elongated chute means extending from the interior of said barrel adjacent one end thereof through an opening in the other end thereof such as to receive articles dropped by the baffles by gravity and discharge them from the barrel,
- said chute means having a bottom wall which slopes downwardly from the interior of said barrel towards the discharge end of said chute means,
- an opening in a portion of said bottom wall in the interior of said barrel,
- a closure for said opening in said portion of said bottom wall which is adapted to be closed during the discharge of articles from said barrel and to be open during processing so that any articles accidentally dropping into said chute means during processing will fall through said opening in said bottom wall back into the liquid in said container, and means for opening and closing said closure.
6 more elements
In an apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles, the combination comprising
- a container adapted to contain a liquid treatment material,
- a barrel adapted to be at least partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a longitudinal axis,
- means for rotatably supporting said barrel so that it is partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced baffles on the inner periphery thereof, said baffles extending radially inwardly and forming an acute angle with said inner periphery such that when said barrel is rotated in one direction, said baffles agitate the articles, and when the barrel is rotated in the opposite direction, said baffles elevate the articles and cause them to drop,
- and elongated chute means extending from the interior of said barrel adjacent one end thereof through an opening in the other end thereof such as to receive articles dropped by the baffles by gravity and discharge them from the barrel,
- said chute means having a bottom wall which slopes downwardly from the interior of said barrel towards the discharge end of said chute means,
- and means for restraining the loss of liquid from said container by way of said chute means.
5 more elements
In an apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles, the combination comprising
- a container adapted to contain a liquid treatment material,
- a barrel adapted to be at least partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a longitudinal axis,
- means for rotatably supporting said barrel so that it is partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said supporting means comprising a ring,
- means mounting said ring on said barrel in concentric relation therewith,
- anti-friction means rotatably suspending said ring,
- said barrel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced baffles on the inner periphery thereof, said baffles extending radially inwardly and forming an acute angle with said inner periphery such that when said barrel is rotated in one direction, said baffles agitate the articles, and when said barrel is rotated in the opposite direction, said baffles elevate the articles and cause them to drop,
- laterally spaced stationary end walls mounted in fixed positions covering the ends of said barrel,
- and elongated chute means extending from the interior of said barrel adjacent one end wall through an opening in the other end wall such as to receive articles dropped by the baffles by gravity and discharge them from the barrel.
7 more elements
In an apparatus for cleaning, plating and/or coating articles, the combination comprising
- a container adapted to contain a liquid treatment material,
- a barrel adapted to be at least partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a longitudinal axis,
- means for rotatably supporting said barrel so that it is partially submerged in liquid in said container,
- said barrel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced baffles on the inner periphery thereof, said baffles extending radially inwardly and forming an acute angle with said inner periphery such that when said barrel is rotated in one direction, said baffles agitate the articles, and when said barrel is rotated in the opposite direction, said baffles elevate the articles and cause them to drop,
- a stationary end wall mounted in fixed position covering one end of said barrel,
- and chute means extending from the interior of said barrel adjacent the opposite end thereof through an opening in said end wall such as to receive articles dropped by the baffles by gravity and discharge them from the barrel.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.