Rotary powder feed through apparatus
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsGary K. Lewis, Richard M. Less
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device for increasing the uniformity of solids within a solids fabrication system, such as a direct light fabrication (DLF) system in which gas entrained powders are passed through the focal point of a moving high-power light which fuses the particles in the powder to a surface being built up in layers. The invention provides a feed through interface wherein gas entrained powders input from stationary input lines are coupled to a rotating head of the fabrication system. The invention eliminates the need to provide additional slack in the feed lines to accommodate head rotation, and therefore reduces feed line bending movements which induce non-uniform feeding of gas entrained powder to a rotating head.
Claims21
An apparatus which distributes gas entrained material from a stationary sosurce of gas entrained material to a head assembly while said head assembly is subject to rotation, comprising:
- (a) an input member having a plurality of input connections configured for receiving gas entrained material;
- (b) an output member rotatably coupled to said input member, said output member having a plurality of output connections that are configured to provide continuous fluid communication with said input connections despite changes in the angular position of the rotatable output member.
An apparatus which distributes gas entrained material to a rotating assembly, comprising:
- (a) an input member having at least one circular array of input connections on a first side that are configured for receiving gas entrained material and fluidly coupling said gas entrained material to apertures on a second side of said input member;
- and
- (b) an output member rotatably coupled to the input member, said output member having a circular array of apertures on a first side that are configured to receive, independent of relative angular position, a flow of gas entrained material which exits said second side of said input member, wherein the flow of gas entrained material is routed through at least one circular array of output connections on said output member toward the rotating assembly.
An apparatus which delivers gas entrained material to a rotating head assembly, comprising:
- (a) an input member having a first portion with a plurality of input connections that are configured for delivering gas entrained material to a plurality of outputs on a second portion of said input member;
- and
- (b) an output member rotatably coupled to the input member, said output member including a plurality of collection chambers on a first portion that fluidly connect to output connections on a second portion which are configured for communicating gas entrained material to a rotating head assembly, each of said collection chambers capable of being positioned to receive gas entrained material from any of said outputs on said input member in response to angular displacement of the rotatable coupling, such that gas entrained material entering the input connections of the input member are distributed to the output connections of the output member.
A method of communicating gas entrained powder from a stationary set of feed lines to a rotating head, comprising the steps of:
- (a) receiving gas entrained powder within a plurality of input lines on a circular array of input connections on a first member;
- (b) distributing the gas entrained powder from said circular array of input connections on said first member to circular array of output connections on a second member positioned proximal to, and in relative rotation with, said first member, wherein during rotation the gas entrained material is distributed as the fluidic communication between the input member and output member is maintained even though the association between input connections and output connections changes;
- and
- (c) conveying gas entrained powder from said output connections of said second member to rotating head.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.