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.
Claims39
A conveyor motor for moving a conveyor plate to move objects along the conveyor plate, which comprises:
- (a) a first bellows mounted adjacent the conveyor plate and configured to move the conveyor plate and having an inlet;
- (b) a second bellows mounted adjacent the conveyor plate and configured to move the conveyor plate and having an inlet;
- and
- (c) 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 conveyor plate;
- (b) a housing;
- (c) a first bellows mounted in the housing and configured to move the conveyor plate in a first direction and having an inlet;
- (d) a second bellows mounted in the housing and configured to move the conveyor plate in a second direction 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 that 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 conveyor plate;
- a first bellows adjacent to and configured to move the conveyor plate and having an inlet;
- a second bellows adjacent to and configured to move the conveyor 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 so that fluid flows from the fluid source into the inlet of the first bellows and inflates the first bellows at a predetermined rate of inflation of the first bellows wherein as the first bellows inflates, the first bellows moves the conveyor plate toward the second bellows;
- (e) activating the main control valve so that the fluid stops flowing to the first bellows and so that fluid flows from the fluid source into the inlet of the second bellows and inflates the second bellows at a predetermined rate of inflation wherein as the second bellows inflates, the second bellows moves the conveyor plate toward the first bellows and 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 so that the fluid stops flowing to the second bellows and so that fluid flows to the first bellows and inflates the first bellows at the predetermined rate of inflation of the first bellows and 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.