Motor assisted swivel
AssigneePro Med-Tec, Inc.
InventorsAnthony Deneintolis, John Kauker IV, James Burke, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A motor assisted swivel is disclosed which aids in proper rotation of a swivel in a tether system for animal testing. The swivel may have any number of fluid conduits or electrical or optical leads. A switching mechanism determines a direction of rotation of the tether and activates a motor to rotate the swivel in the direction of rotation. When rotation of the tether stops, further rotation of the swivel causes the switching mechanism to deactivate the motor. The switching mechanism may include a hinged connector with magnets on each side and reed switches to sense movement of the connector about its hinge.
Claims15
A tether system for animal testing comprising:
- a tether connectable to an animal;
- a swivel attached to the tether, the swivel having parts rotatable relative to each other;
- at least one conduit within the tether and swivel;
- and
- a motor connected to the swivel for rotating at least one part of the swivel relative to another part.
A motor assisted swivel comprising:
- a swivel attached to the tether, the swivel having parts rotatable relative to each other;
- at least one conduit within the swivel;
- and
- a motor connected to the swivel for rotating at least one part of the swivel relative to another part.
A method for rotating a swivel in a tether system for animal testing, the swivel having parts rotatable relative to each other, the method comprising the steps of:
- detecting a direction of rotation of a tether in the tether system;
- and
- activating a motor connected to at least one part of the swivel to rotate the at least one part of the swivel relative to another part of the swivel in the detected direction of rotation of the tether.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.