US3804375A

US3804375A - Automatic air clamp for air-driven machine

Info

Publication number: US3804375A
Application number: US00276765A
Authority: US
Inventors: C Matson
Original assignee: Martin Engineering Co
Current assignee: HAMILTON EQUIPMENT Co Inc 5900-C EAST BERRY ST FORT WORTH TX 76119 A TX CORP
Priority date: 1972-05-08
Filing date: 1972-07-31
Publication date: 1974-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 1991-04-16
Also published as: JPS4949270A; CH564724A5; DE2245690A1; CA967539A; IT973351B; FR2184258A5; GB1398486A

Abstract

An air-driven machine, such as a rotary vibrator, is mountable on a structure by cooperative male and female parts and an airinflatable envelope is interposed between the parts to be inflated by the same air under pressure that drives the machine so that the mounting connection between the machine and structure is improved.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,804,375 Matson Apr. 16, 1974 AUTOMATIC AIR CLAMP FOR [56] References Cited AIR-DRIVEN MACHINE UNITED STATES PATENTS [75] Inventor: Carl G. Matson, Kewanee, 111. 3,415,471 10/1968 Matson 248/19 X 3,412,991 11/1968 De Naples, Jr. et a1. 269/22 X 1 Asslgnw g Company, 3,168,870 2/1965 HOmSChuCll 415/111 eponset FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] July 1972 714,428 7/1965 Canada 248/19 [21] App]. No.: 276,765

Primary ExaminerRobert W. Jenkins Related Apphcanon Data Assistant Examiner-Alan I. Cantor Continuation-impart Of SCI. NO. May 8, Attorney Agent or Firm Ha ld M. Knoth 1972, abandoned.

57 ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 259/1 R, 248/14, 248/19, 1

259/DIG 43 An a1r-dr1ven machine, such as a rotary v1brator, 1s [51] Int Cl B0" 11/00 mountable on a structure by cooperative male and fe- 58] Fie'ld DIG. 44 male parts and an air-inflatable envelope is interposed 259/DIG. 41, DIG. 42; 248/14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 223, 224, 225; 415/121;

417/360; 269/22, 20, 35; 254/93 R, 93 HP, 93 H; 164/206, 261; 198/220 DD; 425/456 between the parts to be inflated by the same air under pressure that drives the machine so that the mounting connection between the machine and structure is improved.

17 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures ATENTEB APR 1 6 H 174 SHEET 1 BF 2 PEBBLE- AUTOMATIC AIR CLAMP FOR AIR-DRIVEN MACHINE RELATED APPLICATION This application is a vcontinuation-in-part and claims the benefit of the filing date of my co-pending applica tion Ser. No. 251,329, filed 8 May I972, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A vibrator, such as those illustrated in the US. Pat. to E. F. Peterson, Nos. 2,917,290; 3,076,346 or as illustrated in the US. Pat. to C. G. Matson, No. 3,318,163, may be selected as representative of an air-driven machine mountable on and dismountable from a structure which, in the instance chosen here as an example, would be an object to be vibrated; e.g., a materialscontaining hopper, a conveyor, a concrete form, etc. Fundamentally, the typical mounting should be tempo rary; i.e., the vibrator should be removable when its assigned task is completed. To thisend, a common vibrator design will include some means by which it can be mounted on and dismounted from a structure, and experience has shown that the most efficient and least costly type of mount is that using cooperative male and female elements whereby the vibrator may be selectively moved into and out of engagement with the structure.

Many types of purely mechanical connections have been used, such as wedges, cooperative shapes, etc. It is also known to provide an inflatable envelope between clutch parts, for example, to finalize the connection. Likewise, it is known to use hydraulic means including a piston cylinder operated vibratormounting device powered by the oil that supplies an oil-driven vibrator. So far as is known, however, it is new to provide an air-inflatable envelope of elastomer material and particularly one supplied in common, by air under pressure, with the air-driven part of the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, an air-driven machine-represented in the instant disclosure by a vibrator-is mountable on and dismountable from a structure by means including cooperative male and female parts, or the like, and an inflatable envelope means interposed between the machine and structure, together with air inlet means that functions to supply air under pressure to both inflate the envelope means and to drive the machine part. A further feature is that the male and female parts or elements are constructed so that a compartment, or its equivalent, is provided between them and in which the envelope means is disposed. A still further feature is an envelope-to-machine connection that enables the envelope means to disconnect quickly and safely from the machine in the event that the machine is inadvertently started before being mounted-which would inflate the envelope simultaneously, whereby the envelope is simply blown off" via its connection to the machine and cannot cause damage, etc.

A further feature of the invention is to provide the envelope means as a plurality of separate envelopes so as to more uniformly distribute the pressure or forces between the machine and its mounting. Still further, the male and female elements are so constructed as to provide protective compartmentalization for the envelope means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an elevation of one form of machine in its mounted status.

FIG. 2 is a partial section as seen generally along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section as seen generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a portion of the mounting means, illustrating particularly one form of stop means.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing another form of mounting means.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of another form of mounting, featuring a pair of separate envelopes.

FIG. 7 is an end view of the structure shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the structure of FIGS. 6 and 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As observed earlier herein, a vibrator is selected as exemplary of a machine to which the invention may be applied, and the ensuing description will proceed on that basis. The vibrator shown here is of the type forming the subject matter of the above-mentioned Matson patent and is designated as a whole by the numeral 10. It comprises, for purposes to be served here, a housing 12 which forms an air-receivable: chamber 14 within which is eccentrically mounted a cylindrical rotor 16. A port 18 is receivable of air under pressure from any suitable source to drive the rotor in its orbit within the chamber 14. An air-discharge port will be seen at 20. The details, although not important here, may be learned from the Matson patent.

The structure on which the machine or vibrator is mountable is indicated at 22. In the vibrator environment, this may be any selectedobject to be vibrated. For the purpose of effecting mountability and dismountability, the machine 10 and structure 22 have cooperative male and

female elements

24 and 26 respectively, the latter preferably comprising a pair of spaced apart parallel tracks 28 welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the structure. In FIGS. 1-4, these tracks converge toward each other to afford a wedging action with complementarily sloped ramp portions 30 on the male element 24, and all these portions are so shaped that a recess or compartment 32 is formed between the parts of the structure and housing that face each other. In the present case, the face portion of the structure is its upper surface and that of the housing is its lower or base portion, but these will, of course, change geographically according to the position in which the machine is mounted. The description is therefore explanatory and not limiting.

As will be seen, the machine may be slid into and out of place on the structure, and it is desired that some stop means be provided along the line or path accord ing to which mounting is effected, especially when the structure is vertical and the machine is inserted from above. One form of such stop means. is shown in FIG. 4 as comprising a ledge 34 against which the machine may be abutted.

Another form of male and female elements is illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein a machine a is mounted on a structure 22a by associated portions 26a and 30a in which the wedging action described above is not used. As above, however, the compartmentation is provided, here at 32a.

Normally, unless the fit between the male and female elements is quite tight, or the forces involved are somewhat low, some means must be used to augment the clamping action between the machine and the structure. In the present case, an inflatable elastomer envelope or pancake 36 is used. In FIG. 5, this appears at 36a. Any suitable envelope may be used, having adequate strength, resistance to wear and abuse, etc. As will be seen, and having reference to the mounting and dismounting of the machine relative to the structure 22 along a certain path (lengthwise of the tracks 26), the envelope 36 is inflatable crosswise of this path; i.e., it forces the machine and structure apart but in such direction as to augment or finalize the gripping action between the portions 26 and 30 (or 26a and 30a). In particular, the envelope 36 is disposed in the compartment 32 (or 32a).

The housing 12 of the machine 10, in addition to having the main rotor chamber 14, is constructed in such fashion as to include an auxiliary chamber 38, here in its "bottom or the part that faces' the structure 22, and thus the housing has a wall 40 in which is formed an opening 42, preferably surrounded by a depending neck 44. The wall 40 may be extended to include the male portions 30 and welding may be relied upon to construct the housing and its associated components.

The envelope 36 has an opening 46 which registers with the opening 42 via a telescopic fit with the neck 44, and the connection is improved by the use of an airtight seal 48. Air under pressure from any suitable source is supplied to the auxiliary chamber 38 by means of an inlet 50 and, because of the air-conducting connection at 42-46 between the chamber and the envelope, the latter will be inflated. At the same time, the chamber 38 is connected by means of a second airconducting connection 52 (here external to the housing 12) to the rotor chamber port 18, so that the same pressurized air supplies both the rotor chamber and the envelope, which makes the system automatic. The confinement of the envelope or pancake 36 in the compartment 32 gives it protection and places it where it functions most effectively.

The air-inlet means established by the chamber 38 and its connections 42-46 to the envelope and 52 to the rotor chamber 14 insures that both receiving areas are supplied at the same time, so that it is a simple matter to make the mechanical connection between the machine 10 and structure 22, after which the air supply is turned on and a proper augmentation of the connection between the machine and structure 22 is immediately and automatically effected. As noted above, should the machine be operated without being connected to the structure, the envelope will be automatically and safely disconnected by reason of the telescopic connection at 4446, so that the envelope cannot be overinflated etc. The stop 34 prevents accidental dislodgement of the machine before and after the envelope is inflated.

In that form of the invention shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the above basic principles are followed. A mounting member, here a female element 55 is composed of an inverted channel 57 to opposite sides of which are welded angles 59 which form tracks like those at 26 and 26a. The male element is a plate 61 which slidably fits between the tracks 59. The mounted machine may be a vibrator of the type discussed above but its configuration differs because it is mounted on the male member 61 by an intervening mount 63 from which it is removable. Accordingly, the vibrator comprises a casing 65 pivotally connected by a pin 67 to lugs or ears 69 formed integrally with a bottom portion 71 which includes a second pair of integral ears 73 to which a swing bolt 75 is pivoted by a cross pin 77. The vibrator casing has a slotted lug 79 into which the bolt 75 is received, and a nut 81 is tightened to draw the casing tightly against the ears 73 by means of an abutment 83 on the casing. The particular type of mounting forms no part of the present invention and other forms may be used, as may the mounting of FIGS. 1-4 to the extent that the situation accommodates the use of envelope means of the class already described.

The mounting portion 71 includes a bottom recess 85 spaced from but sealed to the plate 61 by welding or other means and the result is a cavity or auxiliary chamber that opens to the underside of the plate 61 by means of a plurality (here two) of openings 87, each leading to an envelope or pancake 89. These are similar to but of course smaller than that described above but have the advantage that, in an elongated space, they cover more areas and thus are capable of more evenly distributing pressure or force as the envelopes are inflated to tighten the plate 61, together with the mount 63 and vibrator 65, to the structure 55; i.e., when the envelopes expand, they exert an upward force on the plate 61 and force its top against the overhanging lips of the tracks or angles 59.

The connection of each envelope S9 to the cavity or auxilary chamber 85 is telescopic, as shown at 91 and may be the same as that described above at 42-44-4- 6-48, giving the same safety results when envelope inflation inadvertently occurs without connection of the

elements

55 and 61.

Air supply to the cavity 85 and to the interior of the casing 65 is here achieved by means of a modified T fitting 93 having an inlet line 95 for airunder pressure, an outlet in the form of a hose 97 for supplying the casing chamber and a connection at 99 to a drilled passage 101 that leads to the cavity 85.

As shown in the drawings, the envelopes 89 are static, or not inflated, resulting in a loose fit between the structure 55 and the plate 61. Because the angles or tracks 59 enclose the structure from the sides (FIG. 7), the same compartmentation is provided as in FIGS. 14; i.e., the formation of a compartment in which the envelope means 89 is located, the angles 59 being in side-protective relation to the envelopes. In addition, the plate carries at each end an arcuate depending skirt 103 (FIG. 8) which provides protection for the envelopes from the ends of the structure. Thus the envelopes are substantially completely enclosed.

It will be understood that the parts of the several modifications disclosed here may be interchanged; for example, the plural envelope structure of FIGS. 6-8 is not limited to the specific mount 63, nor to the specific form of vibrator 65. Likewise, the single envelope means of FIG. 1-4 could employ the mount, vibrator, etc., of FIGS. 6-8.

I claim:

l. A vibrator and mounting structure therefor in which the vibrator includes a housing providing a chamber containing a drivable movable part for creating vibrations, the housing and structure include cooperative male and female elements by means of which the housing may be mounted on and dismounted from the structure and releasable clamp means for selectively clamping the housing to and releasing the housinflated when the chamber is pressurized and automatically deflated when the chamber is depressurized.

3. The invention defined in claim 2, further characterized in that the housing includes a fluid inlet means leading to both the chamber and the envelope means.

4. The invention defined in claim 2, further characterized in that the fluid inlet means includes a housing portion forming an auxiliary chamber having a first fluid-conducting connection to the envelope means and a second fluid-conducting connection to the chamber.

5. The invention defined in claim 4, further characterized in that the first connection includes cooperative telescopically interfitting portions respectively on the housing and the envelope means so that in the event of attempted inflation of the envelope means when the housing is dismounted the envelope will be forced off of the housing.

6. The invention defined in claim 5, further characterized in that one of the portions is neck-like, the other portion includes an opening into which the neck fits and an air-tight seal is provided between the two portions.

7. The invention defined in claim 1 in which the cooperative elements are connectible and disconnectible by relative movement along a defined path and the envelope means is inflatable crosswise of that path.

8. The invention defined in claim-7, in which stop means cooperates between the elements to limit said relative movement along said path in the direction of connection of said elements.

9. The invention defined in claim 7 in which the female element includes a pair of spaced tracks defining a channel, the male element is shaped to fit the channel, the elements are fashioned to provide a compartment between them, and the envelope means is positioned in said compartment.

10. The invention defined in claim 9, further characterized in that the tracks are convergent toward each other and the male element is complementarily shaped to provide a wedging action when the envelope means is inflated.

11. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that the housing has a face portion disposed toward the structure when the vibrator is mounted and including a recess defined in part by the male element so that when the elements are fitted together a compartment is formed between the housing and the structure and the envelope means is disposed in said compartment.

12. The invention defined in claim 11, further characterized in that the face portion has an opening forming part of a fluid inlet means and the envelope means has an opening registering with the first-mentioned opening to provide at least part of the connection to said inlet means.

13. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that the envelope means includes at least a pair of separate side-by-side envelopes arranged for simultaneous inflation and deflation thereof.

14. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that one of the elements has a fluidcavity connected to both envelopes and connectible to a source of fluid pressure.

15. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that one of the elements provides a pair of spaced apart tracks and the other element fits between the tracks, the envelopes are located between and protected at their sides by the tracks, and one of the elements includes a pair of skirts extending between the tracks in protective relation to the opposite ends of the envelopes.

16. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that oneelement has a face portion facing toward and spaced from the other element, said one element has an auxiliary fluid chamber and said face portion has a pair of openings therethrough and communieating with the auxiliary chamber, and the envelopes are located between the elements and communicate respectively with the chamber. via said openings.

17. The invention defined in claim 16, further characterized in that each envelope is associated with its opening by a telescopicconnection so that in the event of attempted inflation of the envelopes when the elements are not connected the, envelopes will be forced off of their respective connections with said face por-' tion.

Claims

1. A vibrator and mounting structure therefor in which the vibrator includes a housing providing a chamber containing a drivable movable part for creating vibrations, the housing and structure include cooperative male and female elements by means of which the housing may be mounted on and dismounted from the structure and releasable clamp means for selectively clamping the housing to and releasing the housing from the structure, characterized in that the clamp means includes an elastomer envelope means interposed between the elements and selectively fluid-pressurizible and depressurizible for respectively inflating and deflating to clamp and unclamp the housing relative to the structure.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that the housing chamber is selectively fluid-pressurizible and depressurizible to drive and stop the movable part and the chamber and envelope means are connected in common to a source of fluid under pressure whereby the envelope means is automatically inflated when the chamber is pressurized and automatically deflated when the chamber is depressurized.

8. The invention defined in claim 7, in which stop means cooperates between the elements to limit said relative movement along said path in the direction of connection of said elements.

14. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that one of the elements has a fluid cavity connected to both envelopes and connectible to a source of fluid pressure.

16. The invention defined in claim 13, further characterized in that one element has a face portion facing toward and spaced from the other element, said one element has an auxiliary fluid chamber and said face portion has a pair of openings therethrough and communicating with the auxiliary chamber, and the envelopes are located between the elements and communicate respectively with the chamber via said openings.

17. The invention defined in claim 16, further characterized in that each envelope is associated with its opening by a telescopic connection so that in the event of attempted inflation of the envelopes when the elements are not connected the envelopes will be forced off of their respective connections with said face portion.