EP0157331B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vibratory conveyor
Assignee: FMC Corp
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Filing: 1985-03-26
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Granted: 1990-11-28
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Expires: 2005-03-26
Abstract
Abstract A drive and drive controller for a vibratory conveyor, wherein the drive comprises a pair of pole pieces (52, 54) offset along a direction of action of the drive, and moveable in the direction of action of the drive when energized by a power signal. Preferably, one of the pole pieces (52) is mounted to a tray portion (22), and the other (54) to a kinetic balancer portion (56), of the conveyor. The power signal comprises a series of pulse trains of controllable frequency and duration, whereby the drive unit may be vibrated at a controllable frequency and amplitude so that the vibratory conveyor may be readily tuned to optimal performance. Optionally, the voltage level of the power signal may be reduced by an autotransformer in series with the power signal to independently control the power level.
Inventors
- 👤 Gregor Vaughn
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 07:00
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G27/00; B65G27/10; B65G27/32
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
232 words
A vibratory material conveyor comprising a frame (28), an elongated tray (22) for receiving and conveying material along a linear path, resilient mounting means (36) for supporting the tray (22) from the frame and for permitting vibration of the tray along the linear path, electromagnetic driving means (50) having at least one pair of electrically energizable opposed pole pieces (52, 54) where one pole piece (52) is rigidly connected to the tray (22) and the second pole piece (54) is resiliently connected to the frame (28); an electrical power supply carrying an alternating current at a standard mains voltage and frequency, and a drive controller means (200, 320) for electrically connecting the power supply to the electromagnetic means (50) and simultaneously energizing the pole pieces for vibrating the tray (22), the drive controller means (200, 320) comprising means (204,206; 324,326) for periodically turning the alternating current on and off from the power supply to the electromagnetic driving means (50) characterized by the pole pieces having faces parallel to the linear path and offset to one another and by user control means (302,304; 358, 360) for setting a duration for timed bursts of alternating current delivered to the electromagnetic driving means (50), at the frequency of the power supply and for tuning the electromagnetic driving means to a harmonic frequency at or near a natural harmonic frequency of the tray (22) when vibrating.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
232 words
A vibratory material conveyor comprising a frame (28), an elongated tray (22) for receiving and conveying material along a linear path, resilient mounting means (36) for supporting the tray (22) from the frame and for permitting vibration of the tray along the linear path, electromagnetic driving means (50) having at least one pair of electrically energizable opposed pole pieces (52, 54) where one pole piece (52) is rigidly connected to the tray (22) and the second pole piece (54) is resiliently connected to the frame (28); an electrical power supply carrying an alternating current at a standard mains voltage and frequency, and a drive controller means (200, 320) for electrically connecting the power supply to the electromagnetic means (50) and simultaneously energizing the pole pieces for vibrating the tray (22), the drive controller means (200, 320) comprising means (204,206; 324,326) for periodically turning the alternating current on and off from the power supply to the electromagnetic driving means (50) characterized by the pole pieces having faces parallel to the linear path and offset to one another and by user control means (302,304; 358, 360) for setting a duration for timed bursts of alternating current delivered to the electromagnetic driving means (50), at the frequency of the power supply and for tuning the electromagnetic driving means to a harmonic frequency at or near a natural harmonic frequency of the tray (22) when vibrating.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the drive controller means (200, 320) further comprises a variable autotransformer means (208, 327) for adjusting the voltage of the timed bursts of alternating current delivered to the electromagnetic means (50) at the frequency of the power supply.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
64 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 2, wherein the means for periodically turning the alternating current on and off comprises a dual timer integrated circuit (300, Fig. 11) and a high voltage relay (206, 326) electrically connected to the variable autotransformer (208, 327), the circuit having means (204, 324) for delivering timed control signals to the relay for opening and closing the relay.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
107 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the power supply has a three phase alternating current, and wherein the drive controller means (320) further comprises means in two of three power lines for periodically turning the three phase alternating current on and off sequentially in the two power lines and interchanging two of the three phases of timed sequential bursts of alternating current delivered to the electromagnetic means (50), and wherein the user control means (358) sets the duration for timed sequential bursts of alternating current at the frequencies of the two of the three phase alternating current in respective lines of the two lines.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 4, wherein the drive controller means (320) further comprises a three phase variable autotransformer (327) for adjusting the voltage of the timed sequential bursts of alternating current delivered in the respective lines of the two lines to respective ones of the pair of pole pieces.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
105 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 5, wherein the means (324, 358, 326) for periodically turning the three phase alternating current on and off includes an electronic circuitry having four integrated circuit chips (Fig. 12) comprising a timer/counter (350), a timer (352), a NAND gate (354) and a Hex inverter driver (356) and two high voltage relays (326) electrically connected to the three phase autotransfer (327) and in parallel to the two power lines, the NAND gate (354) delivering timed control signals to an open collector driver chip means (356) for boosting the control signals to a level sufficient to drive the relays (326).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 1 or claim 4, wherein the electromagnetic driving means includes a second pair of opposed pole pieces arranged bilaterally symmetrical with the one pair of opposed pole pieces (Fig. 7); and means for delivering the timed bursts of alternating current to the two bilateral symmetrical pairs of opposed pole pieces.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 1 or claim 4, wherein the electromagnetic driving means includes a second pair of opposed pole pieces arranged end to end with the one pair of opposed pole pieces. (Fig. 8).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 8, wherein a spacer is interposed between one of the end to end arranged pole pieces for separating the pole pieces. (Fig. 15).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 1 or claim 4, wherein the opposed pole pieces are displaced from one another in the direction of the linear path (49).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
49 words
The vibratory material conveyor according to claim 1 or claim 4, wherein the electromagnetic driving means (50) include an elongated kinetic balancer (56) below the tray (22) resiliently connected to the frame (28), and wherein said second pole piece (54) is rigidly connected to the bottom of the tray.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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