Method and apparatus for fluid impregnation utilizing sonic mechanical vibration

Claim 2

Apparatus for the fluid impregnation of solid material with a liquid material comprising: means for holding said solid material in intimate contact with said liquid material including a container for holding said liquid material and means for immersing said solid material in said liquid material comprising holder means for suspending said solid material in said liquid material, means for sonically activating said materials including a first orbiting mass oscillator attached to said holder means, a second orbiting mass oscillator attached to said container, a third orbiting mass oscillator, means for connecting the output of said third oscillator to said liQuid material, a resonant-vibration system coupled to at least one of said oscillators to receive the vibrational output thereof and means for driving at least said one of said oscillators at a frequency such as to cause resonant elastic vibration of said vibration system, said oscillator being adapted to automatically adjust its frequency to maintain resonant vibration of said system, and means for controlling the application of said sonic energy to said materials to cause the impregnation of said solid material by said liquid material to a predesired amount.

Claim 3

The apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said means for connecting the output of said third orbiting mass oscillator to said liquid material comprises a disc immersed in said liquid material and a shaft attached to said disc, said third orbiting mass oscillator being attached to said shaft.

Claim 4

Apparatus for the fluid impregnation of seeds with a liquid material including water comprising: means for holding said seeds in intimate contact with said liquid material including a container for holding said material and means for holding the seeds in the container immersed in the liquid material, tube means extending from the bottom of the container for providing an exit channel from said container for said seeds, means for sonically activating said seeds and liquid material comprising a first orbiting mass oscillator unit coupled to said tube means and a second orbiting mass oscillator coupled to the wall of the container, a resonant-vibration system coupled to at least one of said oscillators to receive the vibrational output thereof and means for driving at least said one of said oscillators at a frequency such as to cause resonant elastic vibration of said system, said oscillator being adapted to automatically adjust its frequency to maintain resonant vibration of said system, and means for controlling the application of said sonic energy to said seeds and said liquid material to cause impregnation of the seeds by the liquid material to a predesired amount.

Claim 5

The apparatus as recited in claim 5 wherein said second orbiting mass oscillator unit includes a vibration arm, an orbiting mass oscillator mounted on said vibration arm for causing resonant vibration thereof, and a vibration disc coupling said arm to the wall of said container.

Claim 6

The apparatus as recited in claim 5 and further including cultivator means attached to said tube means for coupling sonic energy to the soil in which the seeds are being planted so as to cause the fluidization of such soil.

Claim 8

The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said solid material is an assembled piece of furniture.

Claim 9

The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said wood is placed in an autoclave filled with said plastic and the walls of said autoclave are sonically excited by means of an orbiting mass oscillator attached thereto.

Claim 11

A methOd for impregnating seeds with a liquid material including water held in a container comprising the steps of: immersing the seeds in the liquid material to provide intimate contact therebetween, applying high-level mechanical sonic-vibrational energy to cause resonant elastic vibration of at least one of said materials, and passing the seeds from an aperture at the bottom of the container into the soil at a predetermined rate so that the application of sonic energy is terminated when the liquid material has impregnated the seeds to a predetermined degree. 13 The method as recited in claim 12 and additionally including the step of sonically exciting a cultivator connected to said container to fluidize the soil as the seeds are dropped therein.