Waters Associates, Inc.

Roderick J McNeil

Burleigh M Hutchins

A pneumatic valve apparatus comprises a cylindrical structure having opposite, outwardly facing faces. A plurality of two-position valves are located in the structure at regular angular intervals at positions about the axis of the cylindrical structure. The valves are subject to mechanical actuation by axial displacement. A spindle co-axial with the axis has a passageway for the flow of air toward each axial end of the spindle. A pair of pawls are carried by the spindle, one on each side of the faces, for limited axial displacement and rotatable with respect to the cylindrical structure about the axis. The pawls are angularly displaced from each other so that when one pawl is aligned with a valve, the other pawl is angularly and axially misaligned. Resilient means (spring 6) urge the pawls axially away from the faces. A pair of pistons on each side of the faces simultaneously respond to air pressure received from a passageway in the spindle to drive both pawls inward toward both faces against the force of resilient means or springs urging them away from the faces. In operation the pawls are advance with the spindle about the axis selectively to position the upper pawl over, or the lower pawl under, a selected valve. Then pneumatic pressure may be applied through the passageway to drive the pistons and the pawls together. Thus any selected digital valve may be driven by the appropriate pawl to the selected digital position while the other pawl exercises an idle stroke because of the angular displacement.

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Millis, MA, United States of America

Roderick J McNeil