The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 06, 1998
Filed:
Jul. 26, 1995
James Peter Hinchliffe, Hartford, NY (US);
Thermo Fibertek Inc., Waltham, MA (US);
Abstract
The apparatus is an oscillator for a showerhead to keep the forming fabric of a papermaking machine clean and open. A hydraulic cylinder is formed with a piston cup assembly dividing the cylinder into first and second fluid chambers. The piston cup assembly is coupled to a magnet and a driveshaft, the driveshaft being coupled, in turn, to the showerhead to be oscillated. A four-way valve is used to direct fluid from a pressurized external source alternately into said first and second fluid chambers thereby causing reciprocation of the driveshaft. The position of the magnet, and hence the driveshaft and showerhead, is monitored by a transducer which sends position and rate signals to a microprocessor-based controller. The microprocessor-based controller sends a signal to the four-way valve to direct which of said first and second fluid chambers receives fluid from the pressurized source in order to achieve the desired parameters of reciprocation. Additionally, the microprocessor-based controller provides an alarm signal should the driveshaft rate drop below a preset value.