Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION .
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for surface
treating the surfaces of a workpiece, more particularly, to a method and
apparatus wherein the workpieces to be surface treated are selectively inter-
mittently moved through a bed of aggitated surface treating media.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
Various processes and apparatus are known to the art for surface treating
workpieces. Examples are shown in the following U. S. Patents.
U. S. Patent No. 2,815,609 issued on December 20, 1957 shows an apparatus
for deburring and polishing workpieces including a pan which holds deburring
material such as steel balls or stones. The pan is mounted in a stationary
frame for vertical reciprocating movement by means of sprockets and chains
supported on the frame. The apparatus includes a shaft which is mounted to
the frame over the pan and is moved in a reciprocating motion along its longi-
tudinal axis by means of an eccentric. The workpiece to be deburred is clamped
to the reciprocating shaft to depend therefrom, and the pan is raised so that
the workpiece is submerged in the deburring material. The shaft is then re-
ciprocated to move the workpiece back and forth through the deburring material.
Ater a sufficient time, the pan is lowered and trhe workpiece is removed from
the deburring material, and the deburred workpiece is removed from the shaft.
U. S. Patent No. 2,918,926 issued on December 29, 1959 shows a washing
and degreasing apparatus which includes a large tank for holding a suitable
liquid solution in the tank. The parts basket has one open end, and is mounted
on springs for vibrator and oscillatory motion. A vibration generating device
which includes an electric motor is connected to the parts basket by means of a
belt to impart a vibratory motion to the basket. In addition, a sloped endless~
conveyor is located w thin the tank so that a portion of the conveyor lies belo~
the open end of the parts basket to receive the parts from the basket and con-
vey the parts otu of the tank. Parts to be cleaned are deposited in the basket
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near the end thereof opposite the open basket end so that they\are immersed
in the cleaning solution. The basket is then caused to vibrate so that the
parts therein will be moved toward the open basket end and be discharged onto
the endless conveyor for removal from the tank.
U. S. ~atent No. 3,045,397 issued on July 24, 1962 shows an apparatus for
surface treating parts which includes a support frame mounted on springs and
an electric motor connected to the support frame through a belt system for
imparting a vibratory action to the support frame. The apparatus further in-
cludes a plurality of parts receiving vats rigidly mounted to the support frame .
The parts to be treated as well as liquid treating agent are placed in the
vats, and the frame is vibrated.
U. S. Patent No. 3,128,577 issued on April 14, 1964 shows an apparatus
for deburring articles of considerable length which includes a tank containing
abrasive material. Vibrator devices are attached to the outer side of the
floor of the tank to vibrate the abrasive material in the tank. The opposite
end walls of the tank have aligned apertures for accommodating the longitudinal
movement of an elongated article to be deburred through the tank. The aperture s
have seals to prevent abrasive material from leaking out of the tank. Powered,
article feed rollers are located outisde the tank at one end wall. The elon-
gated article to be deburred is inserted longitudinally through the apertures
in the tank end walls and is engaged by the feed rollers. The feed rollers
move the elongated article through the tank wherein it is subjected to the
vibrating abrasive material and is deburred thereby.
U. S. Patent No. 3,148,483 issued on September 15, 1964 shows a machine
for the surface treatment of an article by the reaction of media in vibratory ¦
movement which includes a rigid base with a horizontal table resiliently
supported on the base by coil springs and a trough containing particulate
treating material is secured to the table. Vibratory movement is imparted to
the table, and therefore to the trough, by means of an eccentric drive arrange-
ment located in the base below the table. The elongated trough has an upstrea~
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end wall, spaced apart side walls, a concave floor, and is open st the down-
stream end. A perforated platform is located at the open downstream or outlet
end of the trough to separate particulate media exiting the trough from the
treated articles also exiting the trough. The separated media is returned
to the upstream end of the trough through an inlet chute for reuse in the
treatment of further articles placed in the trough.
U. S. Patent No. 3,336,701 issued on August 22, 1967 shows a vibratory
finishing apparatus for deburring articles including an elongated, downwardly
inclined container box containing an abrasive particulate material. The
elongated, sloped container box is suspended on air cushions on fixed legs.
Vibration is imparted to the container box by means of driven shafts and
eccentric weights located beneath the container box. Articles to be finished
are loaded into the container box by a chute located at the elevated container
end. The lower end of the container box includes a lip over which finished
articles and particulate treating material overflow from the container box.
A screen arrangement is positioned benéath the container lip outside the
container box for separating finished articles from the abrasive particulate
material. The particulate material passes through the screen onto a recycling
conveyor which returns the particulate material back to the container box for
reuse.
U. S. Patent No. 4,258,505 issued on May 31, 1~81 shows another apparatus
for cleaning a workpiece with abrasive particulate material which includes
a closed vessel. A grate is located within the vessel above the vessel floor.
A bed of abrasive material is located above and supported on the grate, and
the volume beneath the grate forms a plenum chamber. Compressed air is intro-
duced into the plenum chamber and passes upwardly through the grate to maintain
the abrasive material in a fluit and agitated state. The two end walls of
the vessel are formed with openings through which a continuous elongated work-
piece is moved through the bed of abrasive material. In addition, air conduits
are located through the bed of abrasive material next to the path of the elon-
gated t~or~iece passing throu_h the abrasive taterial bed. These air c04duits
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have nozzles oriented to direct compressed air streams against the surface of
the workpiece moving through the abrasive material bed. The air issuing from
these nozzles pick up particles from the fluidized bed and propels the abrasiv
particles at high velocity against the surface of the workpiece. A mixture
of air and abrasive material rising from the abrasive bed is removed from the
vessel through an exhaust duct to a separator device. The separator device
separates particulate material from the air. The separated particulate
material is returned to the vessel for reuse, and the separated air is exhauste
to the atmosphere.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for the selected
intermittent flow of workpieces through a bed of surface treating media.
The present invention further provides a method and apparatus of the class
described wherein the exterior surface and any open internal voids of the
workpiece are concurrently surface treated.
More particular, the present invention in one embodiment provides a method
of surface treating workpieces comprising the steps of: fluidizing a sub-
stantially stationarily positioned bed of a surface treating media; aggitating
the fluidized bed of surface treating media; submerging the workpiece in the
fluidized, aggitated bed of surface treating media, selectively holding the
submerged workpiece stationary within the fluidized, aggitated bed of surface
treating media; releasing the hold of the workpiece; and removing the workpiece
from the bed of surface treating media.
The present invention further provides an apparatus for surface treating
workpieces, comprising: means defining a reservoir for containing a bed of
surface treatment media; vibrating means for imparting a vibratory force to the
reservoir defining means; means for passing a gas generally upwardly through
the reservoir defining means to fluidize the bed of surface treatment media
contained therein; and means for selectively clamping the workpieces in a
stationary position within the reservoir defining means.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The various features and advantages of the present invention will become
even more clear upon reference to the following discussion in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts through an 1
in which:
FIGURE 1 is a side view of one advantageous embodiment of the present in-
vention with portions broken out to more clearly show internal features; with
a clamping device in the workpiece release position;
FIGURE 2 is a side view of the embodiment of FI~URE 1 with the clamping
device in the workpiece clamping or holding position;
FIGURE 3 is a top view of FIGURE 1 as viewed in the direction of arrows
3-3 in FIGURE l;
FIGURE 4 is a side view of an advantageous embodiment of the clamping
device of the present invention;
FIGUR~ 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken in the direction of
arrows 5-5 in FIGURE 4;
FIGURE 6 i9 a side view of a further advantageous embodiment of the
present invention with portions broken away to more clearly show internal
features.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
With reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown a longitudinal cross-
sectional view of an apparatus of the present invention, generally denoted as
the numeral 10, for surface treating workpieces 12 shown in broken lines. The
workpieces to be surface treated can be virtually any article of manufacture.
Examples of the types of surface treatment for which the apparatus 10 can be
used include, but are not limited to, deburring, polishing, burnishing and
cleaning of the workpiece.
The apparatus 10 includes an elangated housing, generally denoted as
the numeral 14, which comprises a floor 16, two spaced apart generally paralle L
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side walls 18 and 20, and two spaced apart generally parallel end walls 22 and
24. In addition ~ an elongated foraminous top deck 26 coextensive with the
length and width of the housing 14 is located in the housing below the top
edges of the housing walls 18, 20, 22, 24 and above the housing floor 16. The
foraminous deck 26 cooperates with the housing floor 16 ant the portion of the
housing walls below the deck 26 to define a fluidizign gas plenum 28. Further,
the foraminous deck 26 cooperates with the portion of the housing walls above
the deck 26 to define a surface treatment media reservoir 30. As can be best
seen in FIGURES 1 and 2, the foraminous deck 26 incl.udes a generally downwardly
declined upstream length 32 slanting downwardly generally from the top edge of
the upstream housing end wall 22 a predetermined distance below the top edges
of the housing side walls 18 and 20, a generally horizontal deck length 34
extending from the lower end of the declined foraminous deck length 32 longi-
tudinally of the housing 14 ln a direction toward the downstream housing end
wall 24 and terminating at a predetermined location short of the downstream
housing end wall 24, and an upwardly inclined deck length 35 mating with the
terminal end of the horizontal deck length 34 and extending upwardly therefrom
to substantially the top edge of the downstream housing end wall 24. The hori-
zontal deck length 34 is preferably located below the top edges of the housing
walls by a distance at least equal to the largest dimension of the workpiece
12 to be surface treated. The length of the horizontal deck length 34 will be
tetermined by the length of time required to complete the surface treatment
of the workpiece. A plurality of small,-parallel, spaced apart workpiece
support rails 37 are located on the top surface of the foraminous deck 26
and extend longitudinally of the surface treating reservoir 30. The workpieces
ride on the support rails 37 as the workpieces move through the surface treat-
ing reservoir 30. The support rails 37 hold the workpieces above the top sur-
face of the foraminous deck 26. The support rails 37 can be fabricated of a
material which has a lower coefficient of function than does the foraminous
deck 26. Thus, the support rails prevent wear to the foraminous deck 26,
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make it easier for the workpieces to move longitudinally of the treatment
reservoir 30 and provide a space between the bottom side of the workpiece and
foraminous deck 26 in which surface treating media may reside so that all
surfaces of the workpiece is contacted by surface treating media. The housing
14 also includes fluidizing gas inlet ports 36 formed through a housing side
wall, for e~ample side wall 20, to communicate with the plenum 28. Fluidizing
gas can be introduced through the gas inlet ports 36 by virtually any means,
for example, by a fan or blower which forces air through appropriate conduits
interconnecting the blower to the inlet ports 36
The apparatus 10 further includes vibrating means, generally denoted as
the numeral 42, for causing the housing 14 to vibrate. The vibrating means
can be virtually any known or otherwise convenient device such as, for example,
an eccentric drive arrangement or rotating unbalanced mass device. The criticc 1
feature of the vibratlng means 42, of whatever type used, is that it imparts
to the housing 14 a horizontal component vector (denoted by the arrow "H" in
FIGURE 1) in the direction generally from the upstream housing end wall 22
toward the downstream housing end wall 24, and a generally vertical component
vector (denoted by the arrow "V" in FIGURE 1). That is to say, the resultant
of the vibration vector imparted to the housing should be at an acute angle
to the horizontal (denoted by the arrow "R" in FIGURE 1).
Ths housing 14 is preferably mounted on vibration isolation damper means
44 to isolate the vibrating apparatus 10 from its environment. Various
isolation damper means are well known and include, but are not limited to gas-
filled bags, liquid-filled devices, resilient padas and leaf springs. As show~
in FIGURE 1, the apparatus 10 is isolated from the floor 46 of a facility in
which it is placed by vibration dampers in the form of coil springs.
The surface treating media reservoir 30 is illed with an appropriate
workpiece surface treating media. It is presently contemplated that the
surface treating media will be particulate material, or a combiantion of
particulate material and liquid. The exact nature of the surface treating
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media will, of course, depend upon the type of surface treatment to be carried
out, and upon the material of which the workpiece 12 are fabricated. However,
by way of example, the particulate material could be sand, stones, steel shot,
and the liquid could be, for example, a solvent such as water.
Wlth continued reference to FIGURES 1 and 2, the apparatus lO further
lncludes workpiece receiving means, generally denoted as the numeral 50,
located outside the housing 14 at the downstream housing end wall 24 and open
to the reservoir 30. The workpiece receiving means 50 is shown as an open
topped enclosure having a front wall 52, a real wall 54, side walls 56 and 58,
a foraminous floor 60, and an open top 62 defined by the top edges of the front .
rear and side walls. The workpiece receiving enclosure 50 is affixed to the
downstream housing end wall 24 with the top edge of the enclosure front wall 52
at approximately the elevation of the elevated end of the inclined foraminous
deck length 35. 8ecause the workpiece receiving enclosure 50 is attached to
the houslng 14; the enclosure 50 is also subjected to the vibratory forces
generated by the vibrating means 42. Inside the workpiece receiving enclosure
50 are workpiece restraining means 64. As shown, the workpiece restraining
means comprises at least one horizontal bar located above the foraminous
enclosure floor 60, spanning the distance between the enclosure side walls 56
and 58, and about midway be;ween the front enclosure wall 52 and rear en-
closure wall 54, thereby dividing the interior of the enclosure in~o two
workpiece receiving sections 66 and 68.
As can be best seen in FIGURE 5, the housing 14 is shown as having the .
surface treating reservoir 30 divided into two identical side-by-side longi-
tudinally extending-workpiece lanes 69 by a partition 70 extending longitudinal ly
in the treating reservoir 30 and along the longitudinal centerline of the
treating reservoir 30. This arrangement provides for the movement of two rows
of workpieces concurrently through the reservoir 30. The width of the reservoi r
30 can be sized to have a single lane 69 to process only one row of workpieces
through the reservoir or, for that matter, any number of lanes 69 to accomodate
two or more rows of workpieces as the volume of a manufacturing process may
'.
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require. For the reason that the number of lanes 69 into which the reservoir
30 is divided does not constitute a part of the invention, for the sake of
brevity, the following discussion will speak in the singular as the reservoir
30 included a single lane. However, it should be understood that the rèservoi~
30 can be divided into any number of lanes 69 without departing from the
features of the invention.
With reference to FIGURES 1, 2, 4 and 5, the apparatus 10 further includes
workpiece clamping means, generally denoted as the numeral 86, for selectively
clamping the workpieces in a stationary position in the reservoir 30 of the
housing 14. As shown, the clamping means 86 includes a generally horizontal
plate 88 located over at least a portion of the horizontal length 34 of the
foraminous deck 26. The lower side 90 of the horizontal plate 88 constitutes
the workpiece contact side of the horizontal plate 88 and is fitted with
~esiliently deformable workpiece contact bumpers 92. The generally horizontal
clamping plate 88 is mountet for movement in a generally horizontal plane be-
tween a raised or workpiece release position whereat the workpiece contact
side 90 is spaced above the foraminous housing deck 26 by a distance somewhat
greater than the thickness dimension of a-workpiece when resting on the fora-
minous deck 26 (See FIGURE 1), and a lowered or workpiece clamping or holding
position whereat the workpiece contact side 90 is spaced above the foraminous
housing deck 26 by a distance generally equal to and preferably somewhat less
than the thickness dimension of a workpiece when resting on the foraminous
deck 26 (See FIGURE 2). -
With continued reference to FIGURES 1, 2, 4 and 5, the workpiece clamping
c~means 86 also includes workpiece cl~pl~ plae moving means, generally denoted
by the numeral 94, for moving the clamping plate 88 between the workpiece
release position and workpiece clamping pOSJ tion. As can be best seen in
FIGURES 4 and 5, the clamping plate moving means 94 comprises a lever arm 96
pivotally attached at its distal end to the clamping plate 88 near the longi-
tudinal center line of the clamping plate 88, and at its proximal end to a
driven shaft 98 for rotation with the driven shaft 98.
The pivot attachment of the distal end of the lever arm 96 to the clamping
plate 88 can be accomplished in various ways. For example, as can be best seen
in FIGURES 4 and 5, the pivotal attachment can include clevis bracket 100
attached to the top side of the clamping plate 88. The distal end of the lever
arm 96 has an aperture 102 which aligns with the apertures in the clevis brackets
100. A pivot pin 104 fits through the aperture 102 in the distal end of the
lever arm 96 and the aligned apertures in the clevis bracket 100. The driven
shaft 98 is supported in journal bearings 106 mounted to the housing side
walls 18 and 20 above the foraminous deck 26 (See FIGURE 6). A driving lever
arm 108 is attached at its proximal end to the driven shaft 98 so that the
driven shaft 98 will rotate with the driving lever arm 108 as it is caused to
move. As can be best seen in FIGURES 4 and 6, a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinderdevice 110 is used to actuate the driven shaft 98 through the lever arm 96 and
driving lever arm 108, thus, causing the clamping plate 88 to move between the
clamping and unclamping or release positions. As can be best seen in FIGURES
4 and 6, the free end of the cylinder portion 112 of the cylinder device 110
is pivotally attached to a mounting bracket 112. The mounting bracket 112 is
attached to the side walls 18 and 20 of the housing 14. The extending end of
the piston rod 116 of the cylinder device 110 is pivotally attached to the
distal end of the driving lever 108. Thus, as the cylinder device 110 is
actuated to extend the piston rod 116, the extending piston rod 116 causes
the driving lever arm 108 to pivot in a clockwise direction as seen in
FIGURES 4 and 6. This clockwise rotation of the driving lever arm 108 in turn
causes the driven shaft 98 to rotate in the same, i.e. clockwise direction in
the journal bearing 106. Further, as the driven shaft 98 thus rotates, it
causes the lever arm 96 to rotate in a clockwise rotation with the driven
shaft 98. The clockwise frotation of the lever arm 96 causes the proximal
end of the lever arm 96 to move in an arcuate path upwardly away from the
formainous deck 26 of the housing 14. Thus, the clamping plate 88 is caused
to also move upwardly with the proximal end of the lever arm 96 to the raised
or workpiece release position shown in FIGURE 1. Similarly, as the cylinder
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device 110 is actuated to retract the piston rod 116, the retracting piston
rod 116 causes the driving lever arm 108 to pivot in the other or counter- ¦
clockwise direction as seen in FIGURES 4 and 6. This counterclockwise rotation
of the driving lever arm 108 in turn causes the driven shaft 98 to rotate in
the sameJ i.e., counterclockwaise direction in the journal bearings 106.
Further, as the driven shaft 98 thus rotates, it causes the lever arm 96 to -
rotate in a counterclockwise rotation with the driven shaft 98. The counter-
clockwise rotation of the lever arm 96 causes the proximal end of the lever
arm 96 to move in an arcuate path downwardly toward the foraminous deck 26
of the housing 14. Thus, the clamping plate 88 is caused to move downwardly
with the proximal end of the lever arm 96 to the lowered or workpiece clamping
position shown in FIGURE 2.
The pivotal attachment of the proximal end of the lever arm 96 to the
clamping plate 88 provides a self-adjusting feature of the clamping plate 88
particularly when the clamping plate 88 ln the lowered or clamping position and
i8 used to concurrently clamp two or more workpieces spaced along the length
of the horizontal section 34 of the foraminous deck 26. Thus, given the
situation where the top side of a workpiece laying on the horizontal section
34 of the foraminous deck 26 may be higher than the top side of another work-
piece also laying on the horizontal section34 of the foraminous deck 26, due
to for example manufacturing tolerances in the workpieces, the contact plate
88 can pivot about the pivot pins 104 such that the clamping contact bumpers
92 at the clamping side 90 of the contact plate 88 will contact the top sides
of all of the workpieces. This feature of the mounting of the contact plate
88 to the lever arm 98 along with the resilient feature of the contact bumpers
92 provides for exerting a relatively uniform clamping force on the top side
of the workpieces forcing the workpieces down against the horizontal section
34 of the foraminous plate 26.
The surface treating media reservoir 30 is filled with an appropriate
workpiece surface treating media 48. It is presently contemplated that the
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surface treatign media 48 will be particulate material, or a combination of
particulate material and liquid. The exact nature of the surface treating
media will, of course, depend upon the type of surface treatment to be carried
out, and upon the material of which the workpieces 12 are fabricated. However,
by way of example, the particulate material c~uld be sand, stones, to~ol
shot, and the liquid could be, for example, a solvent such as water.
ILL~sr~
FIGURE 6 ~Ll~etr~Fes the apparatus 10 further including a hood structure
118 over the top of the housing 14 and cooperating with the housing walls 18,
20, 22 and 24 to define a low pressure chamber 120 over the top of the foramin u~
deck 26. As shown, the hood structure 118 includes two, parallel, spaced
apart side walls 122 and 124 which are coextensive with and extend upwardly
from the top edge of the housing side walls 18 and 20, respectively, and two,
parallel, spaced apart end walls 126 and 128 which are spaced longitudinal
of the housing inwardly of the housing end walls 22 and 24. The bottom ends
of the hood end walls 126 and 128 are coplaner with the top ends of the housin
side walls 18 and 20 to provide a workpiece entrance space benea~h the bottom
end of the upstream hood end wall 126 and a workpiece exit space beneath
the bottom end of the downstream hood end wall 128. The hood structure 118
also includes a roof 130 which slopes upwardly from the hood walls 122, 124,
126 and 128 converging toward an apex. An exhaust duct opening 132 lcoated
at the apex of the hood structure 118 and is open to the low pressure chamber
120. Low pressure creating means such as, for example, a suction fan or
blower is operatively associated with the exhaust duct opening 132 through an
appropriate duce (not shown) to remove air from the low pressure chamber 120
to create a low pressure with the chamber 120.
The operation of the apparatus 10 of FIGURES 1 and 2 are essentially
identical. The air flow from the fluidizing gas plenum 28 flows upwardly
through the foraminous deck 26 and through the bed of surface treating media
48 in the surface treating media reservoir 30, thùs, fluidizing the treating
media. The vibration imparted to the deck 26 imparts a vibratory motion
scrubbing-like motion to the treating media, and the horizontal force componen
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of the vibration force functions as a motive force to move the workpieces along¦
the deck 26 through the bed of treating media from the upstream end of the
deck 26 to the downstream end of the deck 26 whereupon:the:workpieces exit
the surface treatment reservoir 30. The workpiece gradually becomes submerged
in the bed of treating media as it moves downwardly along the declined section
32 of the foraminous deck 32, remains substantially submerged in the surface
treating media as it moves along the horizontal section of the foraminous
deck 26 and gradually emerges from the bed of surface treating media as it
climbs the inclined section 35 of the foraminous deck.
With reference to FIGURE 3, the suction fan causes the creation of a low
pressure in the low pressure chamber 120 of the hood structure 118 which en-
trains lighter material cleaned from the workpieces to carry this material out
of the apparatus 10, thus, preventing the treating media bed from becoming con-
taminated with a foreign material.
As the workpieces move along the horizontal section 34 of the foraminous
teck 26, the clamping plate 84 is periodically moved downwardly to its lower
or workpiece clamping position shown in FIGURE 2 to contact the top side of
the workpieces moving on the horizontal section 34 and force the workpieces
tightly against the horizontal section 34 to hold the workpieces stationary
within the fluidized, aggitating bed of surface treating material. By holding
the workpieces stationary, they are exposed to the entire scrubbing action of
the aggitating surface treating media. After a selected period of time, the
clamping plate 84 is raised to the workpiece release position shown in FIGURE 1
disengaging fro~q the workpiece thereby allowing the workpiece to resume move-
ment along the foraminous deck 26.
As the workpieces have moved upwardly along the inclined section 35 of the
foraminous deck 26, they exit the surface treating reservoir 30 and fall into
the workpiece receiving enclosure 50. The workpiece receiving enclosure being
attached to the housing 14, is also caused to vibrate. The vibration of the
enclosure 50 causes the workpiece therein to also vibrate causing any residual
surface treating media to be shaken from the workpiece. The residual surface
treating media falls through the foraminous floor 60 of the enclosure 50 where-
upon it can be collected.
~l3~
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If the workpiece is of a configuration which tends to trap surface treat-
in~ material in, for example, interior workpiece cavities, it may be necessary
to reposition the workpiece from its initial position in the enclosure 50 to
make sure that all of the residual surface treating material is removed from
the workpiece. Toward this end, the enclosure 50 is separated into the re-
ceiving sections 66 and 68 by the workpiece restraining means 64. A workpiece
is initially received in the enclosure receiving section 66 from the treatment
reservoir 30, and residual surface treating media is shaken loose as above
discussed. Teh workpiece is then lifted out of the first enclosure receiving
section 66 over the restraining means 64 and deposited in the other or second
enclosure receiving section 68 in another orientation, for example, 180 degrees
from its initial orientation in the first rece ving section 66. After the
workpiece has been transferred from the first workpiece receiving section 66
to the second workpiece receiving section 68, another workpiece can be deposite d
in the first receiving section 66. Thus, two workpieces in different physical
orientations can be received within the workpiece receiving enclosure at the
same time without interruption to the flow of workpieces through the apparatus 10.
The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness of
understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom
for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading
this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit of the
invention and scope of the appended claims.
