MULTI-AXIS ARTICULATING AND ROTARY SPRAY SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20170173617A1
• Filed: 12/21/2016
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trinity Bay Worx LLC (Trinity Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Bay Worx Laboratories, LLC (Trinity Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: ZILAI, Michael Shawn, CAMP, JR., Charles Horace
• Granted Patent: US 10,449,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/0636 by means of rotatable spray heads or nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/069 the hollow bodies having a closed end
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 15/652 whereby the jet can be oriented
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 15/68 Arrangements for adjusting the position of spray heads B05B15/628, B05B15/652, B05B15/656 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 3/02 with rotating elements electric spraying discharge apparatus characterised by having rotary outlet or deflecting elements B05B5/04
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/02 Cleaning by the force of jets or sprays
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 9/0813 by the force of jets or sprays
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 9/093 by the force of jets or sprays B08B9/0813 , B08B9/20 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 9/0936 using rotating jets

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system and method articulating and rotary spray system for fluids that includes a first drive for rotating a mast for different headings and a second drive for rotating a nozzle for different pitches at any time with or without rotation of the mast. The method and system uses a system of interacting gears that rotate a control rod in variable synchronization to control the nozzle pitch relative to the mast heading while the control rod orbits about a center of rotation of the rotating mast along a longitudinal axis.

Claims

1. A multi-axis articulating and rotary spray system, comprising:

a mast assembly, the mast assembly comprising;

a mast shaft having a longitudinal axis which forms a center of rotation for the mast shaft, the mast shaft having a mast main port formed in the mast shaft and comprising;

a nozzle union trunnion coupled with the shaft and having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, the fluid inlet fluidicly coupled to the mast main port;

an articulating nozzle union having a nozzle and rotatably coupled to the nozzle union trunnion, the articulating nozzle union comprising a gear circumferentially disposed around the nozzle union trunnion; and

a longitudinal rod opening formed in the mast shaft radially offset from a longitudinal axis of the mast shaft, where the rod opening is configured to rotate with the mast shaft and orbit around the longitudinal axis;

a pitch drive rod extending at least partially into the longitudinal rod opening and rotatably coupled to the gear on the nozzle union;

a pitch drive coupled to the pitch drive rod and configured to move the pitch drive rod to change a pitch of the nozzle union through the gear; and

a heading drive coupled to the mast shaft and configured to rotate the mast shaft to change a heading of the mast shaft,

the pitch drive being selectively synchronized to move the pitch drive rod relative to the rotation of the mast shaft as the pitch drive rod orbits about the longitudinal axis to maintain a pitch angle or to change a pitch angle of the nozzle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pitch drive and the heading drive are selectively synchronized to maintain a stationary pitch of the nozzle union in the mast shaft as the mast shaft is rotated to a different heading.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the pitch drive and the heading drive are selectively synchronized to change a pitch of the nozzle union in the mast shaft as the mast shaft is rotated to a different heading.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the pitch drive and the heading drive are selectively synchronized to change a pitch of the nozzle union in the mast shaft as the mast shaft is stationary at a heading.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the pitch drive is rotatably coupled to a first pitch gear and further comprising a second pitch gear rotatably coupled to the first pitch gear, the second pitch gear being fixedly coupled to the pitch drive rod and rotatably coupled to the heading drive, wherein the second pitch gear and the pitch drive rod are radially offset from a longitudinal axis of the mast shaft.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the pitch drive is configured to rotate the first pitch gear which is configured to rotate the second pitch gear in synchronization with the heading drive as the second pitch drive orbits around the longitudinal axis of rotation while the heading drive rotates the mast shaft to either maintain a pitch of the nozzle union or change the pitch of the nozzle union.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a nozzle rotary channel formed in the nozzle union circumferentially around the nozzle union trunnion that is fluidicly coupled to the nozzle union outlet.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a housing coupled to the mast shaft and at least one of the drives, the housing comprising;

a mast main port inlet; and

a main rotary channel circumferentially around the mast shaft and fluidicly coupled to the mast main port inlet and the mast main flow passage.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a mast auxiliary flow passage formed in the mast shaft and fluidicly coupled to a second outlet in the mast shaft.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a housing coupled to the mast shaft and at least one of the drives, the housing comprising:

a mast auxiliary port inlet; and

an auxiliary rotary channel circumferentially around the mast shaft and fluidicly coupled to the mast auxiliary port inlet and the mast auxiliary flow passage.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein a fluid outlet of the nozzle is configured to rotate about a plane that intersects a line along the longitudinal axis.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the mast assembly comprises a flexible mast shaft.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the nozzle union trunnion and nozzle union are coupled to a housing and the housing is coupled to the flexible mast shaft.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the housing comprises a plurality of rotatable nozzles.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of rotatable nozzles.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the nozzles is selectively controllable in flow from another nozzle when coupled to a common conduit of fluid.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the rotatable nozzles are rotatable to independent pitch angles from each other.

18. A method of controlling a heading and pitch of a multi-axis articulating and rotary spray system, having a mast assembly with a rotatable mast shaft having a center of rotation along a longitudinal axis and a rotatable nozzle coupled to the mast shaft;

a longitudinal rod opening formed in the mast shaft offset from the longitudinal axis;

a pitch drive rod extending at least partially into the longitudinal opening and rotatably coupled to the nozzle;

a mast main passage formed in the mast shaft and fluidicly coupled to the nozzle;

a pitch drive coupled to the pitch drive rod and configured to move the pitch drive rod to change a pitch of the nozzle; and

aa heading drive coupled to the mast shaft and configured to rotate the mast shaft to change a heading of the mast shaft, the method comprising;

rotating the mast shaft with the heading drive;

causing the pitch drive rod to orbit off center about the longitudinal axis with the mast shaft; and

selectively actuating the pitch drive to synchronize a rotation of the pitch drive rod as the pitch drive rod orbits the longitudinal axis to determine a pitch angle of the nozzle as the nozzle rotates with the mast shaft.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein selectively actuating the pitch drive comprises synchronizing the rotation of the pitch drive rod to maintain a stationary pitch of the nozzle union in the mast shaft as the mast shaft is rotated to a different heading.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein selectively actuating the pitch drive comprises synchronizing the rotation of the pitch drive rod to change a pitch of the nozzle union in the mast shaft as the mast shaft is rotated to a different heading.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the mast shaft is flexible and further comprising a plurality of housings coupled to the flexible mast shaft, the housings having at least one nozzle rotatably coupled thereto and separately controllable from other housings, the method further comprising activating the nozzles in the housing to progressively move waste in a container.

22. A multi-axis articulating and rotary spray system, comprising:

a mast assembly, the mast assembly comprising;

a mast shaft having a longitudinal axis which forms a center of rotation for the mast shaft, the mast shaft having a mast main port formed in the mast shaft and comprising;

a nozzle union trunnion coupled with the shaft and having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, the fluid inlet fluidicly coupled to the mast main port;

an articulating nozzle union rotatably coupled to the nozzle union trunnion, the articulating nozzle union comprising a nozzle gear circumferentially disposed around the nozzle union trunnion; and

a longitudinal rod opening formed in the mast shaft radially offset from a longitudinal axis of the mast shaft, where the rod opening is configured to rotate with the mast shaft and orbit around the longitudinal axis;

a pitch drive rod extending at least partially into the longitudinal rod opening and having a rod gear rotatably coupled to the nozzle gear on the nozzle union;

a first pitch gear disposed axially along the longitudinal axis;

a pitch drive coupled to the first pitch gear;

a second pitch gear rotatably coupled to the first pitch gear, the second pitch gear being fixedly coupled to the pitch drive rod, wherein the second pitch gear is radially offset with the pitch drive rod in the rod opening from the longitudinal axis of the mast shaft, the second pitch gear being further rotatably coupled with the mast shaft and configured to orbit with the pitch drive rod about the longitudinal axis; and

a heading drive coupled to the mast shaft and configured to rotate the mast shaft to change a heading of the mast shaft,

wherein the first pitch gear is configured to selectively rotate the second pitch gear as the second pitch gear orbits around the longitudinal axis as the mast shaft rotates about the longitudinal axis to maintain a pitch angle or to change a pitch angle of the nozzle.

23. A multi-axis articulating and rotary spray system, comprising:

a heading drive;

a pitch drive;

a mast assembly coupled to the heading drive and the pitch drive, comprising;

a flexible mast shaft comprising a fluid conduit and a flexible pitch member;

a plurality of housings coupled to the flexible mast shaft at intervals along the mast shaft; and

a plurality of rotatable nozzles rotatably coupled to the plurality of housings and to the flexible pitch member;

the heading drive rotating the mast assembly to control a heading of the nozzles, and the pitch driving moving the pitch member to control the pitch of the nozzles while the heading changes.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the rotatable nozzles in a first housing are selectively controllable in flow relative to rotatable nozzles in a second housing while the heading changes.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein at least one of the rotatable nozzles in a first housing is selectively controllable in flow relative to another nozzle in the first housing.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the plurality of rotatable nozzles are rotatable to independent pitch angles from each other.