Pallet design for vibration mitigation
First Claim
1. A system for mitigating vibration of a mass, comprising:
- an elastic membrane enclosing at least one interior space and having an outer surface,wherein at least a bottom portion of the outer surface is coupled to a pallet and at least a top portion of the outer surface supports a load, andwherein the membrane expands to increase a volume of the interior space from a first volume to a second larger volume;
an enclosing material to enclose the elastic membrane to limit a degree of expansion of the elastic membrane;
a mass sensing device having a sensing surface for sensing a mass of the load, the mass sensing surface coupled between the load and the pallet;
at least one port coupling the outer surface to the at least one interior space, wherein the at least one port provides a source of fluid ingress into the interior space and fluid egress out of the interior space;
an electronic fluid pump having a nozzle coupled to the at least one port, the electronic fluid pump to modulate an amount of fluid in the interior space to adjust the packing density of granular material; and
a computing device coupled to the mass sensing device and the electronic fluid pump, the computing device to receive an input from the mass sensing device and to drive a control input of the pump to regulate, in response to the input, the amount of fluid in the interior space;
a granular material distributed within the at least one interior space, wherein the granular material includes a volume of free flowing macroparticles, the volume of free flowing macroparticles selected support the mass;
wherein the computing device continuously receives input from the mass sensing device and, in response to a change in the relative mass of the load, automatically adjusts a packing density of the granular material between a first jammed state having a first packing density of granular materials and a second jammed state having a second packing density of granular materials to reduce vibration of the load.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for mitigating vibration of a mass may include an elastic membrane enclosing at least one interior space and having an outer surface, where at least a bottom portion of the outer surface is coupled to a transportable supportive surface, and at least a top portion of the outer surface supports a load. The system may further include at least one port coupling the outer surface to the at least one interior space, where the port provides a source of fluid ingress into the interior space and fluid egress out of the interior space. The system may additionally include granular material distributed within the at least one interior space, where a packing density of the granular material is adjustable between a first jammed state having a first packing density of granular materials and a second jammed state having a second packing density of granular materials to accommodate different loads.
19 Citations
1 Claim
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1. A system for mitigating vibration of a mass, comprising:
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an elastic membrane enclosing at least one interior space and having an outer surface, wherein at least a bottom portion of the outer surface is coupled to a pallet and at least a top portion of the outer surface supports a load, and wherein the membrane expands to increase a volume of the interior space from a first volume to a second larger volume; an enclosing material to enclose the elastic membrane to limit a degree of expansion of the elastic membrane; a mass sensing device having a sensing surface for sensing a mass of the load, the mass sensing surface coupled between the load and the pallet; at least one port coupling the outer surface to the at least one interior space, wherein the at least one port provides a source of fluid ingress into the interior space and fluid egress out of the interior space; an electronic fluid pump having a nozzle coupled to the at least one port, the electronic fluid pump to modulate an amount of fluid in the interior space to adjust the packing density of granular material; and a computing device coupled to the mass sensing device and the electronic fluid pump, the computing device to receive an input from the mass sensing device and to drive a control input of the pump to regulate, in response to the input, the amount of fluid in the interior space; a granular material distributed within the at least one interior space, wherein the granular material includes a volume of free flowing macroparticles, the volume of free flowing macroparticles selected support the mass; wherein the computing device continuously receives input from the mass sensing device and, in response to a change in the relative mass of the load, automatically adjusts a packing density of the granular material between a first jammed state having a first packing density of granular materials and a second jammed state having a second packing density of granular materials to reduce vibration of the load.
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Specification