Sprayer hopper shaker

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10857561-B2
Application number	US-201815871474-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 15, 2018
Priority date	Jan 26, 2017
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

A material sprayer includes a hopper and a shaker assembly mounted onto a sidewall of the hopper. The hopper includes at least one sidewall that extends along a first plane. The shaker assembly includes a resilient bracket, an electromagnetic coil, and an armature. The resilient bracket is mounted to the sidewall of the hopper and includes first and second ends and a curved portion. The electromagnetic coil is mounted to a portion of the resilient bracket and is configured to generate a magnetic field in response to a current from a power source. The armature is mounted to a portion of the resilient bracket such that the armature is able to move relative to the electromagnetic coil along an acceleration axis that is orthogonal to the first plane of the sidewall of the hopper.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A material sprayer comprising:
a hopper with at least one sidewall, wherein the sidewall extends along a first plane;
a shaker assembly mounted onto the sidewall of the hopper, wherein the shaker assembly comprises:
a resilient bracket mounted to the sidewall of the hopper;
an electromagnetic coil mounted to a first portion of the resilient bracket, wherein the electromagnetic coil is configured to generate a magnetic field in response to a current from a power source; and
an armature mounted to a second portion of the resilient bracket such that the armature is configured to move relative to the electromagnetic coil along an acceleration axis that is orthogonal to the first plane of the sidewall of the hopper.

2. The material sprayer of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sidewall includes a set of receivers, wherein each receiver includes a threaded recess.

3. The material sprayer of claim 2 , further comprising a mounting plate mounted to the sidewall of the hopper, wherein the mounting plate extends in a second plane that is parallel to the first plane of the sidewall.

4. The material sprayer of claim 3 , wherein the mounting plate comprises a first end, second end, and middle portion, wherein the middle portion includes a width that is less than a width of both of the first and second ends of the mounting plate.

5. The material sprayer of claim 3 , further comprising a U-shaped bracket mounted to the mounting plate, wherein the U-shaped bracket comprises two legs that are disposed on opposite sides of the armature and of the electromagnetic coil.

6. The material sprayer of claim 5 , wherein the U-shaped bracket is configured to amplify or damp an amplitude of oscillation of the armature.

7. The material sprayer of claim 1 , wherein the resilient bracket comprises a first end, a second end, and a curved portion, wherein the first end of the resilient bracket extends along a third plane that is parallel to the first plane of the hopper sidewall and that is orthogonal to the acceleration axis.

8. The material sprayer of claim 7 , wherein a section of the curved portion of the resilient bracket is out of plane with at least one of the first and second ends of the resilient bracket.

9. The material sprayer of claim 8 , wherein the first end of the resilient bracket extends along a third plane, wherein the second end of the resilient bracket extends along a fourth plane, and wherein the third plane and the fourth plane are oriented 90 degrees from each other.

10. The material sprayer of claim 9 , wherein a portion of the curved portion crosses over or extends across at least one of the third plane and the fourth plane.

11. A shaker assembly for a hopper of a material sprayer, the shaker assembly comprising:
a resilient bracket configured to be hopper-mountable, the resilient bracket comprising:
a first end;
a curved section connected to the first end; and
a second end attached to the curved section, wherein a portion of the curved section is out of plane with at least one of the first end and the second end;

an electromagnetic coil assembly directly mounted to and in contact with a first portion of the resilient bracket, wherein the electromagnetic coil assembly is configured to generate a magnetic field in response to a current from a power source; and
an armature mounted to a second portion of the resilient bracket such that the armature is configured to move relative to the electromagnetic coil assembly.

12. The shaker assembly of claim 11 , wherein the first end of the resilient bracket extends along a first plane, wherein the second end of the resilient bracket extends along a second plane, and wherein the first plane and the second plane are oriented 90 degrees from each other.

13. The shaker assembly of claim 11 , further comprising a mounting plate mounted to the hopper, wherein the first end of the resilient bracket is mounted to the mounting plate.

14. The shaker assembly of claim 13 , further comprising a U-shaped bracket mounted to the mounting plate, wherein the U-shaped bracket comprises two legs that are disposed on opposite sides of the armature and of the electromagnetic coil assembly.

15. The shaker assembly of claim 14 , wherein the U-shaped bracket is configured to amplify or damp an amplitude of oscillation of the armature.

16. The shaker assembly of claim 11 , wherein the curved portion includes a partially circular shape with a radius, wherein the second end of the resilient bracket includes a length, wherein the radius of the curved portion is 50 to 100% of the length of the second portion.

17. A shaker assembly for a hopper of a material sprayer, the shaker assembly comprising:
a first vibration-amplifying bracket configured to be mounted to the hopper;
a second vibration-amplifying bracket mounted to the first vibration-amplifying bracket, wherein the second vibration-amplifying bracket comprises a U-shaped bracket, wherein the second vibration-amplifying bracket further comprises a back panel and two legs each attached to opposite ends of the back panel;
an electromagnetic coil disposed between portions of the first and second vibration-amplifying brackets, wherein the electromagnetic coil is disposed fully within the second vibration-amplifying bracket and between the two legs; and
an armature disposed between portions of the first and second vibration-amplifying brackets, wherein the armature is configured to move relative to the electromagnetic coil along an acceleration axis, wherein the armature is disposed within the second vibration-amplifying bracket and between the two legs.

18. The shaker assembly of claim 17 , further comprising:
a J-shaped bracket with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the J-shaped bracket is mounted to the first vibration-amplifying bracket, and wherein:
the first vibration-amplifying bracket comprises a mounting plate;
the electromagnetic coil is mounted to a portion of the J-shaped bracket, wherein the electromagnetic coil is configured to generate a magnetic field in response to a current from a power source; and
the armature is mounted to a portion of the J-shaped bracket such that the armature is able to move in an oscillating motion relative to the electromagnetic coil.

19. The shaker assembly of claim 17 , wherein the U-shaped bracket is configured to amplify an amplitude of oscillation of the armature.

20. The shaker assembly of claim 18 , wherein the mounting plate, the electromagnetic coil, the armature, the J-shaped bracket, and the U-shaped bracket form a stack, wherein the U-shaped bracket forms a first end of the stack and the mounting plate forms a second end of the stack.

Assignees

• Graco Minnesota Inc

Inventors

• Horning Jeromy D
• Pauly Thomas E
• Kuczenski Steven R

Classifications

• B05B7/1445 Primary

  involving vibrations (B05B7/145 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B01F2101/28

  Mixing cement, mortar, clay, plaster or concrete ingredients · CPC title

• B01F23/551

  using vibrations · CPC title

• B05B13/005

  mounted on vehicles or designed to apply a liquid on a very large surface, e.g. on the road, on the surface of large containers · CPC title

• B65D88/66

  using vibrating or knocking devices · CPC title