Crucible shuttle assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9470701-B2
Application number	US-201514597820-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 15, 2015
Priority date	Apr 12, 2007
Publication date	Oct 18, 2016
Grant date	Oct 18, 2016

Abstract

A crucible handling shuttle includes a pair of opposed dual crucible-gripping arms mounted on a rotatable head and moves between an induction furnace pedestal and a crucible loading station, such that one pair of arms pick up a crucible loaded with a preweighed sample, the shuttle moves to the induction furnace, where the other pair of arms grip and remove a spent crucible. The shutter head then rotates to deposit the new sample-holding crucible onto the pedestal and subsequently moves out of the furnace area to a sample disposal chute positioned between the crucible loading station and the furnace, whereupon the spent crucible is dropped for disposal. The shuttle head is then rotated and moved to the loading station to pick up a new crucible.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A shuttle assembly for loading and unloading crucibles between a crucible loading station and a pedestal of an analytical furnace associated with an analyzer comprising:
a crucible loading station for clean crucibles to be introduced into the analytical furnace;
a discharge chute for receiving spent crucibles, said discharge chute spaced from said crucible loading station;
a shuttle including pairs of opposed crucible-gripping arms aligned in outward non-facing directions for simultaneously gripping crucibles on opposite sides of an axis of rotation;
actuators coupled to said shuttle and engaging said gripping arms to open and close said gripping arms to selectively grip and release crucibles;
said shuttle including a head for rotatably supporting said arms and further including a mechanism for selectively raising and lowering said pairs of gripping arms; and
a drive coupled to said shuttle for moving said head and gripping arms between said crucible loading station and a crucible-holding pedestal of said furnace with one pair of arms aligned with said crucible loading station for holding clean sample-holding crucibles for introduction into the furnace, said shuttle rotatable to position a clean sample-holding crucible in said analytical furnace and having an opposed set of arms when said shuttle is again rotated to pick up spent crucibles from said furnace, said shuttle movable to said discharge chute where said opposed set of arms are aligned with said discharge chute for disposing of spent crucibles.

2. The assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said system moves crucibles between at least three spaced-apart positions.

3. The assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said rotary head rotates in a horizontal plane.

4. A shuttle assembly for loading and unloading crucibles between a crucible loading station and a pedestal of a furnace associated with an analyzer comprising:
a shuttle including a pair of opposed crucible-gripping arms in an outward non-facing direction for simultaneously gripping crucibles on opposite sides of an axis of rotation;
actuators coupled to said shuttle and engaging said gripping arms to open and close said gripping arms to selectively grip and release crucibles, wherein said crucible-gripping arms are spring-loaded to a crucible-gripping position and said actuators include tapered members that are vertically movably coupled to each of said pairs of crucible-gripping arms for selectively wedging said crucible-gripping arms apart to an open position;
said shuttle including a head for rotatably supporting said arms and further including a mechanism for selectively raising and lowering said pairs of gripping arms; and
a drive coupled to said shuttle for moving said head and gripping arms between a crucible-holding pedestal of said furnace and a loading station providing sample-holding crucibles for introduction into the furnace.

5. The assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein said drive is a linear drive.

6. An assembly for holding and releasing crucibles and moving them between an analytical furnace and a crucible loading station comprising:
a first pair of crucible-gripping arms pivotally mounted on a rotary head;
a spring for holding said arms in a crucible-gripping position;
a second pair of gripping arms mounted on said head in opposed relationship to said first pair of gripping arms;
a spring holding said second arms in a crucible-gripping position;
tapered actuators movably coupled between said first and second pairs of arms and vertically movable for selectively opening said first and second gripping arms to release and hold a crucible, wherein said first and second pairs of gripping arms face outwardly in a non-facing direction; and
a drive for moving said rotary head between an analytical furnace and a crucible loading station.

7. The assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein one of said first and second pairs of arms always handles a new crucible for introduction into a furnace and the other of said first and second pairs of arms always handles a spent crucible from a furnace.

8. The assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said drive is a linear drive.

9. The assembly as defined in claim 8 and further including a mechanism for selectively raising and lowering said pairs of gripping arms.

10. The assembly as defined in claim 9 and including a discharge chute and wherein said drive stops said shuttle at a position between a furnace and a loading station for dropping a spent crucible into said discharge chute.

11. The assembly as defined in claim 10 wherein said rotary head rotates in a horizontal plane.

12. A shuttle assembly for loading and unloading crucibles between a crucible loading station and a pedestal of an analytical furnace associated with an analyzer comprising:
a crucible loading station for clean crucibles to be introduced into the analytical furnace;
a discharge chute for receiving spent crucibles, said discharge chute spaced from said crucible loading station;
a shuttle including pairs of opposed crucible-gripping arms aligned in outward non-facing directions for simultaneously gripping crucibles on opposite sides of an axis of rotation;
actuators coupled to said shuttle and engaging said gripping arms to open and close said gripping arms to selectively grip and release crucibles;
said shuttle including a rotating head for rotatably supporting said pairs of gripping arms; and
a drive coupled to said shuttle for moving said head and gripping arms between said crucible loading station and a crucible-holding pedestal of said furnace with one pair of arms aligned with said crucible loading station for holding clean sample-holding crucibles for introduction into the furnace, said shuttle rotatable to position a clean sample-holding crucible in said analytical furnace and having an opposed set of arms when said shuttle is again rotated to pick up spent crucibles from said furnace, said shuttle movable to said discharge chute where said opposed set of arms are aligned with said discharge chute for disposing of spent crucibles.

Assignees

• Leco Corp

Inventors

• Ford Gordon C

Classifications

• Y02P10/253

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B65G47/907

  with at least two picking-up heads · CPC title

• F27D2099/0015

  Induction heating · CPC title

• F27B17/02

  specially designed for laboratory use · CPC title

• F27D3/00

  Charging; Discharging; Manipulation of charge · CPC title