US3102315A - Fluid lock - Google Patents

Description

J. s. PACE, JR 3,102,315

FLUID LOCK Sept. 3, 1963 Filed May 29, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HHH.

Sept. 3,l 1963 J. s. PACE, JR 3,102,315

FLUID LOCK Filed May 29, 1961 2 Shee'ts-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Jak 6.' Pace,

` of the fluid lock illustrated in FIG;` 1,;

i `3,102,315 FLUID LOCK l ohii S. Pace, Jr., v7 Woodlawn Lane, Alexandria, Va.

" The invention described herein may bemanufactured and used by` or lfor ythe Government'foi" governmental i Qpurposes without the payment of any royalty thereon.

y y Unidxfecslanf O f fi'llie present 'inventionifreiates to `fluid drivenflocks "f which com-bine both linear rotary motion. t

`Anobject` of this invention` is to provide a lock capable ofoperation by remote controlgand capable of exerting great force, both ina linearanda-rotary direction,twhile `closing and opening,V laudofholding against great force t while in the locked position. ,t "f Another object of this invention is to provide a lock` capable oflinear and rotarymoton, which is suitable "foruse in agseries of saidlocks which `are controlled simultaneously lby a single s'et of controls and operating from a single tluidV pressure source. i

skilled in the nar-t upon reference to the following descriptions inthe accompanying/drawings in which:

Other objects and advantages will be `apparent to those i FIG. l is a` linear'cross-section of a preferred embodiment; Y 1

FIG. 2 illustrates aficombined shaft .and locking lug FIG. 3 is a section dniine d-djof FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a sectionon line a-aof FIG. l; .Y

`FIG. 5 is a section on line bt-bv of FIG. 1; i l FIG. `6 is a section online c-c of FIG. l;

FIG. 7 illustrates a method of controllingthe linear t and rotary motion of the'lock individually; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a method of vfluid pressure control 1 of the'lock by sequencing its linear and rotary motion. Referringindetail to FIG.`1, a preferred embodiment t of the fluid lock has, as its moving element, a combined splined and` pisto'ried shaft 1, the shaft portion thereof oper-ating within a cylinder tube 8 ,and a rotor tube 6. "Rigidly securedlto the end of the combination splined and pistoned shaft 1 is a piston` 9, which, in 'thelinear movement of the shaft v 1, willmove froma position close and nearly adjacent .to cap 18 `to `a position'vclose and, nearly adjacent tocartridge 20, and return toits original position. `The force lcausing this vmotion is created by the introduction of fluid through port 10 and 'the simultaneous evacuation of liuid through port 11, to cause the linear opening motion; and the introduction of uid pressure into port 11 together" with the simultaneous evacuation of fluid through' port 10 to cause .a closing linear motion of the lock. As seen in FIG. 1, fluid pressure introduced l through either port 10 or port 11 will causetlie fluid to t, enter the cylinder tube 8 and bring pressure to bear upon t `either side of piston 9.` Y Pis-ton 9 is provided with packing 1 `Rotary motion of the loclcican takeplace simultaneousof the flow of fluid intoand out of ports 10 and 1l.v Ro- `3 `tary `motion takes place upon the exerting of force upon "",thelrrotor blades 16` which is transmitted tothe shaft 1 t vthrough splines 2. FIG. 3illustrates a preferred `embodiment ofthe rotortube 6, showing theinter-relationship of -the rotor .blade assembly 21 and the splined portion ,"of the shaft 2, `as wellas stops 23 which serve to `limit rotary motion .and -to inclose .the individual blades 16 y 3,102,315 Patented Sept. 3, 1963 r., ICC

2 evacuation of fluid through ports 12 and 15. lClockwise rotary motion is, of course, produced by the introduction of fluid pressure through ports 12 and 15, with the simultaneous evacuation offluid through ports 13 and 14.

t linear motion of the shaft.

'Ihe locking means, or connection means, ofthe preferred embodiment as shown -by FIGS, 2, 5, and 6, comprise -a disk-shaped portion 3 proximal to the splined portion'of Ythe shaft, a T-catch portion 4 at the distal portion of theshaft, and a cylindrical intervening section. `The connecting means such as that shown in the preferred embodiment enable the T-shaped ,lug 4 to engage a slot in a member to be locked by rotation of the lock.V Then with the closing linear motion of the lock, as described above, thelocked member would be drawn up securely against the member iupon which the fluid lock is mounted.

71 depictssehematically a means of individually .and separably controlling the lineart-and rotary motion of [the lock. Pump 27 is the pressure source. Fluid is returned to reservoir 28. Control valves`25 and 26 each allow individualfcontrol of their respective linear and rotary functions. When valve 25is in the parallel position,

the piston travels tothe opentposition and when Valve A25 is in .the crossed position, thepiston travels towards the closed position. When valve 26 is in its parallel position, rota-tion (see FIG. 3) is clockwise, and when valve 26 is crossed, rotation Iis `counterclockwise. i

FIG. 8 depicts a method of control whereby the linear rotary motion of lock are sequenced, so that, in opening the lock with control valve 29 in the parallel position the linear motion takes place rst, during and after which time, the fluid pressure and quantity is building up in a sequencing valve Sill in order that when linear motion is complete and rotary motion is free to takeplace there is suicient quantity and pressure of the valve 22 for linear motion after the rotary motion has proceeded to the point where the locking lug is uncoupled, at which time the linear closing can take place.

In the preferred embodiment, the lock is operated by oil under pressure; however, the lock may also be loperated by anyother liquid or by a gas; When appropriate,

l ly with the linear motion, or separably at any linear position of the lock which might be Ifixed by the stoppage the protruding end of the shaft can be permanently attached to or madea part of the member which is to be coupled and locked. Such would be the case when an assault bridge section is mounted upon .a float or ferry. When not in use, the bridge section is maintained in a position superimposed over and parallel with the float or ,t ferry. Prior to utilizing the bridge section as a portion of tion with the ferry or float, the bridge section now being perpendicular to the ferry or float and in a usable posif tion. Thefluidlock is also extremely well adapted for use in securing folding bridge sections in their unfolded `or working positions. 4 The linear movement of the lock can, of course, be

y varied in length of stroke and force of movement by a proportional variation in the length of the shaft and cylinder and the diameter of the piston. A variation. of pressure of the uid will also create a corresponding increase or decrease in the force applied. The force of the torque actuator can, of course, be varied by increasing or decreasing the size of the rotor blades as Well as by increasing or decreasing the pressure. By using only one rotor blade and one stop instead of two of each, as in the principle embodiment, the are of rotation can be increased to nearly 360.

The control systems shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be used to operate as many as eight fluid locks simultaneously simply by connecting them to the valves 25 and 26 in parallel (FIG. 7) or by connecting them to the sequencing valves 22 and 29 in parallel (FIG. 8).

Other possible uses of the uid lock, not mentioned above, and not intended to be all inclusive, .are for gun laying, material handling and for heavy gear shifting.

I claim:

l. A uid operated lineal and rotary moving lock comprising a shaft, a torque actuator engaging said shaft, a cylinder, a piston operatively attached to said shaft and lineally and rotatably movable within said cylinder, mounting means for said torque actuator and cylinder, means for attaching said shaft -to a structure for locking purposes, and uid control means for -the said torque actuator and said piston.

2. A lluid operated lineal and rotary moving lock as described in claim 1 Where the means of attaching said shaft tto a structure to be locked is a locking lug having a disk-shaped portion proximal to the said mounting means, a T-catch portion on its distal end, and a relatively narrow shaft-like intermediate portion.

3. A duid operated lineal and rotary moving lock comprising a shaft having a splined portion, at least one rotor blade lineally slidable and nonrotatably engaged upon the spline portion of the said shaft, a rotor -tube encasing the outer edges of said rotor blade, fluid ports in said rotor tube so located as to provide fluid pressure application and fluid evacuation on either side of said rotor blade, a cylinder, a piston rigidly aixed -to said shaft and lineally and rotatably movable within said cylinder, fluid ports at each end of the said cylinder, mounting means for said rotor tube and cylinder, means for at- -taching said shaft to a structure to be locked, and means of simultaneously applying pressure and evacuating fluid to and from said uid ports on either side of said rotor blade and said piston.

4. A iiuid operated lineal and rotary moving lock as described Iin claim 3 Where the means of attaching said shaft to a structure to be locked is a locking lug having a disk-shaped portion proximal to said mounting means, a T-catc-h portion on its distal end, and a relatively narrow shaftdike intermediate portion.

5. A fluid operated lineal and rotary moving lock as described in claim 3 further including a sleeve threadably connected 4to said rotor ltube on one end and said cylinder on the other end and a cartridge threadably connected with the sleeve on its periphery land snugly surrounding the unsplined lpor-tion of said shaft forming a barrier between said rotor tube and said cylinder and delimiting -the lineal motion of said piston.

6. A Huid operated lineal and rotary moving lock as described in claim 3 where pressure applying means include sequencing valves disposed to sequence lineal and rotary motion of said lock.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,811,136 Westcott et al. Oct. 29, 1957

Claims (1)

1. A FLUID OPERATED LINEAL AND ROTARY MOVING LOCK COMPRISING A SHAFT, A TORQUE ACTUATOR ENGAGING SAID SHAFT, A CYLINDER, A PISTON OPERATIVELY ATTACHED TO SAID SHAFT AND LINEALLY AND ROTATABLY MOVABLE WITHIN SAID CYLINDER, MOUNTING MEANS FOR SAID TORQUE ACTUATOR AND CYLINDER, MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID SHAFT TO A STRUCTURE FOR LOCKING PURPOSES, AND FLUID CONTROL MEANS FOR THE SAID TORQUE ACTUATOR AND SAID PISTON.

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