US3761732A

US3761732A - Rotating sonic energy wave

Info

Publication number: US3761732A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Ratcliff
Original assignee: Bendix Corp
Current assignee: SWEN SONICS Corp A CORP OF IA
Priority date: 1972-09-15
Filing date: 1972-09-15
Publication date: 1973-09-25
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-25
Also published as: GB1406949A; JPS4966328A; DE2336808A1

Abstract

The output of a single sonic generator is rotated to different transducers separately located on a diaphragm of a tank containing cleaning fluid. The rotating of the output to different transducers establishes a ripple action in the cleaning fluid to vary energy levels at any given location within the tank. The varying energy levels allows the gas formed within the fluid to rise to the top of the cleaning fluid in a process called degassing. Rotation of the output may be accomp lished by interrupting the output of the sonic generator and, while the output is interrupted, to switch the connection to another transducer. The switching of the output of the sonic generator from transducer to transducer varies the standing wave pattern, thereby allowing the gas to rise to the surface. The interrupting of the sonic output and the switching action are accomplished by specially designed solid state circuits to obtain optimum performance.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Ratcliff [451 Sept. 25, 1973 ROTATING SONIC ENERGY WAVE inventor: Henry K. Ratcliff, Davenport, Iowa Assignee: The Bendix Corporation, South Bend, Ind.

Filed: Sept. l5, 1972 Appl. No.: 289,500

US. Cl. 307/41, 55/277 Int. Cl. H02j 3/14 Field of Search 307/38, 39, 41, 11,

Primary Examiner-Herman J. Hohauser Attorney-Leo H. McCormick, Jr. et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT The output of a single sonic generator is rotated to different transducers separately located on a diaphragm of a tank containing cleaning fluid. The rotating of the output to different transducers establishes a ripple action in the cleaning fluid to vary energy levels at any given location within the tank. The varying energy levels allows the gas formed within the fluid to rise to the top of the cleaning fluid in a process called degassing. Rotation of the output may be accomp lished by interrupting the output of the sonic generator and, while the output is interrupted, to switch the connection to another transducer. The switching of the output of the sonic generator from transducer to transducer varies the standing wave pattern, thereby allowingthe gas to rise to the surface. The interrupting of the sonic output and the switching action are accomplished by specially designed solid state circuits to obtain optimum performance.

15 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures l0 I2 I 8 Z0 22 6522550,; BUFFER DELAY COUNTER 24 1 l l REED 6NERATOR REED L 16 SHAPE}? SHUT DOWN 3 4 DELAY v Z FEED l DELAY (SHAPE/Q 28 550 l4 fGENEKA-mi? DELAY I SHHF'ER 50 TKANs0uc/? 4o TK/msnuu 4 Z Tlmusoucf t- 4 Q PATENTED SEP25 I973 sum 30F s 1 ROTATING SONIC ENERGY WAVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has been known for many years that a better cleaning performance can be obtained with industrial items when a high frequency electrical energy is applied to sonic transducers to vibrate the cleaning fluid. However, this vibration of the cleaning fluid causes air bubbles to form within the fluid. Unless the vibration of the fluid is interrupted, these air bubbles will continue to collect. An interruption of the high frequency electrical energy applied to the sonic transducers will allow the air bubbles that collect in the cleaning fluid to rise to the top. If the cleaning fluid is then re-energized, a better cleaning performance will be obtained. It was common in the past to pulse this high frequency electrical energy that was applied to the sonic transducers at a 60 cycle or a 120 cycles-per second, with the cycles being synchronized with the AC line frequency. However, that may not be the most desirable repetition rate to use. US. Pat. No. 3,638,087, titled Gated Power Supply for Sonic Cleaners, shows a method for determiningthe optimum repetition rate and the duty cycle of a sonic cleaner.

Even with the determination of the optimum duty cycle and repetition rate of a sonic transducer, standing wave patterns tend to set up in the cleaning fluid. By eliminating or reducing the standing wavepatterns as generated by a continuous or periodically interrupted high frequency electrical energy source, an even better cleaning performance can be obtained. The standing wave pattern tends to create a resident frequency within a cleaning vat. Because of the standing wave patterns, many of the air bubbles are trapped in the cleaning fluid. The process of eliminating the air bubbles from the cleaning fluid is known as degassing.

If the sonic generator was switched off for a second or two, these air bubbles would rise to the surface. De-

was off, the degassing process started with the bubbles rising toward the top of the fluid. However, only a portion of the bubbles made it to the top of the fluid with the rest remaining trapped within the fluid.

The switchingon and off of the sonic generator helps increase the cleaning ability of the fluid, but an even better cleaning performance can be obtained with the present invention that uses a ripple operation. The ripple operation can be accomplished by varying the energy wave patterns within the tank. This is done by switching the output of the sonic generator to sonic transducers connected at various places around the diaphragm of the tank as is accomplished in the present invention. Leading up to the present invention several sonic generators were used to connect to different loads. By having only one sonic generator on and, therefore, only one transducer vibrating the diaphragm, energy levels are different throughout the cleaning fluid within the vat. If the first sonic generator is turned ofl and another sonic generator is turned on,

the energy level changes throughout the cleaning fluid. The energy level continues to vary as other transducers are energized in a predetermined order. For different energy levels, different sized bubbles are formed. Hence, by periodically changing the energy levels throughout the fluid, the bubbles rise to the surface with a different sized bubble being formed. If several different transducers are connected to the diaphragm, an almost continual change of energy levels can be obtained. Therefore, the bubbles continually rise to the surface and essentially no cleaning time is lost. However, to use a separate sonic generator for each transducer can be very expensive. Thisinvention, while incorporating the above principles, is much more economical to build and use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to vary the sonic energy pattern within the cleaning tank, thereby allowing the air bubbles that may accumulate to rise to the surface of the cleaning fluid.

It is a further object of the present invention to rotate the output of a single sonic generator to different loads, thereby, using a single sonic generator to alternately energize different sonic transducers.

It is an even further object of the present invention to reduce the noise level by reducing the number of sonic generators necessary to perform a ripple operation.

It is another object of the present invention to switch the sonic generator from one sonic transducer to another at such timeas the output from the sonic generator has been interrupted, thereby greatly increasing the lifetime of the switching devices.

It is a still further object of the present invention to vary the energy level in a medium by switching the sonic generator to different transducers in a predetermined mode and with an optimum cycle of operation.

It is another object of the present invention to reduce the amount of power requirement necessary to perform a good cleaning operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a rotating sonic energy wave apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a partial schematic diagram of a portion of the rotating sonic energy wave apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the rotating sonic energy wave apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a voltage timing chart for the rotating sonic energy wave apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. ll, there is shown a block diagram of one method for rotating the output of a single sonic generator to various sonic transducers. Since some type of timing mechanism is needed, a pulse generator is used to control any switching operation. The output of the pulse generator 14, which is in the form of a sharp, spiked voltage, is converted to a more suitable wave form in shaper 12. Upon receiving the pulse from the pulse generator 10, shaper l2 interrupts the normal operation of sonic generator 14 by turning the generator 14 off through the generator shutdown circuit 116. Though many different timing pulses can be used and the sonic generator 14can be shut down or interrupted for varying periods of time, the present invention will use a timing pulse from the pulse generator every one second. The shutdown time of the sonic'generator 14 will be 0.2 second.-This is purely for the purpose of explanation and will be explained in more detail subse- I rupted. Therefore, any voltage resulting from the pulse generator 10 will be received in the delay circuit 20, and-after a delay for a slight period of time, the delay circuit 20 will give an output. The output from the delay circuit 20 feeds into the counter22. Upon receiving the output from the'delay circuit 20, the counter 22 de-energizes one of the shapers and energizes another shaper. For the purposes of explanaition, let us assume that the shaper 24 was energized and the

shapers

26, 28

and 30 were de-energized. Therefore, when the counter 22 receives the pulse from delay circuit 20, the output going to the shaper 24 is interrupted and an output voltage is sent to the shaper 26. Each one of the

shapers

24, 26, 28 and 30 energizes its own appropriate relay switch with the shaper 24 energizing the reed relay 32, shaper 26 energizing the reed relay 34, shaper 28 energizing the reed relay 36, and shaper30 energizing the reed relay 38. Because the output of the sonic generator 14 is fed to each one of the reed relays 32, 34, 36 and 38 whichever relay is energized wil result in the transducer connected thereto being energized. When the shaper 24 was receiving voltage from counter 22, reed relay 32 was energized with the output from the sonic generator 14 feeding through the reed relay 32 to the transducer 40. After receiving the pulse from the delay circuit 20, the counter 22 interrupts shaper 24, thereby de-energizing reed relay 32. The sonic generator 14 is no longer connected to the transducer 40. As the counter 22 gives a voltage output to the shaper 26, reed relay 34 is energized, thereby allowing the output from the sonic generator 14 to'feed through reed relay 34 to the transducer 42. It should be understood that the switching of the reed relays 32, 34,

36 and 38 occurs while the sonic generator 14 is shut down by the generator shutdown circuit 16. This eliminates undue arcing of the reed relays 32, 34, 36 and 38 and preserves the life of these devices. Upon receiving another pulse from the pulse generator through the shaper l2 and the buffer circuit 18, the delay circuit 20 will give another output to counter 22. This time the output to the shaper 26 is terminated and an output is given to the shaper 28. Therefore, the reed relay 34 is de-energized and the reed relay 36 is energized. When the sonic generator 14 is turned back on by the generator shutdown circuit 16, the sonic output will feed through the reed relay 36 to the transducer 44. Upon receiving still another pulse from the pulse generator 10, the delay circuit 20 will again feed a pulse into counter 22. This will terminate the output to the shaper 28 and cause an output to the shaper 30, which energizes the reed relay 38, with the reed relay 36 being deenergized. Therefore, when the sonic generator 14 is turned back on through the generator shutdown circuit 16, the output of the sonic generator 14 will feed through the reed relay 38 into the transducer 46.

Though the present invention only shows four transducers, shapers and reed relays, any number of transducers and reed relays could be used with an appropriate counter circuit. Therefore, the output of the sonic generator 14 could be rotated through any number of sonic transducers. Predominantly, this invention was devised for a cleaning operation where the transducers would be attached to the diaphragm of a cleaning vat. With the

transducers

40, 42,44 and 46 being appropriately spaced apart on the diaphragm of a cleaning vat, the cleaning fluid contained within the vat could be vibrated at a high frequency sonic energy. The purpose of switching the output of the sonic generator 14 to different transducers is to vary the energy level within the cleaning fluid. Though the frequency being supplied to the cleaning fluid from the sonic generator 14 will be the same throughout the cleaning fluid, the energy level is the greatest immediately adjacent to the transducer that is energized, with the energy level decreasing the farther away from the transducer that is being energized. By switching-from transducer to transducer, the

energy level within the cleaning fluid is constantly vary- This invention was designed for use with a cleaning fluid and a diaphragm with which to vibrate the cleaning fluid in a vat. Still,'it should be understood that the present invention could be used with any type of medium that needs varying amounts of sonic energy applied to that medium.

- Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, one method of constructing the apparatus shown and described as FIG. 1 will be explained in more detail. The voltage used throughout the present system will be a +V Starting with the pulse generator 10, +V,, is fed into the pulse generator 10. A zenor diode 48 is connected between +V,, and resistor 50, which is connected to ground. The resistor 50 supplies a base voltage for a transistor 52. The emitter of transistor 52 is connected through

resistors

54 and 56 to +V,,,,, with resistor 56 being variable. Upon receiving +V,, by the pulse generator 10, transistor 52 immediately begins to conduct because the base of transistor 52 is at a lower voltage than the emitter of transistor 52. Therefore, as transistor 52 conducts, capacitor 58 begins to charge and form a ramp voltage. As capacitor 58 begins to charge up into a ramp voltage, it will reach a certain value, then unijunction transistor 60 will begin to conduct and discharge capacitor 58 through a low valued resistor 62. The other side of the unijunction transistor 60 is connected to +V through resistor 64. The discharge time of capacitor 58 is very small when compared to the charge time. Therefore, the output of transistor 52 will appear as a sawtooth wave form.

The unijunction transistor 60, which in many ways resembles the field effect transistor, differs from this particular type of device in that it has only one pn junction. It also differs from the field effect transistor because in normal operation the junction is forward biased. The timing of the pulse generator is controlled by the variable resistor 56. By varying the value of resistor 56, the charge time of capacitor 58, which controls the firing of unijunction transistor 60, may be directly varied. 1

The output voltage from the pulse generator is developed across resistor 62, which is shown as waveform A in FIG. 4. This output voltage is a spike voltage that occurs approximately once every second and has a negative going portion that results from the discharge of capacitor 58. The letter A in FIG. 2 represents the point where the output voltage shown in waveform A of HO. 4 is measured. This output voltage A from the pulse generator 10 is fed into the shaper 12 through diode 66 into transistor 68. The negative portion of the output from pulse generator 10 is fed through resistor 70 to ground with the diode 66 allowing only the positive portion to be developed across resistor 72 at the base of transistor 68. The collector of transistor 68 is connected to +V through resistor 74. Therefore, when the base of transistor 68 goes positive with respect to the emitter by receiving a :positive voltage through diode 66, transistor 68 willstart to conduct. When'transistor 68 begins to conduct, the collector of transistor 68 reaches essentially a ground potential. Any voltage that is developed at the collector of transistor 68 is fed through resistor 76 into transistor 78. Therefore, when transistor 68 is conducting, transistor 78 will not be conducting because the base of transistor 78 will be at the same potential as the emitter of transistor 78. When transistor 78 is not conducting, essentially all of the voltage'from +V through resistor 80 will be developed at the collector of transistor 78. The voltage at the collector of transistor 78 can be seen as waveform B in FIG. 4. The ON time of waveform B in FIG. 4 is 200 milliseconds with an OFF time of 800 milliseconds. Referring back to FIG. 2, there is a feedback loop with diode 82, resistor 84, and variable capacitor 86. The charging time of the capacitor 86 controls the pulse width of the output voltage B. Resistor 87 connects the feedback loop to +V This output voltage B is fed to the buffer 18 and the generator shutdown circuit 16. The input and the output waveform of the buffer circuit 18 are the same with the ouput waveform being shown as waveform C in FIG. 4. However, the buffer circuit 18 is necessary to provide the drive necessary to operate the delay circuit 20. The output of transistor 78 is fed through resistor 88 into transistor 90 with the collector of transistor 90 being connected through resistor 92 to +V The output of transistor 90 is the inverse of the voltage fed through resistor 88. By feeding the output from transistor 90 through resistor 94 and another transistor 96, a double inversion has taken place with a considerable increase in drive capability. The collector of transistor 96 is connected through resistor 98 to +V Referring now the generator shutdown circuit 16, which is connected to the output of transistor 68, waveform B is fed through resistor 100 into the base of transistor 102. The output of transistor 102, as measured at the collector of transistor 102, is inverted with respect to the input. The collector of transistor 102 is connected through resistor 104 to +V A second inversion occurs when the output of transistor 102 is fed through resistor 106 into the base of transistor 108. The collector of transistor 108 is connected to +V through resistor 110. Hence, a double inversion of the input waveform B has taken place at the collector of transistor 108. The collector of transistor 108 is then connected to output transistor 112. This again inverts the input signal. The various stages are necessary in the generator shutdown circuit to provide the drive needed in the output stage. Therefore, when waveform B goes positive, the output of transistor 112 goes to zero, meaning that transistor 112 has connected the input of the sonic generator 14 to ground. When the input for the sonic generator 14 is connected to ground, this terminates any output possible from the sonic generator. This is the same as cutting-off the sonic generator or interrupting the output of the sonic generator.

Though not done in the preferred embodiment, another way the interruption of the sonic generator 14 could have been accomplished would have been through a gate network where the output from the sonic generator 14 is interrupted by a gate-type device. This would allow the sonic generator 14 to continue running, but with only the output being interrupted during such periods of time that switching was taking place. The interruption would correspond to the 200 milliseconds that waveform 1B was positive. There may be some problems with usinga conventional type of gate network because. some negative voltages may occur in the generator shutdown circuit. However, silicon control rectifiers may work in a gating type of arrangement, if they can meet the frequency requirements. The method that is shown here for cutting off the output from the sonic generator 14 is only one of numerous methods that could be used.

The output from the sonic generator 14, when not interrupted by transistor 112, will feedto the reed relays 32, 34, 36 and 38. Whichever

reed relay

32, 34, 36 or 38 is energized at the time will allow the output from the sonic generator 14 to energize the

appropriate transducer

40, 42, 44, or 46, respectively, thereby converting the electrical energy into mechanical energy. Though designed with a cleaning function in mind, this device can be used with any type of system that needs a high frequency mechanical energy that can be varied throughout a medium.

Referring now to FIG. 3, waveform C from transistor 96 is fed into the delay circuit 20 through resistor 114. Upon initially receiving waveform C and any positive voltage therefrom, capacitor 116 must be charged before diode 118 will feed the voltage to the base of transistor 120. The charging of this capacitor 116 provides the delay inherent in delay circuit 20. Resistor 122 provides a discharge path for capacitor 116 when no more voltage is being received through resistor 114. After the receiving of the voltage from waveform C and the charging of capacitor 116, which takes about 411 milliseconds, transistor will start to conduct with current flowing from +V through resistor 124 to ground. While transistor 120 is conducting, the ground potential is fed through resistor 126 into the base of transistor 128. Transistor 128 provides a second inversion from the input waveform C. Hence, when a positive voltage is at point C, a positive voltage will also be at the collector of transistor 128 after capacitor 116 is charged. This will mean that essentially no current is flowing through resistor 130 because transistor 128 is nonconducting. The output of transistor 128 is again fed through resistor 132 into the base of transistor 134. The output from transistor 134 is measured between a voltage divider network consisting of resistors 136 and 138. This output, which is waveform D in FIG. 4, always remains positive. When transistor 134 is conducting, the output drops to a lower voltage. However, when transistor 134 is not conducting, the output remains at approximately the same voltage as waveform C or +V Referring more closely to FIG. 4, one will notice that the length of time that waveform C has a positive voltage is approximately200 milliseconds. However, waveform D drops down to a lower voltage level for approximately 160 milliseconds. There is about a 40 millisecond delay between the time that waveform C goes positive and the time that waveform D decreases in value. This delay comes from the delay circuit and is caused by charging of the capacitor 116.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the output of the delay circuit 20, or waveform D, is fed into counter 22. Counter 22 is formed by two astable flip-flops being connected together. Not claiming anything to be new in the counter circuit 22, it will be very briefly described. Upon receiving waveform D through

capacitors

140, 142, 144 and- 146 into

stages

148, 150, 152 and 154, respectively, one of these stages will energize before the others. Even though all of the stages are designed the same, there will be some minute difference that will cause one stage to energize before the other three stages will energize.

Diodes

156, 158, 160 and 162 connect the input signal into the base of

transistors

164, 166, 168 and 170, respectively. Without going into complete detail on the resistor arrangement, each side of the

diodes

156, 158, 160, and 162 are connected through identical resistor arrangements to +V Assuming now that it was stage 148 that energized first, the subsequent action will be described as follows: When the first negative going pulse is received by the counter 22, stage 148 stops conducting, thereby giving a positive voltage at the No. 1 terminal, which is shown in FIG. 4 as counter waveform No. I. This waveform will stay positive until a third pulse is received from delay circuit 20. Simultaneously, with counter output No. 1 going positive, counter output terminal No. 3 goes negative, which. will stay negative until the third pulse is received from delay circuit 20; Upon receipt of the second pulse from delay circuit 20, stage 150 will stop conducting and the voltage measured at output No.2 will go positive. Simultaneously, the output at No. 4 will go negative. These waveforms will remain unchanged until the fourth pulse is received from the delay circuit 20. These waveforms can be seen in FIG. 4 as counter waveforms No. I, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. Notice that none of the switching action occurs within counter 22 until after the 40 millisecond delay as designed in delay circuit 20.

Only one of the shapers, as shown in FIG. 1, which is shaper 30, is shown in complete detail. The output from stage 154, which is counter waveform No. 4, is connected into shaper 30 through capacitor 172. Only on positive going signals from counter output No. 4 will shaper 30 start conducting because the capacitor 172 will discharge through resistor 174. The voltage developed across resistor 174 will feed through diode 176 into the base of the transistor 178, thereby causing transistor 178 to conduct. Therefore, when counter waveform No. 4, as shown in FIG. 4, goes positive, the shaper waveform will go negative. The duration of the negative portion of the shaper 30 will be described subsequently. Resistor 180 helps provide bias for the base of transistor 178. Resistor 182 connects the collector of transistor 178 to +V The output from transistor 178 is fed through resistor 184 and transistor 186 to provide a double inversion of the waveform D. The collector of transistor 186 is connected to +V through resistor 188. The output of transistor 186 is used to drive the output transistor 189, which controls the coil of the reed relay 38. Therefore, as long as transistor 189 is conducting, the reed relay 38 will be-closed since the coil 190 is energized. The length of time that the reed relay 38 is closed and the coil 190 is energized is determined by a feedback loop connected to the base of transistor189. The feedback network consists of a diode 192, resistor 194, and capacitor 196 in series connection from the base of transistor 189 to the base of transistor 178. Also, +V,, is connected to the feedback network through resistor 198. The charging of capacitor 196 in the feedback network determines the length of time transistor 186 is cut off and transistor 178 conducts, thus allowing transistor 189 to conduct and energize coil 190. Once capacitor 196 has reached a predetermined value, the state of each one of the

transistors

178, 186, and 189 in the shaper 30 will change. By proper adjustment of capacitor 196, the transistors will change state during the second following pulse from the delay circuit 20 to the counter 22. This will insure that the reed relays are switched only while no energy is being received from the sonic generator 14, thereby greatly increasing the lifetime use of the reed relay 38. The

shapers

24, 26 and 28 operate in the same manner as the shaper 30. When a particular reed relay is energized, its contacts will be closed, thereby allowing the output of the sonic generator 14, when it is no longer interrupted, to feed through that particular reed relay into the connected transducer.

Referring back to FIG. 1, a pulse is generated by the pulse generator 10. After changing the output of the pulse generator 10 to an appropriate waveform in shaper 12, the output from shaper 12 is fed into the generator shutdown circuit 16, which grounds out the input of sonic generator 14. When the input of the sonic generator 14 is grounded, no sonic output is generated even though it is physically connected to reed relays 32, 34, 36 and 38. Simultaneously, the output from the shaper 12 is fed through a buffer circuit 18,

I which provides extra drive for the delay circuit 20. The

output from the delay circuit 20, which is delayed approximately 40 milliseconds, is fed into counter 22. On the first pulse from the pulse generator 10 the counter 22 energizes one of the shapers, either 24, 26, 28 or 30. Whichever shaper is energized, the

appropriate reed relay

32, 34, 36 or 38, respectively, will be energized. By energizing the coil of the reed relay, the contacts are closed and the

appropriate transducer

40, 42, 44 or 46 can receive the output from the sonic generator 14 as soon as the ground is removed from the input.

With further design and advances in technology, it should be realized that different components of the present system could be improved or replaced with a more economically manufactured components. The electronics in the'present system are capable of being manufactured as integrated circuits.

A customary type of use for the present invention would be to connect the

transducers

40, 42, 44, and 46 to the diaphragm of a tank, thereby vibrating the cleaning fluid within the tank as previously described. Assume the tank was 36 inches by 50 inches with four 18 inch by 25 inch diaphragms forming the bottom of the tank. By using the present method, each diaphragm would be individually vibrated in a predetermined mode. Since the energy level within the cleaning fluid is determined by how close it is to the vibrator that is being energized, by varying the point of energization of the cleaning fluid, the energy level throughout the cleaning fluid allows gas bubbles that have been developed in the fluid to rise to the top. Also, the present invention could be used in any other type of system that needs to vary the level of the high frequency mechanical energy being delivered at different points of a substance. It does not necessarily have to be limited to sonic cleaning.

I claim:

1. A rotating sonic energy apparatus for varying energy wave patterns, said apparatus comprising:

a source of sonic energy;

means for generating a timing pulse;

means for interrupting said sonic energy source for a short time interval when said interrupting means receives said timing pulse from said generating means; switching means responsive to said timing pulse, said switching means being connected to said sonic energy source; and V a plurality of loads connected to said switching means, said switching means and said loads being so arranged that only one load is energized between each timing pulse with a different load being energized thereafter until all loads have been energized, then the cycle begins'repeating.

2. The rotating sonic energy appartus of claim 1 further comprising'a means for delaying response by said switching means to said timing pulse, delay in the response to said timing pulse allowing said sonic energy source to be completely interrupted by said interrupting means before changing loads by said switching means, all switching means being completed in said short time interval.

3. The rotating sonic energy apparatus, as recited in claim 2, wherein said switching means comprises:

relay means for connecting said sonic energy source to said loads; and

counting means for energizing saidrelay means to allowcyclic operation of said load in response to said timing pulse.

4. The rotating sonic energy apparatus, as recited in claim 3, wherein said interrupting means grounds said sonic energy source during said short time interval.

5. The rotating sonic energy apparatus, as recited in claim 3, wherein said loads are transducer means used to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, said loads being located apart on a diaphragm to create varying energy levels within a cleaning fluid.

6. The rotating sonic energy apparatus, as recited in claim 5, wherein said generating means includes a unijunction transistor network that generates said timing pulse.

7. The rotating sonic energy apparatus, as recited in claim 2, further comprising a shaping means for changing said timing pulse into a voltage of a predetermined duration and value.

8. A device for varying energy levels within a medium, said device comprising:

means for generating varying electrical energy;

means for converting said varying electrical energy into mechanical energy within said medium;

means for shutting down said generating means for a brief time interval in response to a timing pulse; and

means for switching said generating means from one portion of said converting means to another portion of said converting means in response to said I timing pulse, said switching means switching said generating means while said shutdown means has shut down said generating means, thereby continually varying energy levels within said medium and preserving said switching means.

9. The device for varying energy levels, as recited in claim 8, further comprising a timing means for generating said timing pulse, said timing pulse controlling said switching means.

10. The device for varying energy levels as recited in claim 9, wherein said switching means includes a means for delaying said timing pulse so that said generating means is not switched until said shutdown means has shut down said generating means.

11. The device for varying energy levels, as recited in claim 10, wherein said switching means further includes relay means and control counter means for switching said generating means.

12. The device for varying energy levels, as recited in claim 11, wherein said energy levels are in the sonic range and converting means are sonic transducers that create mechanical energy in said medium.

13. The device for varying energy levels, as recited in claim 12, wherein said timing means is a pulse generator.

14. The device for varying energy levels, as recited in claim 13, further comprising means for shaping electrical signals from said pulse generator and said control counter means, said shaping means changing said electrical signals to usable energy levels.

15. The device for varying energy levels, as recited in claim 12, wherein said relay means are reed relays and said generating means is a sonic generator with said shutdown means grounding the input to said sonic generator upon receiving said timing pulse.

Claims

1. A rotating sonic energy apparatus for varying energy wave patterns, said apparatus comprising: a source of sonic energy; means for generating a timing pulse; means for interrupting said sonic energy source for a short time interval when said interrupting means receives said timing pulse from said generating means; switching means responsive to said timing pulse, said switching means being connected to said sonic energy source; and a plurality of loads connected to said switching means, said switching means and said loads being so arranged that only one load is energized between each timing pulse with a different load being energized thereafter until all loads have been energized, then the cycle begins repeating.

2. The rotating sonic energy appartus of claim 1 further comprising a means for delaying response by said switching means to said timing pulse, delay in the response to said timing pulse allowing said sonic energy source to be completely interrupted by said interrupting means before changing loads by said switching means, all switching means being completed in said short time interval.

3. The rotating sonic energy apparatus, as recited in claim 2, wherein said switching means comprises: relay means for connecting said sonic energy source to said loads; and counting means for energizing said relay means to allow cyclic opeRation of said load in response to said timing pulse.

8. A device for varying energy levels within a medium, said device comprising: means for generating varying electrical energy; means for converting said varying electrical energy into mechanical energy within said medium; means for shutting down said generating means for a brief time interval in response to a timing pulse; and means for switching said generating means from one portion of said converting means to another portion of said converting means in response to said timing pulse, said switching means switching said generating means while said shutdown means has shut down said generating means, thereby continually varying energy levels within said medium and preserving said switching means.