Vacuum zone control valve
US4468017A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 7, 1982 |
| Grant date | Aug 28, 1984 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 7, 2002 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T137/86501
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A manual control valve for installation in a vacuum system including a contiguously-zone vacuum table permits an operator to progressively increase or decrease the number of energized vacuum zones of the table. The valve includes a housing having an outlet securable to a vacuum source and a plurality of inlet passageways connectable with the table so as to communicate with the respective vacuum zones. A plug is rotatably received in the housing, and a network of passageways within the plug and housing interact upon rotation of the plug with respect to the housing to provide communication between the housing outlets and various ones of the housing inlets. The valve also includes indexing means by which the plug is releasably held in place at each of several rotational positions with respect to the housing.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.