Claims
- 1. A pin locking apparatus for use in a supporting device, comprising:
a locking plate having a pin receiving hole and a ball receiving hole, and a ball movably contained within said ball receiving hole, and wherein a bottom of the ball receiving hole merges with a lower portion of the pin receiving hole.
- 2. The pin locking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pin receiving hole is substantially vertical and the ball receiving hole is angled with respect to the pin receiving hole.
- 3. The pin locking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pin locking apparatus has a locking position for locking a pin at a desired height and an unlocking position, and wherein the ball is positioned approximately at a bottom of the ball receiving hole in the locking position and is remote from the bottom of the ball receiving hole in the unlocking position.
- 4. The pin locking apparatus of claim 3, wherein the ball protrudes from a bottom surface of the locking plate when the ball is in the locking position.
- 5. The pin locking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locking plate is made from a material with a hardness greater than that of the ball or of a pin being locked.
- 6. The pin locking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ball has a diameter that is smaller than a pin being held.
- 7. The pin locking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a gasket having a pin receiving hole and ball restricting hole, wherein:
the pin receiving hole of the gasket is aligned with the pin receiving hole of the locking plate, the ball restricting hole of the gasket is aligned with a top of the ball receiving hole of the locking plate, and the ball restricting hole of the gasket has a smaller diameter than the ball so as to retain the ball in the ball receiving hole of the locking plate.
- 8. The pin locking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pin, wherein the pin is slidably engaged by the pin receiving hole of the locking plate.
- 9. The pin locking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pin has a cap comprising a material softer than that of the object being supported.
- 10. A pin locking module, comprising:
an enclosure having a pin receiving hole; a pin locking plate contained within a top of the enclosure and including a pin receiving hole and a ball receiving hole, a bottom of the ball receiving hole merging with a lower portion of the pin receiving hole, and the pin receiving hole of the pin locking plate aligned with the pin receiving hole of the enclosure; a piston assembly including a piston and a pin, the pin slidably engaged by the pin receiving hole of the pin locking plate and enclosure; and a ball movably contained within the ball receiving hole of the pin locking plate.
- 11. The pin locking module of claim 10, wherein the enclosure includes at least one air opening for the introduction of air pressure or vacuum.
- 12. The pin locking module of claim 10, wherein the pin locking module is included in a supporting device comprising:
a base plate; and a grid plate mounted on the base plate and having pin locking module receiving holes; and wherein the pin locking module is mounted within one of the pin locking module receiving holes.
- 13. The supporting device of claim 12, wherein the base plate further comprises an air portal, an air pressure channel and a plurality of air holes, and wherein the grid plate further comprises an air channel and an air portal, and wherein the pin locking modules further comprise a first and second opening, and wherein the first opening of the pin locking module is fluidly connected to the air holes, air pressure channel and air portal of the base plate, and wherein the second opening of the pin locking modules is fluidly connected to the air channel and air portal of the grid plate.
- 14. The supporting device of claim 13, further comprising a plurality of plugs, wherein the plugs fit into the air holes of the base plate which are not operating pin locking modules.
- 15. The supporting device of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of screws for mounting the grid plate to the base plate.
- 16. A pin locking apparatus, comprising:
one or more pin locking plates, the one or more pin locking plates having a plurality of pin receiving holes and a plurality of ball receiving holes, and a plurality of balls movably contained within respective ones of said ball receiving holes, wherein a bottom of each of the ball receiving holes merges with a lower portion of a respective one of the pin receiving holes.
- 17. The pin locking apparatus of claim 16, wherein the pin receiving holes are substantially vertical and the ball receiving holes are angled with respect to the pin receiving holes.
- 18. The pin locking apparatus of claim 16, wherein the pin locking apparatus has a locking position and an unlocking position, and wherein the balls are positioned approximately at a bottom of the ball receiving holes in the locking position and remote from the bottom of the ball receiving holes in the unlocking position.
- 19. The pin locking apparatus of claim 18, wherein the balls protrude from a bottom surface of the locking plate when the balls are in the locking position.
- 20. The pin locking apparatus of claim 16, wherein the locking plate is made from a material with a hardness greater than that of the balls or of pins being locked.
- 21. The pin locking apparatus of claim 16, wherein the balls have a diameter that is smaller than the pins being held.
- 22. The pin locking apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a gasket having a plurality of pin receiving hole and a plurality of ball restricting holes, wherein:
the pin receiving holes of the gasket are aligned with the pin receiving holes of the locking plate, the ball restricting holes of the gasket are aligned with a top of the ball receiving holes of the locking plate, and the ball restricting holes of the gasket have a smaller diameter than the balls for retaining the balls in the ball receiving holes of the locking plate.
- 23. The pin locking apparatus of claim 16 wherein said one or more pin locking plates is a single pin locking plate, said apparatus further comprising:
a base plate; a cylinder block mounted to the base plate, the cylinder block having a plurality of piston receiving holes; a top plate mounted to the pin locking plate and having pin receiving holes, the pin receiving holes of the top plate being aligned with respective ones of the pin receiving holes of the pin locking plate; a plurality of piston assemblies slidably mounted within the piston receiving holes, each piston assembly comprising a pin and a piston, the pistons having a greater diameter than a diameter of the pins; at least one air pressure channel fluidly connected to the pin receiving holes of the cylinder block; and at least one air conduit fluidly connected to the ball receiving holes of the pin locking plate; wherein said pin locking plate is mounted to the cylinder block, and wherein said plurality of pin receiving holes of said pin locking plate are aligned with respective ones of the piston receiving holes of the cylinder block.
- 24. The supporting device of claim 23, wherein each piston assembly is formed from one piece of material.
- 25. The supporting device of claim 23, wherein the pistons and the pins of the piston assemblies are formed of separate pieces which are assembled together.
- 26. The supporting device of claim 23, wherein at least one of the pins has a cap of a soft material.
- 27. The supporting device of claim 23, wherein the base plate contains the at least one air pressure channel which is fluidly connected to the piston receiving holes of the cylinder block.
- 28. The supporting device of claim 23, wherein the cylinder block contains the at least one air pressure channel which is fluidly connected to the piston receiving holes of the cylinder block.
- 29. The supporting device of claim 23, wherein the pin locking plate contains the at least one air conduit which is fluidly connected to the ball receiving holes of the pin locking plate.
- 30. The supporting device of claim 23, wherein the top plate contains the at least one air conduit which is fluidly connected to the ball receiving holes of the pin locking plate.
- 31. The supporting device of claim 23, further comprising a gasket having a plurality of pin receiving holes and a plurality of ball restricting holes, wherein:
the pin receiving holes of the gasket are aligned with the pin receiving holes of the pin locking plate and the pin receiving holes of the top plate, the ball restricting holes of the gasket are aligned with a top of the ball receiving holes of the pin locking plate, the ball receiving holes of the gasket have a smaller diameter than the balls to retain the balls in the ball receiving holes of the pin locking plate, and the gasket is mounted between the pin locking plate and the top plate.
- 32. The supporting device of claim 31, wherein the gasket is comprised of thin, flat steel.
- 33. The supporting device of claim 23, further comprising a programmable controller for controlling use of air pressure to actuate the piston assemblies.
- 34. The supporting device of claim 23, further comprising:
at least one air compressor connected to a port of the at least one air pressure channel that is fluidly connected to the pin receiving holes of the cylinder block, the at least one air compressor being connected to a port of the at least one air conduit that is fluidly connected to the ball receiving holes of the pin locking plate, and a vacuum source connected to a port of the at least one air conduit that is fluidly connected the ball receiving holes of the pin locking plate.
- 35. The pin locking apparatus of claim 16, wherein said one or more pin locking plates is a single pin locking plate, said apparatus further comprising:
a base plate; a plurality of support posts mounted to the base plate; a top plate mounted to the pin locking plate and having pin receiving holes aligned with the respective ones of the pin receiving holes of the pin locking plate; a plurality of piston assemblies slidably mounted within the pin receiving holes of the pin locking plate and the top plate, each piston assembly comprising a pin and a piston, the pistons having a greater diameter than a diameter of the pins, and wherein the pin locking plate is mounted to the support posts.
- 36. A method of positioning a pin comprising:
(a) lifting a ball contained within a ball receiving hole of a locking plate towards a top of the ball receiving hole; (b) adjusting a pin slidably engaged within a pin receiving hole of the locking plate to a desired position, a lower portion of the pin receiving hole merging with a bottom of the ball receiving hole; (c) moving the ball towards a bottom of the ball receiving hole so as to contact the ball to the pin, and (d) locking the pin in a locking position with the ball.
- 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of lifting the ball is performed by applying a vacuum to the top of the ball receiving hole.
- 38. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of adjusting the pin is performed by using air pressure to lift the pins.
- 39. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of moving the ball includes releasing a vacuum above the ball and applying pressure above the ball.
- 40. The method of claim 36, further comprising:
(e) raising the ball after the moving step; and
(f) dropping the pins.
- 41. The method of claim 40 wherein the step of raising the ball includes applying air pressure to a bottom of the pins and applying vacuum to a top of the ball receiving hole.
- 42. The method of claim 41, wherein the step of dropping the pins includes releasing the air pressure applied to the bottom of the pins and releasing the vacuum applied to the ball receiving hole.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/245,141, filed Nov. 2, 2000, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e).
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60245141 |
Nov 2000 |
US |