US008226291B2
(12) United States Patent
Zamirowski et al.
(54) ADJUSTABLE ORBIT IMBALANCE
COMPENSATING ORBITAL SHAKER
(16) Patent N6;
(45) Date of Patent:
4,047,704 A *
4,673,297 A *
5,060,151 A *
US 8,226,291 B2
Jul. 24, 2012
9/1977 Hawrylenko ............... ~ 366/198
6/1987
10/1991
SicZek et a1. ..... ..
Mikyska et a1. .......
366/208
. . . .. 700/90
5,372,425 A *
12/1994
Tannenbaum et a1. .
366/208
(75)
Inventors: Erlk Zam1r0Wsk1, Branchburg, NJ (US); Ashvin Joshi, Clifton, NJ (US); Heinz
.
5,558,437 A * 5,593,228 A *
6,106,143 A
9/1996 Rode ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 366/20g 1/1997 Tannenbaum .............. .. 366/209
8/2000 Nickel et a1.
?'hKehni,H3nh1/Furg (DFBILIIEMUS
0 "so",
_
6,190,032 B1 *
) 7,318,667 B2 *
7,338,199 B2 *
2/2001 Choda ......................... .. 366/208
1/2008 Stalec et a1.
3/2008 Hafner ......... ..
0
_
Onmou
_ _
366/208
366/208
(73)
Assigneet New BlllIlSWlCk Sc1ent1?c Co., Inc.,
8,016,478 B2*
9/2011 Ebers et a1. ................. .. 366/208
En?eld, CT (US)
2008/0056059 A1
2011/0286298 A1*
3/2008 Manera et a1.
11/2011 Zamirowski et a1. ....... .. 366/111
( * ) Notice:
Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U'S'C' 154(b)by Odays' EP JP
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
1854533 Al 110007 02187138 A * 7/1990
(21) Appl. No.: 13/114,280
(22) Filed, May 24 2011
* Cited by examiner
Primary Examiner * Charles E Cooley
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm * Fox Rothschild LLP;
(65)
Prior Publication Data
US 2011/0286298 A1
' '
Richard C. Woodbridge; Perry M. Fonseca
(57) ABSTRACT
Nov. 24,2011
Related U 5 Application D at a
An orbital shaker apparatus is provided, including a ?rst shaft
connected to a ?rst bearing assembly at a ?rst end and a
(60)
(51)
(52) (58)
Provisional application No. 61/ 347,484, ?led on May
24, 2010-
mounting portion at the other. The ?rst shaft is rotatable about
a ?rst shaft axis, and is connected to a motor. The second shaft has a bearing assembly on the mounting portion at one end and a platform at the other, and is alignedparallel to and offset
Int- ClB01F11/00
(2006-01)
from the ?rst shaft by a distance. A counterweight rotor
assembly is coupled to the mounting portion, and rotated by a belt driven by a pulley connected to the rotating shaft of a
US. Cl. ..................................................... .. 366/208 Field of Classi?cation Search ........ .. 366/ 1084117,
366/ 124, 128, 2084219; 74/ 86487 See application ?le for complete search history.
(56) References Cited
US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
2,255,799 A * 3,430,926 A * 9/1941 3/1969 MeinZer ...................... .. 366/111 Liobis et a1. ................ .. 366/212
counterweight motor. The counterweight assembly includes two counterweight bearings, each having a counterweight wedge. The platform also includes supports for objects to be
secured thereto. In use, as the counterweight rotor rotates, the
second shaft, second bearing assembly, and platform
describes a circular orbit with diameter 2R.
16 Claims, 18 Drawing Sheets
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Jul. 24, 2012
Sheet 1 0118
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r125/
mm
2! mm
/
W _
1/
_ In
O 0
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6mm m
___
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FIG. 3A
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FIG. 4
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5 FIG.
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FIG. 5
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2\\, was jam .*! w 1% <\\
1% 2 mm2 s
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FIG. 7B
"////%
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FIG. 9
MANUAL ADJUSTMENT USER ADJUSTS ECCENTRIC OFFSET
/92 /94
Lg
L
USER INPUTS
ECCENTRIC OFFSET.
PLATFORM/FLASK
CONFIGURATION.
DESIRED SPEED (RPM)
L
CONTROLLER CALCULATES DESIRED COUNTERNEIGHT POSITION
fBB
L
USER MANUALLY ADJUSTS COUNTERWEIOHTS TO INDICAIED POSITION
1
MOTOR STARTS, SPEED INCREASES
M 100
L
CONTROLLER MEASURES ACCELERATION PARAMETER
/102
STOP MOTOR
/ LOB
ORBITAL SHAKER REACHES DESIRED SPEED
/ 10B
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11 FIG.
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FIG. 12
SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM (MANUAL!
54
\
ACCELEHOHETER
MOTOR
25
MAIN
CONTROLLER
55
i9
USER / INTERFACE
55
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Sheet 16 0118
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Sheet 17 0118
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(RPM). EccENIRIc
DISEASES
I
FIG- 14
INIIIAI PDSIIIDN
ADJUSTMENT
150
144\ CONTROLLER ADJUSTS
DESIRED SPEED
ECCENTRIC DEESEI ID
I
SPEED INCREASES /
NDIDR SIARIS,
I0 ADJDSINENI LIMIT
14s\ CONTROLLER CALCULATES
I
CONTROLLER
IRRIIIBCBBIIIIIPEIA
_-_A
PARANEIER AND
ADJUSTS COUNTERWEIGHTS
140
ACCELERATION
PARAMETER MINIMUM?
"-"
INCREASES SPEED
CONTROLLER
./ 15B
PARAMETER >
ORBITAL SHAKER
STABILITY LIMIT?
REACHES DESIRED SPEED
CONTROLLER DECREASES SPEED / 150 AND ADJUSTS
COUNTERWEIBHTS
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Sheet 1s of 18
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.m mHl
3E5MQ:%B2DS
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2a 22 g2 2mm
am omwz
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US 8,226,291 B2
1
ADJUSTABLE ORBIT IMBALANCE COMPENSATING ORBITAL SHAKER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
2
describes the use of multiple ?xed counterWeights situated
about a shaft Which counteract the imbalance forces gener
ated by a rotating platform.
US. Pat. No. 5,558,437 to Rode, entitled Dynamically Balanced Orbital Shaker, addresses the issue of static and dynamic imbalance by positioning various ?xed masses in the plane of the crank arm such that their masses and placement exactly cancel out the effects of the rotating platforms mass contribution.
This application claims priority from US. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/347,484 ?led on May 24, 2010 by
ZamiroWski, et al. titled ADJUSTABLE ORBIT IMBAL ANCE COMPENSATING ORBITAL SHAKER, Which is
Similarly, European Patent Application No. EP1854533 to
HaWrylenko, entitled Shaker, describes a crank arrange ment Where tWo balancing masses can be adjusted radially and vertically to compensate for a given loading condition.
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
These arrangements all undesirably require selecting spe
1. Statement of the Technical Field
ci?c masses and locations, vertically as Well as radially,
This invention generally relates to orbital shaker apparatus and, more speci?cally, to an apparatus for reducing the insta bility generally caused by static imbalance betWeen a coun terWeight and the load of ?asks or other vessels on the plat form, and an apparatus for varying the orbit diameter of the shaker. 2. Description of the Related Art An orbital shaker apparatus is a mixing or stirring device used especially in scienti?c applications or mixing or stirring containers, such as beakers and ?asks holding various liquids
on a platform. Speci?cally, an orbital shaker translates a
Which vary depending upon the platform load conditions. In
addition, in order to correct for large mass imbalances stati
cally and dynamically, these devices require considerable space to place the correcting Weights in the appropriate loca
20
tions relative to the platform load, and also increase the over
all product Weight.
US. Pat. No. 6,106,143 to Nickel, et al., entitled Vibrating Device for Vibrating Liquid Provided in Vessels, provides a
means to adjust a static counterWeight to compensate for a
25
platform in a manner such that all points on the upper surface, in the X-Y plane, of the platform move in a circular path
range of platform loads by advancing or retracting a mass radially along an axis. The distance betWeen the center of mass of the counterWeight and the axis of rotation increases or
decreases, and thus generates an increased or decreased
having a common radius. Generally, beakers, ?asks, and other
vessels are attached to the upper surface of the platform such
30
amount of balance compensation. This is a practical solution for modest platform loads but is not feasible for providing a
that the liquid contained therein is sWirled around the interior side Walls of the vessel to increase mixing and increase inter action or exchange betWeen the liquid and local gaseous environment. Conventionally, the apparatus Which drives the
platform in an orbital translation includes one or more vertical 35 shafts driven by a motor With an offset or crank on the upper
large dynamic compensation range. For example, if a large counterweight mass is selected, it may not be positioned close
enough to the axis of rotation to achieve a minimal balance
end of an uppermost shaft such that the axis of the upper shaft moves in a circle With a radius determined by the offset in the
compensation. If a small counterWeight is selected, it is dif ?cult to position it far enough from the axis of rotation to balance a large platform load Without using considerable additional space. Also, this device does not provide any feed
back to the user that the onset of detrimental instability is
shaft, i.e., by the crank throW. The upper shaft or shafts are connected to the underside of the platform via a bearing to disconnect the rotational movement betWeen the upper shaft or shafts and the platform. In operation, the mass of the shaft above the offset or crank
imminent, Which Would require a compensating adjustment.
40
US. Patent Application Publication Serial No. US2008/
0056059 to Manera, et al. describes the use of a vibration sensor to detect an unbalanced loading condition and reduce
throW, the platform With its mounting hardWare and the load
consisting of the ?lled ?asks or vessels, and the clips or fasteners Which hold the vessels to the platform all translate at the rotational velocity of the driven shaft in a circle With a radius equal to the crank throW. The mass of the liquid Within the vessels translates at the shaft rotational velocity in a circle With a radius equal to the crank throW plus the distance from the center of the vessel to the center of mass of the liquid contained in the vessel. The forces resulting from the total orbitally-rotating mass
can often cause motion of the base of the shaker Which can
the shaking speed to a stable magnitude, but it does not provide a means for the counterWeight of the orbital shaker to
be adjusted, or a process Which can be applied, in order to
achieve the desired speed. There are rotating equipment in other technical ?elds that
use balancing heads to correct for rotor imbalances using tWo
aims With Weights. See, for example, Mechanical Vibrations,
50
J. P. Den Hartog 1934, pp. 236-237 ISBN 0-486-64785-4. HoWever, orbital shakers tend to differ because the platform
load includes not only a static mass component, but also a
superimpose additional motion components into the liquid in
the vessels and lead to undesirable turbulence or splashing.
These forces can also cause the base unit to move or Walk
55
dynamic component, namely the ?uid in the ?asks or other containers. This ?uid generates a variable imbalance depend ing upon the geometry of the container, amount of ?uid in the container, the orbit diameter of the shaker, and the speed of
the shaker Which could result in a different amount of result
along its support surface.
In order to reduce this motion, the mass of the non-rotating supporting structure must be increased to resist the forces generated by the rotating mass. This leads to the undesirable
60
ant balance compensation depending upon the operating con
ditions. Furthermore, automatic balancing techniques,
Whereby balancing masses migrate to the correct positions to minimiZe vibrations, are not generally applicable to orbital shakers because orbital shakers operate much sloWer than the
effect of increasing the overall Weight of the shaker simply to address for stabiliZation. Alternatively, counterWeights have
been employed to oppose or compensate for the forces gen erated from the orbitally-rotating mass.
65
critical speeds required to enable these techniques.
The eccentric throW for an orbital shaker is typically ?xed
by precisely machining a single component. The offset
betWeen the tWo eccentric journals de?nes the orbit radius.
For example, US. Pat. No. 3,430,926 to Freedman, et al.,
entitled CounterWeight System for Shaker Apparatus,
This radius is not adjustable. Adjusting the eccentric throW by
