Importance

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Abstract

A magnetically actuated fluid motor has a shiftable member having valve members for alternately closing one and opening the other of large and smaller faces of a stepped piston reciprocating in a housing. The shiftable member carries a magnet and is shiftable to collocate the magnet with one of spaced apart magnet attractors. A magnetic holding force between the magnet and attractors exceeds a simultaneous resilient counterforce supplied by spring members operating on the shiftable member. When the magnetic holding force is weakened by application of a separating force to separate the magnet from an attractor, stored energy in the compressed springs is released to shift the shiftable member. Separating force is applied through stops which arrest the shiftable member while the piston continues to move, without immediately opening the closed face of the stepped piston. Once the magnet is separated from the nearest magnetic attractor by a pre-shift amount, so that the resilient shifting force exceeds the weakened magnetic holding force, the shiftable member shifts, closing the open face and opening the closed face of the piston to reverse the piston stroke. The magnet carried by the shiftable member operates in a chamber-like area having fluid ports which dampen the shifting action.

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First Claim