Patent ID: 8118293

Claim:
A multi-axis cylinder manipulator apparatus, comprising: a structurally rigid frame having a top-side, a bottom side, and a plurality of lateral sides, where said frame has a length, a width and a thickness, and a plurality of reinforcing elements; a set of rotational rollers mounted on the top-side of the frame, where said rotational rollers have a sufficient hardness durometer, number of rollers, diameter, footprint width, positioning and ease of rotation to nonabrasively support a filled cylinder held horizontally at a height above the frame of the manipulator apparatus, where the cylinder is axially rotatable with at least one of minimal wear and grooving to at least one of the cylinder and the rollers, where said rotational rollers have a rotational axis parallel to the cylinder's axis of rotation, where an opposing pair of rotational rollers are spaced widthwise at a distance that is less than a diameter of the cylinder and longitudinally spaced close enough that, cumulatively, the set of rotational rollers provides a plurality of supporting forces, distributed over the cylinder, that rotation is facile, even when the cylinder undergoes linear movement and close enough that the cylinder does not come into contact with the frame during any normal operation; and a set of translational rollers on the top-side of the frame, where said set of translational rollers enables linear movement of the cylinder, where a translational roller comprises a durable self-centering elastic roller on a geared shaft with an orthogonal axis of rotation, where each of said translational rollers is mounted on an upper portion of a movable plate that can be raised to an elevation sufficient in height that the cylinder clears the rotational rollers, wherein the set of translational rollers are used in substantially in tandem to elevate the cylinder to a height above the set of rotational rollers, where turning the translational rollers moves the cylinder linearly to a different position on the multi-axis cylinder manipulator apparatus, and at the different linear position the set of translational rollers is stopped and lowered, such that the cylinder is supported by the set of rotational rollers and is free to be rotated.