Patent Application
20110197706
None.
The present disclosure is in the technical field of industrial protective devices.
Industrial equipment causes many workplace injuries. Currently, the United States Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration publishes “MSHA's Guide to Equipment Guarding”. The guide gives general recommendations on equipment guarding in the mining industry.
The present disclosure describes a device for guarding an end of a rotating shaft or bearing. The device is designed to protect against worker injury from an exposed rotating shaft or bearing. The device is also designed to mount around the rotating shaft or bearing in a manner that uses existing equipment mounting points. Hence, the device minimizes the cost associated with retroactively guarding a rotating shaft or bearing for a piece of existing equipment.
The device for guarding an end of a rotating shaft or bearing comprises: a protective guard which surrounds the volume around a rotating shaft or bearing; a first member which connects the protective guard to a first mounting point; and a second member which connects the protective guard to a second mounting point.
MSHA's Guide to Equipment Guarding gives general guidelines and numerous examples of equipment guarding. For example,
Recently, MSHA has begun to enforce protective requirements for an end of a rotating shaft or bearing. Since the end of a rotating shaft or bearing encompasses a small volume relative to a pulley and shaft assembly, retroactively installing a large protective cage is more than is necessary. Instead, what is needed is a smaller device capable of protecting the volume of the rotating shaft or bearing. In addition, the smaller device should be easier to mount and require less mounting support because of a lower bulk and weight.
The present disclosure describes a device for guarding an end of a rotating shaft or bearing. The device is designed to protect against worker injury from an exposed rotating shaft or bearing. The device is also designed to mount around the rotating shaft or bearing in a manner that uses existing equipment mounting points. Hence, the device minimizes the cost associated with retroactively guarding a rotating shaft or bearing for a piece of existing equipment.
An unexpected result and benefit of the device is that it doesn't require modification of the rotating shaft or bearing. One reason for the unexpected result is that the device is available in different sizes and configurations. A second reason is that the device is designed to mount around the rotating shaft or bearing in a manner that uses existing equipment mounting points.
The device for guarding an end of a rotating shaft or bearing comprises: a protective guard which surrounds the volume around a rotating shaft or bearing; a first member which connects the protective guard to a first mounting point; and a second member which connects the protective guard to a second mounting point.
The protective guard can be solid, perforated, or some combination of the two. The perforations can vary in size, depending upon plant or equipment requirements.
The protective guard can be constructed in different sizes, depending upon plant or equipment requirements.
In one embodiment, the protective guard has vent holes which are too small to allow a worker's finger to get caught in the protective guard. The vent holes allow air ventilation. The vent holes also allow visual inspection and cleaning of the protected volume without removal of the protective guard.
Typically, the protective guard is colored yellow to signify caution. However, other colors can be used as workplace safety or equipment guidelines dictate.
The protective guard is rigid and can be constructed of metal, plastic, or the like. A metal material of construction provides the benefit of high strength and thermal conductivity.
In one embodiment, a rotation sensor can be mounted on the protective guard to monitor the rotating shaft or bearing.
The first member mounts directly on an existing first mounting point. The first mounting point already exists to secure the equipment. Hence, the first member serves to connect the protective guard to the equipment without the need for any specialized mounting requirements.
The second member mounts directly on an existing second mounting point. The second mounting point already exists to secure the equipment. Hence, the second member serves to connect the protective guard to the equipment without the need for any specialized mounting requirements.
While
While the present invention has been described herein with reference to an embodiment and various alternatives thereto, it should be apparent that the invention is not limited to such embodiments. Rather, many variations would be apparent to persons of skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, as defined herein and in the claims.
