Grinder with easily installable/detachable grinding disc

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6752704
  • Patent Number
    6,752,704
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, April 8, 2003
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 22, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
A grinder with easily installable/detachable grinding disc, including: a main body in which a driving unit is disposed for driving a rotary shaft, an annular toothed section being formed on the circumference of the rotary shaft; a rotary disc rotatably disposed around the main body; a bracket disposed under the bottom face of the main body and drivable by the rotary disc; a support tray disposed under the bracket, several rail channels being radially formed on the support tray at equal intervals; and a predetermined number of detent members respectively slidably disposed in the rail channels. When turning the rotary disc, the detent members are moved along the rail channels and contracted or expanded to make the arched toothed sections of inner ends of the detent members engage with or disengage from the annular toothed section of the rotary shaft.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is related to a grinder, and more particularly to a grinder in which the rotary shaft can be fixed without using any tool for replacing the grinding disc.




A conventional pneumatic or electric grinder has a grinding disc mounted at bottom end for grinding or buffering a work piece. When grinding different work pieces, it is necessary to frequently replace the grinding disc.




In the conventional grinding structure, an eccentric rotary shaft is disposed at bottom end of the rotor (pneumatic grinder) or the motor (electric grinder). A hexagonal nut is fixed at bottom end of the rotary shaft. A worm is disposed at the center of the top face of the grinding disc. The worm is screwed in the nut, whereby the grinding disc is drivable by the rotary shaft. In addition, a protective sheath is disposed at bottom end of the grinder for covering the grinding disc and providing a protective effect.




The conventional grinder is equipped with a flat wrench. When replacing the grinding disc, the wrench is extended through the gap between the protective sheath and the grinding disc to fit onto the nut and prevent the rotary shaft from rotating. Under such circumstance, the grinding disc can be untightened or tightened. Such procedure is quite inconvenient, for the protective sheath obstructs the operator from seeing the nut. Therefore, it is hard for the operator to fit the wrench onto the nut. Moreover, the rotary shaft is eccentrically arranged and has unfixed position so that the operator often needs to try many times for wrenching the nut.




Furthermore, in case there is no tool available, it will be impossible to replace the grinding disc.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a grinder in which a structure is provided for fixing the rotary shaft, whereby the grinding disc can be replaced without using any tool.




The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective assembled view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a perspective exploded view according to

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a longitudinal sectional view according to

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a bottom view according to

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is a partially sectional view according to

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 6

is a perspective assembled view of the support tray, bracket and detent members of the present invention;





FIG. 7

is a top view according to

FIG. 6

, showing that the detent members are opened;





FIG. 8

shows that the rotary disc of the present invention is turned to another position;





FIG. 9

is a top view according to

FIG. 8

, showing that the detent members are closed; and





FIG. 10

is a bottom view of the present invention in the state of FIG.


9


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Please refer to

FIGS. 1 and 2

. According to a preferred embodiment, the grinder


10


of the present invention includes a main body


20


, a rotary shaft


40


, a rotary disc


50


, a bracket


60


, a support tray


70


and detent members


80


.




The main body


20


has a barrel section


22


. At least the bottom end of the barrel section is circular. The main body also has a circular loop section


24


having a diameter larger than that of the barrel section


22


and positioned at bottom end of the barrel section. The inner circumference of the loop section has three connecting sections


26


arranged at equal intervals and connected between the barrel section


22


and the loop section


24


. The three connecting sections define three hollow sections


28


at equal intervals. In addition, two figure marks


30


,


32


are disposed on top face of one of the connecting sections. Referring to

FIG. 3

, a space


34


is formed in the barrel section


22


in which a driving unit


35


is accommodated. In this embodiment, the grinder is a pneumatic grinder, the driving unit


35


is a pneumatic cylinder


36


in which a rotor


37


is disposed.




The rotary shaft


40


is eccentrically pivotally connected with bottom end of the driving unit


35


and is driven by the driving shaft


38


of the driving unit. The rotary shaft is eccentrically arranged so as to provide a vibration effect. The bottom end of the rotary shaft


40


is formed with an axial thread hole


42


. In addition, an annular toothed section


45


is formed along the circumference of the bottom end of the rotary shaft as shown in FIG.


4


.




The rotary disc


50


, referring to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, in this embodiment, is composed of three arched bodies


52


having equal arch length (120 degrees). The three arched bodies


52


are annularly arranged around the loop section


24


to shield the top face of the connecting sections


26


.




The bracket


60


has a disc-like body section


62


and three legs


64


arranged on the circumference of the body section at equal intervals. In addition, the body section


62


is formed with a central through hole


65


and three oblique guide slots


66


at equal intervals. Each guide slot has an inner end


661


and an outer end


662


. In radial direction, the inner end


661


is closer to the center of the body section


62


, while the outer end


662


is farther from the center of the body section. The bracket


60


is mounted in the loop section


24


with the three legs


64


respectively extending through the three hollow sections


28


. Each leg is fixed at a pivot hole


521


of the arched body


52


by a screw


69


as shown in FIG.


5


. The three arched bodies


52


are respectively fixed with the three legs so that the arched bodies keep having a circular configuration without departing from each other. When rotating the rotary disc


50


on the loop section


24


, the bracket


60


is driven and moved. The legs


64


and the guide slots


66


are concentric with the body section


62


and the body section is concentric with the driving shaft


38


of the driving unit


35


.




The support tray


70


is formed with a central circular hole


72


. Three rail channels


74


are radially formed on the top face of the support tray


70


at equal angular intervals.




Three plate-like detent members


80


respectively disposed in the three rail channels


74


and slidable along the rail channels. An inner end of each detent member


80


is formed with an arched toothed section


82


having several teeth. The three arched toothed sections


82


form a circular configuration. The pitch between the teeth of the toothed section


82


is equal to the pitch between the teeth of the annular toothed section


45


of the rotary shaft


40


. Three guide posts


84


are respectively fixed with the three detent members


80


.




After the detent members


80


are mounted into the support tray


70


, the support tray is fixedly connected with small projections


241


formed on inner circumference of the loop section


24


by three screws


86


as shown in

FIGS. 2 and 3

. Accordingly, the support tray is fixed in the loop section. The support tray and the detent members right attach to the bottom face of the body section


62


of the bracket


60


. Referring to

FIG. 6

, the three guide posts


84


are fitted in the guide slots


66


. The support tray


60


is concentric with the bracket


70


.




After the components


60


,


70


,


80


are mounted in the loop section


24


, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the annular toothed section


45


of the bottom end of the rotary shaft


40


extends into the bracket and the circular hole


72


of the support tray.




A hollow protective sheath


90


made of hard plastic or rubber material is fitted around the loop section


24


to provide a protective effect.





FIG. 1

is a perspective assembled view of the present invention, in which the rotary disc


50


has at least one window


55


(which is inward recessed in this embodiment). The window


55


corresponds to the connecting section


26


having the two marks


30


,


32


. In

FIG. 1

, the window


55


is right positioned at the mark


30


which is a figure of a wrench. Under such circumstance, the rotary disc


50


is positioned in an opened position. In this position, as shown in

FIG. 7

, the guide posts


84


are positioned at outer ends


662


of the guide slots


66


and the three detent members


80


are expanded outward. In this state, referring to

FIG. 4

, the rotary shaft


40


is not restricted and can freely rotate. After activating the grinder, the rotary shaft can drive the grinding disc (not shown) to grind a work piece.




When replacing the grinding disc, the operator clockwise turns the rotary disc


50


to a closed position as shown in

FIG. 8

, in which the other mark


32


is exposed through the window


55


. The mark


32


is a figure showing that a wrench is fitted onto a nut to indicate the operator of the restriction of the rotary shaft.




Referring to

FIG. 8

, when the rotary disc


50


is clockwise angularly displaced, the bracket


60


is synchronously rotated. At this time, the angular positions of the three guide slots


66


are changed and the guide posts


84


are moved from the outer ends


662


of the guide slots to the inner ends


661


thereof as shown in FIG.


9


. When the guide posts


84


are displaced, the detent members


80


are driven by the guide posts to inward slide along the rail channels


74


to a closed position, the three detent members contract and the arched toothed sections


82


thereof are closed into a complete circle.




Under such circumstance, referring to

FIG. 10

, the arched toothed sections


82


of the detent members are engaged with the annular toothed section


45


of the rotary shaft


40


to fix and prevent the rotary shaft from rotating. An operator can screw the worm of the grinding disc into the thread hole


42


of the rotary shaft or unscrew the worm out of the thread hole so as to replace the grinding disc.




It should be noted that when the three detent members


80


are closed, the three arched toothed sections


82


form a circle having a circumferential length equal to the circumferential length of the circle defined by the eccentric rotation of the rotary shaft


40


. Therefore, after the grinder stops operating, no matter in what angular position the rotary shaft stops, the rotary shaft is clamped and fixed by the detent members.




When activating the grinder, the rotary disc


50


is counterclockwise turned back to the opened position as shown in

FIG. 1

to move the guide posts


84


to the outer ends of the guide slots. At this time, the detent members are restored to the expanded state as shown in FIG.


7


and disengaged from the rotary shaft.




In addition, three locating sections


76


can be disposed on the support tray at equal intervals as shown in FIG.


9


. Three dents


68


are disposed on the body section


62


of the bracket at equal intervals. Two sides of the dent


68


abut against the locating section


76


to serve as the dead end of the movement of the rotary disc and the bracket.




By means of simple operation, the rotary shaft can be fixed or released for replacing the grinding disc without using any tool. This is convenient and facilitates the operation.




The marks


30


,


32


enable an operator to judge whether the rotary shaft is freely rotatable or fixed.




Alternatively, the guide slots


66


and the guide posts


84


can be switched in position, that is, the guide slots are formed on the detent members, while the guide posts are disposed under the bottom face of the body section of the bracket at equal intervals. This can achieve the same effect.




The above embodiment is only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof.



Claims
  • 1. A grinder with easily installable/detachable grinding disc, comprising:a main body having a circular loop section at bottom end of the main body, a driving unit being disposed in the main body; a rotary shaft pivotally connected with bottom end of the driving unit and drivable by the driving unit; an annular toothed section being formed on a circumference of bottom end of the rotary shaft; a rotary disc rotatably disposed around the loop section; a bracket having a hollow circular body section, at least two oblique guide slots being concentrically formed on the body section at equal intervals, each guide slot having an inner end and an outer end, the inner end being closer to the center of the body section than the outer end and a position difference existing between the inner end and outer end, the bracket being mounted in the loop section and connected with the rotary disc and drivable by the rotary disc; a hollow support tray, at least two rail channels being radially formed on the support tray at equal angular intervals; and detent members the number of which is equal to the number of the rail channels, the detent members being respectively disposed in the rail channels and slidable along the rail channels, an inner end of each detent member being formed with an arched toothed section, the arched toothed sections together forming a circular configuration; guide posts the number of which is equal to the number of the detent members being respectively fixed with the detent members; the support tray being fixed in the loop section, the support tray and the detent members being under the body section of the bracket, the guide posts being fitted in the guide slots, the support tray being concentric with the bracket; the annular toothed section of the rotary shaft extending into the hollow portions of the bracket and the support tray; whereby when turning the rotary disc to drive the bracket to angularly displace, the detent members being contracted or expanded to make the arched toothed sections engage with or disengage from the annular toothed section of the rotary shaft.
  • 2. The grinder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circular loop section has a diameter larger than that of the bottom end of the main body, at least two connecting sections being connected between the main body and the loop section at equal intervals, the connecting sections defining therebetween hollow sections the number of which is equal to the number of the connecting sections, the bracket being connected with the rotary disc through the hollow sections.
  • 3. The grinder as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rotary disc is composed of at least two arched bodies having predetermined arch length.
  • 4. The grinder as claimed in claim 2, wherein two figure marks are disposed on top face of at least one of the connecting sections; the rotary disc having at least one window corresponding to the position of the marks, whereby when the rotary disc is angularly displaced to different positions, the marks are exposed through the window.
  • 5. The grinder as claimed in claim 2, wherein a predetermined number of legs are disposed on top face of the body section of the bracket at equal intervals, the bracket via the legs being connected with the rotary disc.
  • 6. The grinder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotary shaft is eccentrically connected with the driving unit, whereby when the detent members are contracted, the circle formed by the arched toothed sections is tangential to the circle defined by the eccentric rotation of the rotary shaft.
  • 7. The grinder as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one locating section is disposed on the top face of the support tray, at least one dent being disposed on the body section of the bracket, the locating section being located in the dent.
  • 8. A grinder with easily installable/detachable grinding disc, comprising:a main body having a circular loop section at bottom end of the main body, a driving unit being disposed in the main body; a rotary shaft pivotally connected with bottom end of the driving unit and drivable by the driving unit, an annular toothed section being formed on a circumference of bottom end of the rotary shaft; a rotary disc rotatably disposed around the loop section; a bracket having a hollow circular body section, at least two guide posts being concentrically disposed under the bottom face of the body section at equal intervals, the bracket being mounted in the loop section and connected with the rotary disc and drivable by the rotary disc; a hollow support tray, at least two rail channels being radially formed on the support tray at equal angular intervals; and detent members the number of which is equal to the number of the rail channels, the detent members being respectively disposed in the rail channels and slidable along the rail channels, an inner end of each detent member being formed with an arched toothed section, the arched toothed sections together forming a circular configuration; oblique guide slots the number of which is equal to the number of the detent members being respectively concentrically formed on the detent members, each guide slot having an inner end and an outer end, the inner end being closer to the inner end of the detent member than the outer end and a position difference existing between the inner end and outer end of the guide slot; the support tray being fixed in the loop section, the support tray and the detent members being under the body section of the bracket, the guide posts being fitted in the guide slots, the support tray being concentric with the bracket; the annular toothed section of the rotary shaft extending into the hollow portions of the bracket and the support tray; whereby when turning the rotary disc to drive the bracket to angularly displace, the detent members being contracted or expanded to make the arched toothed sections engage with or disengage from the annular toothed section of the rotary shaft.
  • 9. The grinder as claimed in claim 8, wherein the circular loop section has a diameter larger than that of the bottom end of the main body, at least two connecting sections being connected between the main body and the loop section at equal intervals, the connecting sections defining therebetween hollow sections the number of which is equal to the number of the connecting sections, the bracket being connected with the rotary disc through the hollow sections.
  • 10. The grinder as claimed in claim 9, wherein the rotary disc is composed of at least two arched bodies having predetermined arch length.
  • 11. The grinder as claimed in claim 9, wherein two figure marks are disposed on top face of at least one of the connecting sections; the rotary disc having at least one window corresponding to the position of the marks, whereby when the rotary disc is angularly displaced to different positions, the marks are exposed through the window.
  • 12. The grinder as claimed in claim 9, wherein a predetermined number of legs are disposed on top face of the body section of the bracket at equal intervals, the bracket via the legs being connected with the rotary disc.
  • 13. The grinder as claimed in claim 8, wherein the rotary shaft is eccentrically connected with the driving unit, whereby when the detent members are contracted, the circle formed by the arched toothed sections is tangential to the circle defined by the eccentric rotation of the rotary shaft.
  • 14. The grinder as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one locating section is disposed on the top face of the support tray, at least one dent being disposed on the body section of the bracket, the locating section being located in the dent.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
949031 Borden Feb 1910 A
4041612 Skubic Aug 1977 A
4663203 Coffin, Sr. May 1987 A
5518441 Valentini May 1996 A
6257970 Huber Jul 2001 B1
6485360 Hutchins Nov 2002 B1