Patent Application
20210260639
The present invention relates to disc shaped parts with a bent outer circumferential lip, and more particularly to blade carriers for use with various rotating implements, such as rotary cutters and more particularly to improved blade carriers having an angled outer lip with an effort to reduce a ripple effect around an outer edge.
Blade carriers have been made for years for use with rotating equipment such as rotary cutters and the like. Blade carriers typically have a planar disc center with a center bore for receiving a rotating shaft along with spaced apart mounting locations for receiving a cutting blades thereon. An outer edge of the blade carrier is often upwardly bent relative to the planar disc center in an effort to add strength to the blade carrier, protect the shaft and/or mounting hardware of the blades, and/or for other purposes.
A three inch diameter circular disc center portion with a half inch of material bent upwardly in a circumferential manner has an outer circumference of the pre-bent component at 21.9915 inches (2×π×radius of 3½ inches). When the outer lip is bent at ½ inch then a relatively complicated geometry problem can be created whereby the lip extends upwardly at an angle 45° thereby creating a vertical component of 0.3535533 inches and a horizontal component of 3.3535533 inches at an angle of 6.0182° of the upper rim relative to a center axis of the planar disc. The circumference of this outer rim (2πr) of the hypotenuse is equal to the height 0.3535533 divided by sin (6.0182°) giving a radius to the edge of the lip at 3.3721387 thereby resulting in a circumference of 21.877 inches. Accordingly, the new outer lip is roughly 0.11 inches shorter in circumference than the original lip. This means a substantial of material tends to provide a ripple effect as this extra 0.7 inches is distributed around that rim, usually in a non-symmetrical manner. Additional material exists and ripples between the edge and the bend as well in this process. This ripple effect often causes rotational imbalance in the part when attached to a rotary cutter. Rotary imbalance causes excessive vibration and premature wear to other components of the rotary cutter.
Accordingly, presently secondary processes must be performed in an effort to remove rotational balance such a by addressing this as excessive material created during the bending operation of the lip.
Ripple effect of bent rims relative to planar center discs are not limited to 3-3½ inch diameter blade carriers, but all other such devices with similar constructions causing an outer circumference to be at least one to three percent less (if not more) in length with a ripple effect.
Improved methodology is believed to be desirable over prior art efforts.
It is an object of many embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved blade carrier having a bent upper lip relative to a planar disc center.
It is another object of many embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved blade carrier.
It is another object to provide an improved round compressed component having an angled edge with a reduced ripple effect at the outer edge.
Accordingly, in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, a round disc possibly having a center bore for use for the rotating shaft as well as possible mounting location such as cutouts for receiving blades and mounting hardware such as where a blade carrier is provided. The disc is then inserted into a press whereby an outer lip is bent angularly relative to the center disc.
However, when performing the bending operation, the press includes a die which embosses a pattern of embossed items onto the outer lip. By embossing this outer pattern preferably in a direction extending from an outside surface for at least some embodiments, much of this excess material can be absorbed within the embossed portions along the lip. The applicant has discovered that by embossing letters and/or designs at about 1/10 of an inch height extending away from a surface of the lip, possibly into 7 gauge thick piece of steel, the ripple effect may be absorbed into the embossing particularly when roughly 60 characters or design elements are stamped having heights, lengths and/or widths of about ¼ or ⅓ inch and spaced about ⅓ inch apart on the lip of the initial 3½ inch diameter disc blade (percentage wise, this is about one quarter if not half of at least one of the height, width and length diameters and roughly 10-20% of the thickness dimensions).
The dimensions can obviously change as it relates to different embodiments which relate to different sizing based on the desired design criteria of the end part.
However, with this construction, over 75% and even 95% of the ripple effect was eliminated on the radial edge of the part so that no need for secondary processes to reduce rotation and balance was necessary.
Furthermore, the embossed letters may provide contact points for initially contacting objects during rotation rather than the planar lip surface so as to potentially extend the life of the blade cutter when utilized in that embodiment.
The particular features and advantages of the inventions with other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
The part 10 is originally a planar blank 102 round disc which is then pressed to have a center disc 18 and a lip 20 as will be described below. In the illustrated embodiment, the lip 20 upwardly extends relative to the center disc 18 is angled such as 45° or other appropriate angle. Into the lip are a series of embossed items 22-32 spaced apart by gaps 34-44. The embossed items 22-32 are not merely ornamental in nature as will be discussed in significant detail below.
What may not be particularly evident about this process is that instead of the extra material ending up along the outer edge 46 of the part 10 and/or other portions of the lip 20 like prior art constructions, the presence of the embossed items 22-32 receives much of this extra material to then be provided as the embossed items 22-32. Accordingly, for an initial 3½ inch radius blank 102 that becomes part 10 there is not an extra 0.7 inches of material as there is with the prior art at the edge 46 providing the undesired ripple effect. Instead, much, if not most all of this extra material, is received within the embossed items 22-32. Accordingly, for many embodiments, no secondary processes are needed to ensure rotational balance of the part 10 after pressing as shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, when the lip 20 is roughly half an inch, the embossed items 22-32 are shown as being roughly having a height 48 (width and/or length) which is at least a quarter up to, if not at least half or more of a height 50 of the lip 20. Some of the embossed items 22-32 such as embossed item 32 may have a height 52 of about a quarter of the height 50 of the lip 20. Still others, such as embossed item 26 may have a height 54 of approximately the height 50 of the lip 20. Accordingly, on a percentage basis, the height 48 may be about half the height of the height 50, the height 50 may be about 25% of the height 50, and the height 54 may be the about the height of a height 50.
Width of the embossed items 22-32 may be similarly provided in a percentage basis or otherwise. Additionally, the width such as widths 56,58,60 can vary amongst the various embossed items 22-32 but are preferably done in a calculated manner so as to receive sufficient material that otherwise would have contributed to the ripple effect. Additionally, embossed items 22-32 (which for this embodiment repeat five times in sequential order) as can be seen in
Accordingly, when the part 10 is manufactured such as shown in
At least some embodiments of the part 10 such as rotary cutter blade carriers with embossed items 22-32 (and/or others) are useful to protect the strength along with the lip 20 so as to prevent damage when striking large objects in the field with now the embossed items having a height 82 would be 1/10 of an inch (or up to or exceeding 10% or 20% (or more or less) of height 50 of the lip 20) or any appropriate value forms a sufficient to receive excess material which may otherwise tend to accumulate at the edge 86 and/or elsewhere along the lip 20.
The applicant has discovered that for an initial 3½ inch blank 102 as shown in
Bending embossed parts 10 could provide embossed items 22-32 (and/or others) such as the name of the company or a portion thereof and/or other decorative items such as dashes 32 or other items that could be embossed item 32 in addition to various letters that could comprise the embossed items 22-30 or even stylized or other designs such as the sword like character forming the “T” as embossed item 26 as illustrated or otherwise. There is roughly no end to the design elements that could be incorporated into the embossed items 22-32 (and/or others) for various embodiments for marketing and/or other purposes.
When the embossed items 22-32 (and/or others) extend radially outwardly from outer planar surface 78 for at least some embodiments, they may contact objects first thereby extending the life of some parts 10, such as blade carriers.
Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will present themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/981,306 filed Feb. 25, 2020 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62981306 | Feb 2020 | US |
