1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a paint stirring machine and the assembly method thereof.
It relates in particular to a machine with a drive for stirring lids, each of which bears a paint can, wherein the lids are suspended by means of lateral slide rails on shelves on the machine and individually driven by a front meshing pinion engaged on a worm gear rotating on the shelf.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A machine according to a close prior art has two vertical posts supporting the shelves, of which one bears the pulley and belt assembly enclosed in a housing to drive the shelf worm gears. However, each shelf has its own worm gear rotation axis which must be mounted on the corresponding post. Assembling the shelf bearing requires that the bearing be attached to the post, on one hand, and on the other hand, that the corresponding pulley and drive belt coupling be mounted into the post housing. In addition, mounting the gear motor drive at the base of the post requires specific tools and wrenches. This assembly work is relatively complex and time-consuming, and therefore requires qualified staff and a considerable work time.
This invention aims at correcting these disadvantages and proposes a paint stirring machine of the type with driven stirrer lids, on each of which is mounted a paint can, the stirrer lids being supported by means of lateral slide rails on shelves of the machine and individually driven by a front meshing pinion engaged on a rotating shelf worm gear, wherein the machine comprises two vertical posts, one of which bears the pulley and belt assembly driving the shelf worm gears enclosed in a housing, said machine being characterized in that the worm gear bearings and the pulley and belt assembly driving the worm gears are pre-mounted in an adjusted condition on the corresponding post.
Said worm gear bearings each include an axially tapped shaft accommodating a threaded rod of the worm gear coupling axis, so that the worm gear can be quickly assembled on the bearing with no other adjustment, by screwing the worm gear axially on its bearing.
The coupling between each worm gear and the corresponding post bearing can be implemented by means of a coupling joint, e.g. with a rubber pad engaged with two threaded end pieces, respectively in the tapped bearing shaft and the opposed end of the worm gear, wherein this joint functions as a gimbal joint compensating for the possible slight misalignments of the axis, dampens the drive jerks and ensures safety against an excessive drive force.
This invention also relates to the assembly method for this paint stirring machine.
The assembly method is characterized by the following steps:
In addition, it is advantageous to use a part called “comb” engaging the turns of the worm gear with its active toothed part and clamped with an arresting snap lock on the bearing profile or the shelf body to hold the worm gears conditioned and motionless, said comb part also allowing, when assembling the worm on its bearing, to shift it horizontally towards its bearing so as to ensure the screwed hold of its threaded axle rod into the corresponding bearing axle internal thread.
The result of this arrangement, as compared to the conventional machines quoted above, is that there is no need of a lengthy and difficult coupling work to drive each of the shelf worm gears on the corresponding drive post, by coupling and adjusting the pulley and drive belt thereof after assembling the axle bearing, wherein this coupling and assembly of the bearings is adjusted during manufacturing in the corresponding post according to the invention. This saves a considerable work time for specialist staff.
Other advantageous assembly and mounting features of the paint stirring machine according to this invention arc described below in relation with the appended drawings, wherein:
a are rear views showing the assembly of the gear motor on the shelf drive post of the machine;
As represented in
The stirring machine belongs to the type with a worm gear 11 driving the stirring lids, which are slidably engaged on slide rails 13 of the shelf and engaged to be driven on the worm gear 11 by a front rack in contact with the worm turn.
The posts 1 carry the shelves 3 in a substantially horizontal arrangement and at a varying height from each other, according to the size of the suspended paint cans, with the lower shelves generally bearing the largest cans.
The post 1 located on the left of the drawing encloses the pulley and drive belt assembly 15 for each of the shelf worm gears, which assembly is coupled by a belt 17 to the output pulley of the gear motor attached to the base of the post.
The pulley and belt assembly 15 in the post and the opposed shelf coupling bearings 19 are attached and adjusted during manufacturing on the inner side of the post. The post is delivered fully equipped. The other post on the right is only used to support the shelves opposite the left post, using a lower foot 21.
The middle bar 7 is rigidly connected to the shelves 3 and, since it stands on the floor, also ensures a supporting function for the middle part of the shelves against the weight of the supported cans.
The upper head panel 9 connects the posts in their upper part, as do the lower parts of two bars 23 hinged into a cross.
The assembly of the machine shall now be described. It can be effected quickly, in less than 15 minutes per machine, without tools and thus manually, and by one person.
The driving post 1 fully equipped with its internal pulley and drive belt assembly 15 and the shelf drive bearings 19 is first arranged on the gear motor support 5. The gear motor is accommodated in the lower inside cavity 25 of the post. This substantially rectangular cavity 25 has two distant upper vertical lumens 27 that allow attachment by tightening a corresponding hand knob screw 29 each screwed integrally with the gear motor support. A vertical lumen 31, of which the inner end part 33 is tilted forwards, is also formed on the inner front edge of the post. The back heel of the post has another vertical lumen for engagement with a corresponding tightening knob screw 29 integral with the gear motor. The post is positioned by inserting its front lower lumen 31 onto the corresponding knob screw 29 of the motor gear support in a position that is naturally tilted forwards. This position (
The external housing of this post must then be formed, although this enclosure can be provided at a later stage. For safety and to isolate the pulleys and belts of the driving assembly, this enclosure can be performed at that stage. It is illustrated by
The external housing metal panel 39 of the post, complementary with the internal metal panel 41, both forming a rectangular housing when assembled, has four lateral legs 43, one at the bottom and one at the top of each front and back side, engaged to slide vertically downwards as shown by the arrow into complementary lumens 45 of the internal housing plate. The external housing metal panel 39 also as an upper tongue 47 on each of its opposite front and back sides, which is cut out of the upper side part of the panel. This tongue 47 can be turned inwards with a strong return force so that when the external housing metal panel 39 is engaged downwards on the internal housing panel 41 with an adjustment in edge height at the upper level, this tongue stands out of the upper edge of the internal housing, returns inwards and below it and thus prevents the internal housing to rise relative to the external housing, unless this tongue is pulled outwards at the risk of deforming it, e.g., with a blade tool.
Now the two shelf support posts 1 must be connected. This is achieved by means of two cross-bars 23 hinged in their middle so that their ends form a rectangle; said ends have lower indentations 49 arranged symmetrically relative to the hinge, which engage with rear hook parts (not represented) standing out from each of the shelf support posts by pairs at the bottom of each of the posts.
As soon as they are mounted on the posts, these cross-bars connect them vertically and thus form a mounting template for the shelves supporting the stirring lids, as described below.
The shelves 3 are delivered with their worm gear 11 (
Each shelf is successively inserted at its free end 55 (
The end of the shelf has two vertical lower lateral indentations 59 wherewith it can be engaged down to be snap-locked transversally into said recess 57 then shifted backwards (
The shelf positioned so as to slide freely in the post recess 57 is brought towards the corresponding worm gear bearing 19, which is first attached at an adequate height on the drive post as explained above. The shelf is then snap-locked at its end opening 63 (
The worm gear 11 is coupled to its bearing 19 in a simple and quick way, as explained below with reference to
Each worm 11 has at its end on the bearing side a coupling joint 65 with a rubber pad or head 67, with two opposed threaded plugs of which one is threaded into the screw end by a complementary internal thread and the other 69 is designed to be screwed to the bearing. This coupling joint allowing a resilient axial connection between the worm and its bearing (functioning as a gimbal joint, a damper and a drive security) is designed to be screwed at its end plug 69 into a complementary axial internal thread 71 of the internal bearing shaft.
To achieve this, the comb part 51 is removed from its conditioning snap lock and left engaged with the worm turn, and the worm 11 is shifted towards the bearing 19 and into contact between the threaded joint plug 69 and the corresponding internal thread 71 in the bearing shaft. The bearing shaft is rotated by the motor to screw the bearing shaft onto the corresponding coupling joint plug of the rotating worm. At the end of the screwing process, the assembly abuts and drives the worm. Once the worm gear has been coupled with the post bearing, the bearing shaft drive helps perfecting the screwed assembly between the worm and its bearing by always driving it in the same direction.
The other shelves are assembled in the same way.
When all shelves are mounted, the middle bar 7 connecting the shelves can be mounted (
The upper head panel 9 then remains to be mounted at the end of the posts (
The head panel 9 has two opposing lateral hooking fingers 81 snap-locking into complementary indentations 83 provided at the front upper end of the posts. The head panel 9 is laid vertically on the front upper part of the posts, as indicated by the arrow, so that the head panel fingers come into the respective indentations of the post and are hooked and locked therein by engaging the hooks to the front while the head panel is pressed against the posts.
Other accessories can also be mounted, such as the control switch 85 for machine operation, which is also snap-locked on the drive post 1 with an automatic contact connection to the electrical power supply system of the machine.
The above shows that the paint stirring machine according to the invention can be assembled with extreme ease, with no special tools and with a self-engagement of the components in the specified order, by one person and within less than 15 minutes, without having to adjust any drive coupling.
As a variant of the machine (
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FR01/03791 | 11/30/2001 | WO | 00 | 10/18/2004 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO03/045707 | 6/5/2003 | WO | A |
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