Pneumatic sander structure

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6343982
  • Patent Number
    6,343,982
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, August 15, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, February 5, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Banks; Derris H.
    Agents
    • Rosenberg, Klein & Lee
Abstract
A pneumatic sander structure including a dustproof cover disposed between a top face of the middle section of the shaft and the bearing in the lower bearing seat. The outer edge of the dustproof cover upward extends to the lower bearing seat and is kept spaced therefrom by a very small gap, whereby the air flowing into the lower bearing seat can be exhausted, while the dust outside the dustproof cover is prevented from entering the dustproof cover.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a pneumatic sander structure which is able to prolong using life of the bearing and will not interfere with the operation of the grinding mechanism.




A conventional pneumatic sander employs a pneumatic driving mechanism which has a shaft for driving an eccentric block of a grinding mechanism to rotate. The eccentric block further drives a grinding disc at the bottom end thereof to rotate. An annular groove is formed on the lower bearing seat, in which a slightly elastic rubber dustproof cover is fitted. The dustproof cover is a hollow body. The lower end of the vertical circumferential wall of the dustproof cover is tapered so that the vertical circumferential wall has an inward inclined lower end. The vertical circumferential wall is fitted around a flange of the lower bearing seat. The bottom end of the inclined circumferential wall is positioned at a position spaced from the vertical face of the middle portion of the eccentric block by a gap. The angle edge of the inclined circumferential wall slightly touches the top face of the eccentric block to define a space between the eccentric block and the dustproof cover. When the eccentric block is rotated relative to the outer housing and a strong revolving air flow is produced, the space is prevented from being disturbed by the air flow so that the grinding powder will not escape into the lower bearing.




Referring to

FIG. 6

, a clearance exists between the lower bearing seat


81


and the shaft


82


and the bearing


83


has a gap for ventilation. Therefore, the high pressure air for drivingly operating the pneumatic driving mechanism will flow through the clearance between the lower bearing seat


81


and the shaft


82


into the lower bearing seat


81


and flow through the bearing


83


into the space inside the dustproof cover


84


. The air will then flow out through the gap between the angle edge of the inclined circumferential wall


841


of the dustproof cover


84


and the top face of the eccentric block


85


. When the air is exhausted, it will exert a pushing force onto the slightly elasitc dustproof cover


84


, making the inclined circumferential wall


841


thereof contact with the top face of the eccentric block


85


. Therefore, the angle edge of the inclined circumferential wall


841


will be continuously abraded by the top face of the eccentric block


85


. This slows down the rotational speed of the eccentric block


85


and the inclined circumferential wall


841


is worn out to enlarge the gap between the angle edge and the top face of the eccentric block


85


. As a result, the powder will intrude into the bearing


83


to affect the using life of the bearing


83


.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic sander structure in which the dustproof cover is disposed between a top face of the middle section of the shaft and the bearing in the lower bearing seat. The outer edge of the dustproof cover upward extends to the lower bearing seat and is kept spaced therefrom by a very small gap. Therefore, the air flowing into the lower bearing seat can be exhausted, while the powder produced outside the dustproof cover during grinding operation is prevented from entering the bearing of the lower bearing seat. Therefore, double effects of no interference with the operation and prolonging using life of the bearing can be achieved.




According to the above object, the pneumatic sander structure of the present invention includes a housing, a pneumatic driving mechanism and a grinding mechanism which are disposed in the housing. The housing has an air incoming way and a air outgoing way. The pneumatic driving mechanism has an annular wall in which a rotary body with vanes is placed. The annular wall is formed with inlets and outlets for rotating the rotary body. An upper and a lower ends of the annular wall are respectively connected with an upper and a lower bearing seats having bearings therein. A shaft is fitted into the rotary body and the two bearings. A bottom end of the shaft is an eccentric block of the grinding mechanism. A top end of the eccentric block is a middle section coaxial with the shaft. A hollow dustproof cover is disposed between the middle section and the lower bearing seat. The dustproof cover is positioned between a top face of the middle section and the bearing in the lower bearing seat. The dustproof cover is fixedly clamped by the top face of the middle section and an inner ring of the bearing. The dustproof cover is formed with a recess corresponding to the outer ring for avoiding unnecessary abrasion. An outer edge of the dustproof cover upward extends to a lower bottom face of the lower bearing seat and is kept spaced therefrom by a very small gap.




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











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a plane sectional view of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a sectional view of the lower bearing s eat and the dustproof cover of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a sectional view showing the flowing direction of the high pressure air during operation of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a sectional view showing the structure of a second embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a sectional view showing the structure of a third embodiment of the present invention; and





FIG. 6

is a sectional view of a conventional pneumatic sander, showing that during operation, the high pressure air pushes the dustproof cover.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Please refer to

FIGS. 4 and 2

. The pneumatic sander structure of the present invention includes a housing


1


, a pneumatic driving mechanism


2


and a grinding mechanism


3


which are disposed in the housing


1


. The housing


1


has an air incoming way


11


and a air outgoing way


12


. The pneumatic driving mechanism


2


has an annular wall


21


in which a rotary body


23


with vanes is placed. The annular wall


21


is formed with inlets


211


and outlets


212


for rotating the rotary body


23


. The upper and lower ends of the annular wall


21


are respectively connected with an upper and a lower bearing seats


26


,


27


having bearings


24


,


25


therein. A shaft


28


is fitted into the rotary body


23


and the two bearings


24


,


25


. The bottom end of the shaft


28


is an eccentric block


31


of the grinding mechanism


3


. The top end of the eccentric block


31


is a middle section


32


coaxial with the shaft


28


. A hollow dustproof cover


4


made of metal sheet by punching is disposed between the middle section


32


and the lower bearing seat


27


. The dustproof cover


4


is positioned between the top face of the middle section


32


and the bearing


25


in the lower bearing seat


27


. The dustproof cover


4


is fixedly clamped by the top face of the middle section


32


and a washer


41


disposed under inner ring


251


of the bearing


25


. The outer diameter of the washer


41


is smaller than the inner diameter of the outer ring


252


of the bearing


25


. The dustproof cover


4


is formed with a recess


42


corresponding to the outer ring


252


for avoiding unnecessary abrasion. The outer edge of the dustproof cover


4


upward extends to a lower bottom face


271


of the lower bearing seat


27


and is kept spaced therefrom by a very small gap.




Referring to

FIG. 3

, the dustproof cover


4


is made of metal sheet and molded by punching so that the dustproof cover


4


is not subject to deformation caused by pushing and pressing force of the discharged high pressure air. Moreover, the metal sheet-made dustproof cover


4


can have a dimensional precision controlled within a certain error. In generally, the dustproof cover


4


can be such made that the gap between the dustproof cover


4


and the lower bearing seat


27


is kept under 0.05 mm. Therefore, the powder produced during grinding operation will not be entrained by the air flow into the dustproof cover


4


to affect the using life of the bearing


25


. In addition, the air entering the lower bearing seat


27


can be smoothly exhausted without interfering with the operation of the eccentric block


32


. Therefore, double effects of no interference with the operation and prolonging using life of the bearing


25


can be achieved.





FIG. 4

shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the bottom face


271


of the lower bearing seat


27


is formed with an annular groove


273


. The outer edge of the dustproof cover


4


extends into the annular groove


273


and is kept spaced from the circumference of the annular groove


273


by a very small gap. Accordingly, the same effects as the first embodiment can be achieved.





FIG. 5

shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the outer edge of the dustproof cover


4


extends to a higher bottom face


272


of the lower bearing seat


27


and is kept spaced from the bottom face


272


by a very small gap. Accordingly, the same effects as the first embodiment can be achieved.




The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.



Claims
  • 1. A pneumatic sander structure comprising a housing, a pneumatic driving mechanism and a grinding mechanism which are disposed in the housing, the housing having an air incoming way and a air outgoing way, the pneumatic driving mechanism having an annular wall in which a rotary body with vanes is placed, the annular wall being formed with inlets and outlets for rotating the rotary body, an upper and a lower ends of the annular wall being respectively connected with an upper and a lower bearing seats having bearings therein, a shaft being fitted into the rotary body and the two bearings, a bottom end of the shaft being an eccentric block of the grinding mechanism, a top end of the eccentric block being a middle section coaxial with the shaft, a hollow dustproof cover being disposed between the middle section and the lower bearing seat, said sander structure being characterized in that the dustproof cover is positioned between a top face of the middle section and the bearing in the lower bearing seat, the dustproof cover being fixedly clamped by the top face of the middle section and an inner ring of the bearing, the dustproof cover being formed with a recess corresponding to the outer ring for avoiding unnecessary abrasion, an outer edge of the dustproof cover upward extending to a lower bottom face of the lower bearing seat and being kept spaced therefrom by a very small gap.
  • 2. A pneumatic sander structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dustproof cover is made of metal sheet by punching.
  • 3. A pneumatic sander structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein a washer is disposed between the dustproof cover and the inner ring of the bearing, an outer diameter of the washer being smaller than an inner diameter of an outer ring of the bearing.
  • 4. A pneumatic sander structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer edge of the dustproof cover extends to a bottom face of the lower bearing seat.
  • 5. A pneumatic sander structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein a bottom face of the lower bearing seat is formed with an annular groove, the outer edge of the dustproof cover extending into the annular groove and being kept spaced from the circumference of the annular groove by a very small gap.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
4660329 Hutchins Apr 1987 A
4671019 Hutchins Jun 1987 A
5357715 Hiramatsu Oct 1994 A
5392568 Howard, Jr. et al. Feb 1995 A
5445558 Hutchins Aug 1995 A
5453040 Schaal et al. Sep 1995 A
6257970 Huber Jul 2001 B1