Information
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Patent Grant
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6343982
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Patent Number
6,343,982
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Date Filed
Tuesday, August 15, 200024 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, February 5, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
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Examiners
Agents
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CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 451 344
- 451 351
- 451 357
- 451 359
- 451 442
- 451 451
- 451 452
- 451 455
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International Classifications
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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)