The present invention relates generally to electric motors and more particularly to devices for mounting an electric motor on a hoist machine.
Industrial application of motor assemblies often requires that the motor be coupled to a hoist machine or overhung machine due to space limitations, industrial standards and requirements (NEMA) and the like. Such motor assemblies and applications are prevalent in the elevator industry, for example.
Existing integral overhung style elevator hoist machines were designed originally with motors having single bearings on the back end and supported in the front end by being bolted to the hoist machine. Typically, the overhung hoist machine has a sleeve bearing at the motor end with internal clearances typically of 0.005 to 0.010 inch, which is quite large. The internal clearances (i.e. movement of the shaft in an up/down fashion) of single bearing motors are compatible with these machines. However, advances in motor technology have caused the production of single bearing motors to be phased out.
New style motors such as C and D face motors are being produced and are now available from major manufacturers. These motors are consistent with NEMA standards. These new motors, which have two ball bearings, have caused the single bearing motors to become technically obsolete. Thus, the single bearing motors are no longer readily available. The new motors are manufactured with higher efficiencies which create closer tolerances and are made with ball bearings on each end in order to maintain these-tolerances. Thus, the new style motors are two bearing motors, where the ball bearings used have approximately 6 microns (μm) of internal clearance when rigidly coupled to a sleeve bearing hoist machine. However, the hoist machine has over one hundred times the internal clearances of the new style motors. This causes problems when coupling the new motors to the existing hoist machines. Because the hoist machine has a much greater size relative to the internal clearances of the new style, two ball bearing motors, all of the axial and radial load is supported by the motor rather than the hoist as originally intended. Thus, if the hoist machine, which originally supported this, and has the big loading bearings therein, that bearing is rendered useless due to the closeness of the bearing in the shaft end of the motor. This results in premature bearing failure in the motor and causes end-thrusting problems associated with the encoder that is to be mounted onto the end of the motor.
In view of the above, it is highly desirable to obtain a coupling arrangement for mounting such a two bearing motor onto an existing integral overhung style hoist machine without the need for special tools or complex alignment steps and which takes into consideration proper alignment, radial overloading and end-thrusting problems that are caused when the new style motors are fitted to an older style or larger tolerance machine.
It is thus desired to obtain a coupling arrangement for mounting such a two bearing motor onto an existing integral overhung style hoist machine without the need for special tools or complex alignment steps and which takes into consideration proper alignment, radial overloading and end-thrusting problems that are caused when the new style motors are fitted to an older style or larger tolerance machine.
In one embodiment of the invention, a coupling arrangement for coupling a motor to a hoist machine, the motor having a shaft extending in a direction normal to the motor face, includes a first drum flange having an outer body having a first end and a second end, an inner wall surface defining a cavity of substantially circular cross section, the cavity having a given diameter along a first length of the body, and of reducing diameter along a second length of the body, the flange adapted to receive at the first end a tapered bushing of increasing diameter and dimensioned such that, upon insertion of the bushing within the body a given length, the bushing frictionally engages with the inner wall surface of reducing diameter for retention therein. The bushing has a central cavity for receiving the shaft of the motor and means for securing onto the shaft; and wherein the first end of the drum mount flange is coupled directly to a portion of a brake drum within an interior portion of the hoist machine, wherein the motor face is coupled to an outer portion of the hoist machine, wherein the first end of the drum mount flange body includes-through-holes alignable with corresponding holes in the brake drum, a pin having a corresponding pin bushing being positioned in each of the through-holes for connecting the drum mount flange to the hoist machine.
It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for the purpose of clarity, many other elements found in typical coupling arrangements for electric motors. Those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that other elements and/or steps are desirable and/or required in implementing the present invention. However, because such elements and steps are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements and steps is not provided herein.
Referring now to
A second flange member 30 has an interior diameter D for receiving a taper lock bushing 80 sized to the motor shaft. Flange member 30 has an outer surface on which is formed a set of pins 32, also normal to the outer surface. Coupling plate 20 is coupled between first and second flange members 10 and 30. The coupling plate is preferably made of a resilient material such as a plastic. In a preferred embodiment the coupling plate may be a polydisk, as is known in the art.
Coupling plate 20 has hole portions 22 radially positioned and in alignment with corresponding ones of pin sets 10 and 32, so that each pin in the corresponding pins sets is alternately positioned into corresponding hole portions 22. Coupling plate 20 includes a plurality of spacers or stops 24 positioned on respective front and back surfaces of plate 20 to prevent engagement and contact of flange members 10 and 30 through their respective pins. In a preferred embodiment as shown in
As shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the assembly process is as follows. The adapter plate 40 is applied to the face of motor 40 and bolted thereto. Flange member 30 is then applied to the shaft which receives the flange cavity. The flange is applied in orientation such that pins 32 face away from the motor. Coupling plate 20 is next applied to the motor shaft which receives the coupling plate central cavity and is adapted so that each pin 32 receives a corresponding hole 22. The drum mount flange 10 is then applied to the brake drum of the hoist machine such that pins 12 face away from the hoist machine. The coupling assembly is then aligned and slid about the length of the motor shaft so that the coupling plate engages pins 12 at the remaining corresponding holes formed in the coupling plate until it bottoms out at stops 24. A mark is then made onto the motor shaft at end position 31 of flange 30 for precise positioning and securing of the flange to the motor. Preferably, the motor is slid back out and the bushing assembly is then tightened onto the shaft at the marked position. The motor is then re-applied to the hoist machine and bolted via the adapter plate to securely connect the hoist machine with the motor.
Alternatively, as depicted in
As previously mentioned, flange member 30 is sized to accommodate the shaft and is secured to the shaft via taper lock bushing 80 which is inserted into the interior of the flange member and connected via screws 82. The flange may be of the type H variety part number 008047 as manufactured by DODGE, for example.
The flexible coupling plate 20 may be a polydisk of the type also manufactured by DODGE as part number 008035.
As one can ascertain from the above discussion, the installation process is very efficient and a new dual bearing motor may be installed within approximately one hour, where the only parts used from the prior coupling or motor arrangement are the bolts. Attempts to use existing couplings result in significant problems and limitations, including taking the assembly to a machine shop, fitting to a new motor, and using a lathe to “true up” the assembly. The expense of labor and machining alone exceeds the cost of the present invention assembly and fails to address the motor bearing loading problems corrected by the above assembly. In this manner, vibration and noise are significantly reduced and motor life is extended because of the present fit and design of the assembly. In addition, the assembly allows maintenance and future motor repair to be conducted quickly and easily with the removal of only four bolts.
The operation of assembling a single or dual bearing motor to a hoist machine comprises first removing the existing motor from the hoist machine. As previously mentioned, the bolts may be kept for reuse if in good condition. Taper lock bushing 80 is inserted into drum mount flange 10′ by first inserting side 85 of bushing 80 into the opening of central cavity 24′, and sliding the bushing through the interior of the flange until it frictionally engages the interior side walls 23′ within the second lower portion 20′ of body 16′. The taper lock bushing 80 may then be tightened somewhat to enable the bushing to be more firmly retained in the lower portion of body 16′. If needed, an adapter plate is bolted onto the face of motor 50. The motor shaft 52 of motor 50 is then inserted through the taper lock bushing 80 and tapered cavity opening 28′ of drum mount flange 10′ and marked to determine where the coupling assembly will remain fixed. The screws are then tightened on the tapered lock bushing 80 to fixedly secure the bushing (and hence flange 10′) to the shaft. The motor 50 is then applied to the hoist machine 60. The drum mount flange 10′ is mounted to the brake drum 62 at first outer surface 12′ and secured by bolts inserted into corresponding bolt holes 17′. Typically, this occurs by aligning the bolt holes of the brake drum with the bolt holes 17′ of the drum mount flange and insertion of bolts from the rear 66 (
In the embodiment disclosed in
Referring to
In an alternative embodiment, shown in
An exemplary advantage of the use of bushings 214 is advantageous in that bores in the face of hoist 60 and bores 217 need not be perfectly aligned. A further exemplary advantage of the use of bushings 214 or 214′ is that the bushings tend to absorb vibrations; accordingly, the amplitude of vibrations transmitted from the motor to the hoist will tend to be reduced.
It is to be understood that the dimensions associated with the drum mount flange change according to the motor size and specifications. For example, the flange thickness, diameter and taper may change relative to the motor and/or hoist machine to be accommodated. In similar fashion each of the other designated diameters may also be modified depending on the particular application. The values provided in the figures are merely exemplary for particular applications.
While the foregoing invention has been described with reference to the above-described embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, all such modifications and changes are considered to be within the scope of the appended claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/766,310, entitled TAPERED COUPLER FOR COUPLING A MOTOR TO A HOIST MACHINE, filed Jan. 27, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,759, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/463,913, filed Jun. 17, 2003, entitled COUPLING ARRANGEMENT FOR COUPLING A MOTOR TO A HOIST MACHINE, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,898, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/974,466 entitled ADAPTER PLATE FOR MOUNTING A MOTOR HOUSING TO A HOIST MACHINE HOUSING, filed Oct. 10, 2001, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,674, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/490,084 entitled CONVERTER FOR A MODULAR MOTOR TO COUPLE TO A HOIST MACHINE, filed Jan. 24, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,080 B1.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09490084 | Jan 2000 | US |
Child | 09974466 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09974466 | Oct 2001 | US |
Child | 10463913 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10766310 | Jan 2004 | US |
Child | 11504340 | US | |
Parent | 10463913 | Jun 2003 | US |
Child | 10766310 | US |