An annular shaft flange that can be positioned along the length of a shaft and secured to the shaft to prevent movement of an article along the length of the shaft. The annular shaft flange includes a pair of nesting ends that are attachable to each other using a mechanical interlocking member.
Previous devices, such as snap rings, cotter pins or flip pins require the shaft to be machined or drilled, thereby weakening the shaft and adding additional cost to the manufacturing process. A locking ring requires no machining, but has a greater cost penalty and can only be placed on the shaft if the diameter of the shaft is constant or has an area of reduced diameter.
Presently, annular shaft flanges, such as shown in Nell U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,800, owned by the assignee of the present application, have been successful in providing a method of securing an object along a shaft and preventing the object from moving along the length of the shaft. However, the shaft flange taught by the Nell '800 patent preferably uses a spot weld to secure the two ends of the shaft flange in place. Although spot welding has proven to be an effective method of retaining the two ends of the shaft flange, a need has arisen to provide alternate methods of securing the two ends of the shaft flange to eliminate the need for a spot weld. The apparatus and method of the present invention address this need in a novel manner.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the annular shaft flange includes a flange body that is movable between an open position and a closed position. A hinge is formed in the flange body to permit movement of the flange body between the open and closed positions.
The flange body includes an inner curved engagement surface that is sized to interact with the outer surface of the shaft when the shaft flange is moved to the closed position. The curved inner engagement surface provides an area of frictional engagement between the shaft flange and the annular shaft.
The body of the annular shaft flange extends between a first end and a second end. The first and second ends are spaced from each other when the shaft flange is in the open position. The first end of the flange body includes a first attachment projection, while the second end of the flange body includes a second attachment projection. When the shaft flange is moved to the closed position, the first attachment projection is positioned in contact with the second attachment projection.
The first and second attachment projections of the shaft flange extend generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft to which the shaft flange is being attached. Each attachment projection projects radially away from the shaft to provide areas for joining the first and second ends of the flange body to each other. Preferably, an attachment member, such as a rivet, passes through the first and second attachment projections such that the attachment member can secure the flange body in the closed position.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the annular shaft flange includes a shaft engagement lip that extends axially from the first end face of the flange body. The shaft engagement lip increases the overall axial width of the shaft flange and combines with the flange body to define the curved engagement surface. The shaft engagement lip increases the surface area contact between the annular shaft flange and the shaft to further prevent movement of the shaft flange along the shaft.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the annular shaft flange includes a flange body having a flange portion having a width defined by a first end face and a second end face. The first and second end faces are spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis of the shaft to which the annular shaft flange is mounted. The flange body includes a hinge that allows the flange body to move from an open position to a closed position. The flange body defines an inner curved engagement surface that contacts an outer surface of the shaft when the shaft flange is positioned along the shaft and in a closed position.
The shaft flange of the second embodiment of the invention includes first and second nest ends that are spaced from each other when the shaft flange is in an open position. The first nest end includes a first attachment lip, while the second nest end includes a second attachment lip. Both the first and second attachment lips have width of approximately one-half the axial width of the flange portion of the shaft flange. When the shaft flange is moved to the closed position, the first and second attachment lips overlap each other.
When the shaft flange is in the closed position, a mechanical attachment member is positioned to extend between the first and second attachment lips to hold the shaft flange in the closed position. In one embodiment of the invention, the mechanical attachment member is a rivet, while other types of mechanical attachment means, such as Tox-Loc?, are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention.
The first and second attachment lips include an inner edge surface that is spaced radially from the outer surface of the shaft to which the flange is applied. The spacing between the shaft and the inner edge of each attachment lip provides additional room for utilizing the mechanical attachment member to hold the shaft flange in its closed position.Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description takentogether with the drawings.
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