CA2135947A1

CA2135947A1 - Anti-runout collars

Info

Publication number: CA2135947A1
Application number: CA 2135947
Authority: CA
Inventors: George Edward Barnes
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: 1134564 ONTARIO Inc
Priority date: 1995-03-16
Filing date: 1995-03-16
Publication date: 1996-09-17

Abstract

During the manual assembly of any product in a manufacturing environment, the people who actually perform the assembly in most cases use either air or electric powered tools with various attachments i.e. extensions, sockets or screw driver bits to complete their work. Over recent years through Ergonomic research, it has been found that the vibration resulting from the looseness in the connections between the tools and these attachments is causing injuries to the production personnel who are continually being exposed to this vibration. These injuries are adding a great deal of cost to the manufacturing process as a result of employee lost time incidents.
The invention I am seeking to patent is a simple nylon or aluminum collar type mechanism that fits snugly over the body of the tool with a fastening mechanism to hold it in place. The front of the collar containing a bearing slides over the attached extension and then by means of a taper thread lock mechanism is tightened securely to the extension. This mechanism completely removes the vibration at the joint between the tool and the extension which results when the tool is operated.
Injuries will be reduced, tools will last longer and quality will increase.

Description

213594' Specification Disclosure:
This invention pertains to a collar type adaptor which contains a bearing and is fitted over various production tool housings and the extensions attached to them, to reduce the amount of run-out vibration that occurs as a result of looseness in the joint between them.
Presently the tools and attachments. used in the manual assembly process of virtually all products are not build to very close tolerances. This is due to the fact that these items are mass produced by various manufacturers and must be easily assembled in a variety of fashions to accommodate the specific application they are being used for. Because of this lack of close tolerance the fits between these pieces when joined I:ogether are very sloppy. As the tools are powered up and rotate at high speeds this sloppiness is transformed into vibration that is felt through the entire tool.
This vibration which is transferred to the hand of the continually exposed production worker, can result in physical injuries to them. The vibration also results in the breakdown of internal bearings in the tools which greatly reduces tool life. Quality issues due to the poor control of the vibrating attachments and fasteners which are being installed with these tools is also a production problem.
Through experimentation, I have found that a snugly fitted collar type adaptor with locking mechanisms (made from either nylon or aluminum to keep the weight down) can be slid over the tool housing and extension shaft and then locked in place at each end. This "Anti-Runout Collar"
eliminates the runout and resulting vibration that normally occurs at these connections. At the same time this collar will allow assembly and disassembly of tool and extension connections as required.
The dramatic reduction of vibration will result in less vibration transferred to the operators, the tools and the fasteners being installed, hence minimizing all three of the previously mentioned problems.

Claims

1) A collar apparatus made from Aluminum with a locking mechanism on the front end to securely hold an attached extension(of various sizes) that when fitted over the body of production tools(of various types) and held in place by a variety of means, will virtually eliminate the vibration coming back to the operator through the tool as a fastener is being installed resulting in fewer injuries to production personnel and reducing the costs involved.

2) A collar apparatus as defined in claim 1 made from Aluminum with a locking mechanism on the front end to securely hold an attached extension(of various sizes) that when fitted over the body of production tools(of various types) and held in place by a variety of means, will virtually eliminate the vibration coming back to the operator through the tool as a fastener is being installed resulting in the extension of the life of the tool and reduction of repair/replacement costs.

3) A collar apparatus as defined in claim 1 made from Aluminum with a locking mechanism on the front end to securely hold an attached extension(of various sizes) that when fitted over the body of production tools(of various types) and held in place by a variety of means, will virtually eliminate the vibration coming back to the operator through the tool as a fastener is being installed resulting in greater control of the tool and fastener accessories which prevents damage to the product being manufactured and the fasteners themselves and reduces resulting repair/replacement costs.