CA2665772A1

CA2665772A1 - Universal mount spacer for anti-rotation device

Info

Publication number: CA2665772A1
Application number: CA 2665772
Authority: CA
Inventors: Nicholas V. Agius
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-05-08
Filing date: 2009-05-08
Publication date: 2010-11-08

Abstract

The "Universal spacer" provides a way to safely mount an Anti-rotation device (ARD) to a fin fan shaft. The ARD holds fans stationary when not being used to stop them from spinning backwards.
Fans that are not held from spinning backwards can cause damage to machinery and be a safety issue for workers. This ARD was previously patented by Nicholas Agius in Canada and USA (US
Patent # 5,562,418 and Canadian Patent # 2,127,726). The ARD bolts to the bottom of a vertical fin fan shaft's (driven) timing belt pulley. The ARD bolts to the bushing that secures this driven pulley to the fan shaft. If the pulley bushing is a taper-lock style (which is the most common style) then some sort of spacer or a spigot flange is required to ensure that the bolting force of the ARD is directed to the taper-lock bushing face and not the shaft end or pulley face.

Since there is more than one size of taper-lock bushing being used world wide (for fin fans) this meant there was a need for more than one size of ARD to fit everything. This is why the "Universal spacer" was invented. With the "Universal spacer" now one ARD can fit every taper-lock bushing size worldwide. I invented the "Universal spacer" for the ARD market so the ARD can be bolted to many different taper-lock bushings with one simple "Universal spacer" design.

My "Universal spacer" invention is unique as it is four spacers in one so less material cost and waste which provide a simple low cost solution and make the ARD more versatile for the world wide market. It also lowers the costs for the ARD's to the end-user.

The "Universal spacer" will fit four different sizes of taper lock bushings which will cover 99% of all fin fan shafts worldwide.

Description

May 3, 2009 Description of invention by Nicholas Agius Universal mount spacer for anti-rotation device:

History: The anti-rotation device is an invention of mine from back in the early 90's with an original Canadian and US patent (see enclosed US Patent # 5,562,418, Canadian Patent #

2,127,726). I let these patents dissolve as they were very expensive and I
couldn't afford to keep up the yearly payments (maintenance fees). I have since re-designed the main anti-rotation unit many times and the current unit is being sold world wide without any patent protection by Gates Corporation under my guidance and with my blessings.

An anti-rotation device stops a fan shaft from wind milling backwards when it is not being used.
These are large cooling fans found in refineries and chemical plants and when they wind mill backwards they become un-safe for staff. My design is still very unique worldwide and I have protected the sale of it through worldwide manufacturing agreements instead of patents.

My anti-rotation device has evolved to mount to all types of air coolers world wide. It's innovative as it mounts to the bottom of the shaft bushing on the fan shaft.
It mounts to the actual bushing that holds on the larger driven pulley. So it needs to have all kinds of bolt patterns and arrangements and I have managed to design these all on one mounting flange now for the latest and final design for Gates.

What I want to patent now: I wanted to protect the neat idea that I came up with for a one piece spacer that is actually two spacers in one so it saves the cost of material and shipping and is very innovative. This spacer is a new arrangement for my latest anti-rotation device design. This new universal spacer design is not being sold by Gates or anyone. The manufacturing cost is only $16 each spacer.

The trick with the new spacer invention is that it allows for the standard flange (that is on the main anti-rotation unit) to fit up to a taper lock bushing arrangements found on the driven belt pulleys for air coolers. The taper lock bushing is unique as it requires the force of the bolts to act on the face of the taper lock bushing so I designed this new spacer to fit between the mounting flange and the bushing. I have covered all the bushing styles worldwide with this one spacer design. Without this spacer design I would have had to design a spigot on the end of each mounting flange of the main unit. This would make the unit expensive and Gates would have to carry more inventory to cover all the possible mounting arrangements. Also the end-users would have to know too much to buy the product which slows the sales process and makes getting potential business more expensive and complicated.

The trick is that I laser cut the two universal spacer designs out of one 1/2"
thick metal plate and I
keep them connected by not cutting the whole way through at two points. They can stay connected during shipping and possible installation so it looks like one spacer. The neat thing is the inside spacer (that is smaller for smaller bushing mounts) can be broken out on its own and used by simply hitting the main spacer with a hammer on the side of the spacer. This way we reduce costs, which allow this innovative design to be very competitive with anyone else not thinking of this unique design. This universal mount spacer invention will allow for the main anti-rotation device to be sold as a true universal unit without the added costs of many spacers. This saves-time and money which makes this invention unique.

Claims

1. The "Universal spacer" is a single spacer design that allows mounting an anti-rotation device (ARD) to many different fin fan shafts.

2. The "Universal spacer" as defined in claim 1 has two parts connected by a small piece of metal that is designed in the machining process of the "Universal spacer".

3. The "Universal spacer" as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 can be used as a full spacer for mounting to 3525, 3535 and or 4030 taper-lock bushings.

4. The "Universal spacer" as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3 can also be broken apart and used to mount to 3020 taper-lock bushing. In this case the outer part of the spacer is simply discarded and not used and only the inner spacer is used. Each taper-lock bushing has a different outside diameter so you would need 4 different spacer sizes for the four most common taper-lock bushings. The "Universal spacer" has a special dimensional design where one spacer can accommodate all four common sizes of taper-lock bushing mounts.

5. The "Universal spacer" as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3 or claim 4 is two parts in one. The design is such that the laser cutter machines a special cut line all the way around but leaves two small areas intact to hold the two spacer as one common spacer.
This allows both spacers to become one strong spacer providing maximum area of contact between the bushing face and the ARD face. When the smaller inner spacer is required will simply hit the spacer with a hammer and break them apart and then only use the smaller spacer.

6. The "Universal spacer" as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3 or claim 4 or claim 5 is low cost and can be discarded all together if the ARD is mounted to QD bushing styles such as E, F or J. The reason why it so low cost is the two spacer in one design.

7. The "Universal spacer" as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3 or claim 4 or claim 5 or claim 6 has a 1/2" width that by design is strong enough when bolted between the ARD and the taper lock bushing to support the load of the bolting force need to hold the ARD.

8. The "Universal spacer" as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 3 or claim 4 or claim 5 or claim 6 or claim 7 ensures that the ARD is being held safely in place. Without this spacer you would need to have many different flanged mounts for the ARD and this would be confusing. A good set of mounting instructions are provided with each ARD and this explains how to use the "Universal spacer" to ensure safety of the ARD mount.