Brakes – Operators – Spring
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-06
2001-08-14
Oberleitner, Robert J. (Department: 3613)
Brakes
Operators
Spring
C188S072700, C188S073100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273221
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention generally relates to apparatus for controlling rotation of an input relative to an output, particularly relates to rotational control apparatus for use with servo-motors, and specifically relates to servo-motor brakes.
Servo-motors are increasingly being used as drives in the control of machinery component movement. There are servo-motor applications where it is desirable to stop movement of the machinery component being driven including but not limited to parking or emergency stop situations but also in the event of disruption of power to the servo-motor. Typically, servo-motors were purchased from manufacturers either with or without an integral braking component. However, a need has arisen for a brake to be added as a module separately to servo-motors. In particular, this would allow servo-motor users to purchase a standard servo-motor for all applications (assumedly at a lower per unit price due to quantity discounts) and then to add a brake module to the servo-motor only in applications where braking is needed or desired. In a preferred aspect, it would be desirable that such add on servo-motor brakes have performance characteristics which exceed those of integral servo-motor and brake units and which minimize the overall product size.
A major obstacle to satisfying this need is that the servo-motor industry has not adopted a standard configuration. In particular, the drive shafts of servo-motors are of different radial sizes. Also, although typically including a pilot on the output face, the sizes and shapes of pilot faces differ between manufacturers of servo-motors. Additionally, although typically the output face includes four bores which may be threaded and which were located at the corners of a square larger than the pilot and for receipt of screws extending from the apparatus component to be driven, such bores were of different diameters and were located at different radial spacings from the drive shaft. To reduce inventory requirements and to take advantage of mass production, it is desirable that brakes intended to be modules for attachment to servo-motors should have universal application to all servo-motors of whatever manufacturer and should be easily and readily modifiable to that of the particular servo-motor to which it is desired to be attached.
SUMMARY
The present invention solves this need and other problems in the field of rotation control by providing, in the preferred form, a plurality of slots extending radially inwardly from the outer surface of an annular disc of a housing portion, with each of the slots adapted to receive a is screw for attachment to a drive such as a servo-motor, and with an axially extending recess formed in the face of the annular disc for receiving the pilot of the servo-motor. In most preferred aspects of the present invention, alignment of the servo-motor with the housing portion is obtained by receipt of the drive shaft of the servo-motor in an axial bore of the input of the rotational control apparatus, with an expandable coupling being utilized in the most preferred form to allow the axial bore to be of a standard size but connected to different sizes and shapes of drive shafts.
In another aspect of the present invention, a wedge shaped annular friction facing is moved between an engaged position and a disengaged position, with the input and output being rotatably independent in the disengaged position and being rotatably related for rotation together when first and second surfaces of the annular friction facing interface with an interface surface of the input and the friction surface of the output, respectively, with the interface and friction surfaces extending in opposite, nonparallel angles to the rotational axis of the input.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a novel rotational control apparatus.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel rotational control apparatus having special application for servo-motors.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel rotational control apparatus which can be easily added as a module to drives of differing configurations.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel rotational control apparatus which can be readily modified to that of the particular drive to which it is secured.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel rotational control apparatus which maximizes performance characteristics while minimizing size.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel rotational control apparatus having fewer number of parts which can be easily fabricated.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide such a novel rotational control apparatus having low inertia.
These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of this invention described in connection with the drawings.
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Kamrath Alan
Nexen Group, Inc.
Oberleitner Robert J.
Rider Bennett Egan & Arundel LLP
Siconolfi Robert A.
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