Shaft assembly safety mechanism

Details Shaft assembly safety mechanism Shaft assembly safety mechanism

2002-12-13

2004-05-25

Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3679)

Joints and connections

Split end with laterally movable opposed portions

With separate force-applying means

C403S014000, C403S109600, C403S235000, C403S316000, C403S317000, C403S329000, C403S155000, C403S397000, C403S398000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06739790

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to shaft components. More particularly, the present invention relates to a safety mechanism for reducing the likelihood of an improper shaft assembly.
Shafts are utilized in many applications and generally require interconnection between the shaft and a secondary component. The secondary component can be an independent component or secondary shafts such that the shaft serves as an intermediate shaft. In both instances, the forward end
22
of the shaft
20
is interconnected with a coupling element
10
which in turn is interconnected with the secondary component (not shown).
Many different coupling elements can be utilized with the present invention, with an exemplary coupling element
10
illustrated in FIG.
1
. The coupling element
10
has a shaft receiving and retaining slot
12
and a retaining bolt
16
or other retainer that is passed through and secured in a through bore
14
in the coupling element
10
. Typically, the shaft
20
has a notch, annular groove or other form of bolt receiving recess
24
adjacent the forward end
22
of the shaft
20
. The forward end
22
of the shaft
20
is first positioned in the slot
12
(as indicated by the arrow
1
in
FIG. 1
) with the bolt receiving recess
24
aligned with the through bore
14
. Thereafter, the retaining bolt
16
is slid through the through bore
14
and bolt receiving recess
24
(as indicated by the arrow
2
in
FIG. 1
) and secured by a cotter pin, nut or the like. The retaining bolt
16
extending through the bolt receiving recess
24
permanently secures the shaft
20
to the coupling element
10
.
In many applications, for example, a steering intermediate shaft, the interconnection of the shaft
20
and coupling element
10
occurs in a location with limited accessibility. As such, it is difficult to visually or manually check that the retaining bolt
16
is properly received in the bolt receiving recess
24
. For example, as illustrated in
FIG. 2
, the shaft
20
may not be fully inserted into the coupling element slot
12
when the retaining bolt
16
is inserted. As a result, the retaining bolt
16
is not received in the bolt receiving recess
24
. In some instances, the forward end
22
of the shaft
20
jams between the inserted retaining bolt
16
and the inner surface
18
of the coupling element slot
12
. If the shaft
20
is jammed sufficiently, it may give a rigid feeling to an assembly worker, thereby creating a false sense that the shaft
20
is properly interconnected. After some use, the shaft end
22
may dislodge from between the retaining bolt
16
and slot surface
18
, thereby causing disassembly and failure of the coupling.
SUMMARY
The present invention provides a shaft coupling assembly. The coupling assembly comprises a coupling element including a shaft receiving slot and a retainer receiving aperture adjacent the shaft receiving slot; a retainer extendable through the retainer receiving aperture; an axial shaft body configured to be inserted in the coupling element slot and including a retainer receiving recess adjacent the forward shaft end and configured to receive and retain the retainer after the shaft forward end is inserted in the coupling element shaft receiving slot. A safety clip is configured to be retained on the coupling element with a first portion extending toward the shaft receiving slot. The first portion includes a retainer blocking edge and a pair of extensions, one extension positioned on each side of the edge, extending beyond the edge into the shaft receiving slot. The first portion is moveable between an initial position wherein the edge covers a portion of the retainer receiving aperture and a second position wherein the shaft body contacts the extensions and moves the edge such that the retainer receiving aperture is sufficiently clear to receive the retainer.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3669477 (1972-06-01), Ulich
patent: 3709531 (1973-01-01), Beehler
patent: 5253949 (1993-10-01), Oxley et al.
patent: 5560257 (1996-10-01), DeBisschop et al.
patent: 6155739 (2000-12-01), Sekine et al.

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