Bearings – Rotary bearing – Antifriction bearing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-18
2001-02-27
Footland, Lenard A. (Department: 3682)
Bearings
Rotary bearing
Antifriction bearing
C384S130000, C384S624000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193418
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to bearing assemblies and, in particular, to a safety end cap for a bearing housing.
Rotary shafts are generally mounted such that their ends are rotatably mounted in respective rotary bearings such as ball bearings, roller bearings, etc. For example, with reference to
FIG. 4
, a bearing
18
is mounted in an opening
14
of a bearing housing
10
of a conventional pillow block. A shaft end (not shown) would project through the bearing. In order to prevent personnel working near the shaft from being injured by the end of the rotating shaft, it is conventional to cover the shaft end by means of a safety end cap mounted on the bearing housing. One conventional type of end cap
10
shown in
FIG. 5
is in the form of a plastic cup-shaped body that is attached to the housing so as to overlie the opening thereof and enclose the respective shaft end. The end cap
19
is inserted into a circular cavity
20
of the housing and includes integral stop tabs
21
that abut a front face
22
of the housing
10
, and integral locking tabs
23
located at a front rim
24
of the end cap to secure the end cap within the recess
20
However, such end caps are susceptible to becoming removed from the housing, either intentionally, or accidentally, e.g., if a person should accidentally bump against the end cap. In that event, there arises a risk of injury since the rotatable shaft end is now exposed.
It is an object of the invention to minimize or obviate the above-described problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above-described problem is solved by a bearing assembly which comprises a bearing housing that forms a circular cavity, an opening disposed in the cavity and adapted to receive a shaft, and a safety end cap for the housing. The end cap includes a cupped-shaped plastic body, a pair of metal brackets, and fasteners. The plastic body includes a front rim and is mounted on the housing such that the rim faces the housing coaxially with the opening. The body further includes a pair of diametrically opposite slits formed in the body behind the front rim. The brackets are slidably mounted in respective ones of the slits. Each bracket includes an inner portion disposed with the cup-shaped body, and an outer portion disposed outside of the cup-shaped body. An outer end of each outer portion is bent at a substantially right angle toward a plane of the rim. The outer portion engages a front surface of the housing, and the bent end engages a side surface of the housing. The fasteners extend through respective ones of the brackets for securing the brackets to the bearing housing.
The invention also pertains to the end cap per se.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5711617 (1998-01-01), Scheller
patent: 5833372 (1998-11-01), Nisley
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Footland Lenard A.
FYH Bearing Units USA, Inc.
LandOfFree
Safety end cap for rotary bearing does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Safety end cap for rotary bearing, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Safety end cap for rotary bearing will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2592483