Identification element for a shank tool

#This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 19205313.0 filed 25 Oct. 2019 which is incorporated herein by reference.

#The present invention relates to an identification element for a shank tool. Furthermore, it relates to a shank tool which has the identification element.

#Attachable and removable identification elements for cutting shank tools, in particular drills or end mills, which have an identifier for identifying shank tools, are known. Such identification elements can be attached to the shank of the shank tool and removed again from the shank of the shank tool. If such an identification element is attached to a shank tool, it enables the identification of the corresponding shank tool. An example of such an identification element, which can be attached to shank tools such as drills, for example, is described in WO 2014/028462 A1. The identification element described there comprises an RFID transponder (radio-frequency identification) having a digital, identifying code as an identifier. Furthermore, this identification element comprises a metal core and a plastic cover, which encloses the core and the RFID transponder. The core has several grooves on its outer surface which interact with projections on the cover in order to hold it on the core. Furthermore, the cover can also be held on the core with adhesive. This identification element can be attached to the shank of the drill and fixed in the axial direction of the drill by screwing it tight with a grub screw which is screwed into the core.

#Exemplary embodiments of the invention are depicted in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description.

#FIG. 1a shows an isometric depiction of an inner ring of an identification element according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

#FIG. 1b shows another isometric depiction of the inner ring according to FIG. 1a.

#An inner ring 10, which is used in a first exemplary embodiment of the identification element according to the invention, is depicted in FIGS. 1a and 1b. In the present exemplary embodiment, it consists of the elastomer Elastollan® C 70 A HPM (BASF), which has a Shore hardness of 70 A. It has an outer shell 11 from which a stop 12 protrudes at one end and a retaining region 13 at its other end. The stop 12 and the retaining region 13 are opposite each other along a longitudinal axis L10 of the inner ring 10. An opening 14 of the inner ring is surrounded by its inner shell 15. Its inner diameter is 6 mm and its wall thickness is 1.075 mm, such that it results in an outer diameter of 8.15 mm. The stop 12 protrudes by 1.2 mm from the outer shell 11 and the retaining region 13 protrudes by 0.2 mm from the outer shell 11. The inner ring 10 has a length of 5 mm along its longitudinal axis L10, wherein the region of the outer shell 11, which lies between the stop 12 and the retaining region 13, has a length of 3 mm.

#An inner ring 10, which is used in a second exemplary embodiment of the identification element, is depicted in FIGS. 2a and 2b. This differs from the inner ring 10 according to FIGS. 1a and 1b in that the stop 12 does not revolve annularly around the outer shell 11. Instead, it consists of three stop regions 121, 122, 123, which each cover a region of 60° of the circumference of the outer shell 11 and are symmetrically arranged around it.

#An outer ring 20, which in exemplary embodiments of the identification element can be combined either with the inner ring according to FIGS. 1a and 1b or with the inner ring according to FIGS. 2a and 2b, is depicted in FIGS. 3a and 3b. In the present exemplary embodiment, it consists of LCP with a glass fibre content of 15 wt. %. The outer diameter of its outer shell 21 is 12 mm. Its inner shell 22 has a sinusoidal wave structure with an amplitude selected in such a way that its inner diameter varies between 8.0 mm and 8.2 mm. A recess 23 runs annularly around the outer ring 20 in such a way that it is open at one end of the outer ring 20 along its longitudinal axis L20 and closed at the other end. On its outside, it is limited by the outer shell 21, which has a wall thickness of 0.6 mm. On its underside, the recess 23 is limited by a base 25 of the outer ring 20. The base 25 has a visual marking 26 on its side facing away from the recess 23. This is attached near an opening 24 of the outer ring 20. The length of the outer ring 20 is 3 mm and thus corresponds to the length of the outer shell 11 of the inner rings between their respective stop 12 and their retaining region 13. Each of the inner rings 10 can therefore be inserted into the opening 24 of the outer ring 20 in such a way that the outer ring 20 engages between the stop 12 and the retaining region 13. Since the outer diameter of each inner ring 10 is larger than the minimum inner diameter of the outer ring 20 but smaller than the maximum inner diameter of the outer ring 20, the outer shell 11 of the inner ring 10 is only partially deformed by the wave structure of the inner shell 22 of the outer ring 20. This makes it easy to attach and remove the outer ring 20 on the inner ring 10 but makes it more difficult to rotate the outer ring 20 relative to the inner ring 10.