Tool and method for chandelier showerhead installation
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorAleksey V. Altecor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An alignment device is provided to draw two components together in an aligned configuration. An example alignment device comprises a planetary gear set including a ring gear and at least two planetary gears and one or more side plates for supporting the gears. Each of the planetary gears includes an aperture sized to receive a threaded fastener for engagement with a respective threaded rod that is engaged with one of the two components, wherein rotation of the ring gear imparts rotational movement to the threaded fasteners to cause synchronized advancement of the alignment device along the threaded rods.
Claims26
An alignment device to draw two components together, the alignment device comprising:
- a planetary gear set, the planetary gear set comprising a ring gear and at least two planetary gears;
- one or more side plates for supporting the ring gear and the at least two planetary gears;
- wherein each of the at least two planetary gears includes an aperture sized to receive a threaded fastener for engagement with a respective one of at least two threaded rods engaged with one of the two components, wherein rotation of the ring gear imparts synchronized rotational movement to the threaded fasteners to cause linear movement of the alignment device relative to the at least two threaded rods, and wherein a first component of the two components includes a showerhead and a second component of the two components includes a cooling plate.
An alignment toolkit to facilitate drawing two components together in aligned fashion, the toolkit comprising:
- at least two threaded rods each engageable with one of the two components;
- and
- an alignment device, the alignment device comprising:
- a planetary gear set, the planetary gear set comprising a ring gear and at least two planetary gears;
- one or more side plates for supporting the ring gear and the at least two planetary gears;
- wherein each of the at least two planetary gears includes an aperture sized to receive a threaded fastener for engagement with a respective one of the at least two threaded rods, wherein rotation of the ring gear imparts synchronized rotational movement to the threaded fasteners to cause linear movement of the alignment device relative to the at least two threaded rods, and wherein a first component of the two components includes a showerhead and a second component of the two components includes a cooling plate.
A method of aligning two components to be drawn together, the method comprising:
- connecting two or more threaded rods to a first of the two components;
- engaging an alignment device with a second of the two components, the alignment device comprising a planetary gear set comprising a ring gear and at least two planetary gears, the alignment device comprising one or more side plates for supporting the ring gear and the at least two planetary gears, wherein each of the at least two planetary gears includes an aperture sized to receive a threaded fastener for engagement with one of the two or more threaded rods, wherein rotation of the ring gear imparts synchronized rotational movement to the threaded fasteners to cause linear movement of the alignment device relative to the two or more threaded rods, and wherein a first component of the two components includes a showerhead and a second component of the two components includes a cooling plate;
- and
- rotating the ring gear to move the alignment device relative to the two or more threaded rods.
A method of aligning two components to be drawn together, the method comprising:
- connecting two or more threaded rods to a first of the two components;
- engaging an alignment device with a second of the two components, the alignment device comprising a planetary gear set comprising a ring gear and at least two planetary gears, the alignment device comprising one or more side plates for supporting the ring gear and the at least two planetary gears, wherein each of the at least two planetary gears includes an aperture sized to receive a threaded fastener for engagement with one of the two or more threaded rods, wherein rotation of the ring gear imparts synchronized rotational movement to the threaded fasteners to cause linear movement of the alignment device relative to the two or more threaded rods;
- rotating the ring gear to move the alignment device relative to the two or more threaded rods, and
- using an alignment checker to check or confirm an alignment of the two components as they are drawn together.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.