Guard for a rotating shaft
AssigneeCornell Research Foundation, Inc.
InventorJoseph K. Campbell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A magnetic shaft guard for use with a rotating shaft has a permanent magnet to hold the guard in place on the rotating shaft. Sufficient clearance is present between the shaft and an inner diameter of the guard so that the guard will cease rotation freely relative to the shaft should external contact with the guard occur. A spiral or other design may be placed on the guard to visually alert persons in the vicinity that the shaft is rotating.
Claims12
A shaft guard positionable on a rotatable shaft and useable to provide protection from contact with an end of the rotatable shaft, said shaft guard comprising:
- an elongate tubular body for placement about an end of the rotatable shaft, said elongate tubular body having an inner diameter and an exterior surface, said elongate tubular body further having a first end and a second end, said first end being generally open for receiving an exposed end of the rotatable shaft when said elongate tubular body of said shaft guard is placed about the rotatable shaft;
- a clearance space between said inner diameter of said elongate tubular body and a maximum outside diameter of the rotatable shaft, said clearance space being of sufficient size to enable said tubular body to be slid over the rotatable shaft for mounting said shaft guard upon the rotatable shaft, said clearance space further being sufficient to permit said shaft guard to be held generally stationary on the rotatable shaft while allowing the rotatable shaft to freely rotate within said elongate tubular body;
- and
- a magnet located in said second end of said elongate tubular body for releasably magnetically adhering said second end of said tubular body to an end of the rotatable shaft, said magnet sized so as to release said shaft guard from magnetic adherence to the shaft end when external contact is made with said shaft guard.
A shaft guard comprising:
- a tubular body for receiving a shaft therein, said tubular body being generally elongate and having a first end and a second end, said first end of said tubular body being open for receiving an end of the shaft, said tubular body having an exterior surface and a minimum inner diameter;
- a clearance space is formed between said minimum inner diameter of said tubular body and an outer surface of the shaft, said clearance space being sufficient to permit said tubular body to slide onto the shaft, said clearance space being large enough, and said tubular body being made of a material such that, external contact with said shaft guard positioned about a rotating shaft will cause said shaft guard to cease rotation while the shaft within said shaft guard continues rotating;
- and
- a permanent magnet disposed at said second end of said tubular body for magnetically retaining said shaft guard on an end of the shaft by magnetic force whereby external contact with said shaft guard when positioned on a rotating shaft will overcome said magnetic force to enable said shaft guard to cease rotation while allowing the shaft to continue rotating within said shaft guard.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.