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US 6,592,442 B2Granted
Flap wheel
AssigneeJason, Inc.
InventorCraig R. Hoffheimer
Life of this patent
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AssigneeJason, Inc.
InventorCraig R. Hoffheimer
Estimating the term…
A flap wheel includes an aluminum hub with outwardly opening peripheral slots. Flap clips also made of aluminum each holding a bundle of flaps fit snugly in the slots. The slots and clips include an elongated socket and knob construction. The socket of the slot and knob of the clip both have an arched or rounded bottom and straight parallel side walls terminating in opposed retaining keys projecting inwardly from the side walls of the slot or corresponding key ways in the clip. The outer ends of the clips include a thin wall U-shape flap bundle retention slot having a flat but skew or slanting bottom wall. The slots extend uniformly in a non-radial direction angled away from the direction of rotation. The flat but skewed bottom of the clips also slants inwardly toward the direction of rotation to position the outer edges of the flaps in the same skewed slanting direction exposing or splaying an outer edge portion of each of the faces or flat surfaces of the flaps to the work as the wheel rotates. The flap bundles may be held in the clips by fasteners or staples extending through the thin walls and the inner ends of the flaps. The entire wheel may be easily refilled, is light weight and may be recycled. The flap arrangement provides additional cut, less flap-to-flap wear, and less noise. The diameter, arbor hole size, and axial length may vary. The hubs may be ganged or stacked to vary the axial length or face width of the wheel. The content of each flap bundle may vary widely, such as any combination of sisal, cloth, abrasive paper, abrasive material or non-woven abrasive and the like.
A flap wheel comprising a hub, generally radially extending slots in the circumference of said hub, a flap clip inserted in each slot gripping the inner edge of a bundle of flaps, said flap clip having a skew angle sloping bottom wall to arrange the outer edge of each flap in the bundle at an increasing radial extent away from the intended direction of rotation of the wheel to expose a slight extent of the outer edge of each flap face to the direction of rotation of the wheel.
A flap wheel comprising a hub, peripheral slots in said hub extending at an angle to a radius of the hub away from the intended direction of rotation, each slot including a restricted elongated socket, a flap clip inserted in each slot having a corresponding elongated knob received in said socket, each slot and clip having a center line, the outer end of said clip being generally U-shaped and having a bottom wall extending at a skew angle to said center line with the lowest radial elevation of said bottom wall being in the intended direction of rotation of the hub.
A hub for a flap wheel comprising a plurality of peripheral slots opening generally radially and each including an inner elongated socket having a rounded bottom and parallel side walls terminating in inwardly projecting keys, said slot extending beyond the keys to form parallel side walls opening to the circumference of the hub.
A flap bundle clip for a flap wheel comprising an inner elongated knob having a rounded bottom and generally parallel sides terminating in key ways, the clip extending beyond the key ways and forming a U-shape flap bundle retainer having a planar yet slanted bottom wall and relatively thin side walls, the slanted bottom wall engaging the inner edge of each flap in the bundle and arranging each outer edge of each flap in the same slanted array, and a fastener adapted to extend through the relatively thin side walls to secure the bundle in the clip.
A rotatable hub for a flap wheel comprising a plurality of equally circumferential spaced axially extending parallel flap bundle receiving slots in the periphery of the hub, each slot inwardly terminating in a socket extending along the bottom of the slot, said socket also being formed by inward projections forming a restricted portion narrowing the slot, and beyond the restricted portion, said slot extending with parallel side walls generally radially to an opening at the periphery of the hub.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.