AU716037B2 - A shearing handpiece barrel - Google Patents

Description

S F Ref: 378715

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Sunbeam Corporation Limited 11 Wade Street Campsie New South Wales 2194

AUSTRALIA

Richard Harward Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia A Shearing Handpiece Barrel ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION DETAILS [311 Application No(s) [331 Country P01882 RQ [321 Application Date 26 August 1996 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815 -1- A SHEARING HANDPIECE BARREL Technical Field The present invention relates to shearing handpieces and more particularly to the barrel of a shearing handpiece.

Background of the Invention A shearing handpiece includes a cutting head consisting of a body to which there is attached a fixed comb. A moveable cutter is then caused to oscillate over the fixed comb to cut the wool. Extending from the cutting head body is a barrel having at one end a crank which causes oscillation of the moveable cutter. The other end of the barrel terminates with an inner back-half joint which is attached to an outer back-half joint.

Traditionally, the body of the barrel rotatably supports a driven shaft which caused rotation of the crank. A shearer operating the handpiece is required to regularly Soil the bearings of the barrel. Despite being regularly oiled, the barrel frequently gets S 15 hot. It is not uncommon for a shearer to immerse the handpiece in water to cool it down. This adds to the harsh environment in which the handpiece is expected to operate.

The above discussed traditional handpiece has a limited life.

:eeee= The above discussed problem has been addressed by including rolling bearings to support the driven shaft and changing the bearing support for the sleeve within the barrel body. Such an attempt to overcome the above difficulties is discussed in Australian Patent No. 664688.

The above discussed patent describes a handpiece which suffers from the disadvantage that the bearings of the barrel are not easily removed and require 25 machinery and skill to effect their replacement. Generally shearers have been reluctant to undertake replacement of the bearings themselves. Accordingly, the handpiece is given to a skilled repairer to replace the bearings, which make maintenance of the handpiece expensive and time consuming.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention There is disclosed herein a barrel to be attached to a shearing handpiece handle to drive a cutter comb mounted on the handle, said barrel comprising: an outer hollow body having one end to be attached to the handle and an opposite end to be attached to a back-half joint; IN:\ibtt100985:SAK a hollow back joint body having one end positioned adjacent said opposite end and having a shank extending inwardly of said outer body from the back joint body one end to an inner end; a spindle extending through the back joint body so as to extend from said one end of said back joint body through to said one end of said outer body; first bearing means, having rotatable bearing elements, at said one end of said outer body rotatably supporting said spindle; second bearing means, having rotatable bearing elements, at said one end of said back joint body rotatably supporting said spindle; third bearing means, having rotatable bearing elements, at said inner end, rotatably supporting said outer body on said shank; fourth bearing means having rotatable bearing elements, at said opposite end of said outer body, rotatably supporting said outer body on said back joint; and oseal means extending between said outer body and said spindle adjacent at said 15 one end of said outer body, between said outer body and said back joint body at said opposite end of said outer body, and between said back joint body and said spindle at said one end of said back joint body so that the first, second, third and fourth bearing means are sealingly enclosed.

Brief Description of the Drawings S" 20 The preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a schematic sectioned side elevation of a barrel (joint assembly) of a shearing handpiece.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment In the accompanying drawing there is schematically depicted a barrel (joint assembly) 10 of a shearing handpiece. The barrel 10 includes an outer body 11 which is generally elongated and generally circular in transverse cross section, so as to have a longitudinal axis 12. The body 11 is generally referred to as a screw bushing. The body 11 is adapted at its extremity 13 to be attached to a shearing handpiece handle.

Extending into the body 11 is a back joint (also known as an inner back-half joint) providing an extremity 14 which is to be attached to a screwed outer back-half joint.

Extending between the extremities 13 and 14 is a spindle 16 which at its end 17 is adapted to receive a gear (cog) which is driven by a mating gear of the outer back-half joint. The end 18 of the spindle 16 receives a crank 19 having an eccentric pin 20 which drives a cutter of the shearing handle.

The spindle 16 is supported adjacent the extremity 14 in the back joint 15 by means of a ball bearing 21 while the other end of the spindle 16 adjacent the extremity 13) is supported by means of a needle roller bearing 22. The bearing 21 has [N:\libtt]OO985:SAK -3rotatable bearing elements (spheres) 23 while the bearing 22 has rotatable bearing elements (cylinders) 24. The bearing 21 extends between the spindle 16 and the back joint 15, while the bearing 22 extends between the spindle 16 and the body 11.

The back joint 15 has a body 44 including a shank 25 and a housing 45. The shank 25 terminates with an inner end extremity 26 within the body 11. A needle roller bearing 27 extends between the shank 25 and body 11 adjacent the extremity 26. The needle roller bearing 27 has rotatable bearing elements (cylinders) 28.

A bearing 30 is provided adjacent the extremity 14 between the body 11 and shank The bearing 30 is a ball bearing having rotatable bearing elements (spheres) 31.

A seal 29 sealingly connects the spindle 16 and body 11 adjacent the extremity 13.

The bearings 21 and 30 also act as seals, so that the shank 16 is sealingly connected to the body 11 and the spindle 16 is sealingly connected to the back joint 15 adjacent the extremity 14.

The bearing 21 is retained in position by abutting a face 32 and being engaged by a Is circlip 33. A further circlip 34 engages the inner race 35 of the bearing 21. The circlip 34 is received within a groove 47 formed in the spindle 16. The circlip 33 is received within a groove 36 formed in housing 45 of the back joint 15, to thereby secure the bearing 21 within the housing The bearing 30 is retained in position by circlips 37 and 38, with the circlip 37 being 20 positioned within a groove 39 formed in the body 11 and the circlip 38 being positioned in a groove 40 formed in the shank of the back joint 15. The outer face of the bearing 31 also Sabuts a face 41 of the body 11.

The bearing 27 is retained in position by a circlip 42 and spacers 43 engaged in slots S° 44 and 46 formed in the shank of the back joint 25 It should be appreciated that the barrel 10 is intended to be retained as a unit and S discarded when no longer serviceable. It is not intended to be dismantled and repaired. A shearer using the shearing handpiece is merely intended to replace the barrel 10 with a new Sassembly.

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Claims (6)

1. A barrel to be attached to a shearing handpiece handle to drive a cutter comb mounted on the handle, said barrel comprising: an outer hollow body having one end to be attached to the handle and an opposite end s to be attached to a back-halfjoint; a hollow back joint body having one end positioned adjacent said opposite end and having a shank extending inwardly of said outer body from the back joint body one end to an inner end; a spindle extending through the back joint body so as to extend from said one end of l0 said back joint body through to said one end of said outer body; first bearing means, having rotatable bearing elements, at said one end of said outer body rotatably supporting said spindle; second bearing means, having rotatable bearing elements, at said one end of said back joint body rotatably supporting said spindle; third bearing means, having rotatable bearing elements, at said inner end, rotatably supporting said outer body on said shank; fourth bearing means having rotatable bearing elements, at said opposite end of said outer body, rotatably supporting said outer body on said back joint; and seal means extending between said outer body and said spindle adjacent at said one 20 end of said outer body, between said outer body and said back joint body at said opposite end of said outer body, and between said back joint body and said spindle at said one end of said o• back joint body so that the first, second, third and fourth bearing means are sealingly enclosed.

2. The barrel of claim 1, wherein said first bearing means is a needle roller bearing, said second bearing means is a ball bearing, said third bearing means is a needle roller bearing and said fourth bearing means is a ball bearing.

3. The barrel of claim 1 or 2, wherein said fourth bearing means extends S* between said opposite end of said outer body and said shank. S.

4. The barrel of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said back joint body also includes a housing at said one end of said back joint body, with said second bearing means being 30 mounted within said housing.

The barrel of any of any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said seal means includes said second and fourth bearings which act as seals, with said seal means further including a seal extending between said outer body and said spindle adjacent said one end of said body so that said first bearing is located internally of said outer body from said seal. [R:\libtt]02232.doc:Iam t

6. A barrel to be attached to a shearing handpiece handle to drive a cutter comb mounted on the handle, said barrel being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing. Dated 20 August, 1997 Sunbeam Corporation Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON *e [N:\libtt00985:SAK