Rotary brush tool

Abstract

The invention relates to a rotary brush tool having a brush assembly (1, 2, 3) and a drive device (1, 4) having a drive housing (1) and an output shaft (4) for the brush assembly (1, 2, 3). The brush assembly (1, 2, 3) has a rotatably drivable brush holder (1) and an annular brush (2, 3) having a loop of bristles with outwardly projecting bristles (3). According to the invention, a drive housing (1) of the drive device (1, 4) serves as a brush holder (1) which can be driven in rotation relative to a fixed output shaft (4).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a rotary brush tool having a brush assembly and a drive device having a drive housing and an output shaft for driving the brush assembly, wherein the brush assembly has a rotatably driven brush holder and an annular brush having a bristle ring with outwardly protruding bristles. Background Technology

[0002] Rotary brush tools of this type are typically used to treat metal surfaces to remove rust or dirt. In fact, the brush bristles can be used to adjust the surface roughness to a specific degree. For this purpose, there are various solutions proposed by the applicant in the prior art, such as those detailed in EP 1 834 733 B1 or WO 2012 / 038537 A1.

[0003] Within the scope of this application, the prior art, which forms the category of EP 4 238 451 A1, is taken as a starting point. The rotary brush tool provided in this prior art is equipped with a machine housing and a drive unit or drive device for the brush assembly housed therein. The drive device can, in principle, be pneumatically driven or electrically driven.

[0004] When using an electric drive with a drive housing and output shaft, the rotational motion of the output shaft is diverted to the brush holder, which is rotatably driven, via a more or less complex reversing transmission mechanism. This results in a relatively large overall structure. The present invention aims to improve upon this. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem upon which this invention is based is to further develop such rotary brush tools so as to achieve an implementation that reduces overall cost while taking into account a compact structure.

[0006] To solve this technical problem, the present invention is proposed based on similar rotary brush tools, wherein the drive housing of the drive device is used as a brush holder that can be rotatably driven relative to a fixed output shaft.

[0007] According to the present invention, a special type of rotatably driven brush holder is used first. This is because the drive housing of the drive unit performs this function. Here, the invention is based on the understanding that drive units for such rotary brush tools are typically equipped with an electric drive unit having a drive housing and an output shaft. Within the scope of the present invention, instead of using an output shaft to drive the rotatably driven brush holder, the drive housing itself serves as the rotatably driven brush holder.

[0008] For this purpose, only the output shaft of the electric drive unit needs to be fixed. This can be done, for example, in a bracket. By fixing the output shaft of the electric drive unit, the present invention achieves the opposite effect, causing the drive housing to rotate. That is, the drive housing rotates relative to the fixed output shaft or the bracket that fixes the output shaft.

[0009] As previously mentioned, the drive unit is typically configured as an electric motor. Such motors mostly have a cylindrical drive housing, which, according to the invention, functions as a rotatably driven brush holder. In practice, the annular brush in this case is equipped with a brush belt to which outwardly projecting bristles are attached. The brush belt can be a woven belt made of plastic, particularly polyamide. The bristles are typically configured as U-shaped steel bristles, inserted into or passing through the brush belt. Thus, the bristles form bristle loops. These bristle loops can be provided intermittently or continuously.

[0010] Therefore, the brush strip of the annular brush is designed to be cylindrical or annular, with the inner diameter of the brush strip typically corresponding to the outer diameter of the drive housing. This allows the brush strip to be fitted onto the drive housing. If the inner diameter of the brush strip exceeds the inner diameter of the drive housing, an annular adapter can be used if necessary. That is, in this case, the brush strip is fitted onto the drive housing with the aforementioned annular adapter connected in the middle.

[0011] Here, the annular adapter, in its thickness, can accommodate both the brush belt and the drive housing of the motor. Furthermore, there is the additional possibility that the annular adapter is made of a thermally conductive material, such as thermally conductive plastic. Moreover, it has proven advantageous in this case that the annular adapter is equipped with axial tabs extending in the axial direction of the drive housing. That is, in this case, the axial tabs serve to hold the annular brush belt, or to provide additional fixation by axially overlapping the brush belt. Thus, gaps are formed between the axial tabs and the brush belt, through which any heat that may be generated can be dissipated.

[0012] Furthermore, the axial tabs allow for a certain (and desired) deformation of the brush band when treating the surface. This deformation is additionally observed when a stop device immersed in the rotating brush ring is provided, as described in principle in the prior art of EP 1 834 733 B1, as described at the beginning. In this case, it is advantageous to provide a bracket to which the output shaft is connected at least on one side. Furthermore, the bracket is advantageously additionally equipped with a stop device immersed in the rotating brush ring.

[0013] In addition, it has proven particularly advantageous that the support has a handle that can swing relative to it, or that the handle is attached to the support. In this case, it can be further operated such that the handle carries the drive device along with the annular brush.

[0014] Here, one embodiment has proven particularly advantageous, in which the drive unit and the annular brush are arranged coaxially with the rotational axis of the handle. That is, in this case, a bracket with two retaining arms is typically used. Here, one retaining arm defines the rotational axis of the handle, drive unit, and annular brush, with which these components are supported coaxially. The other retaining arm serves to fix the motor output shaft. This function can also be implemented in other ways.

[0015] In this case, the support can be placed on the surface to be treated with its legs on the side and supported relative to that surface. For this purpose, the support can be equipped with support legs made of, for example, plastic, while the support itself is usually made of metal.

[0016] In principle, the support for housing the brush assembly and for fixing the output shaft can also be connected to an actuating element movable relative to the surface to be treated. This actuating element can be any conceivable device by which mechanical movement relative to the surface can be achieved. Potential actuating elements here include robots or robotic arms. Similarly, the actuating element can be configured as a rotary unit for, for example, inner tube processing. Of course, combinations are also conceivable. Furthermore, the actuating element can be configured as a linear adjustment unit, or as an adjustment unit similar to a plotter that is movable in a plane, etc.

[0017] All of this is made possible by the fact that the rotary brush tool according to the invention is simple, robust, and inexpensive. Because no additional reversing drive is needed to redirect the rotational motion of the output shaft to the rotatably driven brush holder, a particularly compact structure is achieved. At the same time, a low weight can be maintained, making it simple and problem-free to move the rotary brush tool according to the invention by means of operating elements or even entirely manually by the operator. This is its main advantage. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The invention will now be described in more detail with the aid of the accompanying drawings, which show only one embodiment; wherein:

[0019] Figure 1 and 2 The various steps of assembling the rotary brush tool according to the present invention are shown;

[0020] Figure 3A and 3B The rotating brush tool, along with its support, is shown in different processing positions.

[0021] Figure 4 It shows Figure 3A and 3B The front view of the object shown; and

[0022] Figure 5 Another implementation variant is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The accompanying drawings show a rotary brush tool. It has brush assemblies 1, 2, and 3 and drive units 1 and 4, the drive units having a drive housing 1 and an output shaft 4 for the brush assemblies 1, 2, and 3. The brush assemblies 1, 2, and 3 themselves have a rotatably driven brush holder 1 and annular brushes 2 and 3, each annular brush having a bristle ring with outwardly projecting bristles 3. In practice, the annular brushes 2 and 3 consist of an annular brush band 2 and outwardly projecting bristles 3 attached thereto.

[0024] The brush belt 2 can advantageously be a polyamide fabric. U-shaped bristles 3 are inserted into the brush belt 2. Thus, the bristles 3 form bristle loops, which can be continuous or have various grooves on their circumference.

[0025] According to the present invention, the cylindrical drive housing of the drive devices 1 and 4 now functions as the rotatably driven brush holder 1, more precisely relative to the fixed output shaft 4. For this purpose, the output shaft 4 is generally fixed in a bracket 6 of a different construction, which will be described in more detail below, and more precisely fixed on at least one side.

[0026] The drive units 1 and 4 are configured as electric motors 1 and 4 with cylindrical drive housings 1. As mentioned above, the annular brushes 2 and 3 consist of an annular brush band 2 and bristles 3 connected to it and protruding outwards. Comparative observation is then conducted. Figure 1 and Figure 2 It can be seen that the two annular brush bands are mounted on the drive housing 1, which serves as the rotatable drive brush holder 1. This can be seen by comparison. Figure 1 and Figure 2 To understand.

[0027] If the inner diameter of the annular brush belt 2 exceeds the outer diameter of the cylindrical drive housing 1, which serves as the brush holder 1 for the motors 1 and 4, an intermediate annular adapter 5 can be provided, such as... Figure 1 Clearly shown. From Figure 1 As can be seen from the embodiment, the annular adapter 5 is equipped with a base ring 5 and axial ribs or axial tabs 5b connected to the base ring 5. The axial ribs 5b extend along the axial direction of the drive housing 1. Here, the annular brush strip 2 can be fitted onto the axial ribs 5b, such that a corresponding gap is maintained between the base ring 5a and the annular brush strip 2 between the corresponding axial ribs 5b.

[0028] This gap allows the annular brush belt 2 to move elastically when processing the surface, and also serves to dissipate any heat that may be generated during the processing of the relevant surface. This is one possible embodiment, not shown.

[0029] Because Figure 1 and Figure 2Within the range, the axial ribs or axial tabs 5b are configured such that they overlap the brush band 2 in the installed state or when fitted onto the annular adapter 5. For this purpose, the brush bristles are equipped with their respective grooves, and in the assembled state, the corresponding axial tabs 5b are located in said grooves, which can be compared... Figure 1 and Figure 2 To understand this, according to the embodiment, the axial connector 5b is formed on the end-side disk 5c that is connected to the base ring 5a on one side, or originates from the disk and stands vertically on it. Thus, the annular brushes 2 and 3 are additionally fixed to the drive housing 1 during rotational movement by means of the annular adapter 5.

[0030] In principle, when the annular brush belt 2 can be directly fitted onto the drive housing 1, the annular adapter 5 is of course optional. The annular adapter 5 itself is made of plastic, especially thermally conductive plastic. Of course, other materials are also conceivable. In addition, the annular adapter 5 can also be made of solid material, that is, the additional axial tabs or axial ribs 5b are omitted.

[0031] As mentioned at the beginning, a bracket 6 is typically provided, and the output shaft 4 of the drive unit or motor 1, 4 is connected to this bracket at least on one side. According to the embodiment, the bracket 6 is also additionally equipped with a stop device 7 immersed in the rotating brush ring. The stop device 7 is particularly... Figure 4 The front view and combination Figure 5 It can be seen in another implementation variant.

[0032] The bracket 6 may be additionally equipped with a handle 8 that can swing relative to it. The swingability of the handle 8 can be best achieved by comparison. Figure 3A and Figure 3B To understand this, the handle 8 can actually swing relative to the axis or rotation axis A. Furthermore, since the drive units 1 and 4 and the annular brushes 2 and 3 are arranged coaxially with the handle 8 relative to the axis or rotation axis A of the bracket 6, the annular brushes 2 and 3... Figure 3A and Figure 3B The handle 8 shown moves accordingly during its swinging motion. In fact, from... Figure 3A Transition to Figure 3B At this time, the handle 8, together with the annular brushes 2 and 3 and the drive devices 1 and 4 that support them, swings clockwise around a common axis of rotation A.

[0033] As can be seen, for this purpose, the support 6 is equipped with two retaining arms 6a and 6b, which house the annular brushes 2 and 3, and thus also the associated drive units 1 and 4 and the handle 8. For this purpose, the two retaining arms 6a and 6b are designed as triangles in this embodiment and are connected to each other by a connecting rod. Furthermore, the retaining arms 6a and 6b are each equipped with lower support legs 9, by which the support 6 can be placed on the surface O to be treated. Figure 3A and Figure 3B To understand.

[0034] pass Figure 5 As can be seen from the implementation variation, the support 6 can be connected to an operating element 10 that is movable relative to the surface O. The operating element 10 is a device that is inserted into, for example, the interior of a pipe and rotated therein, so that the interior of the pipe as the surface O can be ground by means of the support 6, which is also driven to move by the operating element 10, via a rotating brush tool connected thereto.

Claims

1. A rotary brush tool, the rotary brush tool having brush assemblies (1, 2, 3) and a drive device (1, 4), the drive device having a drive housing (1) and an output shaft (4) for the brush assemblies (1, 2, 3), wherein, The brush assembly (1, 2, 3) has a rotatably driven brush holder (1) and an annular brush (2, 3) having a bristle ring with outwardly protruding bristles (3), characterized in that the drive housing (1) of the drive device (1, 4) serves as a rotatably driven brush holder (1) relative to a fixed output shaft (4).

2. The rotating brush tool according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive unit (1, 4) is configured as an electric motor (1, 4) with a cylindrical drive housing (1).

3. The rotating brush tool according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The annular brush (2, 3) has a brush band (2) on which outwardly protruding bristles (3) are connected.

4. The rotary brush tool according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The brush belt (2) is fitted onto the drive housing (1), and if necessary, a ring adapter (5) is connected in the middle.

5. The rotary brush tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, A bracket (6) is provided, the output shaft (4) is connected to the bracket on at least one side, and the bracket is preferably additionally equipped with a stop device (7) immersed in the rotating brush ring.

6. The rotating brush tool according to claim 5, characterized in that, A handle (8) that can swing relative to the bracket (6) is connected to the bracket (6).

7. The rotating brush tool according to claim 6, characterized in that, The handle (8) carries the drive device (1, 4) together with the annular brush (2, 3).

8. The rotating brush tool according to claim 7, characterized in that, The drive unit (1, 4) and the annular brush (2, 3) are arranged coaxially with the rotation axis (A) of the handle (8).

9. The rotary brush tool according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that, The bracket (6) is supported on the surface to be treated by means of its feet.

10. The rotary brush tool according to any one of claims 5 to 9, characterized in that, The support (6) is connected to an operating element (10) that is movable relative to the surface (A), such as a robot arm, a rotating unit for inner tube processing, etc.

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