Balancer for tools, equipment and loads in general

Abstract

A balancer for tools, equipment and loads in general, which comprises a shell (2) for accommodating a rotating drum (3) for winding and unwinding a cable (4), configured to support a load with an end portion (4a) thereof, which is kept external to the shell (2). The shell (2) accommodates a return spring (5), configured to generate a constraining reaction which contrasts the unwinding of the cable (4). The balancer comprises a tubular sheath (6) for covering a portion of the cable (4), which is external to the shell (2); the end portion (4a) protrudes from the sheath (6) and comprises an element (7) for stopping the winding stroke of the cable (4), which can be activated automatically upon contact with the corresponding end (6a) of the sheath (6).

Description

[0001] BALANCER FOR TOOLS, EQUIPMENT AND LOADS IN GENERAL

[0002] The present invention relates to a balancer for tools, equipment and loads in general.

[0003] The balancer is a tool that is widely used in workshops and production or assembly departments since, for example, it allows to facilitate the task of an operator who has to interact with a tool to perform his or her job.

[0004] In greater detail, according to a now well-established configuration, the balancer comprises a shell, which is hung from the ceiling or a wall and houses inside it a rotating drum, around which a cable is wound. One end of the cable is made to exit through a hole provided in the shell and has a hook or snap hook to which the concerned tool can be coupled.

[0005] The unwinding of the cable is contrasted by a spring (for example, a coil spring), which is typically also wound around the drum: thus, the constraining reaction generated by the spring, as a result indeed of the progressive unwinding of the cable, can balance or overcome the weight of the tool and accomplish a dual task.

[0006] Indeed, in some applications, the constraining reaction allows to reduce or cancel out the perceived weight of the tool, enabling the operator to handle it effortlessly.

[0007] As an alternative, or in addition to the above, when the operator releases the tool when work is complete, the constraining reaction can return and keep the tool at an assigned place (proximate to the drum and shell), keeping the work area tidy and uncluttered but allowing the operator to easily find it again in the future.

[0008] A balancer according to the configuration outlined above can moreover be used to support loads of other types (protective barriers or accessories for robots, for example), even those not intended for human handling. This obviously makes it possible to keep the load raised off the ground and / or to reduce its weight on the ground (or, more simply, allows an operator to move it from one point to another in the building).

[0009] However, this embodiment is not without drawbacks.

[0010] The configuration outlined above has some limitations in terms of the placement of the shell and in general the layout of the work station where the balancer is used.

[0011] In fact, first of all, when choosing the placement of the shell, one must take into account that the rewinding stroke limiter is located precisely at the hole from which the cable exits and the return action of the spring is exerted there.

[0012] This must be appropriately taken into account during the planning of the layout, since it determines an upper limit to the distance at which the tool can be effectively used or the load can be suspended, relative to the position of the shell, and requires that the shell and hole be oriented so that the cable exits vertically.

[0013] Likewise, when the work is done, the balancer can draw the tool back towards itself, and said tool is thus brought proximate to or in contact with the shell: the shell must therefore be placed in a position that can be easily reached by the operator if one wishes to use the tool itself again.

[0014] Moreover, in some specific industrial contexts, the use of balancers is discouraged or at least limited, due to the associated high risk of contamination, which is clearly highly undesirable in the food industry, in the medical sector, or in any case wherever it is necessary to operate in a "clean room" or other controlled-atmo sphere environments.

[0015] In fact, unwinding and rewinding cause friction of the cable within the shell or against the edge of the hole, with possible release of particles that fall from the latter, affecting the area below, where the operator is using the tool or otherwise the load is located. More generally, the movement of the cable can cause dust, fine particulate matter, and miscellaneous debris, previously accumulated inside the shell, to fall out.

[0016] The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems described by providing a balancer which is versatile, easily usable in a variety of contexts, and without limitations to its placement and to the layout of the station in which it is used.

[0017] Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a balancer that allows to interact easily with a tool or load in clean rooms and controlled- atmosphere environments in general.

[0018] Another object of the invention is to provide a balancer that allows to interact easily with a tool or to support a load at a considerable distance from the location of the shell that accommodates the cable winding drum.

[0019] Another object of the invention is to provide a balancer that ensures high reliability of operation.

[0020] Another object of the invention is to provide a balancer that adopts a technical and structural architecture that is alternative to those of balancers of the known type.

[0021] Still another object of the invention is to provide a balancer that has low costs and is of assured application.

[0022] Not least object of the invention is to provide a balancer that is easily obtainable starting from commonly commercially available elements and materials.

[0023] This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a balancer for tools, equipment and loads in general, comprising a shell for accommodating a rotating drum for winding and unwinding a cable, configured to support a load with an end portion thereof, which is kept external to said shell, said shell accommodating a return spring, configured to generate a constraining reaction which contrasts the unwinding of said cable, characterized in that it comprises a tubular sheath for covering a portion of said cable, which is external to said shell, said end portion protruding from said sheath and comprising an element for stopping the winding stroke of said cable, which can be activated automatically upon contact with the corresponding end of said sheath. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the balancer according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0024] Figure 1 is a front elevation view of the balancer according to the invention;

[0025] Figure 2 is a sectional view of Figure 1, taken along the plane II-II;

[0026] Figure 3 is a lateral elevation view of the balancer of Figure 1;

[0027] Figure 4 is a sectional view of Figure 3, taken along the plane IV-IV;

[0028] Figures 5-8 are views of the balancer of Figure 1 in different configurations of use, in a sectional view similar to that of Figure 4 but viewed from the opposite side.

[0029] With reference to the figures, a balancer for tools, equipment and loads in general (of any kind) is generally designated by the reference numeral 1.

[0030] In a possible application of the invention, the balancer 1 may be used to provide a valid aid to a user (for example, a worker or operator of a production or assembly department) who has to perform various kinds of tasks indeed by making use of a tool.

[0031] Likewise, the balancer 1 can be used to support the weight of equipment of any kind (protective barriers, peripheral accessories for robots, etcetera), even those not intended for human handling.

[0032] In general, the protective scope of the balancer 1 extends to supporting loads of any kind, where in the present description the term "load" means a tool, a piece of equipment, a machine, an apparatus, goods, and / or any other object or device; moreover, this scope extends to any industrial sector and / or any practical application; likewise, as will be evident from what will be stated hereinafter, the particularities of the invention are enhanced when the balancer 1 is used in controlled- atmosphere environments that impose special requirements for low contamination and / or when the layout of the work station in which it is to be used limits the configuration and / or placement of the balancer 1, which would render traditional systems ineffective or unusable.

[0033] In particular, then, the balancer 1 first of all comprises a shell 2, which can be hung from the ceiling or a wall for example by means of a tie, hook, and / or other similar accessories, which support said shell 2 and can be threaded through eyes 2a appropriately provided in protruding, contoured lugs of said shell 2.

[0034] The shell 2 accommodates (inside it) a rotating winding and unwinding drum 3 for a cable 4 (typically but not necessarily made of metal, for example steel).

[0035] The drum 3 may be cylindrical, conical, frustum- shaped, or otherwise shaped, without thereby abandoning the protective scope claimed herein.

[0036] The cable 4 (usually fixed to the drum 3) is configured to support the load (which can be of any shape, type, or intended use) with an end portion 4a, which is kept outside the shell 2 (therefore on the opposite side with respect to the end portion that is fixed to the drum 3).

[0037] Typically, in fact, a passage inlet 2b is provided along the shell 2 and the cable 4 is indeed made to exit through said inlet, in order to allow the user to handle the tool at least temporarily coupled to the end portion 4a itself or more simply to support the load, balancing its weight completely or partially.

[0038] Moreover, the shell 2 accommodates a return spring 5 (which is usually preloaded and fixed to the drum 3), which is configured to generate a constraining reaction capable of contrasting (at least partially) the unwinding of the cable 4.

[0039] Typically, but not necessarily, as in the accompanying figures, the spring 5 is wound around the axis of rotation A of the drum 3 and may be for example a coil spring.

[0040] In greater detail, therefore, as a result of the unwinding of the cable 4 and of the consequent rotation of the drum 3, the spring 5 generates a constrained reaction that contrasts the unwinding and thus tends to make it (re)wind around the drum 3 (because it tends to make the latter rotate in the opposite direction). If the load is a tool, typically rewinding occurs at the end of its use.

[0041] The constraining reaction of the spring 5 thus reduces the perceived weight of the tool and / or tends to automatically return said tool toward the shell 2 at the end of its use, in an easily identifiable resting position that is maintained over time.

[0042] More simply, the balancer 1 allows to keep the load suspended and / or reduce the weight discharged to the ground.

[0043] Up to this point, however, the balancer 1 is of the traditional type and can indeed be used (for example) to provide a valid aid to operators who have to perform tasks of various kinds by using the tool that hangs from the end portion 4a. Apart from the particularities described hereinafter, the person skilled in the art may choose in this context, in each instance, the setup and embodiment of the balancer 1 that are deemed most appropriate, based on common industry expertise and as a function of the specific requirements, without however abandoning the protective scope claimed herein.

[0044] According to the invention, the balancer 1 comprises a tubular sheath 6 for covering a portion of the cable 4, which is external to the shell 2. The end portion 4a in turn exits from the sheath 6 and comprises an element 7 for stopping the (re)winding stroke of the cable 4 (during which the cable 4 slides within the sheath 6), which is automatically activated upon contact with the corresponding end 6a of the sheath 6 (on the opposite side with respect to the shell 2).

[0045] In other words, when the operator or the weight itself of the load causes the cable 4 to unwind, the cable slides within the sheath 6 and the end portion 4a, with the tool or another load, can be spaced from the shell 2 (and from the sheath 6). Likewise, by virtue of the stopping element 7 the sheath 6 (the end 6a that is opposite to the inlet 2b and the shell 2) forms a kind of stroke limiter for the rewinding stroke of the cable 4: thus, and unlike known solutions, in the inactive configuration (of maximum allowed rewinding) the end portion 4a does not end up proximate to the shell 2, but is proximate to the corresponding end 6a of the sheath 6, at a possibly considerable distance from the shell 2 (depending, of course, on the length chosen for the sheath 6 and on its arrangement in space).

[0046] The sheath 6 can be rigid or flexible, depending on the specific uses, and / or can be placed in conduits or otherwise fixed to accessories that define its orientation and arrangement in space. The sheath 6 can be made of a polymeric material, for example, or even of another type, and must be preferably or substantially incompressible (in the longitudinal direction).

[0047] In the preferred embodiment, illustrated in the accompanying drawings by way of example which does not limit the protective scope claimed herein, the stopping element 7 comprises (or is constituted by) an enlarged body 8, which has a transverse dimension (with respect to the longitudinal dimension of the cable 4 and the sheath 6) that is greater than the transverse dimension (the diameter) of the internal channel of the sheath 6 (within which the cable 4 indeed runs) or at least greater than the passage opening at the end 6a.

[0048] Thus, the rewinding of cable 4 automatically stops when the body 8 rests against the end 6a of the sheath 6, since the dimensions do not allow said body 8 to enter the sheath 6 in turn.

[0049] More particularly, and with further reference to the preferred solution of the accompanying figures, the body 8 can be a ball.

[0050] Usefully, the end portion 4a can comprise a snap hook 9, which is configured to support the load. Instead of the snap hook 9, it is possible to use a regular hook or claw hook or another accessory capable of ensuring a stable but easily removable coupling between the cable 4 and the load. The manner of fixing or otherwise coupling (if any) the sheath 6 to the shell 2 may be any, without abandoning the protective scope claimed herein.

[0051] Within this scope, in the embodiment of the accompanying figures, which is of considerable practical interest but does not limit the protective scope claimed herein, the balancer 1 comprises a bushing 10, for example made of metal, which is rigidly fitted around a portion of the sheath 6 and is at least partially inserted in a sleeve 11, for example made of polymeric material, which is in turn rigidly engaged in the inlet 2b.

[0052] More particularly, the balancer 1 may also comprise a clamping nut 12 (which optionally cooperates with a lock nut), which is screwed around the bushing 10, so as to ensure the locking of said bushing 10 against the sleeve 11.

[0053] The operation of the balancer according to the invention, as can be easily deduced from the above description, is as follows.

[0054] In per se known manners, the balancer 1 can be hung from the ceiling or a wall of an industrial building, factory or any enclosed space.

[0055] A tool or load of any kind that an operator wishes to use can be coupled to the end portion 4a of the cable 4. The cable 4 can unwind at least partially from the drum 3 to optionally allow the operator to shift and move away from the shell 2 while grasping and handling the tool (or, even before that, to bring the end portion 4a closer to the tool and attach it to the latter). The cable 4 can also unwind under the weight of the load hanging from end portion 4a.

[0056] The elastic reaction of the spring 5, consequent to the unwinding of the cable 4 and the rotation of the drum 3, reduces or cancels out the weight of the tool, making it easy to use or otherwise to allow to keep the load suspended and / or reduce its weight on the ground. Moreover, or as an alternative, the elastic reaction of the spring 5 returns the tool toward the shell 2 when work is finished and therefore when the tool is released by the operator.

[0057] As already noted, the presence of the sheath 6 prevents the end portion 4a (and the load coupled to it, if any) from moving proximate to or in contact with the shell 2, as instead occurs with the known solutions, in which the rewinding stroke limit (the rest configuration) coincides indeed with the resting of the end portion 4a against the shell 2. By using the balancer 1 according to the invention, the rewinding stroke stops when end portion 4a (the stopping element 7) rests against the end 6a of the sheath 6 that is opposite to the shell 2, and this condition defines the rest configuration.

[0058] This allows to achieve the intended aim and objects.

[0059] In fact, the return action of the spring 5 is applied at the end 6a of the sheath 6 (and not at the inlet 2b of the shell 2), thereby first of all constantly ensuring an effective pulling action, even in the rest configuration (regardless of the preloading of the spring 5).

[0060] Moreover, this allows to arrange and orient the shell 2 and the inlet 2b in any way in space: the exit direction of the cable 4 from the shell 2 may be any (as shown by the various examples of Figures 5-8), without however compromising optimal operation, since the action of the spring 5 is not exerted at the inlet 2b.

[0061] The sheath 6 allows to keep the end portion 4a and thus the tool or load very far from the shell 2, where the drum 3 and the spring 5 are accommodated: it is specified in this regard that the sheath 6 can be of any length, and likewise the possibility of supplying balancers 1 already equipped with a set of interchangeable sheaths 6 of different lengths is not ruled out.

[0062] In addition to ensuring obvious advantages in terms of configurability and re-configurability of the layout of the balancer 1 and of the work station that involves the operator and / or the balancer 1, the use of the sheath 6 allows to place the shell 2 in a room or compartment that are distinct from the one in which the operator is to use the tool or in which the load is located. Indeed, it is sufficient to provide conduits or passages of various types, between one enclosed space and another, into which the sheath 6 is introduced, in order to be able to keep the end 6a of the sheath 6 (and thus the tool / load hanging from the end portion 4a) in a different environment with respect to the one in which the shell 2 is located.

[0063] This turns out to be of utmost practical interest, since fine dust or debris that might fall from the shell 2 during normal use at most spreads into the environment in which the latter is located, but has no way of escaping from the sheath 6 and thus does not affect the environment in which the tool is to be used or the load is to be kept. In this context, the installation of an O-ring or other sealing element at the end 6a of the sheath 6 is not ruled out as an additional safeguard against the danger of the escape of contaminating particles from the sheath 6.

[0064] Thus, the balancer 1 according to the invention allows a load to be supported and / or allows to interact easily with a tool in clean rooms and controlled-atmosphere environments in general (since shell 2 can be kept outside such environments). For example, the balancer 1 allows to interact with a tool or support a load in enclosed spaces intended for the food, clinical, or pharmaceutical sectors.

[0065] The results described above are achieved with an embodiment that is structurally simple and easy to provide in practice, and this ensures the costeffectiveness and reliability of the invention.

[0066] In practice it has been found that the balancer according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since the use of a sheath 6 that covers a portion of the cable 4 but not its end portion 4a, which is instead kept external to the sheath 6, makes the balancer 1 versatile, easily usable in different contexts and without limitations to its placement and to the layout of the work station in which it is used.

[0067] The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent ones.

[0068] In the embodiments shown, individual characteristics, given in relation to specific examples, may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other embodiments.

[0069] In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

[0070] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102023000010887 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

[0071] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A balancer for tools, equipment and loads in general, comprising a shell (2) for accommodating a rotating drum (3) for winding and unwinding a cable (4), configured to support a load with an end portion (4a) thereof, which is kept external to said shell (2), said shell (2) accommodating a return spring (5), configured to generate a constraining reaction which contrasts the unwinding of said cable (4), characterized in that it comprises a tubular sheath (6) for covering a portion of said cable (4), which is external to said shell (2), said end portion (4a) protruding from said sheath (6) and comprising an element (7) for stopping the winding stroke of said cable (4), which can be activated automatically upon contact with the corresponding end (6a) of said sheath (6).

2. The balancer according to claim 1, characterized in that said stopping element (7) comprises an enlarged body (8), having a transverse dimension that is greater than the transverse dimension of the internal channel of said sheath (6).

3. The balancer according to claim 2, characterized in that said body (8) is a ball.

4. The balancer according to claim 1, characterized in that said end portion (4a) comprises a snap hook (9), configured to support the load.

5. The balancer according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a bushing (10) fitted around a portion of said sheath (6) and at least partially inserted in a sleeve (11) engaged in an inlet (2b) of the shell (2).

6. The balancer according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises a clamping nut (12) screwed around said bushing (10), in order to lock said bushing (10) against said sleeve (11).

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