Pivoting Pulley Puller Legs for Harmonic Damper Spoke Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tools for removing harmonic damper pulleys from crankshafts are difficult to use due to the tight connections and the challenge of gripping the pulley hub, requiring a more effective and easier-to-use solution.
Innovation Solution
A pulley pulling device and kit featuring a hub with clevis portions and pivotally connected legs, a threaded rod, and a bearing element or plug to provide a bearing surface, allowing for optimized contact and frictional engagement with the pulley spokes, facilitating its removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a traditional threaded rod tool is used to remove the harmonic damper pulley, then the pulling force can be increased to overcome the tight friction connection, but the tool is difficult to operate due to the challenge of gripping the pulley hub
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is segmented into multiple functional components: a hub with clevis portions, multiple legs with feet for gripping pulley spokes, a threaded rod for applying pulling force, and a bearing element. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally, with the legs and feet specifically designed to grip the pulley spokes rather than requiring access to the difficult-to-reach hub
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the dimension of engagement by moving from central hub engagement (axial dimension) to spoke engagement (radial dimension). The legs extend radially outward from the hub and their feet engage the pulley spokes, allowing the tool to grip the pulley from the outside rather than requiring internal hub access, thus improving ease of operation
2Reliability
If the tool is designed to grip the hub from front to rear, then it can apply pulling force to the pulley, but the hub is a difficult location to grip
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of gripping the pulley hub from the front (traditional approach), the invention inverts the approach by gripping the pulley spokes from the outside using legs that extend radially outward. The feet of the legs engage the outer surfaces of the spokes, reversing the conventional inside-out engagement method and making the tool much easier to operate
Solution Approach 2:
The legs act as intermediary elements between the hub and the pulley spokes. The legs are pivotally connected to the hub and extend outward to engage the spokes, serving as mediators that transfer the pulling force from the threaded rod through the hub to the pulley spokes, while also providing the easy-to-access gripping interface
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device enables easier and more effective removal of harmonic damper pulleys by providing enhanced grip and frictional engagement with the pulley spokes, reducing the effort required to overcome the tight connections.
Implementation Method 1
the threaded rod engaged with the threaded aperture
Implementation Method 2
As the threads are turned on the threaded rod, the pulling force is increased on the pulley
Implementation Method 3
the threaded rod having a cavity configured to receive a bearing element
Implementation Method 4
the foot extending perpendicularly to the leg element on a second end... optimized contact therebetween
Data Source
AI summary
A pulley pulling device for removing a harmonic damper pulley having at least two spoke portions from a crankshaft comprises a hub including at least two clevis portions. A plurality of legs are pivotably connected to respective ones of the clevis portions, with the legs each including a body portion and a foot portion protruding laterally therefrom. The body and foot portions are contoured and oriented relative to each other such that the foot portion is adapted to engage a corresponding one of the spoke portions and to selectively pivot relative thereto as achieves optimized contact therebetween.