Hub Adapter and Shaft Cutter for Seized Sirocco Fan Disassembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
In HVAC systems, the hub of a sirocco fan often becomes seized to the drive shaft due to rust and corrosion, making it difficult to disassemble, especially within the tight space of the fan, as conventional tools struggle to grasp the hub and shorten the excessively protruding drive shaft.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable tool that includes a cylindrical adapter with set screws for securing the hub, a saw component for cutting the shaft, and a driver tool for extracting the shaft from the hub, allowing for simultaneous cutting and driving operations within the confined space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional shaft driving tools are used to grasp the hub, then the hub can be driven, but the excessively protruding drive shaft blocks the tool from properly grasping the hub
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is divided into two distinct functional components: a cutting component with a circular saw blade to shorten the protruding shaft, and a driving component with jaw arms to grasp and drive the hub. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function without interference from the other, solving the problem of the protruding shaft blocking the grasping action.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting component is used first to shorten the excessively protruding drive shaft before the driving component is used to grasp and drive the hub. This preliminary action of cutting removes the obstruction that would otherwise prevent the driving tool from properly engaging with the hub.
2Length of moving object
If commonly available cutting tools are used to shorten the axle, then the shaft can be cut, but it is difficult to accomplish within the constrained working space of the sirocco fan interior
Solution Approach 1:
The circular saw blade is mounted within a cutting component that nests within the housing, and the entire cutting component can be positioned within the constrained interior space of the sirocco fan. The nested structure allows the cutting tool to access the protruding shaft while maintaining a compact profile that fits within the limited working space.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting component is designed to approach the protruding shaft from a direction that utilizes the available three-dimensional space within the fan interior. By orienting the saw blade perpendicular to the shaft axis and positioning it through the housing opening, the tool effectively uses spatial dimensions to perform cutting within constrained boundaries.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a single tool performs both cutting and driving functions, then tool versatility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The unified tool consists of two separately designed functional components (cutting component and driving component) that are connected through a common housing and power transmission system. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while being integrated into a single tool platform, balancing versatility with manageable complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tool is designed as a multi-functional device where a single power source (rotating element driven by motor or hand tool) can perform both cutting (via circular saw blade) and driving (via jaw arms gripping the hub). This universality allows one tool to replace multiple specialized tools, achieving versatility while the integrated design keeps complexity controlled through shared structural elements.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for cutting and driving a shaft which extends from a hub, the apparatus incorporating a hub adapter fitted to receive the hub; a plurality of set screws mounted upon the hub adapter for clamping the adapter upon the hub; a half of a releasable fastener attached to the hub; a pair of adapters which are fitted for alternatively receiving the hub adapter; a pair of second halves of the releasable fastener which are adapted for alternatively completing the releasable fastener, wherein each of the second halves of the releasable fastener is connected to one of the adapters among the pair of adapters; a pivoting rotary saw connected to one of the adapters among the pair of adapters; and a shaft driver tool connected to the other of the adapters among the pair of adapters.