Belleville washer and Belleville spring

Abstract

A Belleville washer with interlocking teeth to allow one washer to firmly lock to an adjacent washer, positioned in series, allowing for assembly of a modular-type stackable spring, without need of a bolt for retention of washer alignment.

Claims

1. A Belleville washer with a concave surface (205), a convex surface (210), and a narrow thickness separating the concave surface (205) from the convex surface (210) and forming an outer wall (215), wherein the concave surface (205) and the convex surface (210) are symmetrical along both an X axis (201) and a Y-axis (202), wherein the Belleville washer is preloaded with an internal load along a Z-axis (203), wherein a hole (275) passes from the center of the concave surface (205) through to the center of the convex surface (210), forming an inner wall (220), wherein there is a set of n.sub.1 outer teeth (280a-c), n.sub.1 being a minimum of three, at least n.sub.11 outer teeth (280a,b) projecting from a first location (301) on the outer wall (215), the n.sub.11 outer teeth (280a,b) being spaced apart by a width of one of the n.sub.1 outer teeth (280a-c), and the remaining n.sub.1 outer teeth (280c) projecting from a second location (302) on the outer wall (215), the n.sub.1 outer teeth (280a-c) at both the first and second locations (301, 302) extending outwardly and then turning toward and extending beyond the concave surface (205), the X-axis (201) bisecting the spacing between two of the n.sub.11 (280a,b) outer teeth at the first location (301), and bisecting one of the remaining outer teeth (280c) at the second location (302), wherein there is a set of n.sub.2 inner teeth (270a-c), n.sub.2 being a minimum of three, at least n.sub.21 inner teeth (270a,b) projecting from a third location (303) on the inner wall (220), the n.sub.21 inner teeth (270a,b) being spaced apart by a width of one of the n.sub.2 inner teeth (270a-c), and the remaining n.sub.2 inner teeth (270c) projecting from a fourth location (304) on the inner wall (220), the n.sub.2 inner teeth (270a-c) at both the third and fourth locations (303, 304) extending inwardly and then turning toward and extending beyond the convex surface (210), the Y-axis (202) bisecting the spacing between two of the n.sub.21 inner teeth (270a,b) at the third location (303), and bisecting one of the remaining inner teeth (270c) at the fourth location (304).

2. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein n.sub.1 is three.

3. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein n.sub.2 is three.

4. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein n.sub.1 and n.sub.2 are both three.

5. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein the washer is made of steel.

6. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein the washer has a frustoconical shape.

7. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein the washer has an elliptic paraboloid shape.

8. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein the washer is shaped as a frustum of a pyramid with a curved rectangular base.

9. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein the washer is shaped as a frustum of a pyramid with a rectangular base.

10. The Belleville washer of claim 1, wherein the washer is shaped as a frustum of a pyramid with a square base.

11. A Belleville spring assembled from a plurality the Belleville washers of claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Preferred embodiments of the invention are described herein below with reference to the drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of a prior art Belleville washer of a frustoconical shape, with a bolt placed through its central hole;

(3) FIG. 1B shows a sectional view of a prior art Belleville washer with a contact flat;

(4) FIG. 1C shows a sectional view of a parallel stack of two prior art Belleville washers;

(5) FIG. 1D shows a sectional view of a series stack of two prior art Belleville washers;

(6) FIG. 1E shows a sectional view of a series stack of two prior art Belleville washers;

(7) FIG. 1F shows a sectional view of a parallel and series stack of prior art Belleville washers;

(8) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the Belleville washer of this invention;

(9) FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a top surface of the Belleville washer of this invention; and

(10) FIG. 4 shows a detail of a perspective view of a Belleville spring of this invention showing an assembly of six of the Belleville washers of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(11) One embodiment of the present invention is directed towards a Belleville washer incorporating a number of teeth, allowing each Belleville washer to lock to an adjacent Belleville washer of identical design, or of a design that is similar but that may vary, for example, in size, cross section, thickness, or material.

(12) FIGS. 2 and 3 show a perspective view of Belleville washer 200, which has a curved profile, with concave surface 205 and a convex surface 210. Concave surface 205 and convex surface 210 have an average length in the X-axis 201 and an average width in the Y-axis 202. Belleville washer 200 is preloaded, i.e., given an internal load along the Z-axis 203 that is independent of any working load, as reflected by the curved profile. A narrow thickness in the Z-axis 203 separates concave surface 205 from convex surface 210 and forms an outer wall 215.

(13) A hole 275 passes through from the concave surface 205 to the convex surface 210, forming an inner wall 220. Concave surface 205, convex surface 210, and hole 275 are symmetric along both X-axis 201 and Y-axis 202.

(14) One set of three interlocking inner teeth 270a, 270b, and 270c are provided on the inner wall 220. Inner teeth 270a and 270b project from a first location 301 of the inner wall 220, and inner tooth 270c projects from the opposite side of inner wall 220 at a second location 302. In a preferred embodiment as shown, inner teeth 270a, 270b, and 270c extend inwardly from the wall of inner wall 220, then curve and extend in the convex direction, extending beyond convex surface 210. Inner teeth 270a and 270b are spaced apart such that when an identical or similar Belleville washer 200 is placed adjoining the first, in a series stack with convex side facing convex side, inner tooth 270c of the second washer will fit into the spacing between inner teeth 270a and 270b of the first washer, locking the two washers together. While in a preferred embodiment there are three interlocking inner teeth, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that four or more inner teeth could be used.

(15) A second set of three interlocking outer teeth, 280a, 280b, and 280c are provided on the outer wall 215. Outer teeth 280a and 280b project from a third location 303 of the outer wall 215, and outer tooth 280c projects from the opposite side of outer wall 215 at a fourth location 304. In a preferred embodiment as shown, outer teeth 280a, 280b, and 280c extend outwardly from the wall of outer wall 215, then curve and extend in the concave direction, extending beyond concave surface 205. Outer teeth 280a and 280b are spaced apart such that when an identical or similar Belleville washer 200 is placed adjoining the first, in a series stack with concave side facing concave side, outer tooth 280c of the second washer will fit into the spacing between outer teeth 280a and 280b of the first washer, locking the two washers together. While in a preferred embodiment there are three interlocking outer teeth, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that four or more teeth could be used.

(16) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, Belleville washer 200 is shown to have inner and outer walls in the shape of a curved rectangle, so that Belleville washer 200 can be said to be shaped as an elliptic paraboloid or as a frustum of a pyramid with a curved rectangular base. In this configuration, Belleville washer 200 has long external walls 225, 230, short external walls 235, 240, long internal walls 245, 250, and short internal walls 255, 260. As discussed, various shapes are possible besides the curved rectangular shape, including the traditional round shape.

(17) Belleville washer 200 can be made from a variety of materials. Metallic options include low-carbon sheet steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, and copper. Non-metallic materials include ABS, acetal, polyester, nylon, MD nylon, polycarbonate, fiber, polyethylene and various phenolics. Washer length and width can range from inch to 3 inches or larger, and washer thickness can range from 0.01 inch to 0.25 inches or larger.

(18) Another embodiment of this invention is a Belleville spring 400 assembled from a series stack of a plurality of Belleville washers 200 discussed above. FIG. 4 shows a detail of such a Belleville spring 400, showing parts of six Belleville washers 401-406 arranged in series. Thus, the concave side of washer 401 faces the concave side of washer 402, the washers being linked together by outer teeth 280a-c. The convex side of washer 402 faces the convex side of washer 403, the washers being linked together by inner teeth 270a-c. The concave side of washer 403 faces the concave side of washer 404, the washers being linked together by outer teeth 280a-c. The convex side of washer 404 faces the convex side of washer 405, the washers being linked together by inner teeth 270a-c. The concave side of washer 405 faces the concave side of washer 406, the washers being linked together by outer teeth 280a-c.

(19) While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it will be apparent that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes and substitutions will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the following claims.