Abstract:
A puller device for pulling bearings, gears, wheels and pulleys from objects such as shafts and axles and other machine parts. The puller device includes a jaw support assembly; jaw members being in operable communication with the jaw support assembly; a jaw actuating assembly being supported by the jaw support assembly and including a jaw guide member being in operable communication with the jaw members; and an elongate push member being adjustable relative to and in operable communication with the jaw support assembly for urging against an object to facilitate the removal of a press fitted work piece.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to puller devices and more particularly pertains to a new puller device for pulling bearings, gears, wheels and pulleys from objects such as shafts and axles and other machine parts. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The use of puller devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, puller devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
     The prior art includes three pivotally mounted jaws and a cam ring which moves forward to pivot and lock the jaws about an object. The improvements comprise a flange-less, disk-like collar having axial slots therein to pivotally mount the jaws, a threaded sleeve which is threaded into a receiving member of the collar, and a T-handle which replaces the nut and which can be adjusted without a tool. Another prior art includes a puller having three pivotally mounted jaws and a cam ring which moves forward to pivot and lock the jaws about an object. A projecting lug structure is suspended only from the cam ring which projects beneath the under surfaces of the jaws to cam the jaws apart as the cam ring moves rearward with the projecting lug of the cam ring engaging the undersurfaces of the jaws. The under surfaces of the jaws follow a tapered path relative to the movement of the cam ring so as to cam the jaws apart. Yet, another prior art includes a locking puller for pulling such objects as the inner race of a bearing, gear, or sprocket off of shafts. The puller has three jaws each pivotally mounted to a collar to enable the jaws to pivot radially toward one another to engage such objects to pull such objects off of a shaft. The apparatus has a cam ring with a triangular shape and rearwardly extending braces which are fixed to a rearward ring. The collar has a rearwardly threaded cylindrical portion with a nut threaded onto the cylindrical portion. The nut has an annular groove with the rearward ring rotatably mounted to a nut in the groove. The cam ring surrounds jaws at a location forward of the pivotal mounting of the jaw. The jaws are tapered. The tapered surfaces of the forward end of the jaws have a radius greater than that of the inner surfaces of the cam ring when an object to be pulled is engaged between the jaws, whereby an operator may rotate the nut to move the rearward ring forward thereby moving the braces and cam ring forward until the cam ring engages the outer surfaces of the jaws in a wedging manner to thereby lock the jaws to the object to be pulled. A rod is threaded into the center of the collar which is thereafter rotated to move it forward until it engages the end of the shaft and force is applied to move the rod further forward with the jaws thereby pulling the object rearward towards the end of the shaft. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose the present puller device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new puller device which has many of the advantages of the puller devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new puller device which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art puller devices, either alone or in any combination thereof. The present invention includes a jaw support assembly; jaw members being in operable communication with the jaw support assembly; a jaw actuating assembly being supported by the jaw support assembly and including a jaw guide member being in operable communication with the jaw members; and an elongate push member being adjustable relative to and in operable communication with the jaw support assembly. None of the prior art includes the combination of the elements of the present invention. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the puller device in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a new puller device which has many of the advantages of the puller devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new puller device which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art puller devices, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new puller device for pulling bearings, gears, wheels and pulleys from objects such as shafts and axles and other machine parts. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new puller device that substantially increases the performance to effectively clamp the jaws about and remove the bearings, gears, wheels and pulleys. 
     Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new puller device that not only increases performance, but also maintains the clamping torque needed to accomplish the task. 
     Also another object of the present invention is to provide a new puller device that substantially reduces the time it takes to effectively remove the bearings, gears, wheels and pulleys. 
     These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the puller device with the linkage being unloaded as shown in the attachment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the puller with the linkage being loaded as shown in the attachment. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the puller device. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 3  thereof, a new puller device embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the puller device  10  generally comprises a jaw support assembly  60 , jaw members  12 , 19  being in operable communication with the jaw support assembly  60 , a jaw actuating assembly  44 , 57  being supported by the jaw support assembly  60  and including a jaw guide member  44  being in operable communication with the jaw members  12 , 19 , and an elongate push member  58  being adjustable relative to and in operable communication with the jaw support assembly  60 . 
     The jaw support assembly  60  includes pivot members  26 , 33 , 40  being pivotally and conventionally attached with fasteners to the jaw members  12 , 19  for increasing radial movement and increasing clamping force of the jaw members  12 , 19  about a work piece which is press fitted in an object. The pivot members  26 , 33 , 40  includes linkage members  26 , 33  being pivotally and conventionally attached with fasteners to the jaw members  12 , 19  and being in operable communication with the jaw support assembly  60 . Each linkage member  26 , 33  is a strip of solid material and has a distal end  29 , 36  and also has a hole  30 , 37  being disposed therethrough approximate to the distal end  29 , 36  and through which the fasteners are inserted. The distal end  29 , 36  of each linkage member  26 , 33  is pivotally fastened with the fasteners to a respective jaw member  12 , 19 . Each linkage member  26 , 33  also has a lug  31 , 38  integrally extending outwardly from a portion of the distal end  29 , 36  and being engagable to a respective jaw member  12 , 19 . The lug  31 , 38  of each linkage member  26 , 33  is longitudinally aligned with an outer edge  3 , 39  of a respective linkage member  26 , 33  and is engagable to an outer edge  18 , 25  of a respective jaw member  12 , 19 . The pivot members  26 , 33 , 40  further include a collar  40  being securely and conventionally supported by the jaw support assembly  60 . The collar  40  is a block of material with a bore  41  being disposed therethrough. The block of material further has ears  42 , 43  being spaced apart and extending about a circumference thereof with each ear  42 , 43  having a hole being disposed therethrough. Each linkage member  26 , 33  has a proximate end  27 , 34  and a hole  28 , 35  being disposed therethrough approximate to the proximate end  27 , 34  with the proximate end  27 , 34  being pivotally attached with a conventional fastener to the collar  40  and in particular to a respective ear  42 , 43  of the collar  40 . 
     The jaw members  12 , 19  are pivotally and conventionally attached with fasteners to at least one of the collar  40  and the linkage member  26 , 33  for increasing radial movement and increasing clamping force of the jaw members  12 , 19 . Each jaw member  12 , 19  has a proximate end  13 , 20  being pivotally fastened to at least one pivot member and has an arcuate distal end  14 , 21  being engagable to a work piece being removed from an object. Each jaw member  12 , 19  has flanges  16 , 17 , 23 , 24  being integrally attached to and extending along either side of the jaw member  12 , 19 . Each jaw member  12 , 19  has a curved tip  15 , 22  at the distal end  14 , 21  thereof for engaging and gripping the work piece being removed from the object. 
     The jaw guide member  44  includes transverse support members  53 , 54  being spaced apart and also includes brace members  45 , 49  conventionally interconnecting the transverse support members  53 , 54 . The support members  53 , 54  are planar members and includes a first planar member  53  and a second planar member  54  with the planar members  53 , 54  each having an opening  55 , 56  being centrally disposed therethrough. The second planar member  54  further has T-shaped slots  48 , 52  being disposed therethrough near a perimeter thereof as viewed above or below the centrally-disposed opening  56 . The flanges  16 , 17 , 23 , 24  of each jaw member  12 , 18  is movably and engagably received in a respective T-shaped slot  48 , 52  with the jaw guide member  44  pivoting the jaw members  12 , 19  relative to the pivot members  26 , 33 , 40  and to the work piece  59 . The jaw actuating assembly also includes a jaw guide actuating member  57  supporting the jaw guide member  44  and being in operable communication with the jaw support assembly  60 . The jaw support assembly  60  further includes a hollow threaded shaft  11  with the collar  40  being securely and conventionally supported thereto with a portion of the hollow threaded shaft  11  being conventionally secured in the bore  41  of the collar  40 . The jaw guide actuating member  57  is a handle being threaded upon the hollow threaded shaft  11 . The hollow threaded shaft  11  is disposed through the centrally-disposed opening  55  of the first planar member  53  with the brace members  45 , 49  being attached at the perimeters of the first and second planar members  53 , 54  with the first planar member  53  being engagable to the handle  57 . The elongate push member  58  is a rod being threaded through the hollow threaded shaft  11  and being engagable to the work piece  59  with a nut or some other member being attached to an end of the rod to facilitate the threading of the rod through the hollow threaded shaft  11  and into engagement with the object. 
     In use, the puller device  10  is positioned before the work piece to be removed from the object and the handle is unthreaded along a portion of the hollow threaded shaft  11  to move the jaw guide member  44  away from the jaw members  12 , 19  which spreads apart the jaw members  12 , 19  because the second planar member  54  engage the flanges  16 , 17 , 23 , 24  to spread apart the jaw members  12 , 19 . The user is able to manipulate the handle much faster because the threads along the hollow threaded shaft  11  are gapped and spread more than double farther apart than what is conventional so that it takes the user fewer windings to move the handle along the hollow threaded shaft  11  thus increasing performance by reducing the amount of time to move the handle and the jaw members  12 , 19 . Because of the wider gap of the threads on the hollow threaded shaft  11 , there will be less torque generated and to compensate for that, the linkage members  26 , 33  put more pressure and force on the jaw members  12 , 19 . Once the jaw members  12 , 19  are spread far enough apart to allow the curved tips  15 , 22  of the jaw members  12 , 19  to be placed about the work piece, the user threads the handle toward the jaw members  12 , 19  along the hollow threaded member  11  which pulls and draws the jaw members  12 ,  19  together about the work piece because of the second planar member  54  engaging the flanges  16 , 17 , 23 , 24  and the linkage members  26 , 33 . Once the jaw members  12 , 19  are tightly secured about the work piece, the user then threads the elongate push member  58  using a suitable tool through the hollow threaded shaft  11 , which engages and pushes against the object with the effect of the jaw members  12 , 19  pulling on the work piece  59  thus causing the jaw members  12 , 19  to essentially straighten out and putting torque on the jaw members  12 , 19 . The elongate push member  58  is continually threaded until the work piece is removed from the object, and then the jaw members  12 , 19  are removed from the work piece by once again unthreading the handle along the hollow threaded shaft  11 . 
     As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the puller device. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention.