Patent Publication Number: US-2016228878-A1

Title: Manually Operated Jaw Crusher

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention relates to laboratory equipment, assay equipment, small scale ore processing, and arts and crafts. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Hand operated rock and hard materials crushers fall into the categories of the hammer, the pestle and mortar type and a small jaw crusher. Aside from the well known pestle and mortar, there are several manufactures of steel pipe based designs with manual plunger hammers. These are readily discovered on the Internet. 
     A jaw type hand operated crusher may be found under the brand name Crazy Crusher, manufactured by Goldquest LLC of Arizona, it is currently commercially available and it claims Patent Pending. 
     The Crazy Crusher uses two co-operating levers, a lever on each outer side of the crusher and joined at the operated end by a cross bar handle to directly operate the movable jaw. Four corner legs on the Crazy Crusher are vertical, an arrangement which contributes to the crusher having a strong tendency to somersault. 
     The Crazy Crusher weighs thirty four pounds, has a footprint of six inches by eleven and one half inches, a height of thirteen and one half inches and the overall length is twenty seven inches, in aggregate, a distinct impediment to its portability. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,851 titled Ore Sample Crusher, discloses a manual jaw crusher having a handle permanently fixed to the movable jaw. The handle and jaw combination are pivotally mounted to a frame and move to crush material against a fixed anvil plate. 
     US patent application Publication titled “Manual Pill Crusher”, discloses a pill crusher having a handle permanently fixed to a cam. The cam operates a ram which moves to crush pills against a crushing surface. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,917 titled Stud Extractor and Wrench Apparatus, discloses a stud removal tool having a cam system which is operated with a square drive wrench. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,058 titled Means for Holding Dies in a Jaw Crusher, discloses a lever wedge system which essentially clamps the stationary die plate in-between the crusher side walls. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 697,802 titled Ore Crusher, discloses a jaw crusher with two flywheels, and the option of driving them by hand or with a flat belt. 
     South African Patent 1997/03141 titled Rock Crusher, discloses a large hand operated jaw crusher weighing 240 Kilograms, manufactured by New Dawn Engineering, with the option of one or two flywheels, which are cranked by hand. Transverse pins are used to adjust the upper and lower jaw openings. 
     SUMMARY 
     Accordingly, objects of the present invention include improved portability by minimizing the weight, achieve compactness for portability, economy of design and manufacture and a mechanical advantage with force vectors which reduce the somersaulting tendency and minimize wasted effort. 
     A cam for driving the movable jaw is adapted to be driven with any readily detachable, conventional square drive lever of the appropriate size, thereby achieving an efficient, compact crusher of reduced weight 
     The forwardly extended front legs provide reaction to the forwardly tipping forces when work is being done. The upper ends of the front legs abut the lower portion of the stationary jaw, providing a simple and economic combination of legs and reactive members for the stationary jaw, and saving weight. 
     The stationary jaw is vertical and well secured when the pinch bolt at the top is tightened to clamp the jaw between the side plates. The stationary jaw can be moved up or down when the pinch bolt is slackened; thereby having a simple means of adjusting the gap in-between the bottoms of the jaws; also the pinch bolt provides the upper reactive member; a simple arrangement which further saves weight. When the pinch bolt is slack, the stationary jaw is easily lifted up and out of the crusher, making access for cleaning of both jaws easy. 
     A transparent poly-carbonate cover for the feed opening provides a way to observe the crushing progress and saves weight by not using a steel cover. Neodymium magnets secure the cover to the tops of the side plates and also serve as hinges; the cover can be hinged up from either side or totally removed. 
     The current embodiment of this invention has a footprint of five and one half inches by ten and one half inches and it is ten inches high and it weighs only sixteen pounds. 
     Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of the crusher. One side plate is ghosted for clarity. 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the jaws and cam arrangement. 
     
    
    
     LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           20  Movable Jaw 
           22  Stationary Jaw 
           24  Cam Follower 
           26  Threaded Oiling Hole 
           28  Cam Lobe ( FIG. 2 ) 
           30  Cam Shaft 
           32  Grooves for Retaining Clip ( FIG. 2 ) 
           34  Cam Shaft Driver Receiver 
           36  Reactive Stop for Movable Jaw 
           38  Reactive Stop Pinch Bolt 
           40  Retaining Clip 
           42  Side Plates Spacer 
           43  Nut and Bolt assembly 
           44  Through bolt and nut assembly for spacer  42   
           46  Side Plate 
           48  Retaining Clip 
           50  Cam Shaft Bushings 
           52  Rear Leg assembly 
           53  Rear Foot 
           55  Front Foot 
           54  Front Leg assembly 
           56  Transparent feed opening cover 
           58  Magnets 
       
    
     DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 ; a cam shaft  30  is manufactured from a common square drive extension bar cut to length and retaining the square drive end as the cam shaft driver receiver  34 . Grooves for retaining clips  32  are cut on a lathe, one in each end. The cam lobe  28 , cut to length from stock, is drilled off centre to snugly receive the cam shaft  30  and the two are assembled in a jig which dictates the proper position of the cam lobe  28  on the cam shaft  30 . One side of the square hole which is the cam shaft driver receiver  34  is positioned tangentially to the apex of the cam lobe  28  to ensure that when the cam shaft driving handle is upright, crushing action is available through the first ninety degrees. Each end of the cam lobe  28  is welded to the cam shaft  30 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ; the movable jaw  20  and the stationary jaw  22  are equal in size and cut from flat steel stock. A fraction of material is milled from one side of the movable jaw  20  in order to facilitate its free movement when the parallel side plates  46  are clamped to the stationary jaw using the pinch bolt  38 . 
     An oiling hole  26  is drilled and tapped in the cam follower  24 . The cam follower  24  is clamped to the rear face of the movable jaw  20  in a jig which dictates its proper position; which would be equidistant from the sides of the movable jaw  20  and a distance from the top which dictates an efficient geometry in the jaw movement. The oiling hole  26  is positioned to be upward. The movable jaw  20  is welded to the cam follower. 
     The side plates  46 , cut to length from flat steel stock, are clamped together for the drilling of pilot holes according to a template. Clamping together ensures perfect alignment between the two side plates  46 . The side plates  46  can then be separated for final drilling. The ends of the cam shaft  30  each require a different size hole. 
     After the various holes have been drilled in the side plates  46  they are once again clamped together with bolts, an alignment mandrel having been first inserted in the holes for the cam shaft  30  ends. The mandrel extends on each side of the assembly to accommodate the cam shaft bushings  50  and the mandrel has a hole through its centre for a bolt with a washer at each end to clamp the bushings to the side plates  46 . The cam shaft bushings  50  are welded to the side plates. The welds should stop short of the lubrication holes in the tops of the cam shaft bushings  50 , the lubrication holes are not illustrated, for the sake of clarity. 
     Not shown in the drawings, a sheet metal cover for the cam assembly abuts the movable jaw  20  and wraps an upper segment of the cam follower  24  and is held in place by a screw in the threaded oiling hole  26 . A flat sheet metal cover rests atop the rear legs  52 , attached with small magnets glued to the tops of the rear legs  52 . These covers are not shown in the drawings for the sake of clarity. 
     Flat steel stock for the front legs is cut to length across the flat at angles which oppose each other. Flat steel stock for the rear legs is cut to length. The holes in the front leg assembly  54  and rear leg assembly  52  are centre punched according to the template used for the side plates  46  to ensure proper alignment and then drilled. A front foot  55  and a rear foot  53  are cut to length from flat steel stock and their ends drilled for the accommodation of hold down bolts. 
     A reactive stop  36  for the bottom of the movable jaw  20  is cut to length from round steel stock and a groove is cut into each end on a lathe for retaining clips  48 . 
     Two side plates spacers  42  are cut to length from tubular steel stock. 
     Four nuts and bolts  43  are provided. Two through bolts and nuts  44  for the spacers  42  are provided 
     One reactive stop and pinch bolt  38  is provided. 
     A transparent feed opening cover  56  is polycarbonate sheet, cut to size and drilled to receive the posts of magnets  58 , the position of the magnets to correspond with the top edges of the side plates  46 . 
     The components are assembled, the crusher assembly is set upon the its front foot  55  and its rear foot  53 . The legs are welded to the feet. 
     OPERATION 
     This invention may be operated free standing or bolted to a bench or any stable object. 
     A transparent feed opening cover  56  is held to the tops of the side plates  46  by magnets  58 , with the forward edge abutting the uppermost portion of the face of the stationary jaw  22 . The transparent feed opening cover  56  should be removed or hinged to one side or the other, one magnet  58  or the other serving as a hinge. 
     A first step in operation would be to set the gap between the bottom of the movable jaw  20  and the bottom of the stationary jaw  22 , according to the desired finish size of the material after crushing. After slightly slacking the reactive stop pinch bolt  38 , the stationary jaw  22  may be adjusted in the vertical plane to achieve the desired gap. The reactive stop pinch bolt  38  is then securely tightened. 
     Materials to be crushed are deposited in the feed opening; the transparent feed opening cover  56  is then placed over the feed opening. 
     A readily detachable, conventional square drive lever, serves as the cam shaft  30  driver, and is inserted in the cam shaft driver receiver  34 , facilitating the rotation of the cam shaft  30 . The cam shaft  30  may be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise, through any increment of 360 degrees. Rotation of the cam shaft  30  and its cam lobe  28   FIG. 2  in the cam follower  24  operates the movable jaw. Reciprocating movement of the square drive lever cam shaft  30  driver through an arc in either direction will achieve a crushing action. 
     While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one embodiment thereof. Many variations are possible. 
     Utilizing the conventional square drive system provides a convenient and economic means of driving the cam shaft. Many male to female lever engaging means are possible. An end of the cam shaft could be hexagonal to receive a wrench or formed to receive a socket wrench. Other detachable lever means can be devised, such as a lever which grips the cam shaft. 
     The vertical stationary jaw need not be vertical. 
     The reactive stop and pinch bolt need not be of the threaded nut and bolt variety. It could for instance utilize one of a variety of cam lock systems. 
     The upper ends of the front legs could abut the upper portion of the stationary jaw and the re-active stop pinch bolt be transversely against the lower portion of the stationary jaw. 
     A length of square steel tube or a length of steel channel could be used for the crusher body. 
     Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be determined by the embodiments described, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.