Elastic drive belt assembly

Abstract

The elastic drive belt system connects the belt directly to a drive shaft and driven pulley. The elastic drive belt has a plurality of longitudinal ribs on the traction side of the belt. The drive shaft has a plurality of grooves sized and arranged to receive and engage the longitudinal ribs on the belt to facility torque transfer and alignment. This system facilitates delivery of relatively high amounts of torque to the driven pulley using relatively low horsepower motors. In many applications, such as a sander, the elastic drive belt system eliminates the need to readjust the tension on the belt as it wears.

1 . A sander for a wooden floor with an elastic drive belt having a plurality of longitudinal ribs comprising:
 a drive system,   the drive system consisting of:   a drive shaft protruding from an electric motor, the shaft having a plurality of grooves formed therein to engage the ribs in the elastic drive belt;   a driven pulley operatively connected to a sanding disk for sanding the wooden floor, the driven pulley aligned with the grooves in the drive shaft;   the drive shaft and the driven pulley being fixed in relation to each other; and   the elastic drive belt being positioned around the drive shaft and the driven pulley to transfer torque from the electric motor to the driven pulley and the sanding disk.   the sander further comprising:   a dust fan blade element mounted on the drive shaft and driven by the electric motor; the dust fan blade element positioned between the sanding disk and a dust collection receptacle to facilitate dust control.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the speed of the drive shaft and the fan is in the range of about 12,000 rpm to about 14,000 rpm and the speed of the sanding disk is in the range of about 2,800 rpm to about 3,200 rpm. 
   
   
       3 . A sander for a wooden floor with an elastic drive belt having a plurality of longitudinal ribs comprising:
 a generally cylindrical drive shaft protruding from a motor, the drive shaft characterized by an absence of a pulley on the drive shaft;   a driven pulley remotely located from the drive shaft, each fixed in location to each other;   the elastic drive belt contacting the drive shaft and the driven pulley to transfer torque from the drive shaft to the remotely located driven pulley;   a dust fan blade element mounted on the drive shaft;   a plurality of grooves formed in the drive shaft between the fan and the motor, the grooves sized to engage the ribs in the elastic drive belt;   the driven pulley operatively connected to a sanding disk for sanding wooden floors; and   a shroud surrounding the fan and proximate the sanding disk to direct dust from the wooden floor, past the fan to a dust receptacle.   
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the speed of the drive shaft and the fan is in the range of about 11,000 rpm to about 13,000 rpm and the speed of the driven pulley is in the range of about 2,000 rpm to about 4,000 rpm. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the fan rotates at about 12,000 rpm and the sanding disk rotates about 3,000 rpm. 
   
   
       6 . A sander for wooden floors with an elastic drive belt having a plurality of longitudinal ribs comprising:
 a generally cylindrical drive shaft protruding from a motor;   a driven pulley remotely located from the drive shaft;   the elastic drive belt wrapping around and engaging a portion of the drive shaft and also wrapping around and engaging at least a portion the remotely located driven pulley to transfer torque from the drive shaft to the driven pulley, the drive shaft characterized by an absence of a pulley on the drive shaft;   the drive shaft and the driven pulley being fixed in relation to each other;   a plurality of grooves formed in the drive shaft and sized to engage the ribs in the elastic drive belt; and   the driven pulley operatively connected to a sanding disk for sanding wooden floors.   
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein an outside surface of the driven pulley is substantially smooth. 
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein an outside surface of the driven pulley is formed with a plurality of grooves having a size and shape to engage the longitudinal ribs on the elastic drive belt. 
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 6  further including:
 a fan mounted on the drive shaft, and   a shroud surrounding the dust fan blade element and having an inlet proximate the sanding disk and an outlet connected to a receptacle, the dust fan blade element creating negative pressure in the inlet to draw a sanding dust through the duct and deposit the sanding dust in the dust collection bag.   
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 9  wherein the speed of the drive shaft and the fan is in the range of about 12,000 rpm to about 14,000 rpm and the speed of the driven pulley is in the range of about 2,800 rpm to about 3,200 rpm.