Arkansas Patent of the Month – August 2022

Founded in 1949, Nabholz Construction Company has grown from a family-owned company to a large, multi-discipline, employee-owned firm. One thing that hasn’t changed is the company’s commitment to innovation. Recently, this commitment has led to the patent of a drop table designed with shearing drive coupling to improve lifting operations.

Heavy machinery may be more sophisticated than it used to be, but it still requires maintenance. But if transporting these machinery components for maintenance requires lifting, the maintenance equipment can be met with extreme loads and unnecessary strain causing further damage. Nabholz Construction’s drop table tackles this limitation by optimizing the lift itself. The drop table is designed with a motor physically attached to the lifting columns by rotating input shafts. This design is flexible enough to suit any size or style of drop table (i.e. one, two, three or more lifting columns). 

The design also adds a drive coupling that shears in response to excessive force. The amount of force that counts as excessive can be adjusted to suit the needs of the different equipment. When this threshold is passed, the excessive force experienced by the lifting column fails at the transmission rather than the motor. This protects the motor, isolating failures to the transmission for easier and more cost efficient repairs. The adjustment of the threshold ensures any drop table has optimal lifting column operation.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

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