Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE O~ THE INVENTION
ABRADING MACHINE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an abrading machine
for abrading an elongated workpiece such as a bandsaw blade,
and more particularly to an abrading machine which can be used
to abrade smoothly, for example, a welded seam of a bandsaw
blade, ends of which have been butt welded into an endless
shape by a welder such as a flash butt wélder.
Description of the Prior Art
It is necessary to abrade, for instance, welded seams
: of bandsaw blades into smooth surfaces since bandsaw blades
are butt welded at their ends into endless shapes or loops by
the use of a welder such as a flash butt welder. Heretofore,
it has been customary that a welded seam of a bandsaw blade is
abraded by hand by the use of a grinding wheel in a manner
such that ~ne side of the bandsaw blade is first abraded by
the upper side of the grinding wheel and then the other side
thereof is abraded by the lower side of the grinding wheel.
~ccordingly, it has been troublesome and time-consuming to
abrade bandsaw blades and also it has been difficult to abrade
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both sides of a bandsaw blade evenly into a smooth finish
since the upper and lower sides of the bandsaw blade are not
presented from the same angle during abrasion. Also, it has
been very inconvenient that the finishes of abraded bandsaw
blades vary according to the skill of those who perform these
jobs with the result that bandsaw blades are uneven and differ
in cutting performance. For example, there has been a
tendency for some bandsaw blades to be excessively pressed
onto the grinding wheel and thus to have concavities are
formed at their welded seams, which are subject to stress
concentration. Furthermore, it has been disadvantageous that
bandsaw blades have a tendency to be unevenly or concavely
abraded by the grinding wheel which has a peripheral grinding
surface being small in radius of curvature.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a general object of the present invention to
provide an abrading machine which can be used to abrade safely
and automatically a portion of an elongated workpiece such as
a welded seam of a bandsaw blade, ends of which have been butt
welded into an endless state.
It is another object of the present invention to
provide an abrading machine which is capable of widely
abrading a wide portion of an elongated workpiece such as a
welded seam of a bandsaw blade into a smooth surface.
It is another object of the present invention to
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provide an abrading machine which raises the quality and
productivity in abrasion of elongated workpieces such as
bandsaw blades.
In one aspect the invention provides an abrading
machine, which machine comprlses abrading means, means
movable towards and away from the abrading means for
carrying a workpiece, means mounted on the carrying means
for gripplng the workpiece, and means provided on the
carrying means for supporting the workpiece during
abrasion thereof.
An abrading machine according to an embodiment
of the present invention is provided with a pair of
upper and lower abrasive means for abrading an elongated
workpiece and a carrier means which is automatically operated
to enable the abrasive means to abrade such a workpiece. The
carrier means is automatically vertically movable toward and
away from the abrasive means and is provided with a pair of
gripping means for gripping the workpiece and a supporting
means for supporting the workpiece being abraded. The
gripping means are so arranged as to be not only vertically
moved by the carrier member but also be automatically swung to
bring the workpiece into abrading contact with the abrasive
means. The supporting means is also so arranged as to be not
only vertically moved by the carrier member but also be
automatically rotated to support the workpiece being abraded
by the abrasive means.
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Other and further objects and advanta~es of the present
invention will be apparent from the following description and
accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a
preferred embodiment of the present invention and the
principle thereof.
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sRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of an abrading
machine embodying the principles of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a front elevational view showing, by an
enlarged scale, the major portion of the abrading machine
shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III
of Fig. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
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Referring to Fig. 1, the abrading machine 1 according
to the present invention is of a box~like structure which
consists of side frames 3R and 3L vertically disposed in
parallel with each other and upper and lower frames 5U and 5L
horizontally provided at the top and bottom, respectively, of
the side frames 3R and 3L. Also, there are provided a pair of
cross plates 7U and 7L which are horizontally fixed between
the side frames 3R and 3L in parallel with each other.
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the abrading machine 1 is
provided with a pair of upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and
9L to abrade an elongated workpiece W such as a bandsaw bla~e
which is held at the central portion of the abrading machine 1
in a manner to be described in great detail hereinafter. The
upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and 9L are trained on a pair
of upper and lower contact wheels llU and llL, respectively,
which are freely rotatably mounted on the upper and lower
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cross plates 7U and 7L, respectively, by means of brackets 13U
and 13L, respectively. The upper and lower contact wheels llU
and llL are vertically symmetrically disposed on the upper and
lower cross plates 7U and 7L, respectively, with their axes
horizontal in vertical alignment with each other so as to hold
the upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and 9L in vertical
alignment with each other. Also, the upper and lower abrasive
belts 9U and 9L are further trained around driving wheels 15U
and 15L, respectively, and also tension wheels 17U and 17L,
respectively, as shown in Fig~ 1.
The driving wheels 15U and 15L are freely rotatably
mounted on the upper and lower frames SU and SL, respectively,
by means of brackets l9U and l9L, respectively, together with
pulleys 21U and 21L, respectively, in coaxial relationship
therewith. The pulleys 21U and 21L are connected by belts 23U
and 23L, respectively, to electric motors 25U and 25L,
respectively, which are mounted on the upper and lower frames
SU and 5L, respectively, to drive the driving wheels 15U and
15L, respectively. In the preferred embodiment, the driving
wheels 15U and 15L are vertically symmetrically disposed at
the right-hand ends of the upper and lower frames 5U and 5L,
respectively, and the electic motors 25U and 25L are mounted
at the inner portions thereo. In this connection, it will be
understood that the driving wheels 15U and 15L can so arranged
as to be driven by a single motor by use of a suitable
transmitting means, although the two electric motors 25U and
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25L are employed in the preferred embodiment.
The tension wheels 17U and 17L are freely rotatably
disposed on holding means 27U and 27L, respectively, which are
fixed to piston rods 29U and 29L of hydraulic or pneumatic
motors 31V and 31L, respectively. The hydraulic or pneumatic
motors 31U and 31L are mounted on the upper and lower frames
5U and 5L~ respectively, in such a manner as to enable the
piston rods 29U and 29L, respectively, to tension the upper
and lower abrasive belts 9U and 9L, respectively, through the
tension wheels 17U and 17L, respectively. In the preferred
embodiment, the tension wheels 17U and 17L are vertically
symmetrically provided at the left-hand ends of the upper and
lower frames 5U and 5L, respectively.
In the above described arrangementt the upper and lower
abrasive belts 9U and 9L will be driven by the driving wheels
15U and 15L, respectively, to be rotated or run on the upper
and lower wheels llU and llL,~respectively, when the electric
motors 25U and 25L are put in motion. Also, the upper and
lower abracive belts 9U and 9L will be kept tensioned by the -
tension wheels 17U and 17L, respectively, when the hydraulic
or pneumatic motors 31U and 31L are actuated to keep the
piston rods 29U and 29L, respectively, outwardly biased.
Thus, it will be understood that the workpiece W can be
abraded by the upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and 9~ being -
rotated on the upper and lower contact wheels llU and llL when
it is brought into contact therewith.
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As shown also in Figs. 1 and 2, in order to hold the
workpiece W to be abraded between the upper and lower abrasive
belts 9U and 9L, a pair oE gripping means 33R and 33L are
provided between the upper and lower cross plates 7U and 7L.
The gripping means 33R and 33L comprises a plurality of
holding rollers 35R and 35L, a plurality of pressing rollers
37R and 37L and hydraulic or pneumatic motors 39R and 39L,
respectively. Also, the gripping means 33R and 33L are
mounted on ends of swing arms 41R and 41L, respectively, on
which stopper means 43R and 43I" respectively, are provided so
that the workpiece W can be aligned therewith so as to be
positioned to be gripped. The holding rollers 35R and 35L and
the pressing rollers 37R and 37L are disposed in alignment
with one another to cooperate with one another to grip the
workpiece W in a manner such that the workpie~e W can be moved
lengthwise therebetween. Also, the pressing rollers 37R and
~` 37L are so arranged as to be pressed onto the holding rollers
35R and 35L, respectively, by the hydraulic or pneumatic
motors 39R and 39L, respectively, to grip the workpiece W in
cooperation with the holding rollers 35R and 35L. Thus, the
workpiece W to be abraded is gripped by the gripping means 33R
and 33Ljust under the upper contact wheel llU and just above
the lower contact wheel llL in contact with the stopper means
43R and 43L so that it may be moved lengthwise between the
holding and pressing rollers 35R and 37R and between the
holding and pressing rollers 35L and 37L.
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The swing arms 41R and 41L holding the gripping means
33R and 33L, respectively, are fixed at their ends to pins 45R
and 45L, respetively, which are pivotally and horizontally
disposed on brackets 47R and 47L, respectively, provided on a
carrier 49. The pins 45R and 45L are so arranged as to be
rotated on the carrier 49 by links 51R and 51L, respectively,
to swing the swing arms 41R and 41L and the gripping means 33R
and 33L, respectively, so as to vertically move the workpiece
W into contact with the upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and
9L. The links 51R and 51L are integrally fixed to the rear
ends of the pins 45R and 45L, respectively, provided with
upper cam followers 53R and 53L, respectively, at their upper
ends and also lower cam followers 55R and 55L, respectively,
at their lower ends to rotate the pins 45R and 4SL,
respectively, in a manner to be described in detail
hereinafter. Also, for an purpose to be seen hereinafter, the
swing arms 41R and 41L are kept biased by springs 57R and 57L,
respectively, so that the lower cam fcllowers 55R and 55L will
be kept inwardly biased about the axes of the pins 45R and
45L, respectively, Thus, the swing arms 41R and 41L will be
swung by the pins 45R and 45L, respectively, when the links
SlR and SlL are moved by the upper cam followers 53R and 53L
and the lower cam followers 55R and 55Lj respectively~ Also,
when the swing arms 41R and 41L are swung, the gripping means
33R and 33L will be swung to vertically move the wor~piece W
into contact with the upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and
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9L.
The carrier 49, on which the brackets 47R and 47L are
fixed to hold the pins 45R and 45L~ respectively, are
vertically movably mounted by means of slide blocks 59 on a
plurality of guide posts 61 which are vertically fixed between
the upper and lower cross plates 7U and 7Lo In order to
vertically move the carrier 49 on the guide posts 61, a
hydraulic or pneumatic motor 63 iS mounted on the lower cross
plate 7L with its piston rod 65 connected to the underside of
the carrier 49. Thus, the carrier 49 is vetically moved on
the guide posts 61 by the hydraulic or pneumatic motor 63 to
enable the gripping means 33R and 33L to move the workpiece W
up and down into contact with the upper and lower abrasive
belts 9U and 9L. As will be further described hereinafter,
the carrier 49 is raised to enable the upper abrasive belt 9U
to abrade the upper side of the workpiece W, and it is lowered
to enable the lower abrasive belt 9L to abrade the lower side
of the same.
The links 51R and SlL are so arranged as to be moved by
the upper cam followers 53R and 53L and the lower cam
followers 55R and 55L, respectively, to rotate the pins 45R
and 45L, respectively, according to the vertical position of
the carrier 49 on the guide posts 61. For this purpose, a .
pair of elongated cam members 67R and 67L are symmetrically
provided on the opposite sides of the carrier 49 and
vertically fixed between the upper and lower cross plates 7U
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and 7L so that the upper cam followers 53R and 53L and the
lower cam followers 55R and 55L may be in contact with
therewith. Stated otherwise, the upper cam followers 53R and
53L and the lower cam followers 55R and 55L are so disposed as
to roll up and down on the cam members 67R and 67L,
respectively, when the carrier 49 is vertically moved on the
guide posts 61 by the hydraulic or pneumatic motor 63. The
cam members 67R and 67L are provided with upper protruded cam
surfaces 67Ru and 67Lu, midway sloped cam surfaces 67Rm and
67Lm and lower recessed cam surfaces 67Rl and ~7Ll,
respectively, all of which are straight and continuous so that
the upper cam followers 53R and 53L and the lower cam
followers 55R and 5~L may be rolled thereon. The arrangement
is such thatthe upper cam followers 53R and 53L and the lower
cam followers 55R And 55L, when rolled along the cam members
67R and 67L by the carrier 49, will move the links 51R and 51L
to cause the pins 45R and 45L to
swing the swing arms 41R and 41L and the gripping means 33R
and 33L. Also, the midway sloped cam surfaces 67Rm and 67Lm
of the cam members 67R and 67L are so designed that the swing
arms 41R and 41L will be kept horizontal with ehe lower cam
followers 55R and 55L in contact with the midway sloped cam
surfaces 67Rm and 67Lm when the carrier 49 is at its midway
position on the guide posts 61 as shown in Fig. 1 and 2. In
this connection, the lower cam followers 55R and 55L will be
always kept in contact with the cam members 67R and ~7L even
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when the upper cam followers 53R and 53L are out o~ contact
therewith, since the sprinqs 57R and 57L are provided to in-
wardly bias the lower cam followers 55R and 55L as has been
described.
In ~he above described arrangement, the swing arms 41R
and 41L will be kept horizontal to hold the workpiece W
horizontal whe~ the carrier 49 is located at the midway
position on the guide posts 61 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In
this state, the lower cam followers 55R and 55L will be kept
in contact with the midway sloped cam surfaces 67Rm and 67Lm
of the cam members 67R and 67~, respectively, by the action of
the springs 57R and 57L, respectively, while the upper cam
followers 53R and 53L will be kept out of contact with the
upper protruded cam surfaces 67Ru and 67Lu, respectively.
~ When the carrier 49 is raised by the hydraulic or pneumatic
: motor 63 from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to move the
lower cam followers 55R and 55L from the midway sloped cam
surfaces 67Rm and 67Lm onto the upper protruded cam surfaces
67Ru and 67Lu, the links ~lR and 51L will be moved to rotate
the pins 45R and 45L and the gripping means 33R and 33L.
Thus, when the carrier 49 is raised from the position shown in
Figs. 1 and 2, the gripping means 33R and 33~ will be not only
upwardly moved by the carrier 49 but also will be swung
upwardly by the swing arms 41R and 41L about the axes of the
: pins 45R and 45L to raise and bend the workpiece W. As will
be readily understood, the workpiece W will be downwardly bent
when the gripping means 33R and 33L are swung by the swing
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arms 41R and 41L, since the workpiece W is gripped between the
holding rollers 35R and 35L and the pressing rollers 37R and
37L in the gripping means 35R and 35L so that it may be
lengthwise moved therebetween. Thus, when the carrier 49 is
raised, the workpiece W will be upwardly moved or fed by the
gripping means 33R and 33L in its downwardly bent or curved
state to bring its upper side into abrading contact with the
upper abrasive belt 9U which is trained on the upper contact
wheel llU in a somewhat semicircular state. To the contrary,
the links 51R and 51L will rotate the pins 45R and 4SL to
downwardly swing the swing arms 41R and 41L and the gripping
means 33R and 33L when the carrier 49 is lowered from the
position shown in Fig. 1 and 2. Of course, the gripping means
33R and 33L will be not only lowered by the carrier 49 ~ut
also will be swung downwardly by the swing arms 41R and 41L to
lower and bend the workpiece W, when the carrier 49 is lowered
from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Also, it will be
understood that the workpiece W will be downwardly fed by the
gripping means 33R and 33L in its upwardly bent state to bring
its lower side into abrading contact with the lower abrasive
belt 9L which is trained on the lower contact wheel llL in a
somewhat semicircular state. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in
order to control the vertical movement of the carrier 4g, a
dog member 69 is provided on a portion of the carrier 49, and
detecting means 71, 73 and 75 such as limit switches are so
disposed as to be contacted by the dog member 69 when the
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carrier 49 is moved on the guide posts 61. In the preferred
embodiment, the dog member 69 is provided on one of the slide
blocks 59, and the de~ecting means 71, 73 and 75 are mounted
~n a post 77 which is vertically disposed between the upper
and lower cross plates 7U and 7L. The detecting means 71, 73
and 7S are disposed at three positions on the post 77
different in height in such a manner as to be adjusted in
height. The arrangement is such that the position of the
carrier 49 on the guide posts 61 is detected to control the
hydraulic or pneumatic motor 63 moving the carrier 49 when the
dete~ting means 71, 73 and 75 are contacted by the dog member
69. More particularly, the detecting means 71 and 75 are so
arranged as to be contacted by the dog member 69 and stop and
return the carrier 49 to cause the gripping means 33R and 33L
to bring the workpiece W into abrading contact with the upper
and lower abrasive ~elts 9U ana 9L, respectively. Also, the
detecting means 73 is so arranged as to be contacted by the
dog member 69 and stop the carrier 49 as soon as the carrier
49 has been returned from its lower travelling limit to the
original midway position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus, the
carrier 49 is first raised from the original midway position
shown in Figs. 1 an~ 2 to enable the upper abrasive belt 9U to
abrade the workpiece W and then is lowered ~o enable the lower
abrasive belt 9L to abrade the workpiece W and is lastly
raised again to be stopped at the original midway position for
the next cycle of abrading.
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As shown in Fig. 3, in order to limit the vertical
movement of the carrier 49 on the guide posts ~ n
adiusting bolt 79 and ~n adiusting nut 81 are provided on the
upper and lower cross plates 7U and 7L, respectively, so that
they may stop the carrier 49. Also, cushion dampers 83U and .
83L are provided on the upper and lower cross plates 7U and
7L, respectively, so as to stop softly the carrier 49 from
travelling on the guide posts 61 when contacted thereby.
Thus, the carrier 49, when moving to enable the gripping means
33R and 33L to bring the workpiece W into abrading contact
wiht the upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and 9L, will be
first slowed down by the cushion dampers 83U and 83L and then
firmly stopped by the adjusting bolt 79 and the adjusting nut
81 from moving to be returned. In this connection, the
detecting means 71 and 75 will act to electrically stop and
return the carrier 49 after the contact of the carrier 49 with
the cushion dampers 83U and 83L and before or on that with the
adjusting bolt 79 and the adjusting nut 81. Also, the
adjusting bolt 79 and the the adjusting nut 81 are adjusted to
adjust the abrading amounts of the workpiece W by the upper
and lower abrasive belts 9U and 9L, respectively.
As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, there are provided a
pair of supporting members 85 and 87 whi~h are integrally
fixed to a sector gear 89 so as to support the workpiece W
which is being abraded by the abrasive belts 9U and 9L. ~he
supporting ~embers 85 and 87 are o~ a square-shaped plate and
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are symmetrically fixed to the peripheral ends o~ the ~ector
gear 89 in such a manner as to radially project ~eyond the
periphery therof. The sector gear 89 is rotatably supported
by a horizontal shaft 91 between a pair of brackets 93 and 95
which are fixed to ~he front face of the carrier 49 in
parallel with each other so that the sector ~ear 89 may be
vertically moved together with the carrier 49. The sector
gear 89 is so disposed that it can be rotated to hold the
supporting members 85 and 87 horizontal just beneath and above
the abrasive belts 9U and 9L, respectively. Stated otherwise,
the sector gear 89 can bring the supporting members 85 and 87
into contact with the abrasive belts 9U and 9L, respectively,
in their horizontal state when the carrier 49 is raised ~nd
lowered on the guide posts 61. In order to stop the sector
ge~r 89 from rotating when the supporting members 85 and 87
are horizontal, a pair of stopping members 97 and 99 are fixed
to the opposite sides of the sector gear 89 and a pair of
bolts 101 and 103 are provided on the inner sides of the
brackets 93 and 95, respectively. Of courese, the stopping
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members 97 and 99 are so disposed on the sector gear 89 as to
; go into contact with the bolts 101 and 103, resp~ctively, to
stop the sector gear 8g from rotating when the supporting
:~ members 8~ and 87, respectively, have become horizontal.
:~ Thus, the supporting members 85 and 87 can be held horizontal
~:~ by the sector gear 89 and can ~e carried by the carrier 49 in
:. their horizontal state to support the workpiece W which is
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being abraded by the abrasive belts 9U and 9L.
As shown in Fig. 3, an elongated rack member 105 is
vertically provided in engag~ment with the sector gear 89 so
as to rotate khe same on the shaft 91 when the carrier 49 is
vertically moved on the guide posts 61. The rack me~ber 105
is vertically movably mounted on a guide bar 107 which is
vertically fixed between the upper and lower cross plates 7V
and 7L, and it is resiliently held at the midway on the guide
bar 107 by helical springs 109 and 111 surrounding the same.
Thus, when the carrier 49 is moved on the guide posts 61, the
sect~r gear 89 will be rotated by the rack member 109 until
the stopping members 97 and 99 are brought into contact with
the bolts 101 and 103, respectively, and the supporting
members 85 and 87 are made horizontal. Also, after having
been stopped from rotatîng with the supporting members 85 and
87 horizontal~ the sector gear 89 will ~e further raised or
lowered by the carrier 49 together with the rack member 105
against the springs 109 and 111 to bring the supporting
members 85 an 87 toward the upper and lower abrasive belts 9U
and 9L in their horizontal state. In this arrangement, the
supportin~ members 85 an~ 87 will be raised and lowered by the
sector gear 89 in their horizontal state to support the
wor~piece W when the carrier 49 is raised and lowered to
enable the upper and lower abrasive belts 9U and 9L to abrade
the workpiece W.
In operation, the workpiece W is initially gripped
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horizontally by the gripping means 33R and 33L in contact with
the stopper means 43R and 43L and then the hydraulic or
pneumatic motor 63 is put in motion to raise the carrier 49
along the guide posts 61. As the carrier 49 is raised from
the original position shown in Figs. 1 and 2~ the gripping
means 33R and 33L will be upwardly swung by the swing arms 41R
and 41L to raise and bend the workpiece and the sector gear 89
will be rotated to make the supporting member 85 horizontal.
When the carrier 49 is further raised to be slowed down by the
cushion damper 83U, the gripping means 33R and 33L will bring
the upper side of the workpiece W in its downwardly bent state
intc abrading contact with the upper abrasive belt 9U and the
supporting member 85 will be brought into contact with the
workpiece W to support the same. As soon as the upper side of
the workpiece W has been abraded, the carrier 49 will be
stopped from rising and returned downwardly by the action of
the detecting means 71 with the result that the gripping means
33R and 33L and the supporting member 85 will be returned to
their original position together with the workpiece W. When
the carrier 49 is further lowered beyond the original position
shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the gripping means 33R and 33L will be
downwardly swung to bring the lower side of the workpiece W
into abrading contact with the lower abrasive belt 9L and the
supporting member 87 will be lowered in its horizontal state
to support the wor~piece W. As soon as the lower side of the
workpiece W has been abraded, the carrier 49 will be stopped
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from lowering and raised by the action of the ~etecting means
75 and then will be stopped by the action of the detecting
means 73 at the original position Eor the next cycle of
abrading.
As has been described in the above, the workpiece W can
be safely and automatically abraded into an even and smooth
finish by use of the abrading macnine according to the present
invention. Since the workpiece ~ is abraded by the wide
abrasive belts 9U and gL which are trained on thejcontact
wheels llU and llL largex in radius of curvature, it is evenly
and smoothly finished without the conventional disadvantage
that workpieces are unevenly or concavely abraded by a
grinding wheel having a peripheral grinding surface of small
radius of curvature. Thus, the abrading machine according to
the present invention is able to raise ~he quality and
productivity in abrasion of elongated workpieces such as
bandsaw blades.
Although a preferred form of the present invention has
bee~ illustrated and described, it should be understood that
the device is capable of modification by one skilled in the
art without departing from the principles of the invention.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be limited only
by the claims appended hereto.
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