Abrading – Machine – Tumbling device
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-24
2004-01-27
Rose, Robert A. (Department: 3723)
Abrading
Machine
Tumbling device
C451S113000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06682410
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to dry barrel treating machine grinding, polishing or cleaning workpieces, and more particularly to a barrel container used with a dry barrel polishing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
One type of barrel polishing machines uses a rotational barrel container. The barrel container includes a container body having an opening and a lid closing the opening of the container body. The container body comprises a casing generally made of steel and a lining made of an elastic material and attached to an inner wall of the casing. The lining relieves collision of polishing chips and workpieces against an inner wall of the barrel container during polishing, thereby preventing the steel wall of the container from wear. The lid also includes a steel base and a lining attached to the inside of the base. One or more barrel containers are mounted on a barrel polishing machine.
The aforesaid steel casing is made by bending a steel plate
39
as shown in
FIGS. 10
to
12
. For example, a container body
47
as shown in
FIG. 12
has a hexagonal section and includes an opening
40
formed in one of the six sides thereof. In the manufacture of the container body
47
, a steel plate
39
is bent so as to have a hexagonal section. Thereafter, two hexagonal steel plates
42
are welded to both open ends of the container body, respectively, so that a hollow casing
41
is formed. Previously divided cores
44
a
and
44
b
are then inserted through the opening
40
into the casing
41
. The divided cores
44
a
and
44
b
are connected together in the casing
41
to be assembled into an integral core
44
. A bridge member
31
is mounted between flanges
45
formed along peripheral edges of the opening
40
. The core
44
is then hung on the bridge member
31
. A material for a lining
46
, for example, molten polyurethane resin, is poured into a space between an inner wall of the casing
41
and the core
44
. The molten resin is cooled to be solidified such that a barrel polishing container
47
with the polyurethane lining
46
is formed.
There are two types of barrel polishing machines, namely, dry barrel polishing machines using no water and wet barrel polishing machines using water. In view of environmental protection and economy in treating costs, the dry barrel polishing machines have recently been predominant. Japanese Patent No. 2643103 discloses a barrel container used in the dry polishing. The disclosed barrel container includes an external air intake portion or vent formed in the casing or the lid for introducing external air into the casing. The container further includes a dust exhaust portion formed in the casing or the lid for exhausting dust resulting from polishing. The barrel container is attached to a polishing machine and rotated so that polishing chips and workpieces are moved at high speeds in the barrel container. As a result, the workpieces are polished. During polishing, air is drawn through the external air intake into the barrel container by the operation of a dust collector. The drawn air is caused to flow through the polishing chips and workpieces in the barrel container to thereby cool them. Furthermore, dust resulting from polishing is exhausted through the dust exhaust portion to the dust collector side. Thus, loading of the polishing chips due to dust resulting from polishing, which is a problem peculiar to the dry polishing, can be prevented.
There are two methods of manufacturing the barrel container for dry barrel polishing machines. In one method, the steel body
41
is made in the same manner as described above and thereafter, molten polyurethane or the like is cast into the lining
46
which is attached to an inner wall of the body. Subsequently, a plurality of small holes
50
are formed so as to serve as the external air intake and the dust exhaust portion. The polishing chips and workpieces cannot pass through the holes
50
. See FIG.
13
A. In the other method, a large vent
51
is formed in the body
41
. The lining
46
with another vent
52
slightly larger than the vent
51
is cast. Thereafter, a polyurethane piece
5
having small holes
4
is fitted with the vent
52
by bolts etc. as shown in FIG.
13
B. Each hole
4
has such a diameter that the polishing chip and workpiece cannot pass therethrough.
In the former method, however, both body
41
and lining
46
need to be simultaneously drilled. It is difficult to form such a small hole, as the holes
50
, through which the polishing chips and workpieces cannot pass. The reason for this is that a small hole is closed upon extraction of a drill since polyurethane is an elastomer. Even if holes should be formed, end faces of the holes
50
would be deteriorated as the result of drilling. As a result, the end faces of the holes
50
would be worn such that peripheral portions of the holes are partially worn. The partial wear of the peripheral portions of the holes necessitates replacement of the overall lining, increasing the manufacturing cost.
In the latter method, a steel plate with vent holes
51
is bent into the steel body
41
. Thereafter, when the lining is formed, dummy molds are fitted with the vents
51
and
52
, respectively, so that the material for the lining can be prevented from flowing into the vents
51
and so that the vents
52
are formed in the lining
46
after completion of the lining. The dummy molds are removed after the material for the lining has been solidified. The polyurethane piece
5
having small holes
4
through which the polishing chips and workpieces cannot pass is attached to the vents
52
by bolts. However, since the steel body
41
has a definite limitation of accuracy with regard to the bending, spring back sometimes results in distortion as shown in
FIG. 14
after bending. As a result, a space between the body
41
and the core
44
becomes non-uniform when the lining
46
is formed. One vent
51
is displaced such that a thickness of the lining becomes non-uniform. When the polyurethane piece
5
is fixed to the vent
52
by bolts, a difference results between a thickness of the piece
5
and the thickness of the lining of the vent
52
. This difference causes the aforesaid partial wear. A downward force is applied to the body
41
from above particularly when the lid is closed, whereupon the distortion is increased. This increases the difference between the thicknesses of the piece
5
and the lining, resulting in a gap.
Further, polishing chips and workpieces are moved at high speeds in the barrel container in the dry barrel polishing. Accordingly, the polishing chips and workpieces repeatedly collide against the lining wall. When the workpieces are soft, the collision results in marks on the workpieces. Water serves as a buffer in the conventional wet polishing, thereby preventing forming of the marks on the workpieces. Accordingly, the conventional barrel container for the wet barrel polishing has a high hardness from the view point of wear resistance. However, when the container for the dry barrel polishing has the same hardness as that of the wet barrel polishing, the aforesaid marks are formed on the workpieces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a barrel container which has an inner wall with no difference in thickness in spite of the presence of a vent, and in which it is difficult for workpieces to incur marks due to collision against the inner wall.
The present invention provides a barrel container for a dry barrel polishing machine, comprising a container body made of an elastic material and having an access opening through which polishing chips and workpieces are put into the container body. The container body has a wall with a through hole providing communication between an exterior and an interior of the container body, and a lid opening and closing the access opening is provided.
According to the above-described barrel container, the container body is made of the elastic material although the con
Rose Robert A.
Tipton Corp.
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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