Handling: hand and hoist-line implements – Grapple
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-01
2003-07-29
Lillis, Eileen D. (Department: 3652)
Handling: hand and hoist-line implements
Grapple
C294S902000, C157S001360, C269S909000, C901S039000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06598917
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to manufacture of cast metal wheels and in particular to equipment for handling wheel castings.
Vehicle wheels formed from light weight metal alloy have become quite popular. Such wheels typically include an annular wheel rim that carries a pneumatic tire. The wheel rim has a recessed center portion that facilitates mounting the tire upon the wheel. The inboard and outboard ends of the rim include tire bead seats that support the tire walls. Additionally, radially extending wheel flanges are formed on the ends of the rim to retain the tire upon the wheel.
A circular wheel disc extends across the outboard end of the wheel rim. The wheel disc typically has a central hub that is supported within the rim by a plurality of radially extending spokes. A central pilot hole and a plurality of wheel mounting holes are formed through the wheel hub. The mounting holes are equally spaced about a circle that is coaxial with the pilot hole. The pilot hole is used to position the wheel upon the end of a vehicle axle while the mounting holes receive wheel studs that co-operate with wheel nuts to secure the wheel upon the vehicle. The wheel disc can be cast integrally with the wheel rim to form a one piece wheel.
Manufacturing processes for vehicle wheels are highly automated. Typically, molten metal is poured into wheel molds mounted upon a casting machine. The wheel molds can be mounted upon a rotating carousel to increase casting efficiency. Once the metal solidifies, the casting is removed from the mold and heat treated. The heat treated casting is oversized and requires machining to a final shape and size. The machining is usually accomplished by using multiple work stations. Thus, the wheel casting may first be placed upon a wheel lathe for turning the wheel rim and facing the wheel disc. The wheel casting can then be transferred to a drilling machine for boring the pilot and mounting holes through the wheel hub.
Wheel manufacturing time and costs have been reduced by utilization of robots to move the wheel castings between work stations. Such robots typically have a movable arm that is mounted upon a stationary pedestal. A device for gripping a wheel is mounted upon the end of the robot arm. The wheel gripper device securely grasps an end of the wheel rim. The arm then swings and elevates while contracting or extending to move the wheel casting between work stations.
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in
FIG. 1
an end view of a finished vehicle wheel
10
held by a prior art wheel gripper device
12
. The wheel gripper device
12
includes a pair of opposed arms
14
. The arms
14
are moveably mounted on the end of a conventional robot arm
13
and can be moved toward and away from each other, as illustrated by the small double headed arrows in FIG.
1
. As best seen in
FIG. 2
, a bracket
15
is mounted upon the end of each of the arms
14
. In
FIG. 2
, the gripper
12
is illustrated with a wheel casting
18
that includes inboard and outboard wheel tire bead retaining flanges,
20
and
22
, respectively. The casting
18
is shown in section with the finished machined shape of the wheel outlined by dashed lines. Each of the brackets
15
includes a body
16
that is attached to an end of one of the arms
14
. A single roller
24
is rotatably mounted upon an end of each of the bodies
16
. A V-shaped groove
26
is formed in the circumference of each of the rollers
24
.
During operation, the gripper arms
14
are extended until the rollers
24
enter the plane of the inboard casting wheel flange
20
. The gripper arms
14
are then contracted toward one another causing the V-shaped grooves
26
in the rollers
24
to receive the edge of the flange
20
. The rollers
24
rotate as needed to position the arms
14
relative to the casting
18
. The arms
14
continue to contract toward one another until the casting
18
is securely clamped between the rollers
24
. The robot arm
13
then moves to position the casting
18
upon a wheel lathe chuck (not shown). The wheel lathe chuck clamps onto the casting
18
, whereupon the gripper arms
14
are extended away from one another to release the casting
18
. The robot arm
13
withdraws the gripper arms
14
and brackets
15
from the casting
18
. The wheel lathe then proceeds to turn the wheel rim and face the wheel disc to final shape and size.
Once the wheel lathe operations are completed, the robot arm
13
removes the casting from the lathe chuck by gripping the outboard wheel flange
22
, as illustrated in FIG.
3
. Components shown in
FIG. 3
that are the same as components shown in
FIG. 2
have the same numerical identifiers. The robot arm
13
then removes the casting
18
from the wheel lathe and transports the casting
18
to a drilling machine for boring the pilot and mounting holes. The robot arm
13
positions the casting
18
upon the drilling machine. After the casting
18
is mounted upon the drilling machine, the arms
14
are extended from one another to release the casting
18
. The robot arm
13
is again withdrawn. When the drilling operations are completed, the robot arm
13
removes the machined wheel from the drilling machine and moves it to the next work station.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improved equipment for handling wheel castings.
When a wheel casting is heat treated, the thinness of the wheel rim may allow the inboard end of the rim to distort. As a result, it is difficult to consistently load wheel castings onto a wheel lathe chuck by gripping the inboard end of the casting rim such that the wheel casting is coaxially mounted upon the chuck. Accordingly, the concentricity and static imbalance of the resulting wheel can be degraded. Because the outboard end of the wheel casting rim includes a portion of the wheel disc, it is thicker and retains circularity better than the inboard end of the rim during heat treatment. Accordingly, it would be desirable to grip the wheel castings by the outboard wheel flange for loading onto the wheel lathe chuck.
The present invention contemplates an improved gripper bracket having a bracket for gripping a wheel that includes a body that is adapted to be mounted upon a robot arm. A pair of rollers are rotatably mounted upon opposite ends of the body. The bracket body is symmetrical about a plane that passes transversely through the center of the body. Also, each of the rollers has a groove formed in the circumference thereof. In the preferred embodiment, the roller groove has a V-shape. Additionally, the bracket has a recess formed therein that is adapted to receive the robot arm.
The invention also contemplates a device for clamping onto and transporting a vehicle wheel that includes a pair of spaced apart arms adapted to be movably mounted upon an end of a robot arm. The device also includes a plurality of brackets, with a bracket mounted transversely upon each end of each of the spaced apart arms. A pair of rollers are mounted upon each of the bracket bodies with one of the pair of rollers mounted upon each end of each of the bracket bodies. Each of the rollers lies in one of two spaced apart planes that are parallel to the spacer arms. The arms are movable relative to a wheel casting for the rollers to contact a portion of the wheel casting and clamp the wheel casting therebetween.
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patent: 5253911
Hapner Terry
Williams Tracy
Chin Paul T.
Hayes Lemmerz International Inc.
Lillis Eileen D.
MacMillan Sobanski & Todd LLC
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