Turning – Lathe – Portable
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-29
2001-06-12
Tsai, Henry (Department: 3722)
Turning
Lathe
Portable
C082S132000, C082S136000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244143
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved lathe and, more particularly, pertains to trimming and truing slip rings of alternators with a miniaturized portable lathe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As will become evident from the descriptions herein after, on certain Leece-Nevelle alternators that use external slip rings, excessive slip ring run-out causes premature voltage regulator and/or brush failure and bearing failure due to the heat generated by brush bounce. By reducing or eliminating excessive slip ring run-out, the life of an alternator will be greatly extended.
During there building process the slip ring end frame bearing must be removed from the rotor and replaced. To accomplish this step the slip ring must be unsoldered from the rotor coil leads and removed with a puller. The slip ring end frame bearing is removed and the new bearing then installed on the rotor shaft. At this point either the original slip ring is reinstalled on the rotor or a new slip ring is installed and soldered into place. Most certainly for the reinstallation and certainly for the installation of the new slip ring a truing of the slip ring is necessary once it has been pressed on the rotor shaft. This can be accomplished by placing the rotor in the lathe and using a live center or a steady-rest to true the slip ring. Using the live center on the slip ring end of the rotor shaft assumes that the tail shaft of the rotor is true, which is often not the case. Once turned, the slip ring will be out of round. Use of the steady-rest to secure the slip ring end bearing while turning the rotor will provide better results, but is difficult and time consuming to set up.
By using the lathe of the present invention, the truing of the slip ring can be accomplished after the alternator has been assembled minus the brush holder and/or brush holder and voltage regulator. With this process the miniature lathe is attached to the slip ring end frame by means of clamps, and is automatically centered. The cutting tool of the miniature lathe is adjusted to the proper cutting depth and the entire assembly placed on an alternator test bench. The alternator and miniature lathe is then fixed to the test bench and the alternator is hooked up to the drive belt. The alternator is then spun in a counterclockwise rotation. The manual drive of the miniature lathe is engaged and the slip ring is then cut. Depending upon the amount of run-out of the slip ring, the miniature lathe will probably need to be readjusted and engaged again until the entire surface of the slip ring has been cut and trued. By cutting and truing the slip ring after the alternator has been assembled, the rebuilder gets the advantage of having both the drive end frame and the slip ring end bearings in place to accurately center the rotor and the slip ring for the cutting process. In addition the use of the miniature lathe will shorten the rebuild time.
In summary, the use of this invention will greatly refine rebuilding of those Leece-Neville alternators having external slip ring placement The finished product will be a more accurate representation of the rebuilders craft.
The use of lathes is known in the prior art. More specifically, lathes heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of trimming and truing rotating cylinders are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
The prior art discloses a large number of lathes. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,722 to Wohlhaupter discloses apparatus for facing and internal turning. U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,533 to Church discloses a portable turning tool. U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,570 to Wood discloses a lathe apparatus especially designed for brake drums and discs. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,728 to Thiem discloses a swing arm brake lathe.
In this respect, the lathe according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of trimming and truing slip rings of alternators.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved lathe which can be used for trimming and truing slip rings of alternators. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of lathes now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new and improved lathe. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved lathe and methods which have all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a new and improved portable miniature lathe system adapted to cut external the slip ring of a Leece-Neville type alternator in order to trim and true its circumference, the system comprising, in combination, an alternator of the Leece-Nevelle type having a housing with an arcuate peripheral edge and a cylindrical external slip ring extending therefrom adapted to be rotated about its axis for being cut after the brushes have been removed from the slip ring; an axially forward plate in a circular configuration with a central aperture there through and a peripheral edge and with three radially interior apertures located equally spaced at 120 degrees there around and three radial exterior apertures located equally spaced at 120 degrees there around; an axial rearward plate in a circular configuration spaced in parallel relation with the forward plate, the rearward plate having three radially interior apertures located equally spaced at 120 degrees there around and three radially exterior apertures located equally space 120 degrees there around, the plates having a common axis coextensive with the axis of the slip ring and with the interior apertures of the plates being in axial alignment and the exterior apertures of the plates being in axial alignment, the rearward plate also having a peripheral edge; three fixed cylindrical spacers with first ends and second ends, each end having a threaded recess with threaded fasteners fixedly coupling the first ends to the exterior apertures of the forward plate and fixedly coupling the second ends to the exterior apertures of the rearward plate to maintain the plates at a fixed distance with respect to each other and in parallel alignment; three threaded cylindrical spindles with first ends rotatably supported in the internal apertures of the forward plate and with second ends rotatably supported adjacent to the interior apertures of the rearward plate, each spindle having an outboard end on the side of the rearward plate remote from the forward plate with a planetary gear having teeth secured by splines with respect to each outboard end; a rotatable advancement assembly formed of the rearward plate forwardly and a spaced rotatable plate rearwardly thereof and parallel therewith, the rotatable plate including a forwardly facing cylindrical periphery formed with a tracking ring having radial interiorly facing teeth in meshing contact with the teeth of the planetary gears whereby rotation of the rotatable plate with respect to the rearward plate will rotate the tracking ring to rotate the planetary gears and the threaded spindles, the exterior face of the rotatable plate having an annular groove with an elastomeric ring therein to facilitate gripping; a carriage having two parallel threaded bores in meshing relationship with the threads of two of the threaded spindles for axial movement of the carriage between the outer plate and the inner plate in response to the rotation of the rotatable plate, the carriage having a hollow support tube coupled thereto between the bores with an axis at about 45 de
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