Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Measurement system – Dimensional determination
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-30
2001-07-10
Assouad, Patrick (Department: 2857)
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Measurement system
Dimensional determination
C702S153000, C073S001410
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260002
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for measuring whether or not a machined part, immediately after being cut appropriately has been machined according to specifications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the present world where a remarkable improvement of productivity is required, a machining center plays an increasingly important role.
In view of this, products that have been machined are measured by a worker using a measuring apparatus (a measuring instrument or a gauge) at the machining site or in an inspection room (measurement and gauging) equipped with measuring apparatuses.
With this measuring system, considerable labor is required for the measuring work and the measurement cannot be known instantly immediately after the machining.
For this reason, the measurement cannot be corrected immediately at a machining center. Therefore, the effect of using the machining center is reduced considerably.
A sampling method is used for the measuring work which is especially burdensome.
In that case, all the articles machined after an article that has developed a trouble are assumed to be defective and require considerable labor for remachining, resulting in a considerably increased cost.
Also, a female screw has thus far been machined with a tool called a tap and therefore developed no variations in the machined size.
Recently, however, a method has been employed in which a planet tap is rotated (autorotation) for arcuate cutting (revolution) during which the work is fed by the pitch of the screw for threading.
According to this method, screws of different diameters can be machined with a single planet tap by changing the radius of revolution.
In this machining method, the size of the planet tap is measured, and the radius of revolution is calculated by subtracting the tap size from the machined diameter. The result is varied in size due to calculation errors or depending on the machining conditions. Thus the measuring work is required.
The measuring work, however, requires many gauges (go gauges and not—go gauges) conforming with the screw size and thread pitch.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of this, the object of the present invention is to provide a measuring method and a measuring apparatus which can make measurements with great simplicity and rapidity without affecting the effects unique to the machining center and which can correct numerical values with the measuring work, thereby immediately permitting corrective machining by the machining center.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention employs a configuration comprising a base removably mounted on the spindle of a machining center, a slider built at the axial center of the base to slide by the operation of an operating unit exposed outside of the base, a plurality of probes adapted to slide inward and outward at equidistant positions on the outer peripheral surface at the forward end of the base and arranged to protrude through an appropriate interlocking mechanism when the slider slides in one direction, an appropriate detector for detecting the size of the portion of each probe protruded with the slide of the slider, and a display unit arranged outside of the base to display the measurement taken by the detector.
Also, the invention employs a configuration comprising a base removably mounted on the spindle of a machining center, a piston built in a hollow chamber formed in the base for applying the backward restitutive power, a fluid supply path connected to a fluid path of the machining center and communicating with the rear side of the piston in the hollow chamber when the base is mounted on the machining center, a slider protruded forward with the piston and slidably built at the axial center of the base, a plurality of probes adapted to slide inward and outward at equidistant positions on the outer peripheral surface at the forward end of the base and protruded through an appropriate interlocking mechanism when the slider slides in one direction, an appropriate detector for detecting the size of the portion of each probe protruded with the sliding motion of the slider, and a display unit arranged outside of the base for displaying the measurement taken by the detector.
Further, the invention employs a configuration comprising a base removably mounted on the spindle of a machining center, a fitting hole formed inward from the forward end of the base, an axial member slidably inserted and fitted in the fitting hole, stopper means for limiting the sliding range of the axial member, push—back means arranged on the axial member for pushing back the slide to the intermediate position of the sliding range, a piston built in the hollow chamber of the axial member for applying a backward restitutive power, a fluid supply path adapted to be connected with the fluid path of the machining center and passing to the rear side of the piston in the hollow chamber when the base is mounted on the machining center, a slider protruded forward with the piston and slidably built in at the axial center of the axial member, a plurality of thread probes adapted to slide inward and outward at equidistant positions on the outer peripheral surface at the forward end of the base and protruded through an appropriate interlocking mechanism when the slider slides in one direction, an appropriate detector for detecting the size of the portion of each probe protruded with the sliding motion of the slider, and a display unit arranged outside of the base for displaying the measurement taken by the detector.
Also, a centripetal function can be provided to the base and the axial member.
Further, the measurement taken by the detector can be retrieved as an electrical signal representing the displacement measured by a displacement gauge and input to a control unit of the machining center.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4131837 (1978-12-01), Whetham
patent: 4890421 (1990-01-01), Moore, Jr. et al.
patent: 5297055 (1994-03-01), Johnstone
patent: 5726917 (1998-03-01), Staaden
patent: 5737244 (1998-04-01), Ruck
Assouad Patrick
Raymond Edward
Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack. L.L.P.
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