Abrading – Work holder
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-24
2001-05-22
Banks, Derris H. (Department: 3723)
Abrading
Work holder
C125S035000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234888
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
A method and apparatus is disclosed for uniformly finishing the working surfaces of rotating automotive parts.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Automotive vehicles require a substantial number of rotating parts which have working surfaces which are in intermittent sliding contact with other parts, usually having pads made partially or solely from non-metallic heat resistant materials. Examples of these are clutch disks and clutch plates encased in a clutch drum housing of an automatic transmission. The clutch pack is a stack of alternating steel clutch plates and steel clutch disks having a fiber layer on both sides. The clutch plates usually have splines on the outside which fit splines on the inside of the housing while the clutch disks usually have splines around an opening on the inside which are engaged by a shaft running through the housing. The clutch pack is designed to lock up whereby the shaft and housing rotate together. The housing is generally cylindrically shaped with a working surface around the outside that is engaged by one or more belts. Other examples of parts that can be repaired include the working face of a fly wheel which is engaged by a conventional mechanical clutch and brake rotors which have working surfaces on both sides which are engaged by disk brake rotor pads.
Repeated engagement and disengagement of the fibrous material of the clutch disks or brake pads together with the combined effects of heat and chemical reactions, such as oxidation or hydration, results in glazing of the working surfaces over time. The glazed surfaces are nonuniformly glazed. Glazing of these surfaces can result in undesirable slippage or inconsistency. In the case of automatic transmission clutch packs, smoothness of operation can be undesirable affected. Therefore, there is a need in the automotive repair art to deglaze working surfaces of rotating parts. The deglazed surfaces need to be uniformly deglazed and refinished.
Equipment is available to deglaze working surfaces of rotating automotive parts, but it is expensive and difficult to operate and maintain. Many of the automotive repairs that are done in the United States are done in small shops dispersed throughout the country. There has been a need for an economic alternative to hand sanding which is time consuming and difficult to perform in such a way to produce a uniform surface on both sides of a circular plate. Because the job is especially onerous when rebuilding automatic transmissions which have multiple plates, workmen are prone to simply replace the old parts without adequate sanding or alternatively, throw them all away and replace them unnecessarily with costly new parts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is an apparatus and method for deglazing working surfaces of rotating automotive workpiece parts having centered openings of different sizes. A stand is provided having a generally upright first supporting connection. A second supporting connection is associated with a part support body, having an upper rim, a lower rim and an intermediate support structure connecting the upper rim and lower rim. The intermediate portion tapers outwardly from the upper portion as it extends downwardly toward the lower portion where the intermediate support structure progressively increases in size.
The first and second supporting connections are rotationally engageable to mount the part support body on the stand at a convenient elevation for working and allow turning of the part support body with respect to the stand. Transmission parts with flat working surfaces or cylindrical parts with cylindrical working surfaces each have a central opening. The size of these openings on parts from different manufacturers vary as do the diameters of the central openings in brake rotors and fly wheels. The apparatus and method is applicable generally to circular parts with a center opening.
The central opening of the part is passed over the upper rim and moves down along the intermediate support structure until the diameter or size of the intermediate support structure is the same as the opening. The upper working surface of the part is exposed in an upward direction for the operator. When the working implement of a rotary power tool is pressed against the working surface, the part and part support body are automatically continually rotated in response to operation of the rotary power tool. The working surface is uniformly cleaned and roughened. The first and second supporting connections are connected in a manner that provides for frictionally retarded rotation of the part support body in response to rotational forces generated on the workpiece by the power tool so the part rotates but does not spin out of control. Spinning out of control reduces the efficiency of the grinding implement and presents a potential operator hazard.
The first and second supporting connections preferably comprise a rotatable joint having a stem and socket which are quickly and easily separated and connected without the use of tools. A socket is preferably provided as the first supporting connection in the stand with a stem fixedly connected in the center of the part support body. The part support bodies are preferably shaped in the form of cones of different sizes so that almost any diameter of opening in a workpiece part can be accommodated by changing to an appropriate sized cone mounted on the stand.
The part support body preferably includes a part support body having an extension which extends upward a distance above the upper rim and a hold down mountable on the extension after a workpiece having first and second openings has been passed down over the extension where it rests on the part support body. The hold down is preferably spring loaded by means of a spring supported on the extension compressing the hold down part against the workpiece. The hold down preferably has a tapered surface which may be as an inverted cone which fits into a second central opening in the workpiece to accommodate workpieces having different sized second central openings spaced above the first central opening when the part is installed on the part support. The first and second supporting connections are frictionally retarded by a friction surface between them in such a manner that the working surface, in response to working contact with the power tool, turns continually but relatively slowly as compared with the rotating speed of the power tool. The tool is quite inexpensive and requires essentially no maintenance because the parts are the essence of simplicity.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6068546 (2000-05-01), McMinn
Banks Derris H.
Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP
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