Abrading – Machine – Rotary reciprocating tool
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-17
2001-03-13
Scherbel, David A. (Department: 3723)
Abrading
Machine
Rotary reciprocating tool
C451S142000, C451S221000, C451S242000, C451S008000, C451S025000, C451S410000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06200204
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a roll grinder and specifically to a roll grinder which has an improved foundation which insulates the roll grinder from external vibrations.
A conventional roll grinder for which the present invention may be used is disclosed in U.S. Pat Nos. 3,391,497; 4,807,400; and 4,811,524, for example.
Rolls used for producing steel, aluminum, paper, and in other related industries require that the surface of the roll be free from imperfections. Through normal use, the surfaces of the rolls develop imperfections. The roll surfaces are reconditioned by being ground in a roll grinder. Surface imperfections in the rolls may be caused by vibrations imposed upon the grinding machinery by external forces. Some roll grinders are immune to this problem because they are installed in an environment that is essentially free of external vibration. However, most roll grinder installations are disposed near a rolling mill for which the rolls being ground are used, or are near other vibration generating systems, other factory or machinery installations, a railroad track, a roadway, etc. Therefore, there is a need for isolating roll grinders from induced vibrations.
One prior art technique for vibration isolating a roll grinder is now described. A conventional roll grinder has several component parts. Each is on a respective separate bed. The parts include a front bed on which the roll to be ground is supported, a rear bed that supports a carriage for the grinding wheel head and a caliper bed, possibly on the opposite side of the front bed from the carriage bed, on which a roll sensing caliper is supported. Each bed is supported through its own respective isolation supports or rigid supports on a common block. As each component is on its own supports and as the components are of different masses, they can vibrate relative to each other on the common block. To avoid or at least minimize this vibration, a single large concrete block is used as the common block, with a top side shaped and profiled to the machine footprint of the beds and the isolation supports of each of the components. The block is quite large and tall, e.g., 2-3 meters in height. The block is raised and separated from the surrounding building and the ground beneath it by an isolator system for the block comprised of either polymer, rubber, springs, or the like. The size of and supports for the block make it an inertia block which damps vibration of the block and damps relative vibrations of the components and their respective beds. The block has sufficient stiffness to support the accuracy of the grinding process and has sufficient mass to render the appropriate natural frequencies occurring in the particular application. However, because the block 12 typically may be 2-3 meters in height, it provides a very large, costly, and cumbersome foundation. It is installed in and often disposed below the floor level of a shop floor so that the height level of the roll grinder components will be accessible at floor level. This avoids the possibility of repositioning the grinder, except for great effort and expense.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a roll grinder which can damp vibration forces induced on the roll grinder.
Another object is to provide a roll grinder having an isolation system which is smaller than those used for prior art grinders.
A further object is to eliminate individual beds for roll grinder components.
The invention concerns a roll grinder with the conventional components of a grinding wheel on a traversing carriage, a roll support for the roll being ground, and a traversing caliper. Instead of each of these components being on its own independent bed which is supported through a respective isolator system on a large block, the components are all directly fixedly and rigidly attached to a single roll grinder bed comprised of a monolithic isolation block, which yields very high dynamic stiffness, with a very low profile, as compared with the prior art. This machine base is independently rigid without the need for an additional support from a concrete inertia block. Attaching the front, rear and caliper bed sections to one monolithic isolation block and making that block integral with the machine avoids the need for the huge inertia block used in the art. Since the entire machine is rigid, and the components cannot shift relative to one another on their monolithic block vibration, isolators can be placed under the isolation block, isolating the entire system from vibrations of its environment. Further, the reduced height of the isolation block permits it to be disposed above a shop floor rather than in a pit below the floor.
The unitary isolation block includes a composite material block. The block has a first steel plate disposed on the underside of the block and a second steel plate disposed on the upper side of the block. The plates are preferably embedded in the block, i.e. the edges of the plates are surrounded by the composite. Mounting the plates in this manner provides a construction with considerable stiffness in all planes of motion, producing unique characteristics and capabilities of this machine. The steel plates are at the maximum separation distance for the unitary bed for all the components. Combining that with applying the unique characteristics of epoxy granite to the separation layer, unparalleled damping as well as maximizing the mass moment of inertia, and thus stiffness of the block and the bed for the components are achieved.
Although integrally rigid machine tools have been in use for some time, that has never been applied to roll grinders. Further, in most integral rigid machine tool designs, a three point anchoring system is incorporated so that the bed may gain additional support by rigid connection between the three points and the earth. No such connection is needed for this design.
This invention allows a user to avoid the extensive labor which was required to attach a prior art damping device to a roll grinder. Moreover, the overall size of the damping device is much smaller and less cumbersome than that of the prior art.
The foregoing objects and features as well as others will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3456395 (1969-07-01), Parella
patent: 3546817 (1970-12-01), Schaller et al.
patent: 4077163 (1978-03-01), Bennett, Jr. et al.
patent: 5551906 (1996-09-01), Helgreen
patent: 5730643 (1998-03-01), Bartlett et al.
McDonald Shantese
Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen, LLP
Scherbel David A.
Voith Sulzer Paper Technology North America Inc.
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