Abrading – Machine – Rotary tool
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-30
2001-06-12
Butler, Rodney (Department: 3725)
Abrading
Machine
Rotary tool
C072S359000, C072S342600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244943
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to apparatus for processing, in particular, curved surfaces, including a grinding or polishing tool, fitted with a housing, and a drive system to power at least one tool and to rotate it about its longitudinal axis.
Apparatus to process surfaces using a powered grinding or polishing tool are comprehensively known by a number of designs. Illustratively, right-angle grinders, orbital/vibrating grinders, or eccentric grinders, are commercially available. The right angle grinders include a plate rigidly supported in a housing and acting as a support for a grinding or polishing disk, this plate being driven about its longitudinal shaft running at 90° to that of the motor. On the other hand, as regards vibrating/orbital and eccentric grinders, the grinding disk is not directly rotated by the motor about its longitudinal shaft, but is made to vibrate by the insertion of a cam.
The heretofore known designs incur the drawback that, when processing curved surfaces, the particular work topology is restricted to a small zone, and that the engaging or applied surface of the grinding tool is determined by the operator solely by the position in which the latter holds the apparatus. As a result, and especially when processing curved surfaces, constant manual follow-up and monitoring of the holding, i.e., engaging position of the grinding tool, and of the applied pressure on the surface being processed will be required because the known apparatus not only demands substantial operator experience and skill to keep the tool steady, but furthermore curved surfaces cannot be processed satisfactorily, evenly and effectively, at all or only partially.
An objective of the present invention is to improve to such an extent surface processing apparatus including at least one tool support, in particular, for a grinding or polishing tool such that the processing of curved surfaces is simplified, and the demands of operator experience and skill relating to apparatus handling is reduced.
In a particular embodiment of the apparatus of the invention, its operation is especially quiet and vibration-free and the tool(s), upon wear, are easily replaced.
This problem is solved by the invention by creating surface processing apparatus including: a housing with a drive system which powers a tool seat to rotate, in particular a grinding or polishing tool, about its longitudinal shaft, the seat resting in a holder in the housing, for the purpose of omnidirectional pivoting of the axis of rotation within a predetermined angular range &agr;. This affixation means includes a shell having an outer contour in the form of a spherical segment and which is pivotably received in an inner contour which is in the shape of a spherical segment. The drive system is fitted with a pivotable ball-joint to couple the drive system to the tool seat in order to power the tool seat into rotation in any pivoted position, the center C of the shell's pivoting motion in the seat coinciding with the center of pivoting motion G of the ball-joint.
An especially preferred embodiment of the invention relates to surface processing apparatus, in particular for curved surfaces, which includes a housing fitted with a drive system powering several tool seats, in particular for grinding or polishing tools, to rotate them about their particular longitudinal axes. Each tool seat is pivotably supported to allow multi-sided pivoting of the axis of rotation within a given angular range &agr; in a holder of the housing; the holder includes a shell having an outer contour in the shape of a spherical segment pivotably received in a seat having an inner contour in the shape of a spherical segment. The drive system includes a pivotable ball-joint associated with each tool seat to couple the drive system to the particular tool seat in order to power the latter into rotation into each pivoted position. The center C of the pivoting motion of the particular shell in the seat coincides with the center of pivoting motion G of the particular associated ball-joint. In this design, preferably three tool seats are configured in a triangular manner at the end face of the housing.
The surface processing apparatus of the invention offers the advantage that a tool supported in a multi-sided, pivotable manner in a tool seat remains engaged by the operator within the given angular range, independently of the position in which the operator holds the apparatus, i.e., the housing, in that it will be applied with the maximum applied rest area on the surface being processed. This feature holds both for convex and concave surfaces (FIG.
2
). As a result, the need for operator manual skills when processing surface contours is substantially reduced. Moreover, the apparatus' operating zone is increased. For example, if the apparatus were held in a pivoted position and accessibility of a surface to be processed were thereby restricted, the tool still would be engaged, i.e., applied. Because of the coincidence of the center C of the pivoting motion of the tool seat and the center of pivoting motion G of the associated ball-joint, vibrations are avoided in any operation at any pivoted position of the tool.
In regard to the preferred embodiment of the three tools supported in a multi-sided pivotable manner, the triple-point application provides a simultaneously further enlarged processing area and uniform spreading of compressions on the surface being processed.
Further embodiments of the invention fit the tool seat with a radial bearing inserted into the shell to rotate the seat about its longitudinal axis. The ball-joint includes a shaft rotatably supported in the housing and assuming a spherical shape at an axial end exiting from the housing in an area of the tool seat, this spherical end being inserted or insertable into a spherical recess of an adapter. The adapter is coupled or can be coupled by frictional locking means or by geometrical interlocking connectors on one hand to the shaft and on the other hand to the tool seat.
This design offers the advantage of exchangeability, for example, between a disk-shaped tool affixation means for a grinding disk or the like and the tool seat. This allows replacing worn tools in a simple manner without resorting to special means.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2950583 (1960-08-01), Nilsson
patent: 2993311 (1961-07-01), West
patent: 5679066 (1997-10-01), Butz et al.
patent: 5718621 (1998-02-01), Turley
Bohler Daniel
Böhler Günther
Breiner & Breiner
Butler Rodney
Guther Bohler GmbH
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