Cutters – for shaping – Including holder having seat for inserted tool – With separate means to fasten tool seat to holder
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-22
2001-08-07
Tsai, Henry (Department: 3722)
Cutters, for shaping
Including holder having seat for inserted tool
With separate means to fasten tool seat to holder
C407S108000, C082S158000, C082S160000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270293
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to tooling for machining operations and, more specifically, directed to a toolholder and an apparatus for holding the toolholder secure within a tool support member during machining operations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
During machining operations performed upon a workpiece, minimizing the down time of a machine tool in a production environment is critical to the success of a manufacturing facility. Historically, one major contributor to such down time was the time needed to change damaged or worn out cutting tools used by the machine tool. A cutting tool is held by a toolholder, which is typically mounted within a spindle or tool support member. When the cutting tool must be replaced, the entire toolholder with the cutting tool, is removed from the spindle. A number of commercial couplings permit quick connecting and disconnecting of the toolholder to and from the spindle to expedite the tool changing process. One such device is the “Apparatus for Holding a Toolholder Shank” described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,659 which is co-owned by the Assignee of the present application and which is hereby incorporated by reference. The apparatus described in that patent utilizes two locking balls which are urged radially outwardly within a tool support member to engage apertures on the shank of a toolholder. While this arrangement is efficient and permits the toolholder to be removed or secured to a tool support member in a short amount of time, the design of this arrangement may limit its application to toolholders having a width of one inch or greater. Since many industrial applications require the use of a cutting tool which must be mounted on a much smaller toolholder, a need exists for a quick change toolholder system for toolholder having a width of less than one inch.
Such a system must not only have a compact design, but furthermore provide quick connecting and disconnecting of the toolholder from the toolholder support member in an efficient manner that makes it practical for use by a machine tool operator.
The system described hereinafter is a quick change tooling system by which a toolholder is secured within a tool support member utilizing simple hardware that permits the size of the toolholder and toolholder support member to be significantly reduced over other commercially available quick change tool systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention is directed to an apparatus for releasable holding a toolholder shank having a lockable surface and a releasable surface. The apparatus comprises a tool support member having a forwardly facing surface and a bore along a longitudinal axis. The bore intersects the forwardly facing surface and extends rearwardly from there for receiving the toolholder shank. The apparatus is also comprised of an actuating bolt positioned within the tool support member and reciprocally movable between a locking and a releasing position along a radial axis relative to the longitudinal axis for locking or ejecting the toolholder shank into or from the tool support member. The actuating bolt has a locking segment for abutting and urging rearwardly the locking surface of the shank to lock the toolholder within the tool support member.
The toolholder may be mounted in a bore of the tool support member having a longitudinal axis, a forwardly facing surface which is secured within the bore by an actuating bolt movable in a reciprocating motion along a radial axis. The bolt has a releasing segment and a locking segment.
The subject invention is also directed to a toolholder which is comprised of a forward end upon which a cutting tool is mounted, a shank adjacent to and connected to a rearwardly facing abutment face and extending rearwardly away from the forward end. The shank is perforated by a lockable perforation and a releasable perforation at two circumferentially spaced locations. The lockable perforation has a lockable surface which is urged rearwardly by the locking segment of the actuating bolt when the actuating bolt is moved in a radial direction. The releasable perforation has a releasable surface which is urged forwardly by the releasing surface of the actuating bolt when the actuating bolt is moved in an opposite radial direction. The shank has one slot in a region rearwardly of each of perforations extending to the end of the shank to permit access by the actuating rod to each of the perforations.
The subject invention is also directed to a combination for mounting a toolholder into a bore within a forwardly facing surface of a tool support member. The combination comprises a shank on a rearward portion of the toolholder extending rearwardly into the bore of the tool support member. The shank is perforated by a lockable perforation and a releasable perforation at two circumferentially spaced locations. A lockable surface in the lockable perforation may be engaged by the locking segment of the actuating bolt to lock the shank within the toolholder. A releasable surface in the releasable perforation may be engaged by the releasing surface of the actuating bolt to eject the shank from the toolholder. The actuating bolt has a locking segment and a releasing segment wherein the actuating bolt is reciprocable between a locked position in which the locking segment of the actuating bolt engages the lockable surface of the shank lockable perforation and a released position in which the releasing segment of the actuating bolt engages the releasable surface of the shank releasable perforation.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2485799 (1949-10-01), Wotych
patent: 2667687 (1954-02-01), Clarkson
patent: 4708040 (1987-11-01), Erickson
patent: 4715753 (1987-12-01), Tack
patent: 4726268 (1988-02-01), Erickson
patent: 4736659 (1988-04-01), Erickson
patent: 4813831 (1989-03-01), Reinauer
patent: 4913607 (1990-04-01), von Haas
patent: 4981057 (1991-01-01), Von Haas et al.
patent: 5040931 (1991-08-01), Spivey et al.
patent: 5040932 (1991-08-01), Oshnock
patent: 5341710 (1994-08-01), Peuterbaugh
patent: 5417131 (1995-05-01), Robertson
patent: 5873682 (1999-02-01), Tripsa
patent: 2099904 (1982-12-01), None
Copy of International Search Report, mailed Feb. 28, 2000, in Application No. PCT/US99/29326.
Erickson Robert A.
Long William M.
Kennametal PC Inc.
Meenan Larry R.
Tsai Henry
LandOfFree
Toolholder assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Toolholder assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Toolholder assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2550642