US2340121A - Grinding apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 25, 1944. A. E. HAMILTON 2,340,121

I GRINDING APPARATUS Filed 001:; 7, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 25, 1944. A. E. HAMILTON GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 7, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 gINVIEB'ITOR A44. M

Jan. 25, 1944.

A. HAMILTON 2,340,121 GRINDING APPARATUS Filed 091:. 7. 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 nvsn'roa Jan. 25, 1944. A. E. HAMILTON GRINDING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 7, 1942 INVEN'I'OR 1 Jam. 25, 1944. A. E. HAMILTON GRINDING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 7, 1942 Jan. 25, 1944.

GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 7, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet e A. E. HAMILTON I 2,340,121

Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE GRINDING APPARATUS Alfred E. Hamilton, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application October 7, 1942, Serial No. 461,121

11 Claims.

My invention relates to the art of surfacing by abrasion and polishing, and particularly to the surfacing of sheets and strips. The invention is useful not only in the surfacing of metal, but also the grinding and polishing of other materials, including sheets of the transparent plastic type that may be used as substitutes for glass sheets or plates. I

One object of my invention is to provide surfacing apparatus of such form that a billy roll or other element that supports the work against a surfacing roll will automatically be moved toward and from operative position by traveling movement of the work piece.

- Another object of my invention is to provide an improved manner of mounting the billy roll and adjusting it with respect to the surfacing roll, with a desired variation in eiiective'resistance which it may offer to the grinding pressures such as result in the use of a yieldable or pneumatic surfacing roll.

Another object of my invention is to provide polishing apparatus of such form that the surfacing elements will not have to be changed or adjusted each time that a change is made in the gage or thickness of the work which is to besur-' faced.

A further object of my invention is to providesurfacing apparatus wherein abrasive sleeves'c'an be applied to and removed from their rolls, with out the necessity of removing the rolls fromthe machine. 7

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a surfacing machine; Fig. 2'is an end view thereof, but with the splash shield shown in section; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of a" portion of the apparatus of Fig. 1', partly in section; Fig. 3a is a modification of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a perspective View schematically showing the arrangement of certain of the parts of the apparatus; Fig. 5 is an enlarged View showing the surfacing roll of the other figures partly in section; Fig. 6 is a view showing the manner in which an abrasive sleevecan be slid to or removed from the surfacing" roll without dismounting the roll from the machine frame; Fig. 7 is a view showing amodification of the billy roll of the other figures; Fig. 8 is a-side' view showing the manner in which guide fingersare positioned between the surfacing roll or drum and Fig. 9-is aplan view of the fingers.

and upon a base frame In. ed within the frame and has a belt drive-conand pinch rollers for advancing sheet material tiOri' Ser. No. 380,442, filed Feb. 25, 1941.

motion 12' With the shift [3 Of a suffalcihg rolr' M. This roll may be of any well-known form; but is here shown (Fig. 5) as comprising a hub portion secured to the shaft [3' and carrying? a. pneumatic drum is, an abrasive sleeve [1 stir:

5 permit exhaust of excess pressure that is developed through heat of grinding or otherwise, as exp ained in my said application.

' Upper and lower" bearin elements 24 arid 251' res ectiv'e1y; of the radial self-aligningtype, areprov'ided for each end of'the shaft [3, these bearing elements beingd'etachably connected together by eye bolts 26.

Each of the bearing members 25 is' supported. upon a pair'of pinch roll' housin'gs'orsupporting f'ram'es28', therebei'ng two of these housing-merit: be'rs at each side of the machine and mounted upon thebase frame It.

For" the purpose of wet grinding operaubns; aswhere it is desired to" preventoverheating or" the drum and the material being suffacedl ro vide a' hood or shield 30 which ispivota'lly mount; ed at 3! upon suitable bracket members carried by the housing 28 at one end of the machine;

This hood has slots 32 formed inthe end plates; so that the lower edges of the end plates or'walls can be'moved to a plane below theshaft I31 The? shield has a spray'pipe 33 secured therein by hookf boltst l and extending throughout the length of the shield; Water is supplied to th'e'spray pipe 33for discharge against the drum; from any suit-' able source, through a pipe 35. f 1' The roll shaft It is extended at one'end as shown in Fig. 2, this extended portion projecting" through a post 36 that serves also as a bracket for the pressure regulator t9. .A bearingblock'fl is vertically slidableinthe post 36and rests up'on' the shaft 83-. A screw 38"has threaded engage:- ment with the upper portion" of the post 36" and thrust engagement with-theblock 31. This" screw" is operated" Whenever it is" desired to changethe" roll or replaces; worn abrasive-sleeve withanew] sleeve. To this end, eye bolts 39 (Fig. 1) when" hold the bearing member 25 at the opposite end of the machine uponits seat on the pinch-r611 "housing 28, areloosened and clearof" the bearing member 25. Thereupon, the hand wheel of the screw 38 is turned to tilt the adjacent end of the shaft I3 downwardly (Fig. 6) and thereby effect raising of the opposite end of the shaft and the bearing member 25. The pipe connections to the shaft will, of course, be flexible to permit this movement. Thereupon the pressure in the pneumatic drum IS will be reduced to permit sliding of the sleeve therefrom past the bearing memer 25 and upon replacement by a new abrasive sleeve, the screw 38 can be turned to restore the shaft [3 and the roll to operative position. This arrangement avoids the necessity for removing the roll from the stand when changing abrasive sleeves.

A pair of pinch rolls 49, 4|, shown more clearly in Fig. 4, are mounted in the housings 28 at the entrance end of the machine and a pair of pinch rolls 42,43 are mounted in the housings 28 at the rear end of the machine. A second pair of rolls 45 are mounted at the entrance end of the machine, and these rolls may simply idle to serve as guide rolls, or may be driven. The housing members 28 at the discharge end of the machine are formed at 49 -to support other pinch or guide rolls, or to temporarily support an element (not shown) for grinding an out-of-round pneumatic drum to true cylindrical form.

The upper pinch rolls 4| and 43 are held in engagement with the lower pinch rolls by weighted levers 41 upon which weights 48 are adjustably mounted. The levers 41 are pivoted to ears on the housings 28 and have their lower edges lying within upstanding bifurcated studs 49 that at their lower ends engage with curved blocks 50 that rest upon the shafts of the rolls 4 I1 and 43 (Fig. l) The bearings for these upper pinch rolls have slight vertical movement in the housings 28 to permit the pinch rolls to adapt themselves to sheets or strips of various thicknesses and to be held in snug driving engagement therewith by the weights 48.

A motor 52 (Figs. 2 and 4) is provided for driving the pinch rolls. The motor operates through reduction gearing at 53 to drive a sprocket chain 54 that passes around a sprocket 55 on the shaft 56 of the pinch roll 49. The shaft 56 at its other end has a sprocket wheel 51 that through a. chain 58"drives a sprocket wheel 59 on the shaft 600i the. pinch roll'42. The shaft 59 carries a gear wheel 6| that meshes with a gear wheel 62 on the shaft of the pinch roll 4|. Similarly, a. gear wheel 63 on the shaft 99 drives the pinch roll 43 through a gear wheel 64.

. A billy roll 66 is provided for supporting the sheet or strip material 61 against the grinding pressures of the surfacing roll Hi. This roll has a shaft 68 that is supported at its ends in bearings 69. These bearings 99 are supported on a channel-like rail II that extends crosswise of the machine and is vertically slidable between the adjacent ends of the pinch roll housings 28, so that'as the rail H is moved up and down, the bearings 69 and the billy roll 66 will likewise be moved. The bearings 69 are connected to blocks 12 (Fig. 3) which are secured to the rail I l and are'detachably connected thereto by screws or dowels that extend through holes indicated at 13 (Fig. 3) so that the bearings 69 and the billy roll carried thereby are detachably mounted for convenient removal from the machine, by sliding it endwise.

, The cross rail H is supported at each end upon a nut 14 that has screw threadedengagement with a rod 15, the nuts 14 being adjustable so that the ends of the billy roll 69 can be adjusted relative to the surfacing roll. Cushioning springs 16 are interposed between the nuts 14 and a spring seat Ti that is supported on the lower framework H], the springs normally being of insufficient strength to hold the billy roll in its fully elevated position. The lower ends of the rods 15 are pivotally connected to crank arms 13 near the ends of a rock shaft 19 that is supported upon bearing hangers which are supported from flanges on the base frame ID.

The shaft 19 is provided with a crank arm 8| by means of which it is oscillated in order to raise and lower the rod 15 and hence the billy roll 66. A piston rod 82 has an adjustably threaded connection 83 with the crank arm 8|, the rod being connected to a piston 84 within a cylinder 85, Air pressure for operating the piston is supplied from a suitable source through a pressure line 86 that leads into a valve casing 81. The valve casing has an inlet port 89 and an exhaust port 89 and ports 99 and 9|, which lead to the upper and lower ends of the cylinder 85. A rotary valve is contained within the valve casing and has ports 92 and 93.

In the position shown in Fig. 3, air pressure is being supplied from the line 96, past ports 88, 93 and 9|, and through a pipe 94 to the underside of the piston, to raise the same. Exhaust, at this time, occurs through the ports 99, 92 and 89. The billy roll 66 is therefore held in its raised position to support a piece of work against surfacing pressure. An adjusting screw 95 is positioned to be engaged by the crank arm 8! and thereby limit the extent to which the billy roll can be moved against the surfacing roll. In case a. pneumatic or other form of yieldable surfacing roll is used, the extent to which the billy roll is raised will determine the width of surfacing area in directions axially of the roll, since it will cause compression of the surfacing roll to a greater or less extent. The actual grinding pressure, however, will depend largely upon the degree of yieldability of or the air pressure in the surfacing roll. In the case of surfacing rolls which are relatively rigid, the height to which the billy roll is raised will largely determine the amount of grinding pressure.

When a sheet or strip has passed completely through the machine, the billy roll will be lowered, so that it will have no direct engagement with the surfacing roll, therefore protecting both the surfacing material from unnecessary wear or damage and also preventing the billy roll being roughened by the abrasive on the surfacing roll. The lowering of the billy roll is efiected automatically by so reversing the position of the valve 81 that the valve port 42 will be brought into registry with the ports 88 and and the valve port 93 brought into registry with the ports 89 and 9|, in which case pressure will flow from the line 86 through the valve and a pipe 91 to the upper side of the piston 84, while exhaust from the piston will occur through the pipe 94, and the ports 9|, 93 and 89. 7 7

The operation of thevalve 8! is automatically effected by a pull rod 98 that is connected to the rotary element of the valve, and a lever 99. The lever 99 is pivotally mounted to a fixed support at I90 and is yieldably held in its raised position by a compression spring I0 I, so that when a sheet approaches the surfacing roll, the lever will be depressed, thus rocking the valve to the position shown in Fig. 3 and causing the billy roll to be raised. The ports and the cylinder,.85 are of suchjrelative size that the hilly roll will be raisedv to its uppermost position at about the instant the leading edge of the sheet enters the pass between the surfacing roll and the billy roll. On the other hand, as the trailing edge of the sheet or strip leaves the lever 99, the spring liil will raise the lever to its dotted line position, so that at about the instant the trailing edge of the sheet is leaving the roll pass, the hilly roll will :be lowered. The billy roll and the cross rail II; will move down under their own weight when the crank arm Bl is lowered, the springs serving to cushion such downward movement.

The air pressure beneath the piston 84, of course, yieldably holds. the billy roll in work-supporting position. The degree of this yieldability will :be controlled by the air pressure in the pipe 86. The pipe 86 may suitably be connected to the line [8 through a pressure regulator 96 or at; some point between the pressure regulator l9 and, the, shaft i3. There will thus be automatic r gu ation of grinding pressure in addition to the automatic control of pressure in the pneumatic drum It. This secondary automatic control of grinding pressure will be particularly useful where the surfacing roll is not of the pneumatic type.

Fig. 3a shows a modified form of device for automatically effecting movement of the billy roll 66. toward and from its operative position. In this case a solenoid coil I02 is substituted for the pneumatic cylinder 85. It will be seen that as a. sheet or strip approaches the roll pass, the lever 99 will be actuated to close a switch I04, thus completing a circuit from an electric power line I85 through the solenoid coil. core I03 will then be drawn upwardly to efiect upward movement of the crank arm 8i and the billy roll. a

In Fig. 7 I show a billy roll whose working area indirections axially of the roll can be changed to suit sheets of different widths. Since the surfacing roll I4 is yieldable, it will be seen that when working on sheets that are quite thin and which are of narrow width relative to the length of the billy roll, the abrasive material would often engage the surface of the billy roll adjacent to the edges of the sheet, thus not only tending to wear the billy roll, but roughening it so that it would be unsuitable for use in connection with subsequent operations on wider strips of the softer materials such as sheets of thermo-plastic material. Therefore, I mount upon the roll shaft l! a series of sleeves I08 and 159 of different widths, these sleeves being changed to produce desired effective lengths of billy roll surface. The sleeves 18-409 are held in place by spacing collars or washers H0 and nuts II I that have screw-threaded connection with the shaft IE1. The billy roll can readily be changed in effective length by removing the pins at 13 and sliding the roll and its bearings out of the machine, as heretofore explained.

It will be understood that the surfacing roll and the sheets 6'! can be moved at any desired speeds. In Fig. 3, these members are shown as moving in the same direction at the surfacing zone. The surfacing roll can, of course, be driven counter to the work, but when moved as shown in the drawing, there will be less danger of the loose abraded material interfering with the proper functioning of the apparatus, since the loose particles will be immediately carried away instead of accumulating at the entrance to the roll pass. Where, at the zone of surfacing, the roll is driven The in the same direction as the work piece moves, it will, of course, be rotated rapidly relative to the rate at which the sheets move.

Figs. 8 and 9 show guide fingers li -i and I I5 mounted between the pinch rolls i2. 33, and the grinding roll. These guide fingers are carried by bars lit and II? respectively that extend crosswise of the machine and are bolted at their ends to the supporting frames. 28, by bolts H8.

The guide fingers are particularly useful in the surfacing of thin sheet material, since when the rear end of a sheet leaves the pinchrclls iii il, at the entrance end of the machine, the rotation of the surfacing roll it in the same direction as the strip movement, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3, will tend to push the strip ahead rapid-. ly and bulge or bow it up between the surfacing roll and the pinch rolls i2d3. This would not only result in damage to the sheet, but there would be no proper surfacing action on the rear-v portion thereof. Similarly-arranged guide fingers can be positioned between the pinch rolls. 42 and the surfacing roll to insure proper guiding of the strips or sheets relative to the roll pass.

I claim as my invention:

1. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having a sleeve of surfacing material, a shaft for they roll, bearings for the shaft, supports for the bear-v ings, and meansv adjacent to one end of the roll for tilting it on one of said supports as a fulcrum, to thereby lift the bearing at the other end of the roll relative to the adjacent support, whereby the said sleeve can be slid axially from the roll.

2. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having;

a sleeve of surfacing material, ashai't for the roll,

bearings for the shaft, adjacent to the ends of the roll, supports for the bearings, the-shaft ex-- tending axially beyond its hearing at one end of I the. roll, and means for engaging the extended portion of the shaft to tilt it on the adjacent support as a fulcrum, to thereby move the opposite end of the shaft away from its support, whereby the sleeve can be slid axially from the roll.

3. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having a sleeve of surfacing material, a shaft for the. roll, bearings for the shaft, adjacent to the ends of the roll, supports for the bearings, the shaft ex-,

tending axially beyond its bearing at one end of;

the. roll, a bracket at the extended portion of the shaft, and a screw on the bracket, positionedv to" engage the said shaft portion, for tilting the shaft on the adjacent support as a fulcrum, to thereby move the opposite end of the shaft away from its support, whereby the sleeve can be slid axially from the roll. a

4. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having a sleeve of surfacing material, a shaft for the roll, bearings for the shaft, adjacent to the ends of the roll, supports for the bearings, the shaft extending axially beyond its bearing at one end of the roll, a driving pulley or the like on the extended portion of the shaft, and a device adjacent to the pulley, for engaging the extended portion of the shaft to tilt it on the adjacent support as a V fulcrum, to thereby move the opposite end of the shaft away from its support, whereby the sleeve can be slid axially from the roll.

5. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled on the frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearings for the billy roll, a vertically-movable support for said bearings, and means for detachably connecting the hearings to said support, the bearings and the billy roll being removable as a unit from the frame upon disengagement of the connecting means.

6. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled on the frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, a cross bar mounted for vertical movement in the frame and extending parallel to the said rolls, a bearing for the billy roll at each end of the cross bar, and means for detachably connecting the hearings to the cross bar, the bearings being slidably longitudinally of the said bar, for removal of the roll and its bearings when they are disconnected from the bar.

7. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled on the frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearings for the ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidably supporting the said bearings, for vertical movements, spring seats beneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith, fixed spring seats on the frame, cushioning springs interposed between the movable and the fixed spring seats, a rock shaft journaled in the frame, below the fixed spring seats and having a pair of crank-like extensions, a connection between each of the extensions and one of the first-named spring seats, for moving the billy roll through oscillation of said shaft, and means for rocking the said shaft to raise and lower the billy roll.

8. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled on the frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearings for the ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidably supporting the said bearings. for vertical movements, spring seats beneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith, fixed spring seats on the frame, cushioning springs interposed between the movable and the fixed spring seats, a rock shaft journaled in the frame, below the fixed spring seats and having a pair of cran -like extensions, 2. connection between each of the extensions and one of the first named spring seats, for moving the billy roll through oscillation of said shaft, and an adjustable stop device for positively limiting movement of the last named meansin a roll-raising direction.

- 9. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled on the frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bear ings for the ends of the billy roll, guide ways in the frame slidably supporting the said bearings, for vertical movements, spring seats beneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith, fixed spring seats on the frame, cushioning springs interposed between the movable and the fixed spring seats, a rock shaft journaled in the frame, below the fixed spring seats and having a pair of crank-like extensions, a connection between each of the extensions and one of the first named spring seats, for moving thebilly roll through oscillation of said shaft, and means for vertically adjusting each of the first named spring seats relative to its cooperating fixed spring seat.

Ill-Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled'on the frame a billy,- roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearings for the ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidably supporting the said bearings, for vertical movements, spring seats beneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith,

fixed spring seats on the frame, cushioningroll through oscillation of said shaft, and meansactuated through movement of work material to and from the pass between said rolls, to lower and raise the billy roll.

11. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled on the frame a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearings for the ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidably supporting the said bearings, for vertical movements, a rock shaft journaled in the frame below the bearings and having apair of crank-like extensions, lifting members supporting the bearings on the extensions;

means for vertically adjusting the planes of engagement between the bearings and said members, adjustable means positively limiting upward movement of each of said members, and

yieldable operating means for rocking the shaftin a direction to raise the billy roll bearings.

ALFRED E. HAMILTON.

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