US3110139A

US3110139A - Segment buff with inclined segements

Info

Publication number: US3110139A
Application number: US167858A
Authority: US
Inventors: William J Miller
Original assignee: Jackson Buff Corp
Current assignee: Jackson Buff Corp
Priority date: 1962-01-22
Filing date: 1962-01-22
Publication date: 1963-11-12
Anticipated expiration: 1980-11-12

Description

Nov. 12, 1963 .J. MILLER SEGMENT BUFF WITH INCLINED SEGMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 22, 1962 INVENTOR. WILL/AM I MILL 56 Nov. 12, 1963 w. J. MILLER 3,110,139

SEGMENT BUF'F WITH INCLINED SEGMENTS Filed Jan. 22, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM J? M/LJJE/i BY 7 54 a a4;

United States Patent O 3,110,139 SEGRENT BUFF WITH INQLHQED SEGMENT William J. Miller, Conover, NAIL, assignor to Jackson Butt tlorporation, a corporation of North Carolina Filed Jan. 22, 1952, Ser. No. 167,353 2 Qlaims. (Cl. 51-1735) The present invention is directed to a hurling wheel, and more particularly to a buffing wheel having relatively stiff, finger-like bufi'lng segments that extend outwardy at an inclination with respect to a radial position, with all segments inclined in the same direction, the finger-like butting segments thereby being presented to an article being buffed at a trailing inclination when the buffing wheel is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of inclination.

Butfing wheels having finger-like buffing segments extending radially outwardly are used effectively in butling contoured surfaces as the segments are substantially individually flexed as they pass across the surface being buffed and thus each segment will generally follow the contour of the surface substantially independently of the fiexure of the adjacent segments.

To obtain satisfactory buffing action the individual finger-like bufiing segments should be relatively stiff so that they will enter and eifectively bull recesses in the surface being buffed. However, due to the radial positioning of the buffing segments, the surface being butfed applies a force to the finger-like segments in a direction normal to their lengths which is the direction of force causing the greatest flexing of the segments. In addition the finger-like construction renders the segments particularly susceptible to flexure by a force in this normal direction.

By the present invention a bufiing Wheel with fingerlike butling segments is provided, havin the advantages of prior buffing wheels of this type, and in addition providing increased resistance to flexing of the individual segments with an accompanying increase in bufling effectiveness, particularly for contoured surfaces.

This advantage is obtained by a buff construction wherein each finger-"ike segment is inclined from a radial position in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the butting wheel so that the force tending to flex the segments, which force is generally tangential to the bufi, is inclined with respect to the inclined finger-like segments, and thus the flexing component of the force is reduced in accordance with the degree of inclination.

A further advantage of this inclined construction is that a more dense and compact bufling wheel can be constructed as the inclination increases the circumferential extent of each segment at the periphery of the bud. Further compacting can be readily produced with the buff of the present invention by arranging the segments in overlapping relation. With the increased peripheral extent of the inclined segments, this overlapping of the segments can easily extend t. e full length of the segments, thereby eliminating cavities in the surface of the buff between segments. The elimination of cavities results in a corresponding elimination of streaking and uneven cutting of the surface being buffed.

Additional compactness and stillness may be obtained by a particular overlapping of the segments wherein each segment overlaps one of the adjacent segments and is similarly overlapped by the other adjacent segment. This results in the segments being inclined with respect to a radial plane so that when a number of circular sections, each having these overlapping segments thereon, are combined in side-by-side relation to form a composite butfing Wheel the inclined segments of each section will extend into the planes of the adjacent sections and will 3,1 wish Patented Nov. 12, 1&63

ice

interlock with the similarly inclined segments of the ad jacent sections, providing a substantially solid mass of ending material on the surface of the buff without cavities between sections.

Other and further advantages and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partially broken away, of a buffing wheel section incorporating the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View of the buffing wheel section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a View similar to FIG. 2 and showing the positions of a number of sections combined in a multisection bufling wheel;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a strip or" folded bufiing material used to make the finger-like bufiing segments of the buffing wheel section of FIG. 1; and

1G. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of the boiling Wheel section illustration of FIG. 1.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings a single butfing wheel or section it) is constructed with a plurality of relatively narrow finger-like bufiing segments 12 mounted in and extending outwardly from an annular lacing 14. The finger-like segments 12 are secured together adjacent the lacing 14 by circular stitching 16. Outwardly of the stitching 16 the segments 12 are free of securement and capable of independent relative flexing. Additional rows of stitching may be utilized to provide increased stilfness, if desired.

The finger-like buffing segments 12 of the embodiment illustrated are formed from a sheet of buffing material, such as cotton, sisal or other types of material, and may be formed conventionally with bias cut edges. The sheet is folded upon itself a number of times to form a relatively narrow strip 18 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The plies of this multi-ply folded setrip 18 may then be secured together by longitudinal stitching 2% which not only holds the plies together but i mparts a stiffness that increases the resistance to flexing in a direction normal to the length of the strip. The number of rows of stitching 20 may vary from none to six or more depending on the Width of the segments and the desired stiffness.

To form the finger-like segments 12 and the strip is cut transversely at spaced distances corresponding to the desired length of the segment. As seen in FIG. 4 the strip is cut at a slight inclination, such as at 5, to the transverse direction so that the ends 22 of the lengths 12 are inclined slightly with respect to a direction normal to the segments so that when the segments 12 are mounted on the lacing 14 with their inner ends 26 tangentialiy positioned on the lacing 14 the segments 12 will extend in a direction inclined slightly from a radial position and the side edges 24 of the segments will be similarly inclined. The angle at which the strip 18 is cut may be varied to provide desired results. Satisfactory results may be obtained using angles in the range of 510, but is is not intended that the present invention be limited to this range.

As best seen in PEG. 5 the inner end 26 of each segmerit i2 is positioned tangentially against the base 28 of the lacing 14 and is secured in place by the gripping teeth 3t? of the lacing with all of the elements 12 similarly placed for inclination of all the segments in the same direction. The direction of inclination is opposite to (the intended direction of rotation of the bufiing wheel section it} so that the segments will strike the surface being buffed at a trailing inclination and the force of the surface being oufied against the segments will be inclined with respect to a normal direction, thereby reducing the eliective bending force exerted against the segments 12 and reducing 3 the amount of fiexure of the segments for enhanced bulling action.

As the outer ends 32 of the segments 12 are cut at the same inclination as the inner ends 26 a saw tooth periphery is formed on the bufdng wheel sections it) as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 5. if desired, the periphery of the bull may be trimmed to provide a smooth circular surface. r

The finger-like bufiing segments 12 are arranged serially around the lacing 14 in overlapping relation to each other. Each segment, such as the one indicated as 34, overlaps one of the adjacent segments 36 and is itself similarly overlapped by the other adjacent segment 38 with the result that the segments 12 are inclined slightly from the radial plane of the bufiing wheel section 1%. Due to the previously described inclination of the segments 12 from radial positions and the amount of overlap the segments are in overlapping relation throughout their entire lengths. This provides a solid periphery without any spaces or cavities between the segments, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The buffing wheel section ill may be used by itself, but normally a plurality of identical sections are mounted side by side to form a composite buffing Wheel 49, such as that shown in FIG. 3. The inclination of the segments 12 from the planes of the sections is of particular significance when using the sections in a composite buffing wheel, in which case the inclination results in the segments extending into the planes of the adjacent sections and interlocking with the corresponding segments of these other sections to form a dense compact mass of bufiing material without any cavities between sections.

A typical example of a bufi made in accordance with the present invention, but not intended as a limitation to the present invention, is a bull of the type illustrated having an outer diameter of 17 inches using an annular lacing of 7 inch inner diameter. The finger-like segments are each 1% inches wide and 5 /3 inches long. The segments are cut at 21 7 angle and when mounted on the lacing extend at an angle of approximately 15 from a radial position, with all segments extending in the same direction.

The present invention has been described above for purposes of illustration only, and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bufiing wheel comprising a plurality of contiguous circular buff sections aligned axially, each bull section havine an annular supporting member and a plurality of relatively still, individually flexible, finger-like bufiing segments secured to and extending outwardly from said supporting member, said bufiing segments being arranged serially about the periphery of the annular supporting member witheach bufiing segment partially overlapping one adjacent segment and being partially overlapped by the other adjacent segment to position each segment at an inclination to the plane of its but? section and to extend into the plane of adjacent buff sections in interlocking engagement with the inclined segments of said adjacent burl sections, said boiling segments being formed firom a strip of longitudinally multi-folded bufling material cut transversely in bufiing segment lengths at an inclination to a line perpendicular to the length of the strip, one of the cut inclined edges of each bulfing segment being positioned tangentially on the periphery of the supporting member to dispose each of said finger-like bufling seg ments at an inclination from a radial position with all segments inclined in the same direction to present the finger-like segments to an article being bufied at a trailing inclination when the buff is rotated in the direction opposite the direction of radial inclination.

2. A buffing wheel comprising an annular supporting member, a plurality of relatively stiff finger-like buffing segments secured to and extending outwardly from said supporting member, each of said finger-like buffing segments having an inner end tangentially positioned on the periphery of the supponting member and parallel side edges extending outwardly from the inner edge at an inclination to a direction normal to the inner edge, thereby inclining each of said buffing segments from a radial position, with all segments being inclined in the same direction to present the finger-like segments to an article being bufied at a trailing inclination when the buff is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of inclination, said buffing segment-s being formed from a strip of multifolded buifing material cut transversely in bufiing segment lengths and at an inclination to a line perpendicular to the side of the strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims

2. A BUFFING WHEEL COMPRISING AN ANNULAR SUPPORTING MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY STIFF FINGER-LIKE BUFFING SEGMENTS SECURED TO AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID SUPPORTING MEMBER, EACH OF SAID FINGER-LIKE BUFFING SEGMENTS HAVING AN INNER END TANGENTIALLY POSITIONED ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE SUPPORTING MEMBER AND PARALLEL SIDE EDGES EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE INNER EDGE AT AN INCLINATION TO A DIRECTION NORMAL TO THE INNER EDGE, THEREBY INCLINING EACH OF SAID BUFFING SEGMENTS FROM A RADIAL POSITION, WITH ALL SEGMENTS BEING INCLINED IN THE SAME DIRECTION TO PRESENT THE FINGER-LIKE SEGMENTS TO AN ARTICLE BEING BUFFED AT A TRAILING INCLINATION WHEN THE BUFF IS ROTATED IN THE DIRECTION OPPOSITE TO THE DIRECTION OF INCLINATION, SAID BUFFING SEGMENTS BEING FORMED FROM A STRIP OF MULTIFOLDED BUFFING MATERIAL CUT TRANSVERSELY IN BUFFING SEGMENT LENGTHS AND AT AN INCLINATION TO A LINE PERPENDICULAR TO THE SIDE OF THE STRIPS.