Patent ID: 7131894
Filing Date: 2006-11-07
Classification: B24B

Abstract:
1. A grinding machine comprising: a drive with an output shaft; a support frame disposed for mounting said drive so as to permit said output shaft to deliver a drive force; an abrasive element which is rotatably mounted on said support frame and which is coupled to said drive to be driven by the drive force to rotate about an axis in a longitudinal direction, said abrasive element having a major wall which extends outwardly and in radial directions relative to the axis to terminate at a rim so as to form an abrasive surface thereon; a blower casing including a proximate wall with a periphery, which is disposed on said support frame and which is opposite to said major wall of said abrasive element in the longitudinal direction, and a surrounding wall which extends from said periphery of said proximate wall in the longitudinal direction to confine a blower chamber and which extends beyond said rim of said abrasive element to terminate at an outer surrounding edge such that said surrounding wall is spaced radially apart from said rim to define a surrounding intake passage therebetween; a dust discharge port which is disposed downstream of said intake passage, which is communicated with said blower chamber, and which is offset from the axis; and an impeller which is disposed in said blower chamber and which is coaxial with said abrasive element to be rotatable about the axis such that dust generated as a result of a grinding operation of said abrasive element is entrained in an air stream drawn into said blower chamber through said surrounding intake passage and subsequently out of said discharge port by virtue of rotation of said impeller; said blower casing further including a partition wall which is disposed between said abrasive element and said impeller and which is disposed upstream of said dust discharge port and downstream of said intake passage so as to divide said blower chamber into an impeller-side space and a grinding wheel-side space, said partition wall having an inner peripheral edge which defines an air duct therein and which surrounds the axis so as to guide the dust-entraining air stream into said impeller-side space for discharge through said dust discharge port, a first barrier flange which is disposed in said grinding wheel-side space, which extends from said partition wall in the longitudinal direction, and which has an arcuate segment that extends along an upper portion of said inner peripheral edge, and a tangential segment that extends outwardly from said arcuate segment in a tangential direction relative to the axis, and a second barrier flange which is disposed in said grinding wheel-side space, which extends from said partition wall in the longitudinal direction, and which extends from a lower portion of said inner peripheral edge to diverge from said tangential segment so as to cooperate with said first barrier flange to define a first dust gathering channel therebetween such that the air stream generated by virtue of the rotation of said impeller is guided toward said air duct so as to facilitate flowing of the dust entrained thereinto from said surrounding intake passage to said first dust gathering channel.