Jaw locking means for chucks

A lock ring device for locking the soft jaws of a lathe chuck or the like at a desired position for the machining of the work engaging surfaces of the soft jaws, the device being adjustable to position the jaws in the locking position for the exact amount of metal removal desired. The device is designed for use with the standard soft jaws in use today.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to means for locking or positioning the soft jaws of 
a chuck, such as a lathe chuck or the like, during the procedure for 
machining the jaws to fit the workpiece to be held by the jaws of the 
chuck. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
There is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,696,422 and 4,772,034, issued to 
applicant, a jaw locking device of the indicated type which is designed to 
lock the soft jaws for the purpose of machining the jaws to fit the 
workpiece at full chuck pressure and that provides for adjustment of the 
jaws in the locking position for the exact amount of metal removal 
desired. More specifically, the locking devices disclosed in said patents 
are capable of making accurate adjustments for the purpose of machining 
the exact amount of metal from the jaws so that the jaws fit the workpiece 
to be held thereby within a tolerance of plus or minus 0.0005 inches, and 
are designed to stop the jaws within the movement of the chuck attaining 
the maximum jaw pressure that can be delivered by the chuck. Also, said 
device is designed to provide means for the operator to know how much 
metal he is going to remove during the jaw machining operation and to be 
able to stop the jaws in measured thousandths of an inch. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is the general object of the invention to provide a jaw locking or 
positioning means of the type described in said prior mentioned patents 
which can be used with standard soft jaws and which can be used where the 
swing of the lathe requires a small diameter ring. 
Briefly stated, the jaw locking or positioning means in accordance with the 
invention comprises a ring means adapted to be arranged with portions in 
the proximity of the soft jaws and having radially extending holes, a 
plurality of studs, one of which is associated with each of the soft jaws, 
and means for securing each of the studs to an associated soft jaw with 
each stud extending through a radial hole in said ring means to provide a 
threaded portion projecting radially outwardly from the outer surface of 
the ring means and with each stud extending on an axis parallel to and 
spaced apart from the axis of radial movement of the associated soft jaw. 
The device in accordance with the invention also comprises a plurality of 
nut means threadedly engaged on each of the studs at an outwardly 
projecting portion and being adjustable radially along the threaded 
portion of the studs to a position to limit the radial inward movement of 
said soft jaws to lock said soft jaws at a desired position for the 
machining of said workpiece engaging surfaces of said soft jaws. More 
specifically, the means for securing each stud to an associated soft jaw 
comprises a bolt means having an elongated portion adapted to be received 
in and extend outwardly from a counterbore in an associated soft jaw and a 
threaded portion adapted to be threadedly engaged with a hard jaw for 
securing said soft jaw to said hard jaw for conjoint movement thereof, the 
associated stud being engagable with said extended portion of said bolt 
means at a location outwardly of said soft jaw. 
The design in accordance with the invention permits the ring to be no 
larger than the body of the chuck and permits the use of the jaw locking 
means with a standard soft jaw which is provided with a counterbore 
designed for use in securing the soft jaw to a hard jaw for conjoint 
movement therewith. The design is such that the ring can fit on any soft 
jaw without drilling and tapping an additional threaded hole in the soft 
jaw as was the case with the design of said prior patents. Further, by 
reason of the design whereby the ring is positioned out in front of the 
soft jaws, the same size ring can be used for chucks of many sizes, such 
as up to 24 to 30 inches.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a three-jaw lathe chuck having a chuck 
body 10 formed of a one-piece steel casting and provided with means, such 
as a tapered recess in its rear face, for mounting the chuck on the 
spindle (not shown) of the lathe. The chuck body 10 and the operating 
components thereof for effecting simultaneous gripping action by the three 
chuck jaws (i.e., the jaw setting means) are of an entirely conventional 
construction and for this reason will be described only briefly herein. 
The construction and operation of said jaw setting means and the hard jaws 
12 is well understood by those skilled in the art and for a further 
description thereof reference is made to said prior-mentioned patents. 
The three soft jaws 20 (also known in the art as top jaws) are constructed 
to be securely bolted on top of associated hard jaws 12 (also known in the 
art as master jaws) by means of a pair of bolts, each soft jaw 20 mating 
with its associated hard jaw 12 at a serrated bottom portion 21. In 
accordance with conventional design, shoulder bolts (such as bolt 23 shown 
in FIG. 3) are received in counterbored holes 22 in the soft jaws 20 and 
extend therefrom to threadedly engage the hard jaws 12 associated 
therewith. This structure is generally conventional and is provided on 
most existing lathe chucks. By means of the jaw locking means as described 
in said prior-mentioned patents, the soft jaws 20 are locked for the 
purpose of machining the same to fit the workpiece to be held at full 
chuck pressure. 
The jaw locking or positioning means shown in FIGS. 1-5 comprises a ring 30 
made of a material of sufficient size and strength to hold the jaw tension 
of a power hydraulic chuck, or any other chuck with which it is to be 
used. As described in said prior mentioned patents, typically, the ring 30 
may be made of a 1020 steel. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, ring 30 is adapted 
to be arranged with portions in the proximity of the soft jaws 20 and has 
a diameter which is no larger than the body 10 of the chuck itself. Ring 
30 is provided with three radially extending holes 32 spaced apart equally 
(120.degree. apart) circumferentially around ring 30. In the mounted 
condition of the jaw locking means with ring 30 in front of the soft jaws 
20 as shown in FIG. 1, and as will be described hereafter, the holes 32 
are aligned with axes which are parallel to and spaced apart (i.e., 
outwardly) from the corresponding axes of radial movement of each 
associated soft jaw 20. 
The jaw locking means comprises three studs 40, one stud 40 being 
associated with each soft jaw 20. The studs 40 are externally threaded 
throughout their entire length and each is adapted to extend through a 
radial hole 32 in ring 30, the holes 32 being drilled of a size to provide 
clearance for the threaded studs 40 to pass therethrough. Studs 40 are all 
the same length. 
In accordance with a novel feature of the present invention there is 
provided novel means for securing each of the studs 40 to an associated 
soft jaw 20 with each stud extending through a radial hole 32 in the ring 
30 to provide a threaded portion projecting radially outwardly from the 
outer surface of the ring 30 and with each stud 40 extending on an axis 
parallel to and spaced apart (outwardly) from the axis of radial movement 
of an associated soft jaw 20. Such securing means comprises a bolt means, 
indicated generally at 41, having an elongated first portion adapted to be 
received in and to extend outwardly from a counterbore in an associated 
soft jaw 20 and a threaded portion adapted to be threadedly engaged with a 
hard jaw 12 for securing the soft jaw 20 to the hard jaw 12 for conjoint 
movement thereof. The securing means also comprises an annular collar 42 
having a threaded bore 46 therein. 
The bolt means 41 is comprised of a long bolt 24 in the form of an 
Allen-head cap screw and a sleeve 25 adapted to have the shaft of the bolt 
24 extend through its central hole 29. The outer diameter of sleeve 24 is 
such that it fits, with a sliding fit, within the central hole 44 of the 
annular collar 42. Sleeve 25 has a reduced diameter portion 35 which is 
adapted to extend within the counterbore 26 in the soft jaw 20 and which 
is joined with the large diameter portion of sleeve 25 by a conical 
tapered portion 36. 
Each stud 40 is secured to an associated soft jaw 20 by assembling the 
parts in an arrangement as is best shown in FIG. 3. To this end, the bolt 
means 41 is secured with sleeve 25 having its reduced diameter portion 35 
extending into the counterbore 26 of the soft jaw 20 with the tapered 
portion 36 in solid mating contact with the chamfered outer end 37 of the 
counterbore 26. Also, the shaft of bolt 24 is extended through the central 
hole 29 of sleeve 25 and through the outer counterbore 26 and hole 22 in 
the bottom end of soft jaw 20 for the threaded engagement of the threaded 
end 28 of bolt 24 with the hard jaw 12 at the outer threaded bore 14 
thereof in a position, as is shown in FIG. 3, with the head of the bolt 24 
tightened against the outer end of sleeve 25 to hold the tapered portion 
36 in bearing contact with soft jaw 20 at the outer end 37 of counterbore 
26. In this assembled condition of the parts, the sleeve 25 functions to, 
in effect, extend the shoulder 27 of the head of the bolt 24 from the 
inner surface of the bolthead axially inwardly to make bearing contact 
with the soft jaw 20 at the outer end 37 of counterbore 26. Also, by 
reason of the tapered portion 36 being arranged to come into contact with 
the chamfered outer end 37 of counterbore 26, the sleeve 25 functions as a 
centering device to automatically center the bolt 24 in the counterbore 
26. In other words, the tapered portion 36 provides a centering seat for 
the assembly and thereby serves to accommodate the bolt means 41 to the 
different sizes and tolerances that exist with different soft jaws in use 
today. The solid contact provided at the mating surfaces of tapered 
portion 36 and chamfered outer end 37 produces excellent rigidity and 
strength to the construction, the taper angle being, typically, about 
20-30 degrees, and the depth being 3/16-1/4 inches, as best shown in FIG. 
4A. 
After each of the three bolt means 41 has been mounted to secure a soft jaw 
20 and hard jaw 12 together as shown in FIG. 3, an assembly comprising the 
ring 30 with the three studs 40 engaged in their associated collars 42 
mounted thereon is maneuvered to be mounted on the outer walls of the 
three sleeves 25. The studs 40 are mounted on the ring 30 by means of 
micrometer-type nuts 50 being threaded on the outer end thereof and with 
the inner end of each stud 40 threadedly engaged in the threaded bore 46 
in the collar 42 associated therewith to a set position, preferably being 
bottomed out in said bores 46. During this assembly procedure, each collar 
42 is mounted to be positioned with its inner face adjacent a soft jaw 20 
and with sleeve 25 received in the central opening 44 in collar 42. In 
this assembled condition of the jaw locking means, the studs 40 extend on 
an axis parallel to and spaced apart from the axis of radial movement of 
their associated soft jaws 20 and provide a threaded portion projecting 
radially outwardly from the outer surface 30 of the ring 30, as is 
apparent from a consideration of FIGS. 1 and 3. 
The jaw locking means also comprises three nuts 50, each nut 50 having a 
knurled surface and being adapted to be threadedly engaged on one of the 
studs 40 at an outwardly projecting threaded portion thereof. The nuts 50 
are adjustable along the length of the studs 40 to position, or limit the 
radial movement of, the soft jaws 20 so as to locate said soft jaws 20 at 
a desired position for the machining of the workpiece engaging surfaces of 
said soft jaws 20 as will be described hereafter. 
There are also provided three annular disks 60 having a circular scale 
formed on the outer surface thereof, each nut 50 being provided with a 
disk 60 as a unitary part formed on the inner end thereof as shown in the 
Drawings. The circular scale in each disk 60 is provided by twenty 
circumferentially equally spaced marks with the numbers 0, 10, 20, 30 and 
40 adjacent appropriate marks as shown in FIG. 5. Also, the outer surface 
of ring 30 is provided with a reference mark 52, adjacent the scale on 
each disk 60 to allow the operator to determine the amount of rotation of 
a nut 50 from an initial position thereof for a purpose to be described 
more fully hereafter and which is described in detail in said prior 
patents. 
As described in said patents, in the preferred design the studs 40 are one 
half inch in diameter and are threaded to provide 20 threads per inch. 
This provides for adjustment of the nuts 50 to be 0.050 inches for one 
complete turn of a nut and 0.0025 inches for rotation through one of the 
twenty increments provided by the marks on the scale or disk 60. The holes 
32 and ring 30 are drilled one thirty-second of an inch oversize to 
provide the clearance necessary for insertion of the studs 40 
therethrough. 
OPERATION 
In the use of the jaw locking means in accordance with the invention, the 
three soft jaws 20 are bolted to their associated hard jaws 12 of the 
chuck means by means of a bolt 23 and one of the bolt means 41, which 
includes a bolt 24 and an associated sleeve 25. The condition of the parts 
with the soft jaws 20 assembled onto the hard jaws 12 is best illustrated 
by reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The jaw locking means is assembled in a 
condition with the three studs 40 extending through associated holes 32 
and threaded into the threaded bores 46 in the collars 42 associated 
therewith to a set position, the studs 40 being held in position by the 
nuts 50 which are mounted on the outer ends thereof. The assembled jaw 
locking means is then positioned onto the outer ends of the bolt means 41 
by orienting and then sliding each of the annular collars 42 onto the 
outer surface of the sleeves 25 to a position as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 
3. The nuts 50 are adjusted an appropriate amount to position the ring 30 
to be concentric with the axis of the chuck. 
The next step is to place the workpiece to be held by the soft jaws 20 
within the inner ends thereof and to close the chuck at full pressure and 
to center the ring 30 as concentric as possible relative to the central 
axis of the chuck. In this step, the nuts 50 and disks 60 are run down 
onto the outer ends of the studs to the outer surface of the ring 30 and 
the nuts 50 and disks 60 are finger tightened onto the outer surface 31 of 
the ring when the concentric position is achieved. 
The next step is for the operator to calculate the amount of metal removal 
required and after this determination, the operator opens the chuck, 
removes the workpiece and then backs off the nuts 50 on the three studs 40 
to the exact number of thousandths to achieve the amount of metal removal 
desired. This adjustment step is described in detail in the 
prior-mentioned patents. After the nuts 50 have been adjusted, the chuck 
is closed at full pressure and the nuts 50 will lock the soft jaws 20 
exactly where they should be to bore out the surface thereof to fit the 
workpiece accurately. It will be apparent that nuts 50 "lock" the soft 
jaws in the desired position by engaging ring 30 at the outer surface 31 
thereof to limit the radial movement of each stud 40 and the soft jaw 20 
secured thereto. 
The final step in the operation is to bore out the soft jaws 20 to fit the 
workpiece in accordance with well known procedures. 
In FIGS. 6-9 there is shown another embodiment of the invention wherein the 
ring of the jaw locking means is made of a smaller diameter so as to be 
radially inwardly of the means for securing the studs to the soft jaws. 
This form of the invention is for use in applications where it is desired 
to keep the jaw locking device within the outer dimensions of the jaws. 
This embodiment of the invention comprises essentially the same parts as 
those of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5 with some parts being modified 
slightly in their dimensions. Accordingly, corresponding parts have been 
given the same reference numerals and corresponding parts that have been 
modified have been given the same reference numerals with primes added. 
In FIG. 6 there is shown a three-jaw chuck having a chuck body 10 and three 
hard jaws 12. There are three soft jaws 20 constructed to be securely 
bolted on top of associated hard jaws 12. 
There is also provided a jaw locking means comprising a ring 30' 
constructed the same as ring 30 except that it has a smaller diameter. 
Ring 30' is adapted to be arranged with portions in the proximity of the 
soft jaws 20 which are radially inwardly of the means for securing the 
studs to an associated soft jaw as will appear hereafter. Ring 30' is 
provided with three radially extending holes 32' spaced 120.degree. apart 
around ring 30', the holes 32' being aligned with axes which are parallel 
to and spaced apart from the corresponding axes of radial movement of each 
associated soft jaw 20. 
The jaw locking means comprises three studs 40' which are the same as the 
studs 40 except that studs 40' are slightly shorter in length. These studs 
40' are adapted to extend within the radial holes 32'. 
The means for securing each of the studs 40' to an associated soft jaw 20 
are essentially the same as such means in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 
1-5 except that the ring 30' is located radially inwardly of such securing 
means. Such securing means comprises a bolt means, indicated generally as 
41' and similar to bolt means 41 except that bolt means 41' is longer in 
length. The securing means also comprises an annular collar 42' which has 
a threaded bore 46 therein and which is identical in construction to 
collar 42 except that collar 42' is wider so as to position the ring 30' 
properly with respect to the soft jaw. 20. 
The bolt means 41' comprises a long bolt 24' and a sleeve 25' adapted to 
have the shaft of the bolt 24' extend through its central hole 29'. The 
outer diameter of sleeve 24' fits within the central hole 44' of the 
annular collar 42'. Sleeve 25' has a reduced diameter portion 35 which is 
adapted to extend within counterbore 26 in soft jaw 20 and which is joined 
with the large diameter portion of sleeve 25' by a conical tapered portion 
36 adapted to contact the chamfered outer end 37 of counterbore 26. 
Each stud 40' is secured to an associated soft jaw 20 by assembling the 
parts in an arrangement as best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The bolt means 41' 
is secured in position as shown in FIG. 9 in the same manner as bolt means 
41 to secure the soft jaw 20 onto hard jaw 12 in cooperation with bolt 23. 
After each of the three bolt means 41' has been mounted to secure a soft 
jaw 20 and hard jaw 12 together, the ring 30' and the three studs 40' are 
positioned as shown in FIG. 6 with the three studs 40' engaged in their 
associated collars 42' and with the nuts 50 threaded on the portion of 
studs 40' extending radially outwardly of the outer surface of the ring 
30'. As will be apparent by comparison of FIGS. 6-9 with the embodiment 
shown in FIGS. 1-5, the mounting arrangement is essentially the same 
except that the nuts 50 are pushed against the outer surface of ring 30' 
when the soft jaws 20 are moved radially inwardly by the operation of the 
chuck as was described above. Also, as with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, 
in the assembled condition of the jaw locking means shown in FIGS. 6-9, 
the studs 40' extend on an axis parallel to and spaced apart from the axis 
of radial movement of their associated soft jaws 20 and provide a threaded 
portion projecting radially from the outer surface 31' of the ring 30' 
whereat the nuts 50 are mounted. In the same manner as the embodiment of 
FIGS. 1-5, the nuts 50 of the embodiment of FIGS. 6-9 are adjustable along 
the length of the studs 40' to position, or limit the radial movement of, 
the soft jaws 20 so as to locate said soft jaws 20 at a desired position 
for the machining of the workpiece engaging surfaces of said soft jaws 20 
as described above. 
There are provided three annular disks 60 having a circular scale formed on 
the outer surface thereof in the same manner as described above with 
respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5. 
It will also be apparent that the use of the jaw locking means shown in 
FIGS. 6-9 is essentially the same as that described above with respect to 
the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5. The only essential difference is that 
in the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-9, the nuts 50 are 
pushed against the outer surface of the ring 30' instead of being pulled 
thereagainst by the operation of the softs jaws 20.