Workpiece beveling machine

An apparatus for beveling the edges of workpieces, such as flooring strips, as they are advanced along a path of travel on a conveyor. The apparatus has a motor assembly which mounts a cutting wheel, and the motor assembly is mounted for manual adjustment in both the in and out and up and down directions. Also, the motor assembly can float a limited distance in both of these directions. A guide shoe is mounted to the motor assembly and is positioned to ride on the workpieces. Any unevenness in the straightness, thickness, or width of the workpieces is detected by the guide shoe, which causes the motor assembly and thus the cutting wheel to closely follow the changing contour of the workpieces and impart a uniform bevel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a beveling machine which is designed to cut a bevel of uniform dimensions along one or both edges of a workpiece, such as a floor strip with tongue and groove edges.

Such flooring strips are not always of uniform straightness, thickness, and width, and when the individual strips are formed into a finished floor, there can be raised edges which can catch the heel of a person walking on the surface. To alleviate this problem, it has been conventional to cut a small bevel along each upper edge of the flooring strips, utilizing a cutting wheel which is mounted along each side of a conveyor which serially advances the flooring strips past the cutting wheels. However, this prior practice is not entirely satisfactory since the non-uniformity of the flooring strips results in a non-uniform bevel.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a beveling machine which is adapted to cut a bevel along one or both edges of a workpiece as the workpiece is advanced along a linear path of travel, and wherein the bevel is of uniform dimensions along the edge of the workpiece.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved by the provision of a beveling apparatus which comprises a motor assembly which includes a cutting wheel, and means mounting the motor assembly adjacent the path of travel of the workpiece as it is advanced along the path of travel by a conveyor, with the cutting wheel contacting the edge of the advancing workpiece. Also, the motor assembly is mounted to permit floating movement of the motor assembly in a direction toward and away from the edge of the workpiece as the workpiece is advanced along the path of travel.

A guide shoe is fixed to the motor assembly and positioned to ride on the advancing workpiece and so that the guide shoe and the cutting wheel follow the contour of the edge of the advancing workpiece and thereby cause a uniform bevel to be formed along the edge of the advancing workpiece.

In a preferred embodiment, the cutting wheel of the motor assembly is mounted to a rotatable draft shaft which extends in a horizontal direction which is substantially perpendicular to the path of travel of the workpiece, and the motor assembly is configured to permit separate floating movement in two directions, namely an in and out first direction which is parallel to the axis of the drive shaft and in an up and down or vertical second direction. Also, a manual adjustment of the motor assembly toward and away from the workpiece along the first direction is possible, and a separate manual adjustment of the motor assembly up and down along the second direction is also possible.

Also in a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a second beveling apparatus which is configured to correspond to the structure and function of the above described beveling apparatus, and which is positioned on the side of the workpiece conveyor opposite the side on which the above described beveling apparatus is positioned. This permits the opposite edges of the workpieces to be concurrently beveled as they are serially advanced by the conveyor along the path of travel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a workpiece beveling apparatus10is illustrated which is positioned on one side of a conveyor12for serially advancing the workpieces W, which in this case are flooring strips having tongue and groove edges, along a horizontal linear path of travel. The conveyor12is conventional and is composed of a segmented belt13with hold down rollers14, noteFIG. 4.

The apparatus10is designed to cut a bevel B along one top edge of the advancing flooring strips as best seen inFIG. 1A, and when two apparatuses10and10′ are utilized as further described below, a bevel may be simultaneously cut along both top edges.

The apparatus10comprises a motor assembly16mounted on a fixed frame17on one side of the conveyor12, and the motor assembly16includes a horizontal support plate18which mounts an electric motor19. The electric motor19has a drive shaft20which extends in a generally horizontal direction which is perpendicular to the path of travel defined by the conveyor12. A conventional cutting wheel22is mounted on the end of the drive shaft20so as to rotate in a plane which is generally vertical and parallel to the path of travel. Also, the cutting wheel22is mounted so as to contact the upper edge of the advancing workpieces W and cut a bevel B, as further described below.

The motor assembly16is mounted by a mounting arrangement which includes a first linear slide assembly24which permits manual adjustment of the motor assembly16toward and away from the path of travel along a first direction which is substantially parallel to the axis of the drive shaft20. The first linear slide assembly24also permits the motor assembly16to float against spring biasing forces a limited distance toward and away from the workpiece along the first direction, in a manner further described below.

The mounting arrangement of the motor assembly16also includes second and third linear slide assemblies25,26which are connected to each other in parallel, and which permit manual adjustment in an up and down or second vertical direction. The second and third linear slide assemblies25,26also permit the motor assembly16to float against spring biasing forces a limited distance up and down along the second direction, as described in detail below.

The second and third linear slide assemblies25,26are of like construction, and only the second assembly25will be described herein with reference toFIGS. 7–9. The second and third slide assemblies25,26are disposed in a mirror image relationship on opposite sides of the motor assembly16and on opposite sides of the first slide assembly24.

As illustrated inFIGS. 7–9, the second slide assembly25comprises a C-shaped frame member28which is fixed to the main frame17of the apparatus and which is composed of a vertical back plate29and upper and lower horizontal end plates30,31respectively. An adjusting hand wheel32and screw33are provided, with the wheel being mounted to extend vertically between the end plates30,31so as to permit free rotation while being held against axial movement.

The second slide assembly25further includes a vertically disposed guide rail35which is fixed between the end plates30,31, and a micrometer37is mounted to the end plate30for the purpose of accurately sensing the rotational position of the screw33and thus the hand wheel32. The micrometer37thus visually indicates the height of the cutter relative to the workpiece.

The second slide assembly25mounts an adjustable slide housing39which is mounted for vertical movement along the rail35and the screw33. The slide housing39is composed of a box-like rectangular frame which consists of two opposite side plates41,42and top and bottom plates43,44. The screw33threadedly engages one or both of the top and bottom plates43,44, so that upon rotation of the screw the frame of the slide housing39moves up or down along the rail35.

Within the slide housing39there is mounted a slide46which includes a guide plate47which directly engages the rail35via suitable bearings, so that the slide46is free to move up and down along the rail. The slide also has a mounting plate48which is fixed to the guide plate47as best seen inFIG. 9. As also seen inFIG. 9, the screw33extends freely through a vertical bore49in the mounting plate.

Two positioning spring assembles51,52are mounted in the top plate43and engage the upper end of the mounting plate48, and two positioning spring assemblies53,54are mounted in the bottom plate44and engage the lower end of the mounting plate48. The four spring assemblies are of like construction and each includes a plunger55which is axially biased outwardly by an internal spring56. The force of the spring acting on the plunger is controlled by a cap screw57which may be engaged and rotated by a suitable tool T which extends through an opening in the top or bottom plate as illustrated inFIG. 8.

As will be apparent, the mounting plate48of each slide46is held between the spring assemblies51–54so as to permit a limited floating movement against a spring biasing force in both the up and down directions.

The mounting plate48of each slide assembly25,26is fixed to an inverted U-shaped bracket60, which in turn supports the first linear slide assembly24thereupon, noteFIG. 4. The first linear slide assembly is of a construction corresponding to the above described second and third assemblies, but it is disposed in a horizontal orientation. Also, the mounting plate48of the first slide assembly24is fixed to the support plate18of the motor assembly16, so that the motor assembly16is mounted to permit manual adjustment and floating movement in the manner described above with respect to the second assembly25.

In the case of the second and third linear slide assemblies25,26, it will be seen fromFIG. 4that the two screws33are rotatably interconnected by a chain and sprocket drive62, so that the two screws always rotate in unison. As will become apparent, this permits adjustment in the up and down direction from either side of the motor assembly16. Thus the operator may be located on either side of the motor assembly and may turn either one of the hand wheels32to effect the desired adjustment.

From the above, it will be seen that rotation of the hand wheel of either of the second and third slide assemblies25,26causes both slide housings39and thus the motor assembly16to move up or down, and the positioning of the slide housing and motor assembly may thereby be manually adjusted in the vertical direction. The back plate29of the second slide assembly25may have a scale printed thereon to facilitate the placement of the motor assembly at a desired elevation, noteFIGS. 4 and 7. Also, the slide housings39and motor assembly16can then float a limited distance in both vertical directions from the adjusted setting.

Similarly, rotation of the hand wheel of the first slide assembly24causes the slide housing39and the motor assembly16to move in and out along a direction parallel to the axis of the drive shaft20, and a scale may be printed on the back plate to indicate its position, noteFIG. 3. Once the manual adjustment is completed, the motor assembly can then float a limited distance in the in and out directions from the manual setting.

The edge of the support plate18of the motor assembly which is adjacent the conveyor12mounts a guide shoe65which is positioned to engage and ride on each advancing workpiece. The guide shoe65includes a horizontal, downwardly facing first contact surface66which is positioned to engage the top surface of the workpiece, and a vertical second contact surface67which is positioned to engage the side edge of each advancing workpiece. The second guide surface67is substantially aligned with and axially inside of the plane of the cutting wheel22, and the first guide surface66is positioned on a bar68which is axially beyond the plane defined by the cutting wheel.

The guide shoe65is mounted to the support plate18of the motor assembly16so that the cutting wheel is located in the opening formed between the outer bar68and the main body of the guide shoe, and so as to permit manual adjustment of the guide shoe toward and away from the cutting wheel in a direction which is substantially parallel to the axis of the rotatable drive shaft20. This mounting arrangement includes a pair of parallel threaded members70which are mounted on the support plate18for free rotation and which, are threadedly joined to the rear sides of the shoe65, noteFIG. 2. Thus rotation of the two threaded members70causes the shoe65to move in and out with respect to the workpieces W.

As part of the machine set-up, the operator initially adjusts the positioning of the guide shoe65on the support plate18so as to properly engage the particular workpieces W to be beveled. Next, the operator adjusts the hand wheel32of the first linear slide assembly24to set the cutting wheel22at the proper position in the in and out direction with respect to the size of the workpieces, and the operator also adjusts the hand wheel of the closest of the second and third linear slide assemblies25,26to set the cutting wheel22at the proper position in the up and down direction.

The conveyor12and the motor19are then activated, so that the workpieces W are serially conveyed along a horizontal path of travel past the rotating cutting wheel22. The second contact surface67of the guide shoe rides on the adjacent edge of each workpiece (noteFIG. 3), and in the event of a variation in the width of the workpiece, the shoe65follows the contour and causes the motor assembly16to float so that its position relative to the changing contour is maintained.

The first contact surface66of the guide shoe65rides on the top of each workpiece (noteFIG. 5), causing the motor assembly16to float up and down with the changing thickness of the workpiece. Thus the cutting wheel22closely follows the contour in both directions, resulting in a uniform dimension of the bevel B being cut.

As schematically illustrated inFIGS. 1–3, the apparatus of the invention may incorporate a second beveling apparatus10′ which is of a construction substantially identical to that described above. The use of a second beveling apparatus permits the opposite edges of the workpieces W to be concurrently beveled as they are advanced along the conveyor.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the associated drawings. For example, the apparatus10as specifically illustrated herein is configured to move and float in two directions, i.e. in and out and up and down, but the apparatus could be configured to move and float in a single direction, e.g. in a direction perpendicular to the beveled surface being formed on the workpieces. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.