Grinding member and an adapter for mounting the grinding member on a grinding machine or a grinding member holder

A grinding member attachable to a grinding disc, an attachment plate of a grinding machine, or a manual holder, and including an abrasive-containing layer, and a perforation substantially uniformly distributed over at least a portion of a surface of the abrasive-containing layer and extending through an entire thickness of the abrasive-containing layer, with the perforation being formed of a plurality of openings so spaced from each other that unhindered suction of abrasive dust is insured; and adapter for attaching the grinding member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a grinding member attachable to a grinding 
disc, an appropriate support or an attachment place of a grinding machine 
and having an abrasive-containing layer and an adapter for attaching the 
grinding member. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Grinding members, in particular, machine-attachable grinding members of 
different constructions and geometrical shapes are well known. 
To achieve perfect results of a grinding operation, a continuous discharge 
of the abrasive dust during a grinding operation is necessary. In the 
absence of the abrasive dust discharge or when the discharge is effected 
only from time to time, the grinding wheel becomes clogged up with the 
abrasive dust, and single abrasive grains are not any more operable. The 
result of this is an unsatisfactory quality of the ground surface and a 
noticeably reduced durability of a grinding wheel. 
To provide for continuous discharge of the abrasive dust, the grinding disc 
or the attachment plate of a grinding machine is provided with suction 
means, with the grinding member being provided with means which transfer 
the abrasive dust to the suction channels or the openings provided in the 
grinding disc or attachment plate. Such suction means is provided for both 
the grinding machines and manual grinding member holders. The transferring 
means is usually formed as openings in the grinding member. To insure 
obtaining of satisfactory results of a grinding operation, an operator 
should so mount the grinding member on the grinding disc or the attachment 
plate that the openings in the grinding member coincide with the suction 
channels formed in the grinding disc or the attachment plate. This task 
becomes even more complicated when an adapter is located between the 
grinding member and the grinding disc or the attachment plate. In 
practice, however, even if the alignment has been effected, it is not a 
guarantee of a continuous satisfactory removal of the abrasive dust. This 
is because the abrasive dust is removed not at the locations where it is 
originated but rather at the locations where it, as a result of the 
rotation or oscillation of the grinding member, is transported beneath the 
suction openings. In the meantime, the abrasive dust is deposited on the 
workpiece and the grinding surface of the grinding member. 
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a grinding member and 
an adapter which would insure a continuous satisfactory removal of the 
abrasive dust both when the grinding member and the adapter are used 
together or used separately. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This and other objects of the invention, which will become apparent 
hereinafter, are achieved by providing a grinding member having a 
perforation substantially uniformly distributed over at least a portion of 
a surface of the abrasive-containing layer and extending through an entire 
thickness of the abrasive-containing layer, the perforation being formed 
of a plurality of openings so spaced from each other that, upon the 
attachment of the grinding member to the one of the grinding disc and the 
attachment plate, the perforation openings are arranged with respect to 
the suction means so that an unhindered suction of abrasive dust is 
insured, and by providing an adapter likewise having a perforation 
corresponding to the perforation of the grinding member. 
Providing such a grinding member and an adapter, which are arranged one 
above the other, providing for the communication of the openings 
therebetween and with the suction channels of the grinding disc or the 
attachment plate, which insures a reliable suction and removal of the 
abrasive particles together with the exhaust air. 
Dependent on the construction of the grinding member, the perforation can 
be provided only in one, abrasive-containing layer, when the above and/or 
below located layer, if present, is gas- and particle permeable. With a 
multi-layer grinding member, the perforation penetrates all of the layers 
if they are not gas and/or particle permeable. The same applies to the 
adapter. 
It should be pointed out that the grinding member according to the present 
invention insures a reliable continuous removal of the abrasive dust even 
in the case when the grinding machine or the manual grinding member holder 
is not provided with suction means. One skilled in the art would 
appreciate that due to the presence of the perforation, the abrasive dust 
would be removed from the grinding surface by the pressure forces and 
would be transported into areas and layers located beneath the grinding 
plane. Thus, the clogging of the grinding grains would be substantially 
prevented. 
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the grinding member 
includes a burred connection layer which is likewise pierced with the 
perforation. 
According to the advantageous embodiment of the invention, the grinding 
member includes an auxiliary layer located between the abrasive-containing 
and burred connection layers. 
The auxiliary layer is formed as an elastic layer, which may also serve as 
a temperature insulating layer. The auxiliary layer may be used in a wet 
grinding operation and/or a dry grinding operation. According to the 
invention, the auxiliary layer is formed of a foam material, which 
provides communication channels for communicating the perforation openings 
with the suction means provided in the one of the grinding disc and the 
attachment plate. At that, both the perforation openings and the 
communication channels are gas and particle permeable. 
According to the invention, the perforation-forming openings can have 
circular, square, rectangular, polygonal, oval or star-shaped 
cross-section. The perforation-forming openings can also be formed as 
rectilinear or arcuate slots. The same applies to the perforation openings 
of the adapter. 
The cross-section of the grinding member and the adapter can likewise be of 
different shape. The cross-section can be of any desired shape, e.g., 
circular, polygonal, star-shaped, etc. 
The abrasive support can be formed of paper, cloth, wool, etc. 
According to the present invention, the adapter can include a burred 
connection, foam and velvet layers, with the burred connection layer being 
designed to cooperate with the burred connection layer of the grinding 
member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 4 and 5 show a grinding disc 5 which is provided with suction bores 7 
through which the abrasive dust is removed and subsequently delivered into 
a collection sack. The suction device for aspirating the abrasive dust is 
mounted on or in the grinding machine. The grinding disc 5 or a similar 
grinding member support 6 may or may not be provided with the suction 
bores. 
The present invention involves providing means which insures delivery of 
the abrasive dust to the suction bores 7 or similar suction means. 
Conventionally, the grinding member, e.g., a circular grinding disc-shaped 
element is provided with a plurality of openings which coincide with the 
bores 7 or the like. As it has already been discussed above, this 
technology does not insure that satisfactory results of the grinding 
operation are achieved. The present invention, as discussed above, permits 
to achieve reliable satisfactory results of a grinding operation by 
providing both the grinding member and grinding disc 5 with cooperating 
burred connection surfaces 11 and 17, respectively. The grinding disc 5 is 
further provided with a pressure and impact compensating soft layer 18. 
The layer 18, together with a perforation surface, is fixedly attached to 
a support plate 19 provided with a connection member 20 for attaching the 
disc 5 to a grinding machine. Both the burred connection layer 17 and the 
soft layer 18 are pierced with through-bores 7 or the like. 
The suction of an abrasive dust is not possible when the opening provided 
in the grinding member 1, do not coincide with the bores 7, provided in 
the grinding disc 5 upon mounting of the grinding member 1 on the grinding 
disc 5 even when the grinding body 1 is properly positioned, a continuous 
suction of the abrasive dust is not insured. 
To insure a continuous suction of the abrasive dust, according to the 
invention, the grinding member 1 is provided with perforation 8 
distributed along the entire surface of the grinding member. The grinding 
member can be formed of different layers, dependent on a selected grinding 
process, properties of the ground layer, the material of the ground 
workpiece . . . According to the present invention, at least the layer 3, 
which carries the abrasive 2 is provided with openings 9 forming the 
perforation 8. The perforation 8 and the bores 7 provided respectively in 
the grinding member 1, and the grinding disc 5 insure an unhindered 
suction of the abrasive dust. At that, the perforation extends through the 
entire grinding member. E.g, if the grinding body 1 is formed of a layer 3 
carrying the abrasive 2 or an abrasive layer carrying or 
abrasive-containing layer 10, and a burred connection layer 11, the 
perforation 8 penetrates through all of the layers. 
According to the invention, the grinding member can have different layer 
structures. Thus, the grinding member 1, which is shown in FIG. 3a, can 
have in addition to the abrasive-carrying layer 3 or the 
abrasive-containing layer 10 and the burred connection layer 11, an 
auxiliary layer 12 formed of a foam material for accommodating and 
compensation of different space requirements and the like, which can also 
serve as a temperature insulation layer. It is used in both wet and dry 
grinding processes. As discussed above, either all of the layers of the 
grinding member 1 can be pierced with a common perforation or only 
separate layers can be pierced. 
In one of the embodiments of the grinding member according to the present 
invention, the auxiliary layer 12 is not perforated. In this embodiment, 
the openings 9 of the perforation 8 provided in the abrasive layer 3/10 
are connected with the openings provided in the burred connection layer 11 
by channels 13 resulting from the foam structure of the auxiliary layer 
12. The channels 13 here insure passing therethrough of both gas and solid 
particles. The same applies to the adapter which is shown in FIGS. 6 and 
7. In the adapter 4, the openings 9 of the perforation 8 pierce the burred 
connection layer 14. The adapter 4 further includes a foam layer 15 and a 
velvet layer 16 likewise pierced by the perforation. 
FIGS. 8-16 show different shapes of perforation openings 9 formed in the 
grinding member. The opening 9 shown in FIG. 8 have a circular 
cross-section. The openings 9 shown in FIG. 9 have a star-shaped 
cross-section. The openings 9 shown in FIG. 10 have a polygonal 
cross-section. The openings shown in FIGS. 11-13 have, respectively, a 
square rectangular and triangular cross-section. The openings shown in 
FIG. 14 have an oval cross-section. 
The shape of the openings is generally selected based on the planned use of 
the grinding member. The opening 9 can have, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, 
respectively a slot or arcuate cross-section. The appropriate perforation 
is provided in both the grinding member and the adapter. The grinding 
member and the adapter can be used either together or separately. Thus, 
the adapter according to the invention can be used with a conventional 
grinding body provided with conventional openings. 
Though the present invention was shown and described with reference to the 
preferred embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to 
those skilled in the art and, therefore, it is not intended that the 
invention be limited to the disclosed embodiments or details thereof, and 
departure can be made therefrom within the spirit and scope of the 
appended claims.