Patent Publication Number: US-6666241-B1

Title: Wood planing device for a wood planing machine

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a wood planing device for a wood planing machine, more particularly to a wood planing device with a feeding rolling member capable of rotation at two different speeds. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional wood planing machine  10  is shown to include a mounting frame  11  with two pairs of upright posts  13  at right and left sides thereof, respectively, a worktable  111  which is mounted at a bottom of the mounting frame  11 , and a support carriage  12  which is movable upwardly and downwardly relative to the worktable  111  by operating a handle  15  to rotate a threaded bolt  14 . A rotatable shaft  121  is rotatably mounted on a lower end of the support carriage  12 , and is driven by a motor (not shown). Feed-in and take-out rollers  122  are mounted on the lower end of the support carriage  12  in front of and behind the rotatable shaft  121 , respectively. A drive transmitting mechanism (not shown) is disposed to transmit a rotational force of the rotatable shaft  121  to the rollers  122  for feeding-in and taking-out of a workpiece supported on the worktable  111 . 
     Since the rotational speed of the rollers  122  is fixed, the workpiece is fed at a fixed speed, thereby resulting in inconvenience during a planing operation. For example, when it is desired to plane the workpiece to a smooth surface, the feeding operation of the workpiece through the rollers  122  has to be repeated many times, thereby increasing the operating cost. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a wood planing device which can shift the feeding speed of a workpiece to meet planing requirements. 
     According to this invention, the wood planing device includes a support carriage having right and left carriage sides which are adapted to be mounted respectively on right and left sides of a mounting frame of a wood planing machine and above a worktable. The support carriage is movable in an upright direction. A rotatable shaft is mounted on the support carriage and is driven to be rotatable about a first axis in a longitudinal direction. The rotatable shaft has a driving segment and an outer surrounding coupling segment which are disposed proximate to the left and right carriage sides, respectively. A rolling member is mounted rotatably on the right and left carriage sides, and extends in the longitudinal direction to be rotatable about a second axis parallel to the first axis. A coupling sleeve surrounds the rotatable shaft and is rotatable about the first axis. The coupling sleeve has an inner surrounding coupling segment which is sleeved on the rotatable shaft, and is shiftable along the first axis between an engaging position, where the inner surrounding coupling segment engages the outer surrounding coupling segment such that the coupling sleeve is rotated by the rotatable shaft with a first rotational drive, and a disengaging position, where the inner surrounding coupling segment disengages from the outer surrounding coupling segment. A reduction gear train includes a driving gear which surrounds and which rotates with the driving segment about the first axis, and a driven gear which surrounds the first axis and which is disposed downstream of the driving gear and adjacent to the coupling sleeve to deliver a reduction drive as a result of drive transmission from the driving gear to the driven gear. A clutch member is disposed to connect the coupling sleeve and the driven gear when the coupling sleeve is in the disengaging position so as to drive the coupling sleeve to rotate about the first axis with a second rotational drive, and is disposed to disconnect the coupling sleeve and the driven gear when the coupling sleeve is in the engaging positions. A drive delivering sleeve has a spline segment which is disposed to be in spline engagement with the coupling sleeve, and a delivering segment which is disposed distal from the coupling sleeve. The drive delivering sleeve is sleeved on and is rotatable relative to the rotatable shaft about the first axis such that the first and second rotational forces are delivered through the spline segment to rotate the delivering segment about the first axis. A drive transmitting member is disposed to transmit a rotational force of the delivering segment to the rolling member. A shifting member is disposed to shift the coupling sleeve between the engaging and disengaging positions. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a conventional wood planing machine; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a wood planing device according to this invention; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment, with a support carriage and a rolling member thereof removed for the sake of clarity; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the component parts of the preferred embodiment in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment taken from a bottom side; 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a portion of a shifting member according to this preferred embodiment; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the preferred embodiment in a high-speed state; 
     FIG. 9 is a top schematic view showing the preferred embodiment in the high-speed state; 
     FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the preferred embodiment in a low-speed state; and 
     FIG. 11 is a schematic top view showing the preferred embodiment in the low-speed state. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The preferred embodiment of a wood planing device according to the present invention is adapted to be mounted on a mounting frame (not shown) of a known wood planing machine (not shown). The mounting frame has right and left sides which are spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction. A worktable (not shown) is mounted between the right and left sides of the mounting frame for supporting a workpiece thereon, and has feed-in and take-out sides opposite to each other in a transverse direction relative to the longitudinal direction. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the wood planing device of this embodiment is shown to comprise a support carriage  20 , a reduction gear train  30 , and a shifting member  40 . 
     The support carriage  20  has right and left carriage sides which are adapted to be mounted respectively on the right and left sides of the mounting frame and above the worktable, and is movable in an upright direction transverse to the longitudinal and transverse directions relative to the worktable. A motor  201  is mounted on the support carriage  20  proximate to the right carriage side. The support carriage  20  has an accommodation chamber  211  which is formed at a center thereof for accommodating a cutting shaft (not shown) that is driven by the motor  201 . 
     With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a rotatable shaft  22  is mounted on the support carriage  20 , and is driven by the motor  201  in a known manner to be rotatable about a first axis in the longitudinal direction. The rotatable shaft  22  has a driving segment  221  of a non-circular shape and an outer surrounding coupling segment  222  in form of teeth, which are disposed proximate to the left and right carriage sides, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, a rolling member includes feed-in and take-out rollers  23  which are mounted rotatably on the right and left carriage sides proximate to the feed-in and take-out sides of the worktable, respectively, and which extend in the longitudinal direction to be rotatable about second axes that are parallel to the first axis. 
     A drive delivering sleeve  24  is sleeved on and is rotatable relative to the rotatable shaft  22  about the first axis, and is prevented from moving in the longitudinal direction relative to the rotatable shaft  22  by means of a ring  203 . The drive delivering sleeve  24  has a spline segment  242  and a delivering segment  241  in form of chain teeth, which are disposed opposite to each other and proximate to and distal from the outer surrounding coupling segment  222 , respectively, as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     With reference to FIG. 6, a drive transmitting member includes two chain wheels  231  which are disposed on and which are rotated with left ends of the feed-in and take-out rollers  23 , respectively, and a chain  204  which is trained on the delivering segment  241  of the drive delivering sleeve  24  and the chain wheels  231  so as to transmit a rotational force of the drive delivering sleeve  24  to the feed-in and take-out rollers  23 . 
     A coupling sleeve  25  surrounds the rotatable shaft  22  and is rotatable about the first axis. The coupling sleeve  25  has an inner surrounding splining segment  251  which is in spline engagement with the spline segment  242  of the drive delivering sleeve  24 , an inner surrounding coupling segment  253  which is disposed opposite to the inner surrounding splining segment  251  in the longitudinal direction and which is movable along the first axis between an engaging position, as shown in FIG. 8, where the inner surrounding coupling segment  253  engages the outer surrounding coupling segment  222  of the rotatable shaft  22  such that the coupling sleeve  25  is rotated directly by the rotatable shaft  22  with a first rotational drive, thereby resulting in simultaneous rotation of the drive delivering sleeve  24  and the feed-in and take-out rollers  23 , and a disengaging position, as shown in FIG. 10, where the inner surrounding coupling segment  253  disengages from the outer surrounding coupling segment  222 . 
     The reduction gear train  30  includes a driving gear  32  with a coupling portion  321  which surrounds and which rotates with the driving segment  221  of the rotatable shaft  22  about the first axis, a driven gear  34  which surrounds the first axis and which is disposed downstream of the driving gear  32  and adjacent to the coupling sleeve  25 , and a larger gear  331  and a smaller gear  332  which are coupled coaxially to each other along a third axis that is parallel to the first axis and which are meshed with the driving gear  32  and the driven gear  34 , respectively, so as to result in a reduction drive that is delivered from the driving gear  32  to the driven gear  34 . In assembling the reduction gear train  30 , a support member  31  is secured on the left carriage side of the support carriage  20 , and has first and second bearing seats  312 , 313  disposed opposite to each other in the upright direction. The driving and driven gears  32 , 34  are rotatably accommodated in the first bearing seat  312  by a bearing  314 . The larger and smaller gears  331 ,  332  are rotatably accommodated in the second bearing seat  313  by a bearing  314 . A bearing seat plate  315  has a bearing  316  mounted therein and is secured on the support member  31  to cover the second bearing seat  313 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 4,  8  and  10 , a clutch member includes a plurality of engaging protrusions  254  which are formed on an end wall  252  of the coupling sleeve  25  and which extend away from the inner surrounding splining segment  251  in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of engaging recesses  342  which are formed in an end wall  341  of the driven gear  34  and which confront the engaging protrusions  254  so as to engage retainingly the engaging protrusions  254  when the coupling sleeve  25  is in the disengaging position, as shown in FIG.  10 . In this position, the driven gear  34  is coupled with the coupling sleeve  25  so as to drive the coupling sleeve  25  to rotate about the first axis with a second rotational drive for simultaneous rotation of the drive delivering sleeve  24  and the feed-in and take-out rollers  23 . On the contrary, when the coupling sleeve  25  is in the engaging position as shown in FIG. 8, the coupling sleeve  25  is disconnected from the driven gear  34 . As such, the delivering segment  241  is rotated by the first or second rotational drive that is delivered through the drive delivering sleeve  24  via the coupling sleeve  25  so as to rotate the rollers. 
     With reference to FIGS. 3 to  5 , the shifting member  40  includes a rack  41 , an actuating unit  42 , and a cam unit. The rack  41  is secured on the support carriage  20  by engagement of screws  412  and holes  411 . The actuating unit  42  has a shaft-shaped inner actuating end  422  which rotatably extends through a hole  413  in the rack  41  about an operating axis that is radial to the first axis of the rotatable shaft  22 , and an outer operating end  421  in form of a knob which extends from the inner actuating end  422  along the operating axis and outwardly of the support carriage  20  so as to be externally operable to rotate the inner actuating end  422  with a rotating force. 
     The cam unit includes a driving pinion  43  which is rotated with the inner actuating end  422  about the operating axis, a transmission lever  44  which has a rack segment  442  that is meshed with the driving pinion  43  to move the transmission lever  44  in the longitudinal direction when the driving pinion  43  is rotated with the inner actuating end  422 , and a connecting end  445  which is disposed opposite to the rack segment  442  in the longitudinal direction, and a coupler. The coupler includes a connecting ring  26  which is sleeved securely on the coupling sleeve  25  by means of a C-shaped snap  205 , a flange  261  which is disposed to extend outwardly and radially from the connecting ring  26 , and an actuated plate  27  which has a sleeve end  271  that is sleeved on the connecting ring  26  and that abuts against the flange  261  in the longitudinal direction by means of a C-shaped snap  206 , and a coupling end  272  which extends from the sleeve end  271  in a direction radial to the first axis and which is secured to the connecting end  445  of the transmission lever  44  by engagement of screws  444  and holes  443  so as to couple with the connecting end  445  of the transmission lever  44 . Preferably, as shown in FIG. 7, the transmission lever  44  further has an elongated guiding slot  441  adjacent to the rack segment  442 . A guiding plate  45  is secured on the rack  41  by screws  452  that pass through holes  451  in the guiding plate  45  and the slot  441  for guiding movement of the transmission lever  44 . 
     Thus, by virtue of the rotation of the actuating unit  42 , the transmission lever  44  is moved in the longitudinal direction so as to move the coupling sleeve  25  along the first axis between the engaging and disengaging positions. 
     When it is desired to feed a workpiece at a high speed, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the knob-shaped outer operating end  421  is turned clockwise (see FIG. 9) to move the coupling sleeve  25  rightward to the engaging position, where the inner surrounding coupling segment  253  meshes with the outer surrounding coupling segment  222 , such that the coupling sleeve  25  is rotated by the first rotational drive of the rotatable shaft  22  and such that the feed-in and take-out rollers  23  are rotated by the drive delivering sleeve  24  and the drive transmitting member. 
     When it is desired to feed a workpiece at a low speed, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the knob-shaped outer operating end  421  is turned counterclockwise (see FIG. 11) to move the coupling sleeve  25  leftward to the disengaging position, where the inner surrounding coupling segment  253  disengages from the outer surrounding coupling segment  222  and where the engaging protrusions  254  engage retainingly the engaging recesses  342 , such that the coupling sleeve  25  is rotated by the second rotational drive generated by the reduction drive of the reduction gear train  30  and such that the feed-in and take-out rollers  23  are rotated by the drive delivering sleeve  24  and the drive transmitting member. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.