Improvements in Machines for Grinding or Finishing the Cups of Ball Bearings or other Articles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 3rd Dec., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Grinding or Finishing the Cups of
Ball Bearings or other Articles.
We, LEWIS EDWARD HARPER, of No. 31, Vernon Street, Machinist, and CARL
LUDWIG GROHMANN, of No. 5, May Street, Designer, both of the City of Hart-
ford County of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, United States of America,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement;-
This invention relates to machines for dressing or grinding metal, the object
of the invention being to provide an improved machine of this character for
dressing or grinding articles of various shapes with uniform accuracy, said
machine being particularly adapted for finishing inside work of irregular form-
such as cups or boxes for containing bicycle bearing-balls.
Our improved machine comprehends as to one of its features a plurality of
superimposed transversely-reciprocatory slides, a support upon which the under
slide is mounted for reciprocation, and a co-operative pattern and guide, one of
said last-mentioned parts being mounted on the support and the other being
mounted on one of the slides.
In the present case the pattern is carried on the upper slide, and the co-
operating guide is fixed to the support, and means--such as a spring-is em-
ployed for forcing the working face of the pattern firmly in contact with the
guide, by reason of which, when the under slide is reciprocated, a tool on the
upper slide is caused to traverse a path coinciding with the shape of the pattern.
The means which hold the pattern against its guide may consist of a spring,
as stated, and in such case said spring preferably acts against the upper slide,
and by holding the pattern against the fixed guide the tool is caused to follow
a line corresponding with the outline of the pattern, when the under slide is
operated.
Another feature of the machine resides, in connection with a slide and its
support, in a spring for operating the slide in one direction, and manually-
controlled means for effecting the movement of the slide in the opposite direction,
by reason of which the tool can be quickly moved toward and from its work, a
detent being preferably employed to hold the slide in one of its extreme posi-
tions against the action of its spring, and this organization is primarily intended
for rough adjustment, the accurate positioning of the slide being obtained by
independent means.
In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure 1
is a plan view of a grinding-machine embodying my present improvements.
Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a central sectional side eleva-
tion, on an enlarged scale, of the tool-carriage and the bed. Fig. 4 is a transverse
central section of the same, the upper part of the carriage being in elevation.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the carriage with the two mechanically-operated slides
removed. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the support or track upon which the lower
mechanically-operated slide is mounted. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the lower
>

page_text: mechanically-driven slide. Fig. 8 is a sectional side elevation of the two mech-
anically-operated slides and their support. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional
elevation of the same. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the lower mechanically-
driven slide. Fig. 11 is a similar view of the support or track for sustaining
said last-mentioned slides. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the upper slide.
Figs. 13 to 15, inclusive, are sectional elevations of the work, chuck, and tool,
showing the mode of operation of the latter. Fig. 16 is a similar view to the
preceding three views, showing a grinding-tool of slightly different construc-
tion. Fig. 17 is a plan view of slide 5 forming a part of the tool-carriage, the
link 22 being broken away, and Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the grinding-
machine taken in line a-, Fig. 1, and looking toward the left.
Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of the drawings.
The framework for sustaining the various parts of the machine may be of any
suitable character, it consisting in the present case of the longitudinal bed 2,
having near one end the standard or upright 3, which supports the chuck or
work-holding mechanism, the tool-carriage or slide C being supported for move-
ment along the upper face of the bed 2.
<
The tool-carriage C consists of a plurality of superimposed slides, as 4, 5, 6,
and 7, and as means are illustrated for actuating the two uppermost slides 7
and 8, respectively, by power they have been termed herein mechanically-
operated" slides better to distinguish them from the three lower, hand-adjust-
able slides 4, 5, and 6.
The slide 4 is held preferably in a fixed position on the bed when the parts
are assembled, the necessary adjustment of the tool, which is carried by the
topmost slide 8, being obtained by the manipulation of the transversely-recipro-
catory slides 5 and 6. The lowermost slide 4 rests upon the bed of the machine,
and it is clamped in a fixed position thereon by the dogs 9 and 10, secured in
place by the T-headed bolts 12 and 13, respectively, passing through the elon-
gated groove 14 in the upper face of the bed.
The adjustment of the slide 5 crosswise of the bed is effected by the ordinary
feed-screw 15 operative with said slide 5 and secured to the nut 16, fixed to the
stationary slide 4.
The operation of the slide 6 crosswise of the slide 5 is effected in one direction
by manually-controlled means-such as a lever connected therewith-and is
actuated or fed in opposite direction by a spring or springs.
In the present case the slide 6 is retracted by a hand-lever and is fed forward
toward the work by a series of springs, a dog or detent of suitable construction
being employed to hold said slide away from the work.
The hand-lever for operating the slide 6 is designated by L. and it is ful-
crumed, as at 20, to the lateral extension 21 on the slide 5. A link 22 is pivoted
to the hand-lever L at a convenient point between the fulcrum of the latter and
its handle, the other end of the link being similarly connected with the slide 6.
In Fig. 1 the slide 6 is shown in its advanced position. It will be evident
that by grasping the lever L said slide can be drawn back rapidly to carry the
tool away from the work. The advancing movement of the slide 6 in the present
case is obtained by the protractile coiled springs 25, seated in bores 25 in the
slide 5, said springs bearing against the free ends of the guide-pins 26, fixed at
their outer ends to the plate 27, secured to, and depending from, the inside of
the slide 6, said pins also being seated in the bores or sockets for the two springs.
When the lever L is manipulated, in the manner hereinbefore described, to
pull back the slide 6, the springs 25 will be placed under compression by the
pins 26, which move with said slide and which bear against said springs, whereby,
when the slide is released, it can be fed quickly forward by said springs.
Any convenient device may be employed for holding the slide 6 in its re-
tracted position, a gravity dog or detent 28, pivoted to the slide 6, being shown
for this purpose, the dog being adapted to drop behind the slide 5 when the
slide 6 has reached a predetermined point in its retractive movement.

page_text: When the gravity-detent 28 is lifted, the slide 6 can be feed forward by the
two springs to carry the tool toward the work, the handle L being usually
grasped to prevent the too rapid movement of said slide.
While the means just described for operating the slide 6 frequently brings
the tool to the requisite place to start an operation it is advisable to employ
independent adjusting means for insuring the accurate positioning of the tool,
and for this purpose we have shown a feed operative independent of the springs
and hand-lever. Said independent feed includes in its organization a screw 30;
seated in the nut 31 at the outer end of the slide 6, the inner end of the screw
fitting against the slide 5. The head of the screw is designated by 32, and by
rotating the same it will be farther turned in its seat, and the inner end of said
screw being in contact with, or fitting against, the slide 5, the upper slide 6
will be thereby caused to recede, the spring 25 being put under compression.
By turning the screw in the reverse direction the slide 6 will be moved forward.
Our invention embodies as a part thereof a series of superposed
transversely-reciprocative slides, a support or track upon which the
slide is mounted for movement, and a reciprocatory pattern and
guide, one of said last-mentioned parts being mounted on the sup-
port and
the other being mounted on one of the slides; and the
series of slides consists in the present case of the topmost or mechanically-driven
slides 7 and 8, the under slide 7 being mounted for reciprocative movement
upon the support or track 35, which can be screwed or otherwise fixed to the
hand-adjustable slide 6. The slide 7 supports the slide upon which the tool
is mounted, the tool consisting in the present case of a grinding device adapted
to finish off inside work.
.
The mechanically-driven or tool slide 8, to which the pattern is preferably
secured, is reciprocative in a direction transversely to the lower mechanically-
driven slide 7, a guide co-operative with the pattern being secured to the fixed
support or track 35, and a feed device is employed to force or hold the working
face of the pattern in contact with the fixed guide, by reason of which, when
the lower mechanically-driven slide is reciprocated, the tool will be caused to
reciprocate through a path corresponding with the shape of the effective por-
tion of the pattern.
The tool is designated by T, and it is fixed in some convenient manner to the
end of the spindle 36, whose axis is oblique or diagonal to the axis of the work-
spindle, said spindle 36 being carried by the posts or bearings 37 on the slide 8
and being driven by a belt 38, passing around the pulley 01 thereon.
The means just described for operating the tooi-spindle 36 is a convenient one,
but it is apparent that it could be otherwise operated, or, in fact, the tool might
be stationary.
The working-spindle is designated by 40, it having the chuck 4 in which
the work W can be clamped, and also carrying a pulley 42, which may be driven
by the belt 4.
The clutch mechanism is operated by the usual lever 44, supported upon the
bracket 45, the lower end of the lever being connected by the rod 46 to the usual
treadle, (not shown), by which the clutch can be operated to lock or unlock
the work.
The slide 7 has on its under side the wedge-shaped blocks or tongues 50
and 51, respectively, adapted to enter the correspondingly-formed grooves or
ways 52 and 53 in the support or track 35, the path of reciprocation of the
slide 7 coinciding with the axis of the tool-spindle 36 and the plane of recipro-
cation of the slide 8, which carries the tool, is transverse to that of the slide 7,
by reason of which, when the pattern or templet on the upper slide is held
against a fixed guide or resistant on the support or track 35, the tool T will be
moved back and forth in a direction agreeing with the outline of the pattern.
The pattern or templet is designated by P, and it is apertured on one side
to form the rectangular working face 60, adapted to be held in contact with

page_text: the fixed guide or resistant 61, secured to the track or support 35, the guide
consisting in the present case of an antifriction-roll.
The means for reciprocating the slide 7 may be of any suitable kind--such,
for example, as the cam D, supported between the depending studs 64 and 65,
respectively, of the slide blocks 50 and 51, which, it will be remembered, are
secured to the slide 7.
The working face or periphery of the cam-driver D) is of such shape as to
impart equal strokes in opposite directions to the slide 7, and it in turn may
he operated in any suitable manner. For this purpose we have illustrated the
following mechanism: The cam-driver D) is bored at a proper point to receive
the projection or stud 70 on the upper side of the worm-gear 71, the cam being
held on the stud, by the screw 72 in threaded engagement with said stud, the
head of the screw serving to force the cam against the shoulder or abutment 73
on the projection or stud.
The worm-gear mesies with the worm 74 on the shaft 75, the latter carrying
at its outer end the pulley 76, by rotating which in the direction of the arrow
in Fig. 5 the cam-driver D, through the described mechanism, will be rotated
in the direction of the arrow, also shown in said figure, and said cam-driver
being in contact with the depending studs 64 and 65 of the slide-blocks 50
and 51, respectively, on the slide 7 the latter will be reciprocated as soon as the
pulley 76 is in motion.
When the slide 7 is operated in the manner just described and when the pattern
or templet P' on the upper or tool slide 8 is fed with its working face against
the fixed guide 61, the tool T, as hereinbefore specified, will be reciprocated
in a direction corresponding with the shape of the pattern.
The tool-slide S is secured in some suitable manner to the slide blocks 90
and 91, which are seated in corresponding ways 92 and 93, respectively, on the
slide 7.
The pattern or templet P is preferably removably fixed to the slide 8, the
screws 80, adapted to enter said slide, being shown for holding said pattern in
place.
The means shown for feeding the rectangular working face of the pattern l'
against the fixed guide 61 on the support or track 35 consists of the elongated
spring S, bearing near its middle against the teat or protuberance 85 on one
side of the slide 7, the opposite ends of the spring acting against the depending
annular flange or rim 86 of the slide 8.
At the commencement of a working stroke of the grinding tool T both of
the mechanically-driven slides 7 and 8 will be in their extreme outer positions,
at which stage the point of the cam-driver will be in contact with the pin 65
on the slide 7, and the periphery of the roll 61 will be in contact with the work-
ing face 60 of the pattern Pat a point marked "y" on said pattern, the working
face of the latter being held firmly against the roll 61 by the longitudinal flat
spring S, acting against the tool-slide 8, in the manner hereinbefore set forth.
When the cam starts to rotate, the under slide will be advanced in a direc-
tion coinciding with the axis of the tool-spindle 36 and diagonal to the work-
spindle 40; and as said slide 7 operates, the tool-slide 8 is fed in a transverse
direction by the spring S, so that the branch z of the face 60 will be caused to
ride along the roll 61 until said roll is in contact, also, with the portion of
said working face, when, the roll being in a fixture, the direction of motion of
the slide 8 is changed to correspond with the branch of the working face 60;
and about the time the roll 60 is opposite the point on said face 60 the point
of the cam-driver will have reached the pin 64, it being understood that the
point is intersected by the major axis of the cam. On the return stroke of
the cam the two slides will follow reversely in the same path taken on their
advancing movement.
In operation the work W, which consists in the present case of a cup for
containing bicycle bearing-balls, will be clamped in the chuck 41, after which

page_text: the shaft 75 will be turned by hand to carry the tool T to its extreme retracted
position, at which time the point of the cam will be in contact with the pin 65,
and the point y of the face 60 of the pattern P is in contact with the periphery
of the roll 61. The several hand-slides are then adjusted to carry the tool T
nearly in contact with the work, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, with the periphery
of said tool in line with the inside face of the cup or work W at which stage
motion is imparted to the tool and work shafts 36 and 40, respectively, whereby
the tool is caused to dress-off the inside of the cup W by moving through a
path corresponding with the shape of the pattern P, the tool first working
against the wall of the cup and then its floor or bottom, and subsequently
back, and these operations will alternate so long as the several shafts are in
motion.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. The combination, with a support, of a pair of superimposed slides one of
which is mounted on the support; a pattern fixed to the upper slide; a co-
operating guide for the pattern, said guide being secured to the support; and
mechanism for positively holding the working face of the pattern in contact
with the guide.
2. The combination, with a support, of a pair of superimposed slides one of
which is mounted on the support; a pattern in operative connection with the
upper slide; a co-operating guide for the pattern, said guide being secured to
said support; mechanism for positively holding the working face of the pattern
in contact with the guide; and mechanism for reciprocating the lower slide.
3. The combination, with a support, of a series of superimposed transversely-
reciprocatory slides; a co-operating guide; a pattern for the slides; and an
elongated spring bearing between its ends against one of the slides and at its
opposite ends against the other slide.
4. The combination, with a slide and its support, of tool mechanism mounted
on the slide; a spring for operating said slide in one direction; a hand-lever
for moving the slide in the opposite direction; and a detent for holding said
slide against the action of said spring.
5. The combination, with two slides one of which is mounted upon the other,
of a spring for operating the upper slide in one direction; manually-controlled
means for moving said slide in the opposite direction; and an adjusting-screw
carried by the upper slide and bearing against the lower slide.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.