Improvements in or relating to Machines for Working, Grinding, or Finishing Balls.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Machines for Working, Grinding,
or Finishing Balls.
I, HEINRICH MELTZER, of Ratibor, in the Kingdom of Prussia, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:
In working grinding or finishing roughly prepared balls, such as are used for
bearings &c., they have hitherto been placed in circular grooves and in describing
always the same circular line they were worked either upon a flat grinding disc or
the working was effected by the walls of the guide-grooves provided with fine teeth.
(file-cut) or in such a manner, that the balls were ground between the smooth walls:
of the groove, say in oil and emery. The rule was, that the discs grooved themselves.
or the discs enclosing the grooved guide plates were moved in opposite directions
and it was necessary, that the grooves corresponded to the size of the ball.
In the new machine for working balls a standard carries the movable bowl provided
centrally on its underside with a hardened and ground steel trunnion, the lower end
of which is hemispherically shaped and fits in a correspondingly hollowed steel-
support on the framing, the circular movement of the said howl being limited by
tappets and by similar tappets on the standard or framing.
Into the hollow, inclined walled space of the bowl descends a stamp or rotating.
part until their surfaces both inclined at an angle of 45° are nearly in contact or to
the desired extent, so that either large or small balls may be operated upon by the
same inachine. When the stamp is raised the balls to be worked are introduced into
the intermediate space formed, and a bottom-plate or a ring, the thickness of which
varies according to the size of the balls to be treated, prevents the balls from
entering between the horizontal bottom surfaces of the bowl and the stamp. There..
is preferably left however a small space between the stamp and the plate so that:
friction between these parts is excluded.
The grinding or working parts may be made of hardened steel having file-cuts and
inclined faces, or they may consist of cast-iron or entirely of bound emery, according
to the kind of balls to be worked. The stamp is secured to a spindle which is
suspended vertically movable in a spindle-box, and for obtaining the required
working pressure it is weighted by means of weights, the number of which may be
increased or decreased as desired and it can be raised by means of a lever, the handle
of which is supported on the standard. The spindle is actuated by means of the
pulley on the spindle-box. At the part where the pulley is supported by the frame,
a ball bearing may be inserted for reducing friction. To regulate the size of the balls,
the descent of the spindle is limited by a nut, the circumference of which is divided,
say, into 100 parts, so that the intended reduction of the diameter of the balls to be
worked can be exactly determined up to 1/100th mm. by adjusting the nut with
respect to a pointer, after the stamp has completely been lowered upon the balls.
The adjusting nut is supported in its lowest position by the projecting upper edge of
the revolving spindle-box.
The balls introduced into the machine, are rapidly distributed uniformly round

page_text: the revolving stamp, and it is not necessary to place them, as formerly, in a regular
manner, in grooves, and towards two sides they have a free play between the large
working surfaces of the bowl and stamp, so that not only one single row, but several
rows of balls can be worked or ground etc. simultaneously. By this machine the
greatest possible exactness in spherical form is obtained, owing to the following
circumstances, producing the greatest variety of movements of the balls, which
movements in the hitherto used processes do not take place in this complete manner,
or, in general, at all, or not all at the same time:
1. The horizontally acting.rotary motion of the stamp. "
2. The vertically acting load of the spindle.
3. The difference in the length of the path of the ball running between the
working surfaces of unequal circumference, which difference produces the grinding
rotary motion of the ball.
4. The centrifugal force propelling the balls in the oblique clefts outward until they
touch a ring placed over the stamp.
5. The friction of the balls against each other which is of the greatest importance
particularly in grinding.
6. The duplication of these effects by means of two cams, one being carried by a
shaft by which also more machines may be actuated, and the other being arranged on
the lever-arm, by means of which cams the working spindle and with it the stamp
are raised from time to time, so that the balls which have travelled some way up the
side of the bowl fall back again and then recommence their circular motion, the
'speed of the balls continuously increasing as they move upwards between the bowl
and the stamp.
Finally it may be remarked, that the unevennesses of the oblique working surfaces
produced by wearing etc. are compensated to a great extent by the permanent close
clinging of the bowl freely playing in its hemispherical bearing.
Dated this 25th day of March 1897.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Machines for Working, Grinding,
or Finishing Balls.
I, HEINRICH MELTZER, of Ratibor, in the Kingdom of Prussia, 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:-
In working grinding or finishing roughly prepared balls such as are used for
bearings etc. they have hitherto been placed in circular grooves and in describing
always, the same circular line they were worked either upon a flat grinding disc or the
working was effected by the walls of the guide grooves being provided with fine teeth
(file-cut), or in such a manner, that the balls were ground between the smooth walls
of the groove, say in oil and emery. The practice was, that the discs grooved
themselves, or the discs enclosing the grooved guide plates were moved in
opposite directions and it was necessary that the grooves corresponded to the size
of the ball.
In the new machine for working balls (shown in side elevation, partially in section,
in the accompanying drawing) a standard A carries the movable bowl C provided
centrally on its underside with a hardened and ground steel trunnion or pivot D, the
lower end of which is hemispherically shaped, and fits a correspondingly hollowed

page_text: steel-support B on the framing, the circular movement of the said bowl C being
limited by its tappets E E¹ and by similar tappets F F¹ on the standard or
framing.
In the hollow inclined walled space of the bowl C is placed a disc, stamp or
rotating part J so that their surfaces both inclined at an angle of 45° are nearly in
contact or at the desired extent apart according to whether large or small balls are
to be operated upon by the machine. When the disc J is raised the balls to be
worked are introduced into the intermediate space formed, a bottom plate or a
ring H, the thickness of which varies according to the size of the balls to be treated,
prevents the balls from entering between the horizontal bottom surface of the..
bowl C and the disc J. There is preferably left however, under any circumstances, a
small space between the disc J and the plate H so that friction between these parts
is excluded.
The grinding or working parts C & J may be made of hardened steel having file-
cuts and inclined faces, or they may consist of cast-iron or entirely of bound emery,
according to the kind of balls to be worked. The disc J is secured to a spindle K
which is suspended so as to be vertically movable in a spindle box L, and for
obtaining the required working pressure it is weighted by means of weights M M¹ M²
the number of which may be increased or decreased as desired, and it can be raised
by means of a lever N, the handle of which can be supported when required, at the
point O of the standard A. The spindle K is actuated by means of the pulley P on
the spindle box L. At the point where the pulley is supported by the frame A, a
ball bearing may be inserted for reducing friction. To regulate the size of the balls,
the descent of the spindle is limited by a nut R, the circumference of which is
divided, say, into 100 parts, so that the required reduction of the diameter of the
balls.to be worked can be exactly determined up to 1/100th mm. by adjusting the nut R
with respect to a pointer S, after the disc has been completely lowered upon the
balls to be worked. The adjusting nut R is supported in its lowest position by the
projecting upper edge of the spindle box L.
The balls introduced into the machine, are rapidly distributed uniformly round
the revolving disc J, and it is not necessary to place them, as formerly in a regular
manner, in grooves, and towards two sides they have a free play between the large
working surfaces of the bowl C and disc J so that not only one single row, but several
rows of balls can be worked or ground etc. simultaneously. By this machine the
greatest possible exactness in spherical form is obtained, owing to the following
circumstances, producing the greatest variety of movements of the balls, which
movements in the hitherto used processes do not take place in this complete
manner, or in general, not at all, or not all at the same time.
1. The horizontally acting rotary motion of the disc.
2. The vertically acting load of the spindle.
3. The difference in the length of the path of the ball running between the
working surfaces of unequal circumference which difference produces the grinding
rotary motion of the ball.
4. The centrifugal force propelling the balls in the oblique direction outward until
they touch a ring T placed over the disc J.
5. The friction of the balls against each other which is of the greatest importance
particularly in grinding.
6. The duplication of these effects by means of two cams U and V the latter being
carried by a shaft W which may be common to a series of machines, and the cam Ŭ
being arranged on the lever arm N, by means of which cams the working spindle and
with it the disc J is raised from time to time, so that the balls which have travelled
some way up the side of the bowl fall back again and then recommence their circular
motion, the speed of the balls continuously increasing as they move upwards
between the ball C and the disc J.
Finally it may be remarked, that the tendency to unevenness occurring in the
oblique surfaces, by wear etc. is compensated to a great extent by the bowl being

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A machine for working, grinding or finishing balls comprising a non-rotatable
bowl but having play on all sides and supported upon a rounded pivot, in
combination with a vertically movable disc, the inner obliquely ascending surface
of the bowl (provided with file-cuts or otherwise rendered fit for working the balls),
being parallel to the similarly shaped outer surface of the disc in such a manner,
that the balls introduced between the two surfaces are worked directly between them,
substantially as set forth.
2. In a machine of the character described the arrangement in the bowl of a
bottom plate as H, for the purpose of preventing the balls from entering between the
horizontal surfaces of the bowl and the disc, substantially as set forth..
3. In a machine of the character described the arrangement of a shaft carrying
a cam-disc V, in combination with a forked lever as U, for the purpose of raising the
dise from time to time substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete machine
for working balls substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
י
1.
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