US 4,019,283 AGranted

Grinding machine loader assembly

AssigneeThe Warner & Swasey Company

InventorTheodore A. Mrugala

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Abstract

An improved grinding machine loader assembly includes a rotatable wheel upon which a plurality of workpiece supports are mounted at equally spaced apart locations. After a latch member has been moved into engagement with the wheel and a locking member has been disengaged from the wheel, an index motor is operated through a loading stroke to pivot an index arm on which the latch member is disposed. This pivotal movement of the index arm and latch member rotates the wheel through an arcuate distance equal to the distance between the workpiece supports. As the wheel rotates, a workpiece on one of the supports is moved into a work area where it is engaged by the headstock and footstock of the grinding machine. The locking member is then moved back into engagement with the wheel and the latch member is disengaged from the wheel. After the latch member has been disengaged, the index motor is operated through a return stroke without moving the wheel. If during a loading cycle an empty workpiece support is moved into the work area, the loading cycle is automatically repeated to move the next succeeding workpiece support into the work area. The finished workpieces are discharged through a chute and a detector is provided to interrupt operation of the loading assembly if the chute should become full of finished workpieces.

Claims23

Dependent claims

An apparatus for use in sequentially grinding a plurality of workpieces in a work area, said apparatus comprising a base, chuck means connected with said base for holding each workpiece in turn in the work area, grinding means for grinding each workpiece in turn while the workpiece is being held by said chuck means, and workpiece transport means for sequentially transporting workpieces to the work area, said workpiece transport means including a wheel which is rotatable relative to said base, a plurality of workpiece support means disposed on said wheel at equally spaced locations for supporting a plurality of workpieces, index motor means operable through loading and return strokes, latch means movable by said index motor means relative to said base through loading and return strokes, said latch means being operable between a first condition engaging said wheel to rotate said wheel relative to said base upon operation of said index motor means to move said latch means through a loading stroke and a second condition in which said latch means is ineffective to rotate said wheel upon operation of said index motor means to move said latch means through a return stroke, latch motor means for effecting operation of said latch means between the first and second conditions, locking means operable between an engaged condition holding said wheel against rotation relative to said base and a disengaged condition in which said locking means is ineffective to hold said wheel against rotation relative to said base, locking motor means for effecting operation of said locking means between the engaged and disengaged conditions, and control means for effecting operation of said latch motor means to operate said latch means to the first condition, for effecting operation of locking motor means to operate said locking means from the engaged condition to the disengaged condition upon operation of said latch means to the first condition, for effecting operation of said index motor means to move said latch means through a loading stroke with said latch means in the first condition upon operation of said locking means to the disengaged condition to move said latch means and said wheel relative to said base through a distance sufficient to move a workpiece supported on said wheel into the work area, for effecting operation of said locking motor means to operate said locking means to the engaged condition upon operation of said index motor means through a loading stroke, for effecting operation of said latch motor means to operate said latch means to the second condition upon operation of said locking means to the engaged condition, and for effecting operation of said index motor means to move said latch means relative to said base through a return stroke with said latch means in the second condition and said locking means in the engaged condition.

An apparatus for use in sequentially grinding a plurality of workpieces in a work area, said apparatus comprising a base, chuck means connected with said base for holding each workpiece in turn in the work area, grinding means for grinding each workpiece in turn while the workpiece is being held by said chuck means, and workpiece transport means for sequentially transporting workpieces to the work area, said workpiece transport means including a wheel which is rotatable relative to said base, a plurality of workpiece support means disposed on said wheel for supporting a plurality of workpieces, said plurality of workpiece support means being disposed in a circular array about the circumference of said wheel and having central axes which are spaced apart by equal arcuate distances, a plurality of index locations disposed in a circular array on said wheel and having central axes which are spaced apart by an arcuate distance equal to the arcuate distance between central axes of adjacent workpiece support means, a support member having first and second spaced apart end portions, means for supporting said first end portion of said support member for pivotal movement about an axis which is coincident with the axis of rotation of said wheel, index motor means connected with said second end portion of said support member for effecting pivotal movement of said support member about the axis of rotation of said wheel, said index motor means being operable through a loading stroke to effect rotation of said support member in a first direction about the axis of rotation of said wheel through an arcuate distance equal to the arcuate distance between central axes of adjacent workpiece support means and through a return stroke to effect rotation of said support member in a second direction about the axis of rotation of said wheel, and latch means disposed on said support member for engaging at least one of said index locations during operation of said index motor means through a loading stroke and rotational movement of said support member in said first direction to effect rotation of said wheel in said first direction through an arcuate distance equal to the arcuate distance between central axes of adjacent workpiece support means, said latch means including means for rendering said latch means ineffective to effect rotation of said wheel during operation of said index motor means through a return stroke.

An apparatus for use in sequentially grinding a plurality of workpieces in a work area, said apparatus comprising a base, chuck means connected with said base for rotating each workpiece in turn about an axis of rotation disposed in a predetermined position in the work area, grinding means for grinding each workpiece in turn while the workpiece is being rotated in the work area by said chuck means, and workpiece transport means for sequentially transporting workpieces to the work area, said workpiece transport means including a wheel support frame which is movable relative to said base, a wheel which is rotatably mounted on said support frame for rotation relative to said base, a plurality of workpiece support means disposed on said wheel for supporting a plurality of workpieces, means for rotating said wheel relative to said support frame about an axis which extends parallel to the axis about which each workpiece is rotated in the work area by said chuck means to sequentially move workpieces to the work area, said wheel support frame being movable relative to said base to move said wheel between an operating position in which the axis of rotation of said wheel is spaced a first distance from the axis about which each workpiece is rotated in the work area by said chuck means and an inactive position in which the axis of rotation of said wheel is spaced a second distance from the axis about which each workpiece is rotated in the work area by said chuck means, said second distance being greater than said first distance so that said wheel is spaced apart from the work area when said wheel is in said inactive position.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.