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US 4,187,748 AGranted
Automatic machine tool
OwnerRichard F. Evansinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerRichard F. Evansinventor
Estimating the term…
The particular machine described has a series of main collets mounted in an indexable drum, each main collet having an associated reciprocable feed tube carrying at its rear end a one-way feed collet employing wedging elements in the form of spring-loaded balls carried in inclined bores of the feed collet body, the feed tubes and feed collets being indexed with the main collets and with a reel-type bar holder. When the collets are arranged to feed non-round bar stock each feed collet is keyed to its associated main collet to enable non-rotating bar stock to be introduced into a rotating feed collet from the bar holder, to be rotated by the feed collet, and then fed through the main collet without stopping the main collet. An axially movable and retractable stop is provided at the feeding station to ensure that an adequate length of bar stock is gripped by a main collet during subsequent machining. Each feed collet is formed in two parts which are capable of axial movement apart against spring-biassing to accommodate the axial movement of the stop at the feed station. At the station preceding the feed station an attempt is made to move the feed collet there towards its associated main collet which is in its closed condition. If a bar is present then movement of the feed collet will not be permitted, but if movement is allowed due to the absence of a bar this is indicated to the machine operator so that the operator can load a new bar into that feed collet. All of the machine mechanisms associated with feeding bar stock are drived from the principal prime mover of the machine. It is unnecessary to provide an automatic mechanism for feeding the bar-loader.
An automatic machine tool of the kind comprising at least one rotatable main collet adapted to hold non-round bar stock during turning or other machining operations, and a respective feed tube axially aligned with each main collet and through which non-round bar stock is arranged to be fed automatically to the main collet by a respective feed collet associated with each feed tube, each feed collet being carried adjacent to the end of the respective feed tube remote from the respective main collet, each feed collet is provided with at least one wedging element associated with a respective wedge surface of the feed collet, the arrangement being such that each feed collet is movable under non-round bar stock in the direction away from the respective main collet but on movement of the feed collet in the opposite direction each wedging element is wedged between the bar and the respective wedge surface to grip the bar, and means permanently keying each feed tube against angular movement relative to the respective main collet.
An automatic machine tool comprising at least one rotatable main collet adapted to hold non-round bar stock during turning or other machining operations, and a respective feed tube axially aligned with each main collet and through which non-round bar stock is arranged to be fed automatically to the main collet by a respective feed collet associated with each feed tube, each feed collet being carried adjacent to the end of the respective feed tube remote from the respective main collet, means permanently keying each feed tube against angular movement relative to the respective main collet, each feed collet comprising a collet body defining a bore to receive bar stock and provided with at least one further bore which is inclined with respect to the axis of said bore, each further bore breaking into the surface of the body defining said first mentioned bore, a respective wedging element being located in each further bore and being biassed towards said first-mentioned bore by respective resilient means, the wall of each further bore constituting said wedge surface.
An automatic machine tool of the kind comprising at least one rotatable main collet for holding bar stock during a machining operation, and a respective feed tube axially aligned with each main collet, a respective feed collet associated with each feed tube, a stop, a feed station, means for moving said stop axially towards a main collet located at said feed station, said feed collet having first and second parts which are axially movable relative to each other, the second part of each feed collet being spaced further from the respective main collet than is the respective first part, resilient means acting between said first and second parts to urge said parts towards each other, and means securing said first part to a respective feed tube, said second part comprising a one way gripping device for gripping bar stock when said second part is moved towards said main collet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.