High speed motorized spindle with tool clamping/unclamping mechanism
AssigneeEx-Cell-O Corporation
InventorWilliam A. Mitchell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A high speed motorized spindle is provided with a hollow tool-driving shaft having tool clamping means slidably disposed therein. A piston rod actuates the tool clamping means to slide in one direction to release a tool shank and spring means actuates the tool clamping means to slide in the other direction for gripping the tool shank when the piston rod is withdrawn. The piston rod actuates a collect clamp to clamp the tool-driving shaft against movement from tool unclamping forces when the tool clamping means is slid in the direction to release the tool shank. The tool-driving shaft is releasably oriented in a tool exchange position by a cam plate rotatable therewith being engaged by solenoid actuated cam lock member movably mounted in the housing.
Claims23
A spindle comprising a housing, a hollow tool-driving shaft rotatably mounted in the housing, tool clamp means slidably disposed in the hollow tool-driving shaft slidable in one direction to grip a tool and in the other direction to release the tool, actuating means in the housing for sliding the tool clamp means in said one direction to grip the tool and in the other direction to release it, said actuating means including piston means slidably disposed in the housing with a portion of said piston means extending inside the tool-driving shaft for sliding the tool clamp means in said tool-driving shaft in said other direction for tool release, said portion having cam means thereon, means for actuating said piston means, means in the tool-driving shaft biasing the tool clamp means in said one direction to grip a tool when said piston means slides in said other direction, and shaft clamping means disposed inside the tool-driving shaft with a portion thereof in the path of said cam means of said piston means so that said cam means moves the shaft clamping means into clamping engagement with the tool-driving shaft from inside the tool-driving shaft when the piston means is slid to cause tool release for preventing movement of the tool-driving shaft from tool release forces.
A spindle comprising a housing, a hollow tool-driving shaft having a longitudinal axis and rotatably mounted in the housing, tool clamping means slidably disposed in the hollow tool-driving shaft slidable axially in one direction to release the tool shank and in another direction to grip the tool shank, cylinder means movably disposed in said housing, piston means slidably disposed in the cylinder means and having a portion extending toward the hollow tool-driving shaft engageable with the tool clamping means for sliding said tool clamping means in said one direction to release the tool shank, means in the hollow tool-driving shaft biasing the tool clamping means in said another direction to grip the tool shank when the piston means is slid in said another direction, means for sliding said piston means, shaft clamping means operatively connected to said cylinder means and extending toward the hollow tool-driving shaft operable by said piston means during sliding thereof in said one direction and by said cylinder means during movement thereof in said another direction when said piston means engages the tool clamping means for releasably clamping the hollow tool-driving shaft against axial movement from tool unclamping forces, and means biasing said cylinder means in said one direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.