Engraving apparatus having improved bearing and pattern

Apparatus for scribe engraving a workpiece with a miniature representation of a two-dimensional pattern in response to movement of a stylus following said pattern, comprising;

• (a) a spherically rotatable member;
• (b) said scribe fixedly extending from said spherically rotatable member for movement unitarily with rotatable member rotation;
• (c) means for connecting said rotatable member with said stylus so that said rotatable member rotates in response to stylus movement following said pattern, including:
• (1) a holding member retaining said stylus for axially sliding stylus movement with respect thereto;
• and
• (2) means for biasing said stylus axially towards said pattern;
• (d) a frusto-spherical bearing race remote from said pattern and having a passageway therethrough axially skew to said pattern;
• (e) said rotatable member including a frusto-spherical surface rotatably retained within said race;
• (f) a shoulder of said connecting means remote said stylus residing within said passageway, said shoulder including a bore coaxial with said connecting means;
• (g) axially elongated threaded means, including a head portion externally overlying said shoulder oppositely from said rotatable member-stylus connecting means, for retaining said shoulder within said bore, said scribe being formed at an end of said threaded member.

Apparatus for scribe engraving a workpiece with a miniature representation of a pattern in response to movement of a stylus following said pattern, including:

• (a) a spherically rotatable member;
• (b) means for connecting said scribe with said spherically rotatable member for effecting motion of said scribe with said rotatable member as said rotatable member rotates;
• (c) means for connecting said rotatable member with said stylus for effecting rotatable member rotation in response to stylus movement following said pattern, including:
• (1) a housing member for retaining said stylus and adapted to permit axial stylus movement with respect thereto;
• (2) means for biasing said stylus outwardly of said housing member towards said pattern;
• (d) frame means including a seat receiving said spherically rotatable member, for supporting said pattern remote from said rotatable member and proximate said stylus;
• (e) said pattern being defined by letter blocks retained within a positioning grid, each of said letter blocks having alphanumeric indicia on a surface thereof;
• (f) said positioning grid being connected to said frame and including means for releasably engaging said letter blocks with said block surfaces including said alphanumeric indicia facing said stylus;
• (g) means for locating said positioning grid at a preselected position on said frame with respect to said rotatable member.

Apparatus for scribe engraving a workpiece with a miniature representation of a pattern followed by a stylus, comprising:

• (a) a spherically rotatable member;
• (b) said scribe fixedly extending from said spherically rotatable member for scribe movement unitarily with said rotatable member upon rotation thereof;
• (c) means connecting said rotatable member with said stylus for rotatable member rotation in response to stylus movement following said pattern, including:
• (1) a holding member retaining said stylus for axially sliding stylus movement with respect thereto;
• and
• (2) means for biasing said stylus axially towards said pattern;
• (d) a frusto-spherical bearing race remote from said pattern and having a passageway therethrough axially skew to said pattern;
• (e) said rotatable member including a frusto-spherical surface rotatably retained within said race;
• (f) a shoulder of said connecting means remote said stylus residing within said passageway, said shoulder including a bore coaxial with said connecting means;
• (g) axially elongated threaded means, including a head externally overlying said shoulder oppositely from said rotatable member-stylus connecting means, for retaining said shoulder within said bore, said scribe being formed at an end of said threaded member;
• (h) frame means receiving said bearing race, for supporting said pattern remote from said rotatable member and proximate said stylus;
• (i) said pattern being defined by letter blocks individually retained within a positioning grid, each of said letter blocks having alphanumeric indicia in a surface thereof;
• (j) said positioning grid being connected to said frame and including resilient receptacle means for releasably engaging said letter blocks with said alphanumeric indicia facing said stylus.

Apparatus for scribe engraving a workpiece with a miniature representation of a two-dimensional pattern in response to movement of a stylus following said pattern, comprising:

• (a) a frusto-spherically rotatable member;
• (b) said scribe extending from said rotatable member for movement therewith upon rotatable member rotation;
• (c) telescoping means for connecting said rotatable member with said stylus, including;
• (1) a holding member retaining said stylus, said stylus extending axially therefrom;
• (2) means for biasing said stylus outwardly of said holding member when said holding member is within a preselected range of distances of said rotatable member with force increasing as said telescoping means extends through said range with said stylus contacting said pattern and with force which is independent of movement of said telescoping means outside of said preselected range;
• (d) a frusto-spherical bearing race remote from said pattern and having a passageway therethrough axially skew to said pattern;
• (e) said rotatable member including a frusto-spherical surface rotatably retained within said race;
• (f) means for selectably releasing said telescoping means from said rotatable member;
• (g) said scribe extending to intermediate a center of rotation of said rotatable member and said stylus;
• (h) frame means receiving said race, for supporting said pattern remote from said rotatable member and proximate said stylus;
• (i) said pattern being defined by letter blocks retained within a positioning grid, said letter blocks having alphanumeric indicia on a stylus-facing surface thereof;
• (j) said positioning grid being connected to said frame and including means for releasably engaging said letter blocks;
• (k) means for locating said positioning grid at a preselected position on said frame with respect to said rotatable member;
• (1) means for contacting said workpiece with said scribe, responsive to said stylus contacting said pattern and said holding member being within said preselected range of distances from said rotatable member, said contacting means including gripping means, movable along said contacting means, for holding said workpiece, vernier means for closing said gripping means against said workpiece and means for adjustably retaining said gripping means at a selected position on said contacting means.

Apparatus for scribe engraving a workpiece with a two-dimensional pattern in response to movement of a stylus following said pattern, comprising:

• (a) a frusto-spherically rotatable member;
• (b) said scribe extending from said rotatable member for movement therewith upon rotatable member rotation;
• (c) telescoping means for connecting said rotatable member with said stylus, including;
• (1) a holding member retaining said stylus, said stylus extending axially therefrom;
• (2) means for biasing said stylus outwardly of said holding member when said holding member is within a preselected range of distances of said rotatable member with force increasing as said telescoping means extends through said range with said stylus contacting said pattern, and with force which is independent of movement of said telescoping means outside of said preselected range;
• (d) a frusto-spherical bearing race remote from said pattern;
• (e) said rotatable member including a frusto-spherical surface rotatably retained within said race;
• (f) means for selectably releasing said connecting means from said rotatable member;
• (g) means for contacting said workpiece with said scribe responsive to said stylus contacting said pattern and said holding member being within said preselected range of distances.

Apparatus for scribe engraving a workpiece with a two-dimensional pattern in response to movement of a stylus following said pattern, comprising:

• (a) frustro-spherically rotatable means for providing relative frustro-spherical motion between said scribe and said workpiece;
• (b) telescoping means for connecting said frustro-spherically rotatable means with said stylus and for selectably engaging said scribe with said workpiece for scribe engraving of said workpiece in response to movement of said stylus over said pattern, including:
• (1) a holding member retaining said stylus, said stylus extending axially therefrom;
• (2) means for biasing said stylus outwardly of said holding member when said holding member is within a preselected range of distance of said rotatable means with force increasing as said telescoping means extends through said range with said stylus contacting said pattern and with force which is independent of movement of said telescoping means outside of said range;
• and
• (c) means for selectably releasing said telescoping connecting means from said frustro-spherically rotatable means.

Apparatus for scribe engraving a workpiece with a miniature representation of a pattern responsively to movement of a stylus following said pattern, comprising:

• (a) means for affecting relative spherical motion between said scribe and said workpiece responsively to movement of said stylus over said pattern;
• (b) means for affecting scribe-workpiece contact responsively to convergence of said stylus and said pattern to within a distance range within which said stylus contacts said pattern, including:
• (i) telescopingly engaging members, said stylus being biased outwardly of said telescoping members with increasing force as said telescoping members extend through a selected range of positions towards said pattern while said stylus is within said distance range of said pattern;
• and
• (ii) means for biasing said stylus outwardly of said telescoping members with force independent of movement of said members outside of said selected range of positions.

A method for scribe engraving a workpiece with a miniature representation of a pattern in response to movement of a stylus following said pattern, comprising:

• (a) biasing said stylus outwardly of a stylus holder;
• (b) moving said stylus holder and said outwardly biased stylus towards said pattern to contact said pattern with said stylus;
• (c) urging said stylus holder towards said pattern in opposition to said stylus bias and thereby affecting scribe-workpiece contact responsively to movement of said stylus holder to within a preselected distance of said pattern;
• and
• (d) following said pattern with said stylus to affect relative spherical motion between said scribe and said workpiece while continuously urging said stylus holder towards said pattern and maintaining said stylus holder within said preselected distance in opposition to stylus bias, thereby continuously maintaining scribe-workpiece contact for workpiece engraving by said scribe as said stylus follows said pattern.