Remote gage steady rest head

An automatic true centering steady rest apparatus, comprising:

• (a) a housing having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, said housing having a working end at one end of said longitudinal axis, said housing having camming surface means parallel to the plane of said longitudinal axis and said transverse axis;
• (b) an operator body disposed within said housing, said operator body being slidable longitudinally along said camming surface means of said housing, said operator body having a center workpiece contact member disposed adjacent said working end of said housing;
• (c) a pair of gripper arms operatively associated with said operator body, each of said pair of gripper arms having a sliding end and a gripping end, said gripping ends extending longitudinally from said working end of said housing, each of said pair of gripper arms having a sliding portion adjacent said sliding end, each of said sliding portions being slidable with said operator body, each of said pair of gripper arms having a side workpiece contact member disposed at said gripping end;
• (d) roller means rotatably attached to the sliding portion of each of said pair of gripper arms;
• (e) a set of guide pins attached to the sliding portion of each of said pair of gripper arms;
• (f) a pair of camming means formed in said camming surface means of said housing, each of said pair of camming means being disposed on opposite sides of the operator body and having a longitudinal portion and a narrower transverse portion;
• (g) each of said pair of camming means transverse portions camming with a respective one of said roller means to provide low friction camming between said pair of gripper arms and said pair of camming means transverse portions;
• (h) each of said pair of camming means longitudinal portions camming with a respective one of said guide pin sets;
• and,
• (i) stroking means for slidably displacing said operator body longitudinally along said camming surface means, said stroking means having an extension stroke and a retraction stroke, each of said sets of guide pins slidably engaging said longitudinal portion during said extension stroke to provide longitudinal extension of said center workpiece contact member and said gripper arms toward a workpiece, each of said roller means sequentially rollably engaging its respective transverse portion during said extension stroke to provide further longitudinal extension of of said center workpiece contact member while providing for convergence of said gripping ends of said gripper arms for engaging said workpiece with said side workpiece contact members, said center workpiece contact member and said side workpiece contact members providing three-point true centering engagement with said workpiece, each of said roller means and said sets of guide pins following a respective one of said transverse and longitudinal portions of said pair of camming means in a sequentially reverse manner during said retraction stroke.