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US 6,287,183 B1Granted
Vacuum-hydrostatic shoe for centerless grinding
AssigneeUniversity of Connecticut
InventorsBi Zhang, Yanhua Yang
Life of this patent
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AssigneeUniversity of Connecticut
InventorsBi Zhang, Yanhua Yang
Estimating the term…
A vacuum-hydrostatic shoe especially suited for supporting a workpiece in metalworking operations is disclosed. The vacuum-hydrostatic shoe is comprised of a body with a support surface confronting the workpiece. Preferably the support surface is shaped to substantially conform to the workpiece shape. The shoe body comprises hydrostatic pockets. Each hydrostatic pocket has a first pressure opening defined in the support surface and a second pressure opening fluidly connected to a respective first pressure opening. The second pressure openings are also fluidly connected to a supply of pressurized fluid so that a flow of pressurized fluid can be created between the shoe body and the workpiece. The shoe body further comprises a vacuum pocket. The vacuum pocket has a first vacuum opening defined in the support surface and a fluidly connected second vacuum opening. The second vacuum opening is also fluidly connected to a source of vacuum to create a vacuum pressure between the shoe body and workpiece. The vacuum-hydrostatic shoe creates a hydrostatic pressure to provide a non-contact support to the workpiece and a vacuum pressure to preload and stabilize the workpiece.
A vacuum-hydrostatic shoe for supporting a workpiece comprising a workpiece holder with a support surface confrontable with said workpiece, said holder defining a vacuum pocket and a hydrostatic pocket, said vacuum pocket having a first vacuum opening defined in said support surface and a second vacuum opening fluidly connected to said first opening and fluidly connectable to a source of vacuum, said hydrostatic pocket having a first pressure opening defined in said support surface and a second pressure opening fluidly connected to said first opening and fluidly connectable to a source of pressurized fluid, wherein a fluid flow through said hydrostatic pocket generates a force on said workpiece away from said support surface and a vacuum flow through said vacuum pocket generates a force on said workpiece toward said support surface.
A vacuum-hydrostatic shoe for supporting a rotatable workpiece with a substantially circular surface in a shoe centerless grinder comprising:
A method of supporting a rotatable workpiece having a circular surface comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.