Apparatus for transferring and machining workpieces

{
  "publication_number": "US3662631A",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A",
  "title": "Apparatus for transferring and machining workpieces",
  "abstract": "A cylinder whose ends are to be machined is first centered in an accurately located position by cones on a loading carriage which thereafter advances the cylinder from a loading station to a machining station where the cylinder is clamped radially and held in its accurately located position prior to release of the cones and retraction of the loading carriage to the loading station. After the ends of the cylinder have been machined by cutters supported on a pair of tool heads, the cylinder is unclamped and is transferred laterally out of the machining station with one of the tool heads as an incident to the normal retraction of such head. During the next advance of the loading carriage to deliver a succeeding cylinder to the machining station, a fork lift on the carriage picks up the machined cylinder from its transferred position adjacent the retracted tool head and, when the loading carriage is subsequently retracted, carries the machined cylinder back to an unloading station adjacent the loading station.",
  "claims": [
    "1. Apparatus for machining a workpiece in a machining station and for transferring the workpiece from the station, the combination of, means in the station for supporting and clamping the workpiece in a preselected position in the station, a head mounted for movement toward and away from said station and supporting a tool for performing a machining operation on the workpiece, a workpiece support located below said tool and movable with said head toward and away from said station, mechanism for advancing said head toward a clamped workpiece to bring said tool toward engagement with the workpiece and to position said support beneath the workpiece, and said mechanism including means operable after completion of the machining operation and unclamping of the workpiece for retracting said head to retract said tool and to shift said support with the machined workpiece thereon away from and out of said station.",
    "2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said clamping and supporting means include an elevator movable upwardly and downwardly within said machining station, and means operable first to raise said elevator into engagement with the underside of a workpiece in said station and operable after completion of the machining operation and before retraction of said head to lower said elevator and thereby lower said workpiece downwardly onto said support.",
    "3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said workpiece support includes an upright opening extending therethrough, said elevator being movable upwardly through said opening and into engagement with the workpiece after said head has been advanced to position said support beneath the workpiece.",
    "4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 further including a slide for supporting said head and said workpiece support and movable with the head and the workpiece support toward and away from said machining station, and means for coupling said workpiece support to said slide during the initial advance of the latter to position said workpiece support beneath the clamped workpiece and for thereafter uncoupling said workpiece support from said slide to enable advancement of the head and the slide independently of the workpiece support.",
    "5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including a loading carriage movable toward and away from said machining station along a path extending transversely of the path of movement of said head, and means on said carriage for supporting a workpiece for delivery to said station during the forward stroke of said carriage.",
    "6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 further including means movable with said loading carriage for picking up a machined workpiece off of said workpiece support while the latter is retracted and as said carriage is advanced through its forward stroke to deliver a succeeding workpiece to said machining station, said pick up means being operable to carry the machined workpiece away fRom said workpiece support as said carriage is retracted from the work station to receive still another workpiece.",
    "7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 in which said pick up means comprises a platform operable to move beneath a machined workpiece on said support during the forward stroke of said loading carriage, and mechanism on said carriage for lifting said platform after the platform has been positioned beneath the machined workpiece thereby to raise the latter from said support prior to retraction of the carriage.",
    "8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 in which said platform comprises a fork with a series of horizontally spaced and horizontally projecting prongs, and a series of upwardly and horizontally opening slots formed in said workpiece support for receiving said prongs during the forward stroke of said loading carriage thereby to enable positioning of the prongs beneath a machined workpiece.",
    "9. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 in which said pick up means further includes an arm spaced above said platform and mounted on said loading carriage for up and down movement, and means for moving said arm downwardly into engagement with the upper side of a machined workpiece after said platform has been moved beneath the workpiece thereby to clamp the workpiece onto the platform.",
    "10. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said tool machines an end portion of each workpiece in the machining station, said means on said loading carriage comprising a pair of clamps movable toward and away from another on the carriage along paths paralleling the path of movement of said head, mechanism operable when said carriage is retracted to move said clamps toward one another and into clamping engagement with the end portions of a workpiece positioned between the clamps thereby to hold the workpiece securely on the carriage for delivery to said work station, said last-mentioned mechanism being operable after clamping of said workpiece in said work station by said clamping means to withdraw said clamps from the end portions of the workpiece to enable retraction of said carriage and said clamps from the machining station with such retraction being followed by advance of said tool into engagement with said one end portion of the workpiece.",
    "11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 in which said tool machines the end portion of a tubular workpiece, said clamps comprising cones sized to telescope into and wedge within the end portions of the workpiece to center and clamp the latter in an accurately located position for delivery to and clamping and machining in said machining station.",
    "12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 in which said cones are rotatably mounted on said loading carriage to turn about their own axes and are capable of being rotated after wedging into the workpiece thereby to enable turning of the clamped workpiece into a a predetermined angular position, and means for locking said cones against rotation after turning of the workpiece to said predetermined position thereby to hold said workpiece in such position during delivery to said machining station.",
    "13. Apparatus for transferring a workpiece with recessed ends into a machining station and for machining an end portion of the workpiece in the station, the combination of, a loading carriage movable toward and away from said machining station, a pair of clamping cones mounted on said carriage for movement toward and away from one another along paths extending transversely of the path of movement of the carriage, mechanism operable when said carriage is retracted away from said station to move said cones toward one another and into telescoping wedging engagement with the end portions of a workpiece disposed between the cones thereby to center and clamp the workpiece in an accurately located position, means for thereafter shifting said carriage toward said station to deliver the workpiece into the station, means in said station for clamping against the periphery of the workpiece in the station while the latter is held by said cOnes thereby to clamp the workpiece in said accurately located position independently of the cones, means operable after clamping of the workpiece in the station for withdrawing said cones from the ends of the workpiece and for retracting said carriage away from said station, a head mounted for movement toward and away from said machining station along a path extending transversely of the path of movement of said carriage and supporting a tool for performing a machining operation on one end portion of the workpiece, and means operable after retraction of said carriage for advancing said head toward said station to bring said tool into operative engagement with said one end portion of said workpiece.",
    "14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13 further including a workpiece support located beneath said tool and movable with said head into underlying relation with the workpiece in the machining station as said head is advanced to bring said tool toward engagement with the workpiece, and means operable after completion of the machining operation and unclamping of the workpiece in the machining station to retract said head thereby to retract said tool and to shift said support with the machined workpiece thereon away from and out of said machining station.",
    "15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14 further including means movable with said loading carriage for picking up the machined workpiece off of said workpiece support while the latter is retracted and as said carriage is advanced to deliver a succeeding workpiece to the machining station, said pick up means being operable to carry the machined workpiece away from said workpiece support as said carriage is retracted away from said machining station to receive still another workpiece.",
    "16. Apparatus as defined in claim 13 in which said cones are rotatably mounted on said loading carriage to turn about their own axes and are capable of being rotated after wedging into the end portions of the workpiece thereby to enable turning of the clamped workpiece into a predetermined angular position on the carriage, and means for locking said cones against rotation after turning of the workpiece to said predetermined position thereby to hold said workpiece in such position during delivery to said machining station.",
    "17. In a machine tool apparatus for machining the recessed ends of successive workpieces, the combination of, a bed structure, a carriage slidable thereon forth and back along a rectilinear path between workpiece loading and machining stations, positioning means on said carriage movable relative thereto into and out of the recessed ends of said workpiece to locate the latter accurately relative to the carriage and to release the workpiece, a clamp at said machining station for receiving the workpiece presented thereto in the advance of said carriage and for holding the workpiece accurately positioned after release of said positioning means, a head movable laterally of said path and having a power driven tool thereon for machining one end of the clamped workpiece during the head advance, a cradle mounted on said head for movement in beneath the clamped workpiece as an incident to advance of said head and operable to receive such workpiece upon release of said clamp and carry the workpiece laterally of said path and out of said machining station, and means on said carriage operable during the next advance thereof to pick the machined workpiece off from said cradle and operable to carry the machined workpiece back toward said loading station during retraction of the carriage."
  ],
  "cpc": [
    "B23Q 7/00",
    "B23Q 2707/003",
    "Y10T 82/2514"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "INGERSOLL MILLING MACHINE CO"
  ],
  "filing_date": "1970-08-12",
  "publication_date": "1972-05-16",
  "grant_date": "1972-05-16",
  "priority_date": "1970-08-12",
  "application_number": "US-3662631D-A",
  "family_id": "22046842",
  "citations": [
    "US2371906A"
  ]
}