CN114585476A

CN114585476A - Gemstone working center and/or method

Info

Publication number: CN114585476A
Application number: CN201980101399.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: E·索科洛夫斯基
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-10-22
Filing date: 2019-10-15
Publication date: 2022-06-03
Also published as: IL292257A; EP4045227A1; US20230271292A1; WO2020084394A1; EP4045227A4

Abstract

A gemstone working center comprising: a setup station adapted to forward a load of diamond grips, each load of diamond grips comprising a diamond grip holder and a gemstone bonded to said diamond grip holder, a rough/cut station for receiving a load of diamond grips from said setup station, and at least one polishing station for receiving said gemstone after it has been separated from its diamond grip holder.

Description

Gemstone working center and/or method

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to gemstone working centers and/or methods, and more particularly, to gemstone working centers and/or methods that are generally automated.

Background

Facets machined on gemstones such as diamonds require attention in various respects. For example, the hardness of the diamond and the grain (grain) of the diamond should be considered, where the grain determines, for example, that a facet should be presented to the kicker with the direction of movement of the kicker at an appropriate angle to the direction of a given crystal or grain in the facet.

Typically, when working facets, the working member contacts the gemstone being worked on a working plane, and such working member may be a polishing member in the form of a polishing wheel or disk made of thick cast iron. The gemstone polishing member includes a gauge for holding and driving the transfer machine member and at least one polishing machine.

When manipulating the facets of a gemstone, the gemstone is typically held in a relatively long holder, the axis of the holder being generally parallel to the axis of the gemstone. Thus, when the facet is operated, the holder may have an axis inclined to the working plane at an angle defining the angle of the facet.

GB2037196 describes a gemstone polishing machine having a rotatable grain axis for mutually orienting a gemstone and a rotating thrower. A signal is generated relating to the drag force between the gemstone and the kicker, and a driver rotates the grain axis to orient the gemstone, thereby generating a high drag force. Generally, drag forces are related to polishing efficiency, and thus, gemstones can be polished efficiently. In one arrangement, a signal relating to the feed rate of the gemstone is generated to ensure effective polishing.

Disclosure of Invention

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated with systems, tools, and methods having the same purposes of illustration and description, but without limitation.

In one embodiment, there is provided a gemstone working center comprising: a setup station adapted to forward a load of diamond grips, each load of diamond grips comprising a diamond grip holder and a gemstone bonded to said diamond grip holder, a rough/cut station for receiving a load of diamond grips from said setup station, and at least one polishing station for receiving said gemstone after it has been separated from its diamond grip holder.

The setting station may include automated and/or manual steps for setting up a diamond on a diamond clamp holder, and may include moving the diamond clamp holder with gemstones coupled to their respective diamond clamp holders to form a loaded diamond clamp on a conveyor between various stations (e.g., a curing station).

In one embodiment, there is also provided a capsule for holding a gemstone for use in a gemstone working center portion, the capsule comprising a diamond clamp holder and a gemstone secured to an upper tip of the holder.

Such a capsule may be formed in a setting station and may be used to contain a loaded diamond holder until it is transferred to a processing centre (possibly of the transfer type) for further processing of the gemstone.

In one embodiment there is also provided a method of transferring gemstones between processing/polishing stations, said method comprising the steps of: providing a source processing/polishing station that initially holds the gemstone; providing a target processing/polishing station comprising a dedicated mount arranged to receive said gemstone; urging one of the source and target processing/polishing stations towards each other to bring the gemstone into contact with the dedicated mount, and applying suction at the dedicated mount to at least temporarily hold the gemstone.

Such handling and transfer may allow the gemstone to be moved between various processing stations and preferably automatically formed into a desired shape.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

Drawings

Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a perspective view of a machined gemstone central portion according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates a top view of the gemstone working center of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 2A and 2B schematically illustrate various views of an embodiment of a loading and curing station generally designated by the dashed rectangle designated II in FIG. 1B;

figures 3A to 3C schematically show various views of a capsule (capsule) holding in place a rough gemstone glued to a diamond holder (dot holder) according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A through 4D and 8 schematically illustrate various views of an embodiment of a roughing/cutting station generally designated by the dashed rectangle designated IV in FIG. 1B;

figures 5A through 5M, 9A through 9C, and 10 schematically illustrate various detailed views of an embodiment of the polishing station of the present invention generally designated by the dashed rectangle designated V or V1 in figure 1B;

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates one possible embodiment of the transfer of a gemstone from one polishing station to possibly another polishing station, for example from the polishing station marked by the dashed rectangle V in FIG. 1B to another polishing station marked by the dashed rectangle VI in FIG. 1B;

fig. 7A to 7D schematically show: one possible embodiment of the transfer of gemstones from the first or second polishing stations to the grading and packaging station in fig. 7A, 7B and 7C, and the storage buffer station in fig. 7D, wherein the grading and packaging station and the storage buffer station are generally marked with the dashed rectangle denoted VII in fig. 1B;

11A and 11B schematically illustrate embodiments of a conditioning assembly that may be used with at least some embodiments of a gemstone working center;

FIGS. 12A-12B provide side and cross-sectional views, respectively, of a more representative gemstone, as might be suitable for mounting at least at some of the processing stations;

13A-13G schematically illustrate certain embodiments of a specialized seat (seat) suitable for use in at least certain machining center section embodiments; and

figure 14 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a holder suitable for holding a gemstone to at least some embodiments of a specialized holder.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements to maintain clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate like elements.

Detailed Description

Significant difficulties may be encountered with diamond in the processing of facets on, for example, gemstones, particularly due to the extreme hardness, mechanical, physical and/or chemical properties of diamond. Thus, although generally associated with gemstones, in at least some instances, the various embodiments herein may be described with reference to diamonds, as the processing techniques used for diamonds can be applied to any other (natural or synthetic) gemstone in general.

Attention is first drawn to fig. 1A and 1B, which illustrate a conveyor machine system 10 for gemstone working, grading and packaging in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The system 10 is of the type of machine, usually called "conveyor", comprising a combination of various processing stations and/or heads, arranged in sequence and connected by work-conveyor devices-thus allowing the maximum number of operations to be performed in parallel at high productivity. The system 10 here includes a main process unit 12, a pressurized gas source 14, and an electrical cabinet 16, both the pressurized gas source 14 and the electrical cabinet 16 being in communication with the process unit 12.

Attention is drawn to fig. 2 and 3, which show a first possible set-up station 18 of the system 10, here comprising a loading and curing stage. The setup station 18 is generally indicated by the dashed rectangle II in fig. 1B. The station 18 is arranged to receive capsules 20, each capsule 20 comprising a gemstone (possibly a rough, table-cut gemstone). In fig. 3A to 3C, an embodiment of such a capsule 20 is shown, comprising a gemstone 24 glued to a diamond holder 22 at a gemstone table 241. The diamond holder 22 may be fitted to the base 26 of the capsule on its underside and the capsule 20 may further comprise a sleeve 28 and a retaining cap mechanism 30. In one embodiment, the diamond clamp holder 22 (see enlarged circle view on right side of fig. 3C) may be flat on its upper side, with a small groove 23 formed therein for receiving a spot of adhesive/glue for attachment to the gemstone (see enlarged circle on left side of fig. 3C) and may also assist in obtaining the desired geometric relationship between the orientation of the gemstone and the diamond clamp grip/axis.

A sleeve 28 may be assembled over the collet holder 22 to surround the gemstone. In one example, the sleeve 28 may be arranged to include a window 281, the window 281 extending laterally through the sleeve to allow external viewing and/or physical access to the gemstone. The retaining cap mechanism 30 may be assembled on top of the sleeve and may be arranged to include an abutment member (or plunger) 301 for securing the gemstone within the capsule. In this example, the abutment member may be spring biased downwardly to abut the gemstone from above so as to support the gemstone against the diamond clamp holder 22 at least during the curing process within the station 18.

Note that returning to fig. 2A and 2B, it can be seen that station 18 comprises a loading portion 181, in which the capsules 20 are arranged/assembled/placed on conveyor 17 of the station. Such a conveyor 17 may be arranged to carry the small containers, in particular through a curing section 182 (which may be in the form of an oven) of the system 18. The loading portion 181 may be exposed to the outside of the main processing unit 12 as seen at the upper side of fig. 1B. The arrangement/placement of the capsule 20 at the loading portion can be carried out manually or automatically (for example, by robotic means) at the portion 181, in this example also the portion 181 being easily accessible from outside the unit 12.

From the loading portion 181 the capsule is correspondingly carried towards and through the curing portion 182, where the adhesive/glue attaching each gemstone to its diamond-clip holder undergoes hardening at the curing portion 182. The capsule leaving the curing section may then be arranged to pass the first, second and possibly third manipulators 32, 34, 35. A first manipulator 32 may be arranged to remove the retaining cap mechanism 30 and sleeve 28 from each capsule 20 into the sleeve collection tray 11, a second manipulator 34 may be arranged to remove each diamond holder 22 with its attached gemstone from the base of the capsule, and a third manipulator 35 may be arranged to remove the base of the capsule 26 from the conveyor into the base collection tray 15. The conveyor 17 can then continue to push its empty links/elements/nests back towards the loading portion 181, where new small containers 20 can be loaded into the station. From here on, a diamond clamp holder with a gemstone attached/glued thereto (by the method discussed with respect to system 18 or any other method) -may be referred to herein as a loaded diamond clamp.

Attention is directed to fig. 4A-4D, which illustrate an embodiment of the roughing/cutting station 36, generally designated by the dashed rectangle IV in fig. 1B. The roughing/cutting station 36 includes an input transfer station 38 for receiving the loaded diamond holders. Such loaded diamond holders may be reached from the system 18, for example via the manipulator 34. Additionally or alternatively, the loaded diamond clamp may be prepared by means other than those in the system 18 and may be placed in the transfer station 38 by any other means, automatically (e.g., robotically), manually (etc.).

The provision of the loading transfer station 38 is particularly useful to act as a so-called buffer area for storing at least temporarily loaded diamond holders until the processing means within the rough machining station 36 become available. Because gemstones on different diamond holders may be different and/or require different processing-the timing of the processing process may be different for each gemstone-thus making the transfer station 38 available for providing a load of diamond holders may be arranged in an in-line area awaiting a processing cycle.

The roughing/cutting station 36 additionally includes a holder center 40 that can be used as an automated gemstone centering and driving mechanism. The roughing/cutting station 36 additionally includes a plurality of roughing/cutting stations, as desired. In the example presented, a first girdle roughing/cutting station 42 and a second pavilion roughing station 44 are located around the holder central portion 40. The holder hub 40 may be arranged to rotate about the axis R by being placed on a servo-driven rotary table 401. The holder hub 40 includes a pneumatically or hydraulically operated fixed length collet block 402 for holding a loaded diamond clamp. The fixed length collet blocks may be arranged to clamp the loaded diamond clamp generally about a holder axis H, which may be generally perpendicular to the rotation axis R.

The holder 40 may include a swivel joint 37 (shown with reference to fig. 5A) that allows the components to rotate within the holder while providing a seal between a fixed supply passage (e.g., a pipe or tube) that communicates the hydraulic system with the holder and the rotating components within the holder, for example. Such a rotary joint (although not labeled, for example, in fig. 4) may be understood for use in other processing stations herein where it is desirable to allow rotation of components while providing a seal between stationary supply channels (e.g., in polishing stations 48, etc.).

The holder 40 further comprises a sensor 403, here the sensor 403 is located above the position where the gemstone is arranged to be placed when the diamond clamp of the gemstone is clamped within the holder 40. The sensor 403 may be an optical sensor, such as a CCD camera (or the like), for viewing and/or sensing the position and/or orientation of the gemstone.

The sensor 403 may be arranged to provide sensed data which may be used to calculate geometrical data (2D or 3D) of the position and/or orientation of the gemstone when it is held in the chuck and/or during its working/rough machining process. The data collected by the sensors 403 may help determine when the axis of symmetry of the target shape of the current gemstone is generally aligned with the axis H. Such alignment may be desirable because the rough gemstone to be processed may be inaccurately fitted to its diamond holder, for example because it is manually fitted to the diamond holder — so the axis of symmetry of the target shape of such a gemstone may not necessarily be aligned with the axis of symmetry of the diamond holder. The data collected by the sensors 403 may also assist in determining when a target shape has been obtained in a region of the gemstone being worked and thereby, for example, when to stop the working of the operation.

The sensor 403 may also be used to monitor the presence of the gemstone during processing-to ensure that it does not inadvertently become detached from its diamond holder, for example. Since the sensor 403 in the illustrated example is located above the gemstone 24, at least in the top views provided in fig. 4B to 4D, the indication of where the sensor 403 is located also provides an indication of where the gemstone clamped in the holder 40 is located. Thus, in these figures, the double designation of 403/24 may be used.

Note the enlarged view on the upper side of fig. 4A (providing a view of section X-X) to show one possible option for implementing a centering mechanism 400 (shown generally within the dashed oval) suitable for centering a gemstone of a loaded diamond clamp fitted to holder center portion 40 along axis H.

A pneumatically and/or hydraulically operated fixed length collet block 402 may be connected to a centering hub 404 via a manifold cylinder 401 with a widening 1 at the rear side. In this example, the centering hub 404 includes a shoulder 2 on its front side and the disc 4 may be arranged to bear forward against the widened portion 1 of the manifold cylinder 401 to press its widened portion 1 against the shoulder 2 and thereby lock the position and orientation of the manifold cylinder 401, thereby locking the position and orientation of the fixed length collet blocks and loaded diamond clamps relative to the centering hub 404-within the clamp center section 40. In the example shown, the forward bearing of the disc 4 against the chassis 401 is obtained by means of a hydraulic piston 406.

The single-acting hydraulic piston 406 may be arranged to push the disc 4 forward and backward, here illustrated by one butterfly spring 3, at the rear side of a possible series of butterfly/cone springs, and thereby push the loading and the unloading of the loading of the butterfly spring 3 by respectively decreasing and increasing the spacing 6 formed between the disc 4 and the disc 7 pressed against the rear side of the chassis 401 by the butterfly spring 3. During the centering operation, the piston 406 may be retracted backwards and thereby the spacing 6 may be increased, resulting in an unloading of the butterfly spring 3, while still maintaining sufficient pressure against the disc 7 and thereby creating a friction force between the widening 1 and the shoulder 2 to temporarily hold the manifold cylinder 401 substantially in place against the centering hub 404. The peripheral spacing 5 existing between the outer periphery of the widening 1 and the inner face of the centering hub 404 may allow a relative movement between the thrust manifold cylinder 401 and the centering hub 404.

The centering cycle of operation may include several optional steps, including the following. First, the securing mechanism 405 may be pushed forward by possibly several peripheral single-acting hydraulic pistons 407 — thereby pushing the cylinder 401 to be substantially defined and concentric with the centering hub 404. Attention is additionally drawn to fig. 8, which schematically shows a section taken along a plane substantially similar to the X-X section in fig. 4A (possibly a plane slightly rotated with respect to the X-X plane). This view reveals one possible compression spring 408, which compression spring 408 is arranged to urge the securing mechanism 405 (shown, for example, in fig. 8 and 4A) to move rearward, clearing the circumferential spacing 5, when the hydraulic pressure being urged by the single-acting hydraulic piston 407 may have ceased. In this state when the position and orientation of the manifold cylinder 401/fixed length collet block 402 can be known and/or obtained, a possible first scan of the gemstone can be performed. The loaded diamond clamp secured to the cylinder 401 may be rotated, for example 360 degrees, about axis H and scanned to identify the desired movement of the manifold cylinder 401 relative to the centering hub 404, which is necessary for the required/target alignment/centering of the loaded diamond clamp relative to axis H, for example angular and radial movements. In one non-limiting example, such movement may be facilitated by the coordinated and controlled operation of the following two mechanisms in this example: the rotary spindle 21 and the gripper 66, wherein both may be driven by a

servo motor

20 and 60, respectively (see shown in the lower main part of fig. 4A), may be arranged to rotate the centering hub 404 around the axis H, respectively, so that it may be positioned in a desired angular position, so that the cylinder 401 may be pushed in a radial direction with respect to the hub 404 using the gripper 66 mechanism. The gripper 66 here can be pushed in a direction along an axis/direction substantially perpendicular to the axis H. Centering of the loaded diamond clamp may be achieved by a combined incremental adjustment which may include pushing a controlled angular rotation of centering hub 404 about axis H, then a controlled linear movement by a gripper 66 mechanism (etc.) -until image processing of the signal arriving from sensor 403 confirms that the loaded diamond clamp achieves the required/target alignment/centering with respect to axis H.

Once such centering is generally satisfied-in the example shown-the piston 406 can be manipulated to push the disc 4 forward and thereby increase the friction between the widening 1 and the shoulder 2, which now holds the manifold cylinder 401 in place against the centering hub 404 in its final position (e.g. the position in which the target of the gemstone can now be centered). The monitoring and control of the incremental steps that take place in order to create the centering of the loaded diamond clamp with respect to the axis H may be facilitated by, for example, image processing of information collected by the sensor 403 observing/sensing the gemstone fitted to the loaded diamond clamp (it is noted that the sensor 403 may apply other sensing techniques in addition to vision).

Attention is additionally drawn to fig. 4B, which shows a first possible step of machining within the roughing/cutting station 36. In this first possible step — the holder 40 may be rotated about axis R to place the collet blocks 402 near the entry transfer station 38. The manipulator 46 of the station 36 may be arranged to pick loaded diamond grippers from the transfer station 38 and place them in the fixed length grippers 402. In one example, the clamping and unclamping of a diamond clamp within the fixed length clamp block 402 may be performed by fluid pressure (e.g., air or hydraulic pressure) that urges the fixed length clamp block 402 to transition between clamped and unclamped states.

Once the loaded diamond clamp is clamped in the holder 40 and has been centred as described above, the mechanism can be rotated about axis R to different rough/cut point/end positions. Due to the combination of the coordinated motion between the servo-controlled rotational motion of the gemstone 24 about the H axis and the servo-controlled linear/rotational motion of the rough machining station along/about the respective axis B/S, the cutting/machining of the gemstone can be performed along a variety of contours.

In the illustrated example, as shown in fig. 4C, the holder 40 may stop its rotation about the R-axis at the girdle roughing station 42 in order to girdle the current gemstone 24. After the girdle is completed, the rotary holder 40 may be rotated again about axis R to the position seen at the pavilion roughing station 44 in fig. 4D for pavilion processing of the current gemstone 24. The rough machining/cutting may be performed at each

respective point

42, 44 while advancing the respective station along its axis B to a position where initial contact between the gemstone 24 and the respective grinding wheel occurs. The respective station may then make additional movements along its axis B-bringing the loaded diamond-gripped gemstone into and out of contact with the grinding wheel of each station, which wheel in turn is arranged to remove material from the gemstone by rotation about axis Q-whereby each

respective point

42, 44 may be arranged to oscillate linearly about and/or along axis Q. Additionally or alternatively, control of the material removal process at the rough/cut point locations (e.g., 42, 44) may be performed by sensing (e.g., by sensor 403) the proximity of the gemstone and/or the engagement/contact of the gemstone (e.g., by a Marburg sensor).

Such sensing may also be by laser or optical sensors. Possibly, the roughing/machining process at

such stations

42, 44 may be performed by varying the machining RPM, for example by initially starting at a relatively low RPM and, once contact is obtained, gradually increasing the RPM while also possibly gradually advancing the station along its axis B. Other means may be used for sensing, such as acoustic and vibration sensors.

Note fig. 5A to 5E. After completion of the girdle and/or pavilion processing actions at the roughing station 36-the processed gemstone 24 can be advanced from the holder 40 to the head section 54 of the polishing station 48 (which may be the first polishing station in a series of polishing stations) -although in some cases, only one polishing station may be provided. The first polishing station 48 of the processing station is generally designated by the dashed rectangle V in fig. 1B.

Fig. 5A shows a possible state after completion of a first gemstone hand-off from a possible loaded diamond clamp held in the fixed length clamp block 402 to the head portion 54 of the first polishing station 48, while fig. 5B to 5E show possible steps that may be taken to complete such a hand-off.

The polishing station 48 as seen here may be, for example, the polishing station 48 as shown in fig. 5F-5G (described in more detail below), however a first possible step for performing the transfer may include linear servo-controlled movement of at least a portion of the polishing station 48 (e.g., the head portion 54) toward a possible loaded diamond clamp held in the fixed length clamp block 402. This may be facilitated by providing a servo motor that drives a lead screw connected to head portion 54 along linear guide 77 (see, e.g., fig. 5F) arranged to advance head portion 58 along axis Y, possibly toward automated gemstone centering and driving mechanism 40, to receive the processed gemstone from the loaded diamond clamp.

Here, the guide rail 77 can be seen to be located above the head portion 54, but various arrangements for supporting such linear movement along an axis parallel to Y (e.g., generally from below the head portion 54) are contemplated. The polishing station head 54 may be arranged to include a cushioned limit damper, e.g. 771, which may be arranged to damp/limit its dedicated seat 52 for setting the gemstone until it reaches its final desired position.

In the state seen in fig. 5A, the gemstone 24 can be seen to be in a position where some portion of its pavilion abuts against the dedicated seat 52 of the head portion 54 of the polishing station and is held in that position, in particular by the holder 50 of the polishing station head 54, which polishing station head 54 presses the gemstone at its table tangent plane against the dedicated seat 52.

The head portion 54 of the polishing station 48 may include a fluid channel for activating vacuum suction and/or pressurized air at the tip of the dedicated seat 52 where the gemstone is adapted to be positioned. Such vacuum suction and/or activation and deactivation of pressurized air may be assisted by pressurized air arriving from a pressurized air container source (not shown). Vacuum suction, possibly based on the venturi effect, may be arranged to operate by a dedicated mechanism at the head section 54 to hold onto the gemstone being transported.

Before turning attention to fig. 5B through 5E, note that the representation of the gemstone 24 shown in these figures is very schematic and does not accurately represent the overall outline of the gemstone-which may be more accurately depicted in fig. 12-wherein the terminology commonly used to designate multiple cuts in gemstones is provided. The same applies to the dedicated seat 52, the possible details of which can be better seen in the representation provided in fig. 13A to 13F, attention now being drawn to fig. 13A to 13F.

In fig. 13A and 13B, a first possible embodiment of a dedicated setting such as 52 is shown, wherein in the enlarged section of fig. 13B it is shown that such a dedicated setting may be formed with a complementary facet 99 adapted to abut and secure a facet formed in the gemstone. An additional dedicated seat embodiment is shown in fig. 13C to 13F, illustrating a possible configuration of an undercut/groove 33 (see enlarged section of fig. 13E) that may be used to accommodate a seal 39 as shown in fig. 13F. Such a "seal" configuration at the tip region of the dedicated holder may be used to ensure that a vacuum suction is created at the tip region of the dedicated holder to secure the gemstone 24 at the tip.

The specialized seat visualized in fig. 13C-13F also embodies an optional tapered configuration 97 at the tip region/section of the specialized seat that is substantially free of any facets. This configuration may be used to secure a gemstone that has not undergone faceting at an area suitable for engaging the tip region of a dedicated setting. Gemstones suitable for mounting at the specialized setting in these figures may only be rough machined prior to mounting at the specialized setting. Combinations of faceted tip sections such as 99 with grooves 33 and seals 39 may also be useful in certain embodiments, for example, as shown in FIG. 13G.

Before discussing the handoff process (e.g., as depicted in beginning with fig. 5B) -attention is also drawn to fig. 14, which shows a closer view and embodiment of a gripper, such as gripper 50. In this figure, it can be seen that the holder comprises a coupling region 93 for coupling the holder to the processing/polishing station and a notch 98 at the tip region distal to the coupling region adapted to abut the gemstone. Both the dedicated holder 52 and the holder 50 may be replaced/exchanged by a dedicated tool changing mechanism (not shown) so that they will fit/match the size and shape/geometry of the next gemstone to be held by them. In the example shown in fig. 14, the face 981 of the notch 98 may be formed to taper in the distal direction to generally follow a tapered profile. Such a partially tapered notch in the region of the fixture tip-may represent an example of a suitable abutment against a gemstone pavilion after rough machining or further faceting. The indentation 98 may take other shapes (e.g., oval, hexagonal, square, etc.) suitable for abutting the gemstone geometry to secure it to a specialized holder. The region of the tip of the holder where such a notch need not be present may be a holder adapted to abut the table of the gemstone.

Attention is now directed to fig. 5B, in which the gemstone as viewed is still glued and attached to a diamond holder which remains clamped within the roughing station 36. FIG. 5C shows one possible step in which the head portions 54 of the roughing station 36 and the polishing station 48 are pushed closer together-in the example shown, optionally by pushing the head portions 54 toward the roughing station 36. The roughing and/or polishing stations can include dampers (e.g. 771) so that the meeting action occurring between the roughing station 36 and the head section 54 at the gemstone will be damped to reduce possible damage to the gemstone and/or the processing tool.

In the position shown in figure 5C, the gemstone accordingly remains glued at its table to the diamond holder held within the roughing station 36, while some portion of the gemstone pavilion is located at the point of the specialized table 52.

Returning attention briefly to fig. 4A, it can be seen that the roughing station 36 also includes a heating element 19, which may be a gas burner. By rotating the fixed length collet blocks 402 and/or moving the heating element 19, the gemstone in the position seen in fig. 5C may be properly placed adjacent the heating element 19. Exposure of the vicinity of the gemstone to heat generated by the heating element 19 may then burn and/or dissolve the glue that attaches the gemstone 24 to the diamond clamp and thus to the roughening station 36. This activation and deactivation of the heat (which may be a flame) may be assisted by pressurized natural gas arriving from the pressurized gas container source 14.

Accordingly, vacuum suction applied at the bottom of the dedicated seat 52 of the polishing station 48 may be used to keep the gemstone securely attached in position and orientation at the dedicated seat until the gripper 50 is pushed to secure the gemstone at its table on the dedicated seat 52. This process may be applied by first distancing the head portion 54 of the polishing station 48 and its dedicated mount 52 now clamped to the gemstone by vacuum suction (see fig. 5D), and then securing the gemstone to the dedicated mount 52 by the clamp 50 (see fig. 5E). After this, the suction holding the gemstone to the dedicated holder 52 may optionally be deactivated.

Note fig. 5F to 5H and 9A to 9C. The polishing station 48 as seen here also includes a polishing disc/wheel portion 56 located below the head portion 54. The polishing disc/wheel portion 56 includes a polishing disc/wheel 561, a linear servo drive mechanism 57, and a guided "mass-spring-damper" (MSD) mechanism 58 (best shown in fig. 9B, fig. 9B providing an enlarged view of the section IXb indicated in fig. 5H). The machining action occurring at the polishing station 48 may include polishing/machining of the facets of the gemstone. The relative position between the head portion 54 and the polishing disc/wheel portion 56 may be manipulated using movements/translations along and about several axes so that substantially many portions of the gemstone may be polished. Such polishing herein includes moving polishing disc/wheel-561 upwardly and downwardly by one or more guided "mass-spring-damper" (MSD) mechanisms 58 to meet the gemstone that may be held by head portion 54.

Examples of possible guided "mass-spring-damper" (MSD) mechanisms 58 are accordingly visible in the enlarged cross-section provided in fig. 9B. The guided MSD mechanism 58 may include several main guide posts 589, several main guide bushings 588, several auxiliary guide posts 587, several auxiliary guide bushings 586, several stop posts 585, several top frame plates 584, several intermediate frame plates 583, several compression springs 582 (e.g., gas/belleville/coil springs), several dampers 581 (e.g., viscous/elastomeric dampers), a buffing abrasive disc/wheel plate 580, several shear pins 610, and a precision mechanical stop 600. The mechanical stop 600 provided in the polishing disc/wheel portion 56 may be arranged to define an upper limit that the polishing disc/wheel 561 may reach.

The upward movement of the polishing abrasive disc/wheel 561 towards the gemstone may include a slow incremental upward crawl of the polishing abrasive disc/wheel 561, as optionally described below.

The shear pin 610 may be urged upwardly by a possible linear servo drive 57 by an incremental predetermined distance. Accordingly, the middle frame 583 may be pushed to move upward by the same predetermined distance along with the guide posts 589, 587, the stopper post 585, the damper 581, and the spring 582. The distance between the bottom of the mechanical stop 600 and the top of the middle frame plate 583 may be defined primarily by the parameters of the stop post 585 (e.g., its length) and the mechanical stop 600 (e.g., its thickness). As long as there is no external load on the polishing disc/wheel 561, the pre-load force of the spring 582 holds the polishing disc plate 580 in place against the mechanical stop 600, while keeping the spring 582 under a quasi-static load. Quasi-static loading refers to applying a relatively slow load such that the structure (spring 582 in our example) also deforms correspondingly slowly (typically at a relatively low strain rate), thus resulting in a relatively small inertial force because it can be neglected. The guide posts 589 and 587, guided by

guide bushings

588 and 586, respectively, ultimately maintain the geometric relationship between the polishing disc 561 and the gemstone 24. In this way, the machine may slowly push its polishing disc 561 towards the gemstone 24.

When the polishing disc/wheel 561 contacts the gemstone 24, a gap may be opened between the mechanical stop 600 and the polishing disc/wheel plate assembly 580, as the gemstone thrust load/action on the polishing disc/wheel 561 overcomes the spring preload force, creating relative motion between itself and the remaining components that remain moving upward until they complete their predetermined distance increments. This gap may slowly close as the gemstone 24 is being polished by the polishing disc 561 and material is being removed from the gemstone and the polishing disc 561. This relative movement between the polishing platen 580 and the intermediate frame plate 583 may be damped by damper 581. The presence of the mass-damper-spring mechanism element enables the response of the system to the incoming loads applied by the gemstone 24 processing to be controlled and/or optimized.

The position of stop 600 may be selected so that small incremental polishing actions may be performed. The precision mechanical stop may be repositioned slightly upward each time the limit set by stop 600 is reached to allow additional incremental polishing actions to be performed on the gemstone. The system may be arranged to detect when the limit set by stop 600 is reached, for example, by confirming the closing of the circuit where plate 580 and stop 600 are again in contact. The polishing station may also include a probe 59 (e.g., a raney probe-see labeled in fig. 5F) for measuring and helping identify whether the target dimensions for the machining (here, polishing) action have been obtained/reached. The gemstone 24 may be moved to the probe 59 during processing and, if determined, the gemstone 24 may be moved back to further processing at the polishing disc/wheel 561.

The dedicated seat 52 extends along the axis G and is therefore arranged to position the gemstone 24 at its free axial end. The dedicated seat 52 may also rotate about the axis G relative to the body 62 of the head portion 54 and may include the process illustrated in fig. 5I and 5J, attention now being directed to fig. 5I and 5J.

Once the planned working action of the gemstone is complete, the guided MSD mechanism 58 may be retracted downwardly and away from the head portion 54. If desired, the gemstone may be indexed about axis G (indexing) so as to place a new portion of the gemstone down toward the polishing disc/wheel 561. To allow this indexing, suction to secure the gemstone to the dedicated holder 52 may be first activated and then the holder 50 removed from abutment with the gemstone, as shown in fig. 5J.

Also note that fig. 10 provides a cross-sectional view (perhaps a slightly rotated plane relative to the plane in fig. 5G) generally similar to fig. 5G, showing additional structure of head portion 54. The dedicated seat 52 is rotatable about the axis G together with the seat hub (seat hub)510 by releasing the hydraulic power of the peripheral hydraulic piston 55 first releasing the locking engagement of the peripheral brake pads 51 within the body 62. When the holder 50 is detached from the gemstone 24 and suction is applied to the gemstone 24, rotation of the dedicated mount 52 also causes the gemstone 24 to rotate therewith. After the desired rotation is completed, the locking engagement of the holder within the body 62 may be restored, and the holder 50 may be returned to the abutting position shown in fig. 5I, in which the gemstone is secured against the dedicated seat 52.

As previously described, by gradually raising the grinding wheel toward the head portion 54, a new facet of the gemstone can be subsequently polished. Facet formation in the gemstone at polishing station 48 may also include the formation of broken facets and/or other desired geometries of facets, and the like.

Thus, multiple degrees of freedom (rotational and linear) within polishing station 48 may allow for the definition of various relative orientations between the gemstone and the surface/side of grinding section 56 (particularly grinding wheel 561). These degrees of freedom may include a tilt axis T that allows head portion 54 to tilt about axis T, which in this example is seen to extend generally parallel to the ground. This tilting of the head portion may be related to the housing 53, where it can be seen that the housing 53 is coupled to a rotating table mechanism 88. The rotating table mechanism 88 can rotate the housing 53 about the axis P. After the desired orientation of the gemstone 24 with respect to the abrasive disc (scaife)/grinding wheel 561 is available, and after the polishing direction of the current facet is found (as described below), the rotary table mechanism 88 may oscillate linearly (e.g., in the T-axis direction in our embodiment) or along a radial/parabolic curve profile — thereby oscillating the housing 53 and head portion 54, resulting in uniform wear of the abrasive disc/grinding wheel 561.

Additional angles of rotation may allow for defining different horizontal angles of the housing 53 (including the head portion secured thereto) about the upright extension axis P. The additional rotational degree of freedom described above may be a rotational degree of freedom of the seat 52 about axis G, while the linear degree of freedom/motion may be a linear degree of freedom/motion along axis Y, along axis T, and up/down motion of the grinding section 56, respectively.

Diamonds generally have the best polishing direction for polishing most easily, sometimes referred to as the three crystallographic axes \ directions for easy wear. In practice, such directions are usually found by trial and error. With known directions, the trial and error process will be minimal. In the embodiments discussed herein, trial and error in identifying such directions as being suitable for polishing may be aided by the above-described degrees of freedom along and/or about, for example, axes P, G, Y and T.

The detection of the optimal polishing direction may be performed by using a "device" for detecting when to start removing material by polishing the gemstone. Such "means" may take the form of an electrical circuit/sensor, for example, located within the polishing disc/wheel portion 56, for example, between the retainer 600 and the polishing disc/wheel plate 580. By allowing the polishing disc/wheel plate 580 to rise up to the stop 600 detected by the sensor, e.g., closing the circuit, by successful removal of the gemstone polishing material (achieved when the optimal polishing direction is found), it is confirmed that the plate 580 and stop 600 are again in contact. Once the correct orientation (e.g., of the gemstone within head portion 54) associated with polishing disc/wheel 561 is obtained, the degree of freedom in question, which allows the optimum polishing direction to be found, can be "locked in" and the gemstone polishing operation can be performed, such as forming a facet in the gemstone.

Note that fig. 11A and 11B illustrate one embodiment of a conditioning assembly 900, the conditioning assembly 900 being used to condition the upper surface of a polishing disc/wheel 561. Such dressing may be performed when desired, without removing wheel 561 from its position in the machining center. The dressing assembly 900 comprises a dressing tool 901 and an actuator 902, said actuator 902 being arranged to linearly advance and retract the dressing tool along a direction DE extending and coinciding with the radial direction RE of the wheel 561. In the present example, the dressing assembly 900 is shown on the left-hand side of the wheel 561 in the top view provided in fig. 11A, however, the assembly 900 may conveniently be located around the wheel 561 so that its axis DE coincides with the radial direction RW of the wheel. Directing attention to fig. 11B, it can be seen that the conditioning assembly can be moved vertically along the V-axis relative to the ground to position the conditioning tool 901 at the appropriate height for the conditioning wheel 561.

Note that fig. 5I to 5M and 6 show that the stone may be transported to a second polishing station 64, generally indicated by the dashed rectangle VI in fig. 1B. The second polishing station 64 is generally similar to the first polishing station, possibly with a different geometry of its dedicated seat for placing the gemstone so that different facets of the gemstone, such as a pavilion facet, a girdle facet, a table facet and a fashion facet, can be formed.

The transfer of the gemstone from one polishing station 48 (delivery) to another polishing station 64 (reception) may be performed as follows.

A first possible step in performing the transfer may include delivering a linear servo-controlled motion of at least a portion of the polishing station 48 (e.g., the head portion 54) toward the polishing station 64 that may be received. This can be accomplished by providing a servo motor that drives a lead screw connected to head portion 54 along linear guide 77 (see, e.g., FIG. 5F), which is arranged to advance head portion 58 along the Y-axis.

The guide rail 77 can be seen above the head portion 54, but arrangements are envisaged for supporting linear movement in a direction parallel to the Y axis, for example generally starting from below the head portion 54. The polishing station head section 54 may be arranged to include a cushioned limit damper until its dedicated mount 52 holding the gemstone reaches its final desired position so that the meeting occurring between the head sections of the two polishing

stations

48, 64 at the gemstone will be damped to reduce possible damage to the gemstone and/or the machining facility.

Fig. 5J shows one possible step in which vacuum suction applied at the axial rear side of the dedicated seat 52 of the polishing station 48 can be used to keep the gemstone securely attached at the dedicated seat 52 in the proper position and orientation, while the grippers 50 of the two head portions of the two polishing

stations

48 and 64 can be removed.

Figure 5K shows one possible step in which the head portion of the polishing station 48 and the head portion of the polishing station 64 are pushed together to a closer position-in this example, optionally illustrated by pushing the head portion of the polishing station 48 toward the head portion of the polishing station 64.

After such contact, the gemstone may be safely attached at the dedicated mount 521 in a new position and orientation using vacuum suction applied at the dedicated mount 521 of the receiving polishing station 64. In this case, the suction of the dedicated seat 52 of the delivered polishing station 48 may be released.

In a subsequent possible step, the operation of the head portion remote from the polishing station 48 may be initiated, while the dedicated mount 521 may now be arranged to position and secure the gemstone by vacuum suction (see fig. 5L), and then the gemstone may be secured to the dedicated mount 521 by the gripper 50 (see fig. 5M).

The polishing actions performed by the different polishing stations may be generally similar to those performed and described with reference to the first polishing station also shown in fig. 5F through 5H, 9A through 9C, and 10.

Note that fig. 7A-7D show the final unloading and staging station 66, which is generally marked by the dashed rectangle VII shown in fig. 1B. Gemstones exiting the processing area of the main processing unit 12 may be quality inspected, packaged and ultimately stored.

Station 66 may include a first manipulator 67, a gemstone sizer 68, a second manipulator 69, a packing element 63, and a packing rack 65. In this example, the first manipulator 67 may comprise a dedicated gripper mechanism comprising a dedicated seat 522 connected to a Mass Spring Damper (MSD) mechanism that may effect vacuum suction at the tip of the dedicated seat 522, which may be similar to what has been provided above. In this example, the manipulator 69 may comprise an alternative form of amorphous/adaptive clamp 691, here in the form of a balloon filled with granular material, which may be adapted to collapse and clamp any amorphous object in contact therewith when aspirating. The jig 67 is here arranged to rotate about axis Z1 and can be used to remove the gemstone from the last polishing station and place it at the sizer 68.

After the gemstone is graded, the gemstone can be removed from diamond sizer 68 using manipulator 69 with amorphous clamp 691 (here set to rotate about axis Z2) and placed in a container (e.g., a zipper bag) waiting at packing rack 65. In this case, the packing element 63 may be used to seal the container (e.g., attaching a zipper bag). A stamp including the properties of the gemstone may then be stamped into the container, if possible, and the buffer station 70 may then be used to temporarily store the finished gemstone before it exits the processing system 10 for possible storage.

In the description and claims of this application, each of the verbs, "comprise", "include" and "have", and conjugates thereof, are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb.

Furthermore, while the application or technology has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; thus, the techniques are not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art and practicing the claimed technology, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

If, herein, such terms, features, values, or ranges are referred to in conjunction with terms such as "about, substantially, at least," the technology is also to be understood as encompassing the exact terms, features, values, or ranges, etc. In other words, "about 3" shall also include "3" or "substantially vertical" shall also include "vertical". Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope.

Although the present embodiments have been described to a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that various alterations and modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A gemstone working center comprising:

a setup station adapted to deliver a load of diamond grips forward, each load of diamond grips comprising a diamond grip holder and a gemstone bonded to the diamond grip holder,

a roughing/cutting station for receiving the loaded diamond clamp from the setup station; and

at least one polishing station for receiving said gemstone after it has been separated from its diamond holder.

2. A gemstone working center according to claim 1, being a transport type gemstone working center comprising a combination of stations arranged in sequence and connected by a working transport device.

3. A gemstone processing center according to claim 2, wherein the setting station includes a loading portion and a curing portion.

4. A gemstone working center according to claim 3, wherein the loading portion is arranged to receive pods, each pod including a gemstone glued to its respective diamond clamp holder, the setting portion being arranged to harden the glue attaching each gemstone to its diamond clamp holder to form a loaded diamond clamp.

5. A gemstone processing center according to claim 4, comprising a conveyor belt for carrying diamond holder holders with glued gemstones through the setting section.

6. A gemstone processing center according to claim 1, wherein the rough/cut station includes an input transfer station for receiving a loaded diamond holder from a setup station.

7. A gemstone processing center according to claim 6, wherein the rough/cut station comprises a holder center for clamping onto the loaded diamond clamp, and at least one rough/cut point location for processing the gemstone of the loaded diamond clamp.

8. A gemstone processing center according to claim 7, wherein the holder center comprises a centering arrangement for centering the gemstone to be processed along a rotational axis of the holder about which the gemstone is arranged to rotate during processing.

9. A gemstone processing center according to claim 8, wherein the rough/cut station is arranged to perform girdle and/or pavilion processing actions on the gemstone.

10. A gemstone working center according to claim 1, wherein the transfer from the rough/cut station to at least one polishing station includes dissolving and/or removing glue/cement that holds the loaded diamond-clipped gemstone in its diamond-clip holder.

11. A gemstone working center according to claim 10, wherein the gemstone is held after removal of the glue/glue by suction applied from one side of the machine/holder of at least one polishing station holding the gemstone.

12. A gemstone working center according to claim 11, wherein the at least one polishing station comprises a gripper arranged to apply a gripping force to secure the gemstone to the machine/holder after initially holding the gemstone by suction, wherein preferably the gripper may be applied during working/rough/polishing when suction is stopped.

13. A capsule for holding gemstones for use in a gemstone working center portion comprising a diamond clamp holder and a gemstone secured to an upper tip of said holder.

14. A capsule in accordance with claim 13, wherein the tip comprises a small groove and the gemstone covers the groove.

15. A capsule in accordance with claim 14, comprising glue for securing the gemstone to the tip of the holder.

16. The capsule of claim 15 comprising a base on which the underside of said diamond holder rests.

17. A capsule in accordance with claim 16, comprising a sleeve extending upwardly from the base and formed around the diamond holder.

18. Capsule according to claim 17, wherein the sleeve comprises an opening through the sleeve to allow external viewing and/or physical access to the gemstone.

19. A capsule in accordance with claim 18, comprising a holding mechanism for bearing down on a gemstone to press the gemstone against the diamond holder.

20. A method of transferring gemstones between processing/polishing stations, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a source processing/polishing station that initially holds the gemstone;

providing a target processing/polishing station comprising a dedicated mount arranged to receive said gemstone;

urging at least one of the source and target processing/polishing stations toward each other to bring the gemstone into contact with the dedicated mount, and

suction is applied at the dedicated holder to hold the gemstone at least temporarily.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the target processing/polishing station comprises a holder for applying a holding force to the gemstone to press it firmly against a dedicated seat.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein suction initially holds the gemstone until the gripper applies the force to the gemstone, and after applying the gripper, the suction may terminate.

23. A method according to claim 21, comprising an indexing step of rotating the dedicated setting when the gemstone has been set to position a new region of the gemstone in a position suitable for machining/polishing, wherein the indexing step comprises: suction is applied at the dedicated mount, the holder is retracted away from the position where it applies the clamping force to the gemstone, then the dedicated mount is rotated and the clamping force is reapplied to the gemstone by the holder, possibly after the rotation is complete.

24. The method of claim 23, comprising the steps of: a tool changer is provided for changing the type of the dedicated mount and/or holder at the target processing/polishing station prior to receiving the gemstone, for example, depending on the geometry of the gemstone being transferred to the target processing/polishing center.