GB2577305A

GB2577305A - A workpiece holding apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2577305A
Application number: GB1815394.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Edward Houghton Larry
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-09-21
Filing date: 2018-09-21
Publication date: 2020-03-25
Also published as: GB201815394D0

Abstract

The work piece holding apparatus 99 includes a basal part 1 and a displaceable lock part 2. The parts are arranged to be displaced or displace from a first position where the parts are laterally distal, to a second position where the parts are proximate. The basal part is arranged to support a rotating shaft (7, Figure 3). The lock part is arranged with a shaft lock 3 such that in the second position the lock part locks the shaft. The parts may be arranged to be located onto vice jaws. The basal part may include an indexing plate for the shaft and an indexing location arm. The lock part may include a location arm part, extending further than a shaft clamp part. The shaft lock may include an arcuate outer surface. The basal part may include a workpiece chuck (8, Figure 2).

Description

A WORKPIECE HOLDING APPARATUS

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a workpiece holding apparatus, in particular apparatus for enabling a workpiece to be milled or machined in a vice apparatus.

Background

Increasing importance of manufacturing, small-scale, is often a feature in many developed and developing societies as greater access to funds, design resources and manufacturing apparatus becomes more prevalent over time.

In particular many potential users may have or desire access to a milling machine. Such a machine, particular where computer numerically controlled (CNC), can be expensive and difficult to acquire. Such apparatus enables holding of a workpiece at a desired angle of rotation so as to allow the CNC machining apparatus to work on the workpiece, Many potential users may have access to a vice and a milling machine, and accordingly some apparatus is set up to allow the user to attach a workpiece holding apparatus to the vice jaws, or replace them with the workpiece holding apparatus. This can be a time-consuming step, as the workpiece holding must be robust to resist forces on the workpiece, whilst enabling rotation.

Prior Art

US 6 464 216 (WEAVER et al) discloses a vise having a pair of vise jaws for clamping a workpiece therebetween, at least one of the vise jaws being provided with a rotatable protractor, the one vise jaw having an external surface, a platform carried by the protractor and extending beyond the one vise jaw for supporting the workpiece thereon at a desired angle between the vise jaws, the improvement comprising a manually-manipulable means accessible through an opening in the external surface of the one vise jaw, and gearing means within the one vise jaw and connected between the manually-manipulable means and the protractor, such that the protractor may be conveniently rotated to a desired angular position, wherein the gearing means comprises a worm drive gearing between the protractor and the manually-manipulable means, wherein the worm drive gearing comprises a worm wheel 5 carried by the protractor for rotation in unison, and a worm gear formed on the manually-manipulable means and engaging the worm wheel, further including means to retain the manually-manipulable means within the opening on the top surface of the one vise jaw, and wherein the external surface of the one vise jaw comprises a top surface, and wherein the manually-manipulable means has a hexagonal socket 10 formed therein, whereby a hexagonal wrench may be removably inserted in the socket for rotating the worm gear.

US 5 482 300 (WENDHACK) discloses a collet adapter for converting a standard machine vise into a collet fixture wherein the vise includes relatively removable members, vise jaws and an actuator, comprising: a first support and a second support each having a bore therethrough aligned with one another, means on the first and second supports for fixedly attaching them to the vise members, a sleeve in the bores in the first and second supports having an axially tapered internal portion, a workpiece receiving collet in the sleeve having an axially tapered outer portion engaging the tapered internal portion in the sleeve, and means for moving the collet axially relative to the sleeve as the first support moves relative to the second support so a workpiece in the collet is radially clamped thereby, whereby upon movement of the vise actuator the vise members move the first and second supports effecting workpiece clamping and unclamping without requiring the set up of a conventional collet fixture.

JP 2 779 247 (IWABUCHI et al) discloses an indexing device comprising built into a vice in the front surface of one vice piece and opened to the front surface of the opposed other vice piece. The indexing device holds a workpiece in the vice of a processing equipment at a desired inclination angle posture, wherein a fulcrum hole is formed in the front face of a first vice piece, and a plurality of setting holes are formed on a circumference of a constant radius around the fulcrum hole on a flat plate. A cradle is formed with a shaft hole portion for pivotal attachment to the fulcrum hole, fitted in the selected setting hole and formed into a columnar shape projecting from the setting hole to the front of the setting plate Once the indexing device according to the present invention has been assembled to the vice, the workpiece is mounted on the cradle, the workpiece is indexed, and the workpiece held subject to predetermined processing.

The present invention arose in order to overcome problems suffered by existing 5 devices.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a workpiece holding apparatus comprising a basal part and a displaceable lock part, wherein the parts are arranged to be displaced or displace from a first position where the parts are laterally distal, to a second position where the parts are proximate, the basal part is arranged to support a rotating shaft and the lock part is arranged with a shaft lock such that in the second position the lock part locks the shaft.

The parts may be arranged to be located onto vice jaws, in particular for example one or more of the parts is located vertically onto a vice jaw.

Advantageously therefore this enables the apparatus to be operated with a standard vice, or more particularly the parts inserted into standard vice jaws, and the force of the vice jaws may be utilised to close the parts together and more particularly lock the shaft. In this way the shaft may be prevented from movement during milling or other work on the workpiece.

The shaft lock may comprise a projecting lock part having a portion arranged to engage the shaft. This locking portion may be shaped to engage against, connect with or reflect the shaft's surface.

In some embodiments the lock part may include a location arm part and a shaft clamp part. The location arm part and shaft clamp part may be located in different positions and/or operable separately and/or simultaneously.

The basal part may include a dividing device comprising a shaft part and a dividing or 35 indexing plate.

The apparatus formed by the basal parts and lock parts may thereby join together, mechanically and/or electrically, in some embodiments through a sliding motion, so as to provide an engaged apparatus position for use of the shaft.

Advantageously in this way the apparatus comprises a means of simply providing a robust dividing or indexing device using or on a vice assembly installed on a table such as for CNC (computer numerical controlled) milling.

The shaft may be driven by a motor, and the indexing plate may also in some embodiments. In other embodiments the indexing plate is controlled by a plunger such that the spindle provided by the shaft is capable of manual rotation and adjustment. The plate may be arranged such that 40 turns of a crank will rotate the spindle through one full turn.

The indexing plate may comprise a disk with concentric circles of equally spaced holes behind the crank. provides a positive index for positioning the crank at 1/n turns of the crank, where n equals the number of holes in the disk. Indexing plates may be interchangeable to provide choices for n, so that a turn of the spindle can be divided into a great variety of equal parts.

In some embodiments the basal part and the lock part may be located in use on vice jaws, or comprising vice jaw parts. In other embodiments the part may be envisaged to be added to vice jaws. Being located on the vice jaws or comprising the vice jaws means the basal part advantageously is enabled to move, for example in vertical and horizontal axes using an existing assembly, which may cost-effectively and flexibly provide a dividing or indexing plate for or to a CNC milling or machining assembly.

For example the basal and lock parts may be advantageously arranged to slide into place on the jaws, such as with a grub screw tightener mechanism, and may 30 consequently provide huge improvements in time efficiency in improving speed of workpiece replacement and adjustment.

The basal part acts to form the milling assembly and the lock part acts to form a lock on the milling assembly spindle that is provided by the shaft. The assembly may be 35 arranged to lock the shaft at different indexing locations within or on the indexing plate, so as to provide an adjustment axis for CNC machining.

The apparatus thereby may be used to convert a standard vice into a dividing or indexing head by only replacing the jaws or parts thereof within the vice; the lock part in the engaged position clamping the shaft, such that the vice jaws may simply be 5 opened to adjust indexing of the workpiece.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the Figures in which:

Brief Description of Figures

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a second isometric view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an exploded isometric view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a second exploded isometric view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 shows a reverse exploded isometric view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; And Figure 6 shows reverse isometric view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

Detailed Description of Figures

With reference to the figures there is shown apparatus generally comprising a workpiece holding apparatus 99 comprising a fixed basal part 1 and a displaceable 35 lock part 2, wherein the lock part 2 is arranged to be displaced or displace from a first position where it is laterally distal the basal part 1 to a second position which is proximate the basal part 1, the basal part 1 comprises a shaft 7 and the lock part 2 is arranged with a shaft lock 3 such that in the second position the lock part 2 locks the shaft 7.

The apparatus is arranged to be placed in the jaws of a vice assembly (not shown), wherein the basal part 1 and lock part 2 comprise female slide features 10 arranged to allow simple sliding connection to the jaws of an assembly, namely in the pictured embodiment a CHICK ONELOK (RTM) vice assembly (not shown). Advantageously therefore the parts of the apparatus are easily attached or detached to the assembly.

The apparatus may include an indexing plate (not shown) at a proximal end and is shown including a workpiece clamp 8 at a distal end of the basal part. The work piece clamp 8 shown comprises a standard chuck clamp as known in the art, which is adjusted or locked at a hex key socket 19 A location arm 6 is arranged to displace when a proximal end is displaced upwards and thereby pushes down and locks a location pin (not shown) into the indexing plate (not shown).

In some embodiments the indexing plate may cooperate with a digital reader (not shown) so as to sense the indexing location and provide a digital readout display of the indexing location, division or angle.

The basal part comprises a central spindle shaft 7 terminating at the workpiece 25 clamp, wherein the lock part comprises a lock part 3 for the basal part shaft 7, which lock part comprises a location arm part 5 and a shaft clamp part 4.

In some embodiments the location arm or pin may be simply sprung pins, and operable separate to the lock part. In the pictured embodiment the lock part robustly 30 locks the location arm 5 and pin.

The location arm part 5 in the pictured embodiment is situated vertically above the shaft clamp part 7, and is secured in place through a topmost grub screw 56, which is secured after sliding the part onto the vice assembly and the location arm part into the part 2. Furthermore the location arm part 5 comprises an endmost rotation adjustment 55. In this way the leading surface 15 of the location arm part 5 may be rotated for correction engagement with the location arm. The location arm part 5 may be slid into the lock part through an aperture distal the basal part.

The location arm part is proximate the top edge of the lock part.

The location arm part 5 comprises a cylindrical bar extending towards the basal part, and is arranged to pass through an aperture 13 in the basal part 1, which aperture 13 leads to the location arm 6 of the basal part 1, which location arm 6 is used to lock the distal pin into positions on the indexing plate (not shown).

The distal end of location arm part comprises a slotted stud, accessible on the distal face of the lock part, so as to enable the user to rotate the location arm for adjustment or displacement. The grub screw fixes or releases rotation of the location arm.

The location arm part 5 is arranged with an angled face 15 for progressive engagement with the location arm 6, so as to push up the proximal end of the location arm 6, and push down the distal end into the indexing plate to lock the location. The location arm part 5 extends further than the shaft clamp part 4 and in this way the locked location arm may be operated separately from the shaft clamp part, and viceversa. In some embodiments the shaft clamp part may be longer than the location arm part. For example in some embodiments the location arm part may be used to lift the location arm when the apparatus parts are moved apart and the shaft released, such as by rotating.

The shaft clamp 4 comprises a lateral concave face 14 arranged to interfit the shaft surface through a perforation 16, and is located to centrally extend from the proximal face of the lock part, passing through an aperture in the proximal face of the basal part.

In the pictured embodiment a servo motor may be located to drive rotation of the shaft into incremental indexing locations.

The lock part is otherwise a solid machined piece of alloy or metal. The basal and 35 lock parts comprise a corresponding horizontal slide-fit connection so as to limit lateral movements when engaged, comprising an indentation and peripheral lip 20 on the basal part 1, and a central projection and peripheral indentation 21 on the lock part 2.

The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated 5 that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of invention as defined by the claims, in particular but not solely combination of features of described embodiments.

Claims

Claims 1. A workpiece holding apparatus comprising a basal part and a displaceable lock part, wherein the parts are arranged to be displaced or displace from a first position where the parts are laterally distal to a second position where the parts are proximate, the basal part basal part is arranged to support a rotating shaft and the lock part is arranged with a shaft lock such that in the second position the lock part locks the shaft.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the parts are arranged to be located onto vice jaws.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein one or more of the parts is located vertically onto a vice jaw.
4. Apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the basal part comprises an indexing plate for the shaft and an indexing location arm.
5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the lock part comprises a location arm part and a shaft clamp part.
6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the location arm part extends further than the shaft clamp part.
7. Apparatus according to claim 5 or 6 wherein the location arm part comprises a face for progressive engagement of the location arm.
8. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the shaft lock comprises an extending member arranged to interface the shaft.
9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the shaft lock comprises an arcuate outer surface.
10. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the basal part comprises a workpiece chuck.
11. Apparatus according to any preceding claim arranged for use with a vice assembly.
12. Apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 10 comprising a vice assembly.