JP2002301648A - Manufacturing device and manufacturing method for spherical object, and grinding wheel and adjustment wheel used in the same device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spherical object manufacturing device capable of drastically shortening the time to manufacture a spherical object. SOLUTION: This spherical object manufacturing device 1 comprises a grinding wheel 3 having a group of annular grooves 3g formed in its outer circumferential surface, an adjustment wheel 5 adjoining the grinding wheel 3 leaving a gap of a prescribed width between them, and a movable blade 9, wherein the grooves 3g have groove bottoms 3g' of a cross-sectional shape capable of forming a columnar workpiece into spherical shapes and the columnar workpiece K supported from below by the wheels 3 and 5 is pressed from above by the blade 9. By rotating the wheel 3, by rotating the wheel 5 in the same direction as the wheel 3, by supporting the workpiece k by the wheel 5, and by pressing the workpiece k by the blade 9, the workpiece k is ground while it is moved toward the wheel 3 to manufacture the plurality of spherical objects Kb. By this arrangement, the workpiece is directly ground into the spherical object by the grinding wheel and therefore the manufacturing time can be drastically shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a glass ball used for a reading device such as a CD (compact disk) and a DVD (digital video disk), a semiconductor ball used for a semiconductor IC, and a ceramic used for various applications. The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a spherical object such as a ball and a ferrite ball. In this specification, the term "spherical object" is a general term for a material that is formed as much as possible into a sphere, regardless of its material and dimensions, regardless of the presence or absence of inevitable surface irregularities. Say. Spherical objects are sometimes called coarse spheres. Similarly, a “cylindrical workpiece” is a workpiece having a substantially cylindrical appearance, such as a polygonal pillar that can be treated almost in the same manner as a cylinder in processing, and any pillar-shaped similar to this. A thing. The columnar workpiece has no restrictions on its material, dimensions, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A barrel polishing machine has been known as an apparatus for producing spherical objects. This barrel polishing machine is configured to put a miniaturized workpiece together with an abrasive in a container and stir the workpiece. Generally, the spherical body manufactured in this manner is subjected to lap finishing, cup finishing, or the like, if necessary depending on the application, so that the spherical precision is improved.

[0003]

However, in the above-described polishing using the barrel polishing machine, an enormous amount of time is required until a spherical object is completed. For example, to produce a glass ball of about 1 millimeter in diameter for use in a CD reader, a minimum of 30 hours is required to produce a satisfactory shape for a spherical finish. This is because the barrel polishing machine does not perform polishing by constantly contacting the workpiece and the abrasive, but relies on accidental contact between the two in the container during stirring. Further, in a barrel polishing machine that operates on such a principle, a certain number of workpieces and abrasives need to be mixed in a container in order to keep the polishing efficiency high. Therefore,
When the number of spheres to be manufactured is small, it is necessary to spend more time than in the case where the number is large, or to polish a large number of workpieces in preparation for the production of the surplus. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a spherical object manufacturing apparatus which can significantly reduce the time required for manufacturing the above-mentioned spherical objects and can perform the manufacturing without waste even when the required number is small. It is in.

A "centerless grinding machine" is similar to the structure of the spheroid manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention described below. The centerless grinding machine is generally constituted by a grinding wheel, an adjustment wheel adjacent thereto, and a support blade, and cylindrically grinds a workpiece supported from below by the support blade by rotating the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel. It is a device for. As described above, this centerless grinding machine has only the function of grinding a cylinder to the last, and the support blade is used to remove a workpiece that has become thinner due to grinding from between the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel. It only has the function of preventing it from falling. Therefore, the spherical object manufacturing apparatus and the centerless grinding machine according to the present invention have significantly different purposes, configurations, and operational effects.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventor of the present invention has proposed a method of polishing (grinding) by accidental contact between a small workpiece and an abrasive unlike a barrel polishing machine.
Grind the workpiece by continuous contact between the grinding wheel and the workpiece with an annular groove formed on the outer peripheral surface, and promote the grinding by the adjustment wheel and movable blade configured to promote grinding. Adopted. The details are explained in the section again. It should be noted that the definition of terms used in the description of the invention in any claim is applied to the inventions in other claims to the extent possible, regardless of the category of the invention.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 1) A spherical object manufacturing apparatus according to the invention described in claim 1 (hereinafter referred to as "the manufacturing apparatus of claim 1" as appropriate) converts a cylindrical workpiece into a spherical shape. A grinding wheel in which an annular groove group (a plurality of annular grooves) having a groove bottom having a cross-sectional shape that can be formed is formed on an outer peripheral surface; an adjusting wheel adjacent to the grinding wheel via a gap having a predetermined width; and the grinding wheel And a movable blade that slidably presses a cylindrical workpiece supported from below by the adjustment wheel from above. The manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, which is configured as described above, is configured such that the grinding wheel is rotated, the adjustment wheel is rotated in the same direction as the grinding wheel, and the adjustment wheel is supported and the movable blade is pressed. A plurality of spherical objects are manufactured by grinding the workpiece while moving the workpiece in the direction of the grinding wheel. It is preferable that the adjustment wheel has a smaller diameter than the grinding wheel and is configured to rotate at a lower speed than the rotation speed of the grinding wheel in order to shorten the grinding time.

According to the manufacturing apparatus of the first aspect, the cylindrical workpiece is supported while being rotated by at least three members of the grinding wheel, the adjusting wheel, and the movable blade. A plurality of spherical objects are manufactured from the cylindrical workpiece by the rotation of the former and the presser of the last. That is, the cylindrical workpiece receives the pressing force from the movable blade and the pressing force due to the reaction received from the adjusting wheel on its cylindrical surface. The columnar workpiece is moved in the direction of the grinding wheel by the component force in the direction of the grinding wheel, which constitutes such a holding force, and is ground by the rotating grinding wheel at this time. As a result, the cylindrical workpiece is moved into each annular groove while being ground, and is formed into a sphere by further grinding. According to the grinding device of the first aspect, since a spherical object is formed by grinding the rotating grinding wheel, the spherical object is generally formed within a short period of time, although it depends on the grinding ability of the grinding wheel and the type of the material of the cylindrical workpiece. Things can be manufactured. Therefore, the manufacturing time of the spherical object can be significantly reduced as compared with the barrel polishing, and the required number can be manufactured by adjusting the number of the cylindrical workpieces.

[0008] (Characteristics of the invention described in claim 2) The apparatus for manufacturing a sphere according to the invention described in claim 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "production apparatus of claim 2" as appropriate) The cross-sectional shape of the groove bottom of the annular groove, that is, the cross-sectional shape of the groove bottom capable of forming a cylindrical workpiece in a spherical shape, is formed in a substantially hemispherical or U-shape. It is characterized by being.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation and effect of the first aspect of the present invention, grinding is performed by a substantially hemispherical or U-shaped groove bottom. A spherical object is formed from the cylindrical workpiece.

[0010] (Characteristics of the invention described in claim 3) The spherical object manufacturing apparatus according to the invention described in claim 3 (hereinafter referred to as "the manufacturing apparatus of claim 3" as appropriate) is the manufacturing apparatus of claim 1 or 2 A limitation is added to the configuration of the device, and the movable blade is
It has a blade tip formed in a shape that can protrude into each of the annular grooves without contacting the grinding wheel, and the relative position of the blade tip with respect to the grinding wheel is lowered when the blade is lowered. The distal end portion is set so as to be able to protrude into each annular groove.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect, the movable blade descends and the tip of the blade is ground. By protruding into the respective annular grooves of the wheel, the cutting (division) of the cylindrical workpiece for forming the spherical object can be performed more reliably. That is, when the blade tip protrudes into each of the annular grooves, the cylindrical workpiece is divided, and each of the divided workpieces is pushed into each of the annular grooves. The pressed individual pieces are formed into spheres by further grinding of the grinding wheel.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 4) The spherical object manufacturing apparatus according to the invention described in claim 4 (hereinafter referred to as "the manufacturing apparatus of claim 4" as appropriate) is the manufacturing apparatus of claim 1 or 2. A limitation is added to the configuration of the device, and the adjustment wheel is
The center of the adjustment wheel was disposed above a horizontal line passing through the center of the grinding wheel, and the presser blade was formed in a shape capable of penetrating a gap between the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel. It has a blade tip, and the relative position of the blade tip with respect to the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel is set so that the blade tip can penetrate the gap when lowered. Features.

According to the manufacturing apparatus of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effects of the manufacturing apparatus of the first or second aspect, the movable blade descends and the tip of the blade is ground. By penetrating the gap between the wheel and the adjusting wheel, the cutting (cutting) of the cylindrical workpiece for forming the spherical object is performed more reliably. That is, when the blade tip penetrates the gap between the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel, the columnar workpiece is divided, and the divided pieces are pushed into the respective annular grooves.
The pressed individual pieces are formed into spheres by further grinding of the grinding wheel.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 5) The apparatus for manufacturing a sphere according to the invention described in claim 5 (hereinafter referred to as the "production apparatus of claim 5" as appropriate) is any one of the above-described items 1 to 4. The structure of the manufacturing apparatus is characterized in that at least a grinding surface (a surface that comes into contact with a workpiece) of the grinding wheel is coated with diamond powder. Examples of the method of coating diamond powder include electrodeposition coating and electrostatic coating. A coating method other than these may be used.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, diamond powder is added to the ground surface of the grinding wheel. Is applied, the coating improves the abrasion resistance and polishing efficiency of the grinding wheel, and further makes the ground surface of the workpiece uniform.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 6) The apparatus for manufacturing a sphere according to the invention described in claim 6 (hereinafter referred to as "the manufacturing apparatus of claim 6" as appropriate) is any of claims 1 to 5. A limitation is added to the configuration of the manufacturing apparatus, and at least the outer peripheral surface of the adjustment wheel is made of an elastomer material, that is,
A polymer substance exhibiting rubber elasticity at around normal temperature is provided. Typical examples of the elastomer material include synthetic rubber and natural rubber.

(Effects of the Invention According to Claim 6) According to the manufacturing apparatus of claim 6, in addition to the functions and effects of the manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, due to the elasticity of the elastomer material, Since the cylindrical workpiece can be pressed against the grinding wheel, the grinding efficiency can be increased accordingly. In addition, since an elastomer material generally has a large friction coefficient, a frictional force is applied to efficiently rotate a cylindrical workpiece, thereby also improving the grinding efficiency.

(The feature of the invention described in claim 7) In the method for producing a spherical object according to the invention described in claim 7 (hereinafter referred to as "the production method of claim 7"), the annular groove group is formed on the outer peripheral surface. Performing a first step of pressing a substantially cylindrical cylindrical workpiece supported from below by a grinding wheel having an adjusting wheel adjacent to the grinding wheel from above with a movable blade, rotating the grinding wheel, and By rotating the adjusting wheel in the same direction as the grinding wheel, and by cooperating the support of the adjusting wheel and the presser of the movable blade, the cylindrical workpiece is moved while being moved in the direction of the grinding wheel, and is ground. The method is characterized in that it is a method for producing a spherical object from a cylindrical workpiece by performing the second step of producing the spherical object.

According to the manufacturing method of the seventh aspect, in the first step, the cylindrical workpiece is supported by at least three of the grinding wheel, the adjusting wheel, and the movable blade. You. Next, in a second step, a plurality of spherical objects are manufactured from the cylindrical workpiece by rotating the grinding wheel, rotating the adjustment wheel, and pressing the movable blade. That is, the cylindrical workpiece receives the pressing force from the movable blade and the pressing force due to the reaction received from the adjusting wheel on its cylindrical surface. The columnar workpiece is moved in the direction of the search wheel by the component force in the direction of the grinding wheel, which constitutes such a holding force, and is simultaneously ground by the rotating grinding wheel. As a result, the cylindrical workpiece is moved into each annular groove while being ground, and is formed into a sphere by further grinding. Claim 1
According to the grinding machine, spherical products are formed by the grinding of a rotating grinding wheel, so spherical products are generally produced within a short time, although it depends on the grinding capacity of the grinding wheel and the type of material of the cylindrical workpiece. can do. Therefore, the manufacturing time of the spherical object can be significantly reduced as compared with the barrel polishing, and the required number can be manufactured by adjusting the number of the cylindrical workpieces.

The grinding wheel according to the invention described in claim 8 (hereinafter referred to as "the grinding wheel of claim 8" as appropriate)
Is used in the spherical object manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least the ground surface is coated with diamond powder.

According to the grinding wheel of the eighth aspect, when the grinding wheel is used in the manufacturing apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the diamond powder is applied to the grinding surface of the grinding wheel. Is coated, the coating improves the wear resistance and grinding efficiency of the grinding wheel, and further, makes the ground surface of the workpiece uniform.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 9) The adjustment wheel according to the invention described in claim 9 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "adjustment wheel of claim 9") is according to any one of claims 1 to 4. It is for use in the above-described spherical object manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that an elastomer material is provided on at least the outer peripheral surface.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, when the adjusting wheel is used in the manufacturing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the elasticity of the elastomer material causes the cylindrical shape. Since the workpiece can be pressed against the grinding wheel, the grinding efficiency can be increased accordingly. In addition, since an elastomer material generally has a large friction coefficient, a frictional force is applied to efficiently rotate a cylindrical workpiece, thereby also improving the grinding efficiency.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as "the present embodiment") will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sphere production apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the same. FIG. 3 is a front view of the grinding wheel, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the adjustment wheel with a part cut away. FIG. 5 is a front view and a sectional view of the movable blade, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 7 shows C in FIG.
It is -C sectional drawing. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a process in which a cylindrical workpiece is formed into a spherical object, and is a perspective view showing a first modification of the movable blade. FIG. 10 shows the second movable blade.
It is a side view which shows a modification. The position of the movable blade shown in FIG. 6 is lower than the position of the movable blade shown in FIG. 1 for convenience of explanation. In FIG. 7, for convenience of explanation, the grinding wheel is not formed in a cross section, and hatching of the movable blade is omitted so that a spherical object can be easily recognized.

(Schematic Structure of Spherical Object Manufacturing Apparatus) FIGS. 1 and 2
The schematic structure of the sphere production apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The sphere manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a grinding wheel 3 for grinding a cylindrical workpiece K, an adjusting wheel 5 adjacent to the grinding wheel 3 via a gap G having a predetermined width, and a cylindrical workpiece K which is rotated. And a movable blade 9 for pressing down (slidably) from above without hindering the movement. The grinding wheel 3 and the adjusting wheel 5 are rotated in the same direction by a driving mechanism housed in the gear box 7 via the rotating shafts 3j and 5j, respectively, and preferably the latter is rotated at a higher speed than the former. ing. The movable blade 9
It is supported so as to be able to move up and down by a tilt support plate 11 described later.

(Structure of Grinding Wheel) The grinding wheel 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The grinding wheel 3 has a plurality of annular grooves 3g, 3g,. . . Are formed. Further, the outer peripheral surface is coated with diamond powder so as to improve abrasion resistance and polishing efficiency and to make the ground surface of the workpiece uniform. The coating method is preferably electrodeposition coating from the advantages of high coating ability and the ability to obtain a uniform coating film,
Other methods may be used. Each annular groove 3
g has a groove bottom 3g 'as shown in FIG.
A peak 3m is formed between the groove bottom 3g 'and the adjacent groove bottom 3g'. The cross-sectional shape of the groove bottom 3g 'in this embodiment is formed in a hemispherical shape having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the spherical object to be formed. The cross-sectional shape of the groove bottom 3g 'is not limited to the above-described substantially hemispherical shape as long as the cross-sectional shape can form a cylindrical workpiece into a sphere.
It can be formed in a U-shape by adding a slight straight portion to a substantially hemispherical shape.

(Structure of Adjusting Wheel) The adjusting wheel 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. The adjustment wheel 5 is for supporting the columnar workpiece K from below while rotating it, and includes a rotating shaft 5j and a rubber outer peripheral portion 5g covering the outer peripheral surface thereof. The outer peripheral portion 5g plays a role of applying a frictional force to the columnar workpiece K to rotate it, and moving the columnar workpiece K in the direction of the grinding wheel 3 by utilizing its elasticity. Further, when the cylindrical workpiece K has a slight warp or unevenness, it has a function of absorbing them by elastic deformation to stabilize the cylindrical workpiece on the adjustment wheel 3. The outer peripheral portion 5g in this embodiment is made of rubber as described above, but gives an appropriate frictional force to the cylindrical workpiece K, and
Any material may be used as long as it is an elastomer material having elasticity or a member similar thereto, which can achieve the above object. The adjustment wheel 5 has a smaller diameter than the grinding wheel 5. The installation position of the adjustment wheel 5 will be described later.

(Structure of Movable Blade) The movable blade 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. The movable blade 9 is made of a rectangular steel plate,
It is composed of a blade body 9b and a blade tip 9t at the tip of the blade body 9b. Blade body 9b
The holes 9h, 9h, 9h for screw fixing the blade 9 to the mounting end 11a of the tilt support plate 11 are formed in the through hole. Each of the elongated holes 9h has the movable blade 9 attached to the mounting end 1.
It is formed so that the position in the horizontal direction can be adjusted when it is attached to 1a. The blade tip 9t has a tip protrusion 9
p, 9p,. . . And tip recesses 9g, 9g,... Formed by grinding between tip projections 9p, 9p. . . And are provided. As will be described later, the tip convex portion 9p is connected to the grinding wheel 3
, And is set to a width slightly smaller than the groove width 3w of the annular groove 3g. Moreover, the tip convex part 9p
The thickness dimension 9d of the annular groove 3
It is formed in a size that does not interfere with protrusion into g.

(Relative positions of the three members) The relative positions of the grinding wheel 3, the adjusting wheel 5, and the movable blade 9 among the three members will be described with reference to FIGS. The center of the rotating shaft 3j of the grinding wheel 3 and the rotating shaft 5j of the adjustment wheel 5 are arranged substantially horizontally. A gap G having a predetermined width formed between the grinding wheel 3 and the adjustment wheel 5 is designed to prevent the two from contacting each other due to the inevitable rotation blur of the two, and to form a cylindrical workpiece K before grinding and a cylindrical workpiece K after grinding. The spherical object Kb is set so as not to fall. next,
The relative position of the movable blade 9 with respect to the grinding wheel 3 and the adjustment wheel 5 is determined when the movable blade 9 is lowered.
Each tip protrusion 9p protrudes into each annular groove 3g, but groove bottom 3g
'So as not to contact the adjusting wheel 5. As understood from the above description, the fact that each tip protrusion 9p can protrude into each annular groove 3g means that each peak 3m of the grinding wheel 3 escapes into the tip recess 9g of the blade tip 9t. Has the same meaning as that each peak 3m does not contact the blade tip 9t.

(Structure of tilt support plate) Returning to FIGS.
An elevating structure for elevating the movable blade 9 will be described. The main member constituting this elevating structure is the tilt support plate 11. The tilt support plate 11 has a mounting end 11a formed at the tip. Elongated holes 9h, 9h, 9h are formed through the attachment end 11a, and the movable blade 9 is fixed by screws 9a, 9a, 9a passing therethrough. The rear end of the tilt support plate 11 is supported rotatably (rotatably) around a bearing portion 11 b including a support shaft 13, and the tilting of the tilt support portion 11 causes the movable blade 9 to move relative to the cylindrical workpiece K. To go up and down. Tilt support plate 11 (attachment end 11a) and movable blade 9
Has a sufficient weight to resist the bouncing or rampage of the cylindrical workpiece K to be ground. As described above, since the tilting support plate 11 rotates about the bearing 11b, the vertical trajectory of the movable blade 9 is arc-shaped, but the distance between the movable blade 9 and the bearing 11b is substantially reduced. Since the moving distance of the movable blade required for grinding is set to be large, the moving path of the moving blade is substantially a straight line.

A tilting structure for tilting the tilting support plate 11 during grinding will be described with reference to FIGS. The tilting structure 21 includes a support roller 15 provided on the lower surface of the side end of the tilt support plate 11, a tilt guide rail 23 for supporting the support roller from below, and a tilt guide rail 23.
And a driving unit 25 for horizontally moving the
And a control unit 27 for controlling The rail upper surface 23a of the inclined guide rail 23 is inclined downward in the direction of the movable blade 9 (rightward in FIG. 2), and is arranged at a position where the support roller 15 can be placed thereon. The inclined guide rail 23 is configured to be movable in two directions (left and right directions in FIG. 2) in the horizontal direction by the drive unit 25. here,
The tilt guide rail 23 is moved by the command signal of the control unit 27 as shown in FIG.
, The support roller 15 on the rail upper surface 23a is guided by the inclined surface and descends. The lowering of the support roller 15 causes the tilting support plate 11 to tilt,
As a result, the movable blade 9 descends to hold the cylindrical workpiece K. In order to raise the movable blade 9, the inclined guide rail 23 may be moved rightward, or the worker may lift it with his / her own hand.

(Method of Using Spherical Object Manufacturing Apparatus) A method of using the spherical object manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the columnar workpiece K is placed on the grinding wheel 3 and the adjustment wheel 5, and the tilting support plate 11
Is moved from the state shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1 to the state shown by the solid line to lower the movable blade 9. When the movable blade 9 holds down the cylindrical workpiece K, the rotating mechanism in the gear box 7 is driven. Thereby, the grinding hole 3 and the adjusting wheel 5 rotate to rotate the cylindrical workpiece K. Next, a command is sent from the control unit 27, and the drive unit 25 is driven to move the inclined guide rail 23 rightward in FIG. In FIG. 2, the state before movement is shown by the imaginary line, and the state after movement is shown by the solid line. As the inclined guide rail 23 moves to the right, the support roller 15 is guided by the rail upper surface 23a, whereby the tilt support plate 11 is tilted and the movable blade 9 is lowered. The lowering of the movable blade 11 moves the cylindrical workpiece K to the grinding wheel 3 and the adjusting wheel 5.
To prevent rampage and bounce back from grinding. The outer peripheral portion 5g of the adjustment wheel 5 has a cylindrical workpiece K
The cylindrical workpiece K is pressed against the grinding wheel 3 by the internal stress generated in the outer peripheral portion 5g. The columnar workpiece K is ground by the cooperation between the movable blade 9 and the adjusting wheel 5 and the rotation of the grinding wheel 3.

The initial grinding by the grinding wheel 3 is performed by each peak 3m on the outer peripheral surface, and the columnar workpiece K in the state shown in FIG. 8A is formed in the state shown in FIG.
The symbol Kg indicates a groove (ground groove) formed by grinding. When the movable blade 9 further descends and the grinding proceeds, the grinding groove Kg further deepens, and the columnar workpiece K is ground by the grinding of the groove bottom 3g 'in addition to the grinding of each crest 3m, as shown in FIG. From (c), and is finally divided at the grinding groove kg to form the state shown in (d). In the state shown in FIG. 8D, the columnar workpiece K has already been formed on the spherical object Kb. At this time, each tip protrusion 9p of the blade tip 9t protrudes into each annular groove 3g of the grinding wheel 3, and at the same time, each peak 3m fits in each tip recess 9g.
g. Thereby, there is no contact between the grinding wheel 3 and the movable blade 9. When the grinding is completed, each of the grinding wheel 3, the adjusting wheel 5, the movable blade 9 and the tilting structure 21 is stopped, the tilting support plate 11 is lifted, and the spherical balls placed between the grinding wheel 3 and the adjusting wheel 5 are lifted. Collect the substance Kb. Thus, the operation of forming the plurality of spherical objects Kb from the cylindrical workpiece K is completed.

When the spherical object manufacturing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is used, the cylindrical workpiece K can be directly ground on the grinding wheel 3 (with the annular groove 3g), so that the time required for manufacturing the spherical object is greatly reduced. be able to. Further, since grinding can be performed in accordance with the number of necessary spherical objects, there is no need to manufacture a surplus. Therefore, even if the required number is small, it is possible to manufacture without waste.

(Modification of Movable Blade) A modification of the movable blade will be described with reference to FIG. The movable blade 9 'differs from the above-described movable blade 9 in that the latter concave portion 9g is replaced with a distal concave portion (notch) 9g' penetrating in the thickness direction in the former. The operation and effect of the distal end recess 9g 'in this modification are not different from the operation and effect of the distal end recess 9g in the present embodiment.

(Second Modification of Movable Blade) FIG. 10 shows a second modification of the movable blade 9. Blade tip 9t 'of movable blade 9' in the second modified example
Is formed to have a width smaller than the width of the gap G between the grinding wheel 3 and the adjustment wheel 5, and is configured to be able to penetrate between the gaps G when descended. The blade tip 9t 'is formed flat without irregularities. Further, the adjustment wheel 5 'in this modification is arranged such that its center is located above a horizontal line passing through the center of the grinding wheel 3'. That is, a predetermined acute angle α is formed between a straight line L1 passing through the center of the grinding wheel 3 ′ and the center of the adjustment wheel 5 ′ shown in FIG. 10 and a horizontal line L2 passing through the grinding wheel 3 ′. This acute angle α differs depending on the diameter of the grinding wheel 3 ′ and the adjusting wheel 5 ′, and further, the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece, etc .;
It is good to set it in the range of 25 degrees, preferably around 10 degrees.

The center of the adjusting wheel 5 'is set at the grinding wheel 3
6, the columnar workpiece in FIG. 6 is shifted to the left as compared to the case where both are disposed horizontally, and a space is provided on the right side of the cylindrical workpiece K ′. it can. In the present modification, the space is made to pass through the movable blade 9 ', and further, the gap G' between the grinding wheel 3 'and the adjustment wheel 5' is penetrated. Also in this modified example, the time required to produce a plurality of spherical objects from a cylindrical workpiece can be significantly reduced as compared with the related art.

[0038]

According to the present invention, it is possible to greatly reduce the time required for producing spherical objects and to carry out production without waste even when the required number is small.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a spherical object manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an apparatus for producing a spherical object.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a grinding wheel.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the adjustment wheel with a part cut away.

FIG. 5 is a front view and a sectional view of a movable blade.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a process in which a cylindrical workpiece is formed into a spherical object.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a first modification of the movable blade.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a second modification of the movable blade.

[Explanation of symbols]

 K Columnar workpiece 1 Spherical object manufacturing device 3 Grinding wheel 3g Annular groove 3g 'Groove bottom 3j Rotating shaft 3w Groove width 5 Adjusting wheel 5g Outer portion 5j Rotating shaft 7 Gear box 9 Movable blade 9a Mounting screw 9b Blade body 9d Thickness 9g Tip recess 9h Slot 9p Tip protrusion 9t Blade tip 11 Tilt support plate 11a Mounting end 11b Bearing 13 Support shaft 15 Support roller 21 Tilt structure 23 Tilt guide rail 23a Tilt surface 25 Drive unit 27 Control unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A grinding wheel in which an annular groove group having a groove bottom having a cross-sectional shape capable of forming a cylindrical workpiece in a spherical shape is formed on an outer peripheral surface, and an adjustment adjacent to the grinding wheel via a gap having a predetermined width. A wheel, and a movable blade that slidably presses, from above, a cylindrical workpiece supported by the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel from below, the rotation of the grinding wheel, and the grinding wheel of the adjustment wheel. And rotating the same in the same direction, and supporting the adjusting wheel and pressing the movable blade, so that the cylindrical workpiece is moved in the direction of the grinding wheel while grinding to produce a plurality of spherical objects. Characteristic ball production equipment. 2. The spherical object manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of a bottom of the annular groove is substantially hemispherical or U-shaped. 3. The movable blade has a blade tip formed in a shape capable of protruding into each of the annular grooves without contacting the grinding wheel, and the blade tip with respect to the grinding wheel. The spherical object manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the relative position is set so that the blade tip can protrude into each of the annular grooves when descended. 4. The adjustment wheel is arranged such that the center of the adjustment wheel is located above a horizontal line passing through the center of the grinding wheel, and the holding blade is disposed between the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel. It has a blade tip formed in a shape that can penetrate the gap, and, when the relative position of the blade tip with respect to the grinding wheel and the adjustment wheel is lowered, the blade tip can penetrate the gap. The apparatus for producing a spherical object according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is set to be: 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a grinding surface of the grinding wheel is coated with diamond powder. 6. The apparatus for manufacturing a spherical object according to claim 1, wherein an elastomer material is provided on at least an outer peripheral surface of the adjustment wheel. 7. A substantially cylindrical cylindrical workpiece supported from below by a grinding wheel having an annular groove group on an outer peripheral surface and an adjusting wheel adjacent to the grinding wheel, is pressed from above by a movable blade, and said grinding is performed. Moving the cylindrical workpiece in the direction of the grinding wheel by rotating the wheel, and rotating the adjusting wheel in the same direction as the grinding wheel, and cooperating the support of the adjusting wheel and the pressing of the movable blade. A method for producing a plurality of spheres by grinding while grinding. 8. The grinding wheel according to claim 1, wherein at least a grinding surface is coated with diamond powder. 9. The adjusting wheel for a sphere production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an elastomer material is provided at least on an outer peripheral surface.