MXPA06007262A - Buffing ball madeof foam material - Google Patents

Abstract

A buffing and polishing ball made of a compressible polymeric foam material is formed by slitting a body of foam material in a substantially uncompressed state (1) from an outside surface of the body in a direction generally perpendicular to the rotational axis and (2) on circumferentially spaced planes that extend generally radially from the outside surface of the body to define a plurality of foam fingers. A fastening system is used to compress and hold a center portion of the foam body in a direction along the rotational axis such that the uncompressed outer ends of the fingers assume a generally spherical ball.

Description

BRIEF BALL MADE OF FOAM MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a ball of gloss, rotating, adapted to be connected and driven by a motorized operating tool or the like and more particularly to a ball of gloss made at least partially of a piece of plastic foam, grooved and compressed, to form a ball for polished shine and finish of a painted surface. Foam-based gloss cushions are well known in the art and typically comprise circular cushions with a generally flat face, connected to a circular backing plate, which in turn is connected to an orbital or rotary motorized operating tool. It is also known to produce foam-based gloss cushions by connecting a dense array of individual plastic foam fingers to a backing substrate as described in US Pat. Number 5,938,515. It is also known to produce a ball for gloss, from a stack of thin circular layers of a cloth material, such as felt, radially inwardly from its outer edges and axially fastened, such that the layers take a form something spherical that includes an arrangement of cloth fingers. The ball is mounted for rotation e? the axis on which the fabric layers are pressed together to provide a ball for generally spherical bliol. Because the ball for gloss of the prior art is emitted from thin individual layers of fabric which are only slightly compressible: and stacked and held axially on the central axis, there is tendency for the relative rubbing movement between layers, which can result in "decayed fabric wear." Also, because the individual layers are inherently thin, there is also a tendency for the fingers to tear more easily from the body of the fabric layer COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION With the present invention, a ball for gloss and polish is made of a compressible polymeric foam material mounted to be displaced on a rotational axis, the ball comprises a body of foam material that slots in a substantially uncompressed state from an external surface of the body in a direction generally perpendicular to the rotational axis, and additionally slotted in planes circumferentially and spaced generally radially extending from the outer surface to define a plurality of foam fingers and means for compressing and holding a central portion of the slotted foam body in a direction along the axis, such that the outer ends Non-compressed fingers define a generally spherical ball. The groove extending generally perpendicular to the rotational axis is preferably a simple continuous spiral cut. AND? a preferred embodiment of the invention, the central portion of the foam body is not grooved. In addition, the spiral groove and radially extending grooves, circumferentially spaced, define fingers which, in the generally uncompressed state and after compression of the central portion, have rectangular outer ends. Preferably, the grooves obtained radially are cut at two depths that vary circumferentially. The ball for gloss and polish of the present invention also includes means for mounting the ball for rotation on its axis. The mounting means preferably comprises an integral extension of the compression and tension means. In a presently preferred embodiment, the foam body is provided with a through bore which is coincident with the rotational axis and the compression and retaining means comprise a two-headed fastener having heads larger than the bore. The fastener heads are connected together in the bore with the compressed central portion of the foam body surrounding the bore captured between the fastener heads.

A fastening head comprises a driving head having a plurality of displacement projections that are radially spaced outwardly from the axis of the bore and extend axially towards the other head of the fastener. A threaded rod is connected to a fastener head and extends over the perforation towards the other fastener head. The other fastener head comprises a bearing head and has an inner face comprising a bearing plate facing the first fastening head and a central opening for receiving the threaded rod. A nut is threaded into the rod and rotated to rest against the opposite outer face of the other head of the fastener. The foam body is also preferably provided with a plurality of axially extending perforations to receive displacement projections. The nut comprises a threaded sleeve, adapted to receive the threaded rod within a position of the sleeve, and the arrangement further includes a threaded thrust arrow which is received in the remaining portion of the sleeve. In the preferred embodiment, the foam body is cylinder-shaped, with a rotational axis that coincides with the axis of the cylinder. In an alternate embodiment, the spiral groove can be replaced by a series of grooves in multiple axially spaced planes, which extend generally perpendicular to the rotational axis. Both the perpendicularly extending grooves and the radially extending grooves extend into the foam body less than the distance to the rotational axis. Preferably radially extending grooves are obtained approximately half the cylinder radius. The circumferentially spaced grooves, which extend radially in general, can be varied circumferentially to alternate which comprise grooves of different depths. In one embodiment, the depth of the circumferentially spaced, radially extending slots can vary from about 0.2 to about 0.4 times the radius. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated for carrying out the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the foam ball, generally spherical, mounted on a rotating motorized driving device. Figure 2 is an end view of the gloss ball of Figure 1 opposite the mounting end. Figure 3 is an end view of the mounting end of the gloss ball. Figure 4 is a side elevation view similar to Figure 1, with portions illustrated in section to show the interaction of the components of the compression and fastening system. Figure 5 is a perspective view of a cylindrical piece of polymeric foam, which generally illustrates the pattern of axially spaced parallel edge grooves and circumferentially spaced radial edge grooves. Figure 6 is an exploded view in lateral elevation of the cylindrical foam piece showing a groove pattern of the preferred embodiment and the compression and fastening assembly employed. Figure 7 is a perspective view of the main drive head of the fastening system shown in Figure 6. Figure 8 is an end view of the cylindrical foam piece shown in Figure 5. Figures 9-13 show the components of an alternative embodiment of the fastening system used to compress and hold the piece of foam in its final spherical shape and which also shows an additional mode. Figure 14 is a side view of a multi-layered polymeric foam piece employed in an alternate embodiment of the invention. Figure 15 is a perspective view of the multi-layer piece illustrated in Figure 14. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY Figures 1-3 show a ball for gloss and polishing based on foam 10 of the present invention. In Figure 1, the ball is mounted on the mandrel 11 of a driving tool 12 to rotate the ball about its rotational axis.

In Figure 3, the mounting end of the ball 10 is illustrated, wherein a central pulse arrow 13 is connected to the mandrel 11 of the driving tool. The rest of the compression and clamping system used to form the ball for shine and polish 10 is contained inside the ball and is normally not visible.

The gloss ball 10 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is made of a monolithic cylindrical foam body 14, which may be of a suitable polymeric foam material, typically employed in cushions for gloss and polish for various surface finishing operations. For example, an open cell polyurethane foam that can be crosslinked or non-crosslinked is a convenient and currently preferred material. The cylindrical foam body 14 includes a central through hole 15 in the cylindrical body axis. The perforation 15 provides the axis for the compression and clamping system to be described and also comprises the rotational axis of the complete ball 10. With particular reference to Figures 5 and 6, the cylindrical foam body 14 is grooved from an outer surface in a direction generally perpendicular to the axis of the perforation 15 and further grooved from the outer surface, in planes extending circumferentially and generally radially spaced, which include the rotational axis and can generally be perpendicular to the first grooves. Preferably, as best seen in Figure 6, a single spiral groove 16 provides a groove that is generally perpendicular to the through bore 15 (which also coincides with the rotational axis of the glow ball 10). The spiral groove 16 essentially provides a series of axially spaced foam layers 17. The spacing angle of the spiral groove 16 is very small such that, for example, in a cylindrical foam body 14 having an axial length of approximately 125. mm (approximately 5 inches) there can be approximately 25 layers 17. However, the pitch angle can be varied and correspondingly the number of layers of foam. The spiral groove 16 in the preferred embodiment extends to a depth of about half the body radius, as shown in the groove termination line 18 in Figure 8. However, the depth of the spiral groove 16 can be varied considerably. The radial grooves 19 also extending inwardly from the outer surface of the foam body 14, preferably lie in planes that commonly intersect the rotational axis defined by the bore 15. In the embodiment shown, there are 16 radial grooves 19, that if they are equally spaced, they are rotationally spaced 22.5 ° apart. However, the number of radial grooves can also vary considerably.

As best seen in Figures 5 and 8, the radial grooves 19 alternate circumferentially between shallow grooves 20 and deep grooves 21. With a foam body 14 having an approximate diameter 150 mm (approximately 6 inches), the shallow grooves 20 are cut to a depth of approximately 16 mm (approximately 5/8 inch) and the deep grooves 21 to approximately the same depth as the spiral grooves 16, ie approximately 30 mm (approximately 1.25 inches). The resulting grooved foam body 14 is provided with an outer cylindrical surface, defined by the rectangular outer ends 23 of a set of foam fingers 22. The spiral groove 16 is preferably made with a cutting blade that is surface contact with the cylindrical body 14 as the body is rotated and simultaneously moved axially. The radial grooves 19 (both the shallow grooves 20 and the deep grooves 21) are preferably made with a water jet cutter. The through hole 15 is also preferably made with the same water jet cutter, as well as a series of four perforations of the fastener 24 that are radially spaced from and encircling the through hole 15. The function of the perforations of the fastener 24 as well as the through hole 15 will be described below. With particular reference to Figures 4, 6 and 7, the cylindrical foam body 14 is axially compressed and held in a shape that causes the central portion 25 of the body to be compressed and held while the foam fingers 22 are deformed in a manner such that the rectangular outer ends 23, although somewhat distorted, together acquire a generally spherical shape. The clamping system includes a driving head 26 from which a central threaded rod 27 and a plurality of displacement projections 28 extend. The driving head 26 is pressed against an axial end of the foam body, such that the threaded rod 27 enters the through hole 15 and the drive projections 28 enter the holding holes 24. A support head 30 is pressed against the opposite axial end of the foam body 14 and includes an inner face comprising a support plate 31 and a central opening 32 freely receiving through the threaded rod 26. When the driving head 26 and the support head 30 are axially pressed towards each other by compressing the central portion 25 of the foam body therebetween, the threaded rod 27 passes through. of the central opening 32 in the support head, and an elongated nut 32 is screwed on the rod 27 and against the rear face of the support head 30, p to hold the foam body in its compressed state and retain the spherical shape of the ball for brightness 10, as best seen in Figure 4.

The pulse arrow 13 includes a threaded end, which is then threaded at the opposite end of the elongate nut 33 until it bottoms at the end of the rod 27. The non-threaded and free end of the impulse shaft 13 is held in the mandrel of the driving tool 12, as previously described. The driving projections 28 in the driving head 26 firmly grasp and hold the compressed foam, allowing the ball 10 to be displaced and held against the torque generated in a polishing and polishing operation. The inner face of the support head, which comprises the support plate 31, can include an elevated annular face 34, to help contain and resist radial movement of the compressed central portion 25 of the foam body 14. An alternate embodiment of the The clamping system includes an alternating driving head 35, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, using the same support head 30, elongate nut 33 and impulse shaft 13 as described for and employed in the preceding embodiment. The alternating pulse head 35 includes a series of circumferentially spaced and axially extending pulse lugs 36. The alternating pulse head 35 also includes a central threaded rod 37 which passes through the central opening 32 in the support plate. 31 for threaded connection with elongated nut 33, all in a manner similar to that previously described with respect to the preferred embodiment. The axially shorter pulse lugs 36 of this embodiment are not considered as effective in holding the foam in its compressed state and transmitting the necessary torque to the ball 10 as well as the driving projections 28 of the driving head 26 in the embodiment preferred Now with reference to Figures 14 and 15, an alternate foam body 38 is illustrated. In this embodiment, axially spaced, multiple and spaced grooves 40 are employed in opposition to a single spiral groove 16 of the preferred embodiment. The axially spaced individual slots 40 are produced in planes that are truly perpendicular to the rotational axis of the cylindrical foam body 38. These slots 40 are also preferably formed with a convenient cutting tool (rotary or reciprocating) but can be processed in a that the tool is removed from the body and the body indexed axially relative to the tool between slots. The alternate foam body 38 is also provided with radial grooves 41 which, in a manner equal to the preferred embodiment, can alternate between shallow grooves 42 and deep grooves 43. The axially spaced grooves 40 can also extend only a portion of the distance radial to the center of the cylindrical body, as described with respect to the previous modality. Also, any of the previously described fastening systems can be used to press and hold the foam body in its spherical operating form. As particularly illustrated in Figure 15, the alternating foam body 38 can be made by extending the axially spaced slots 40, completely through the foam body, to produce a series of individual foam layers 44. These layers can be compressed over its central portions 45 to make the same ball shape for brightness, spherical, and hold it in place with any of the clamping systems previously described. The central portion 45 can be provided with a central through hole 46 and fastener holes 47, as in the previous embodiment. However, in this embodiment, it is preferred to use the driving head 26 of the preferred embodiment having long driving projections 28. The driving projections 28 serve to hold the foam layers 44 together in a shape that helps prevent rubbing movement. relative between the layers, which is characteristic of the prior art device described above. An advantage of using a layered foam body individually as illustrated in Figure 15, is that it is possible to use layers of other types of finishing material that are not compressed or are only slightly compressible between the foam layers 44, such that the foam layers provide the necessary compression to allow the composite body to form in a spherical structure. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 15, the alternate finishing layers 48 can comprise non-foam material such as natural wool or non-woven synthetic materials. In this alternate embodiment, it is considered that at least about half the volume of the body in its uncompressed state should comprise compressible polymeric foam material. However, more or less foam material may be used, although the ability to form a more or less truly spherical finishing ball will be reduced as the volume of the foam material is reduced.

Claims (47)

1. CLAIMS 1. A ball for gloss and polishing based on compressible polymeric foam material mounted to move on a rotational axis, characterized in that it comprises: a body of grooved foam material in a substantially uncompressed state, from an outer surface of the body in a direction generally perpendicular to the rotational axis and additionally grooved in circumferentially spaced planes extending generally radial from the outer surface, to define a plurality of foam fingers, and means for compressing and holding a central portion of the grooved foam body in a direction on the axis, such that the non-compressed outer ends of the fingers define a generally spherical ball. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes means for mounting the ball for rotation on the shaft. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the mounting means comprise an integral extension of the compression and retention means. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the foam body has a cylinder shape and the rotational axis coincides with the axis of the cylinder. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the groove extending generally perpendicular, extends through the foam body to define a plurality of layers of foam. 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the radially extending groove extends within the foam body less than the distance to the rotational axis. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the radially extending groove extends approximately half the radius of the cylinder. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the grooves in the circumferentially spaced planes extend within the foam body a distance less than the radius of the cylinder. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the circumferentially spaced planes extend a distance of between about 0.2 to about 0.4 times the radius. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the foam body has a through bore which coincides with the rotational axis and the compression and retaining means comprise a two-headed fastener having heads larger than the bore, The fastener heads are connected together in the perforation with the compressed central portion of the foam body surrounding the perforation captured between the fastener heads. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the fastener comprises: a driving head for a holding head, the driving head has a plurality of impulse projections, spaced radially outwardly from the axis of the bore and extending axially towards the other holding head; a threaded rod connected to the clamping head and extending over the perforation towards the other clamping head; a support head in the other clamping head, the support head has an inner face comprising a support plate facing the clamping head and a central opening for receiving the threaded rod; and a threaded nut on the rod and adapted to lean against an opposite outer face of the other face of the fastener. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the foam body is provided with a plurality of axially extending perforations for receiving the impulse projections. The apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the nut comprises a threaded sleeve adapted to receive the threaded rod within a portion of the sleeve, and the apparatus further comprises a threaded thrust arrow received in a remaining portion of the sleeve. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the perpendicular groove generally comprises a simple spiral groove. 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that the central portion of the foam body is not grooved. The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that the spiral groove and radially extending grooves, spaced circumferentially, define fingers in the generally uncompressed state having rectangular outer ends. The apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the radially extending grooves are cut into two circumferentially varying depths. 18. The apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises layers of non-foam polishing and gloss material disposed between the foam layers. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that the non-foam layers are chosen from the group consisting of natural wool and non-woven synthetic materials. 20. The apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that the layers of non-foam materials have a diameter greater than the diameter of the foam layers. A method for producing a ball for gloss and polish based on compressible polymeric foam material, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: grooving a body of substantially uncompressed foam material from an outer surface of the body, in a generally perpendicular direction to a rotational axis and additionally grooving the body in circumferentially spaced planes extending generally radially from the outer surface, to define a plurality of foam fingers and compressing and holding a central portion of the slotted foam body in a direction about the axis, such that the non-compressed outer ends of the fingers define a generally spherical ball. 22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that it includes the step of mounting the ball for rotation on the shaft. 23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the foam body has a cylindrical shape and the rotational axis coincides with the axis of the cylinder. 24. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the grooves extending generally perpendicular, extend through the foam body, to define a plurality of layers of foam. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that it includes the step of providing the foam body with a through hole coinciding with the rotational axis, and wherein the compression and retention steps comprise compressing the foam body axially between a Two-headed fastener that has larger heads than the perforation and connect the fastener heads together in the perforation with the compressed central portion of the foam body surrounding the perforation captured between the fastener heads. 26. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the first grooving step comprises making a single spiral groove. 27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that the central portion of the foam body is not grooved. 28. A body of compressible foam material for use as a ball for gloss and polish, characterized in that it comprises: a generally cylindrical body of the foam material having opposite ends generally flat and parallel; a simple spiral groove or a plurality of grooves extending generally perpendicular to the cylinder axis and radially inward from the outer cylindrical surface, to define a plurality of layers of foam; and a plurality of second grooves formed in circumferentially spaced planes, which extend generally radially from the outer surface of the body, to define a plurality of foam fingers. 29. The body of compressible foam material according to claim 29, characterized in that it comprises articulated polyurethane foam. 30. The body of compressible foam material according to claim 28, characterized in that the plurality of grooves extending generally perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder, extend partially inside the body. 31. The body of compressible foam material according to claim 28, characterized in that the plurality of grooves extend generally perpendicular to the cylinder axis., they spread through the body. 32. A ball for surface finishing, of compressible material, mounted to be displaced on a rotational axis, characterized in that it comprises: a body in layers of compressible material formed in multiple disc-like layers, separated in planes generally perpendicular to the rotational axis, the layers they are grooved in circumferentially spaced planes extending generally radial from an outer surface, to define a plurality of foam fingers and means for compressing and holding a central portion of the body in layers, in a direction on the axis, such that outer uncompressed ends of the fingers, define a generally spherical ball. 33. The ball for surface finishing according to claim 32, characterized in that the disc-like layers comprise alternating layers of different materials. 34. The ball for surface finish according to claim 32, characterized in that the disc-like layers are made of materials having different compressibilities. 35. The ball for surface finish according to claim 32, characterized in that the disc-like layers comprise alternating layers of materials having different diameters. 36. The ball for surface finish according to claim 32, characterized in that the compressible material in the central portion of the body has a thickness ratio in an uncompressed state to a thickness in a compressed state, of at least 5: 1. 37. A method for producing a surface finishing ball of compressible material, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: forming a body of compressible material from multiple disc-like layers at least partially spaced from a radially inward outer surface in generally perpendicular to a rotational axis, groove the layers in circumferentially spaced planes extending generally radial from the outer surface of the body in layers, to define a plurality of fingers and compress and hold a central portion of the body in layers in a direction on the axis , such that the non-compressed outer ends of the fingers define a generally spherical wave. 38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that it comprises the step of forming the disk layers from individual alternating layers of materials with different compressibilities. 39. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that it comprises the step of forming the disc-like layers from individual alternating layers of two different diameters. 40. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that it comprises the step of forming the disc-like layers from individual alternating layers of different materials. 41. The apparatus according to claim 32, characterized in that the compression and retention means comprise a two-headed fastener, having heads smaller than a diameter of the body of the compressed material, the fastener heads are connected in conjunction with the compressed central portion of the body captured between the heads of the fastener. 42. The apparatus according to claim 41, characterized in that the fastener comprises: a driving head having a plurality of pulse projections spaced radially outwardly from the rotational axis and extending axially through the body towards the other head of the fastener; and means for connecting the fastener heads together. 43. The apparatus according to claim 42, characterized in that the connecting means comprise: a threaded rod connected to a fastener head and extending over a central bore in the axis of rotation towards the other head of the fastener; a support head on the other head of the holder, the support head has an inner face comprising a support plate facing the head of the holder and a central opening for receiving the threaded rod; and a threaded nut on the rod and adapted to lean against an opposite outer face of the other fastener head. 44. The apparatus according to claim 43, characterized in that the body is provided with a plurality of perforations extending axially to receive the impulse projections 45. The apparatus according to claim 41, characterized in that the clamping heads are of different diameters. . 46. The apparatus according to claim 45, characterized in that the diameter of the largest diameter head is approximately 2/3 the diameter of the body of compressible material as measured perpendicular to the axis. 47. The apparatus according to claim 46, characterized in that the diameter of the head of small diameter is approximately 1/5 of the diameter of the body.