US1341978A - Gage - Google Patents

Description

C. M. GEARING.

GAGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1915. 1,341,978.

Fig.1

- v INVENTOR; 1 Q W S 0 Q5 ByCharIes Mfiearmg,

Patented June 1, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- c. M. IGEARING.

GAGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 19l5-,

Patented June 1, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IN VENZOIf, Charla; M Gear Ill ATTORNEY.

CHARLES M. GEARING, or HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, nssren'on. ro THE NEW DEPARTURE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF

CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT. G

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. GE kRING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Gage, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art'to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawin s, forming part of this spec fication.

1y invention relates to gages and more particularly to gages for gaging and sorting 1 balls suchasoare used in ball bearings for example.

In gaging and sorting devices as heretofore constructed, and having a gaging-slot with diverging sides along which the articles, as'balls, are adapted to travel, a difliculty has been that thea'rt'icles would wedge in the slot, due to their weight, causing a.

' slowomovement of the articles and thus resulting in a slow-speed device. Another and more serious diflicultywas'that-the articles would, due to their weight, be forced e.,

wedged through the-slot too soon, 21a,

ahead of the gaging pointaccurately corresponding'thereto, resulting in an inaccurate and unsatisfactory separation of the balls. I have devised ama'chine, of the gaging-slot type, in which the articles are at all times so supported as to counteract the tractional or wedging effect of-gravity during all their travel along the slot whereby the aforesaid Wedging effect is eliminated'and accurate gaging brought about.

One object of my lnvention is to provide a gaging-slot gaging device in which the arti-f cles are at all tinfes so supported as to counwedgmg efi'iect of teract the tractional or gravity.

Another object is to provide a device of the character indicated in which although the articles are supported during all their travel against the tractionalefiect of gravity, the articles are during all of their travel in contact with the sides of the gaging-slot and in position to drop therethroifgh at the points accurately corresponding to their rev spective dimensions.

To-\ these ends Specification of Letters Patent.

through the slot sorted.

and alsoto improve gen- BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT, A

AGE.

erally upon devices of the character indicated my invention consists v.in the Various matters hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings I Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gaging machine embodying my invention, certain [parts beingpartially broken away the better to show the construction, portions of, thehopper being omitted to economize space and the closure plate vbeing shown in partially retracted position; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the gaging particularly described, my invention as em- Patented June 1, 1920. Application filed May- 18, 1915. Serial No. 28,999.

bodied in a machine .for gaging spherical steel balls it will be understood that I do not limit myself to such machines.

Referring now to the drawings, conveniently carried upon a base-frame, indicated generally as 1, are two cylindrical gaging.- slot-defining elements 2 and 3 which provide the trackway along which the balls 4 to be gaged traveL' The travel of the balls is preferably effected by the inclining of the elements 2- and 3 at a suitableangl'e tothe horizontal as illustrated.v The elements 2 and 3 diverge slightly and gradually from each other whereby the slot 5 between" them increases slidghtl in width from its forward (upp e11 a slot of .this' character the balls will of to its back (lower) end. With course roll along and upon reaching the points upon the slot corresponding in width to their respective diameters will 1 drop and thus be gaged and At least one of the slot-defining elements;

as 3, is mounted for rotation about its lonf gitudinal axis, being rotated by any suitable driving mechanism, 'as that indicated gem erally at 6. The roller 3 is rotated in a direction to carry its slot defining side upward 3 from the slot, 2'. e., inthe direction. of the arrows. This relative upward travel of the slot defining surface of the roller'3 causes the roller to exert a lifting effect upon the ballsbeing gaged and the sinking-through) or wedging efi'ect 0n the balls caused by the tractional effect of gravity on the balls is thereby counteracted andov'ercome.- The result is accurate gaging even though, as in the present instance, a slot with very gradcharacter which at any time takes the ball ually diverging sides is employed. Of course the speed of rotation. of the roller is preferably such as to exert this lifting effect only to the extent of preventing the sinking-through or wedging effect and is not so reat. as to lift the balls out of accurate gaglng contact with the sides of the slot 5.

With a construction such as described it will be seen that each ball will without wedglng its way through, or sticking in, the slot travel along the slot up to the gaging point accurately corresponding with such balls dimensions- Thus inaccuracy due to a .ball wedging through the slotnder its weight and ahead of'its proper gaging polnt is eliminated. and the ball drops through theslot at such proper gaging point. Also because this wedging effect is eliminated the balls" will not stick in the slot to reduce their speed-of travel and-therefore the machine is high-speed.

It will be seen that the rotating roller, although it exerts the desired lifting effect, is not, as distinguished from, those step-by-step machines in which means are provided for lifting the balls clear of the track, moving-them "forward a step and again depositlng them on the track, of a from the track to thereby prevent its -dropping through exactly at its proper gaging point. ,On the contrary the roller at all times permits the ball to remain in gagin contact with the track during its enti travel therealong' By providing a means for propelling the balls wholly distinct from the roller 3, as the inclined frame which causes the ball to be 7 propelled by gravity,,it is possible to grind the cylinder 3 accurately to size whereby each of itselements will provide an accurate strai ht line slot-edge or straight-edge, thus eliminating'the practical impossibility of accurate grinding incident to a construction in which an rotating-member which serves as a slot-side is constructed, for example, in the form of a screw for-propellin the balls.

referably a feeding means, indicated generally as 7 and more fully described hereinafter,;'which feeds the balls to the.

. eo gagin slot one ata'time and slightly separate from each other is employed. The separation of the balls 1s conducive to'accuracy because, even sliould it occur that" each ball did not travel at exactl the same speed as all the others,'there woul be no chance of the balls pyramiding, i. 0., of a ball being lifted from the trackway by side pressure from some of the others, such as might "occur were a ball in'contact with the two at each side of it.- I find that the rotating roller 3 aids materiallyin maintaining the initial .separation of the balls throughout their travel.

- Thus a machine embodying myinvention preferably embodies a pair of gaging-slotdefining elements, as the, cylinders 2 and.

3, one of which at least, as 3, is in the character of a smooth uninterrupted roller, say a cylinder, adapted for rotation upwardaway from the slot, such elements, as 2 and 3, being arranged to provide a gaging slot with gradually diverging sides, and means, as the inclined frame 1, distinct from the rotating cylinder for causing the travel of the balls along the gaging-slot, it being desirable to provide'means, as the feed 7 for delivering the balls one at a time and spaced apart to the gaging- The.

bringing the elements into .contact with the pins.

For accurate shifting the clamps 8 and 9 it is desirable toprovide each clamp with means such for example as (see Fig. 3) the adjusting screw 12 threaded into a fixed part of the. structure, as at 13 and passing loosely through the base of the clamp but held against longitudinal travel with respect thereto by the collar 14 fixed to the clamp and fittin .in the circular:

groove 15 of the screw. 11 order that theclamp may he slid upon the reduced end of the cylinder the base of: the clampfmay be in two sections splined together as shown, and held by screws 17.

The rotating cylinder} 3 is: vshown as A mounted in the journal blocks designated generally as 16- and 17 respectively. .Each of these journal blocks is preferably constructed as shown more particularly in Fig.-

1 3 wherein the bow-shaped main portion .18- Y is provided with a projecting contact por.-.

tion-19 of any desired width longitudinally of the cylinder for bearing upon the roller 3,'the movable block portion 20 is provided with similar projecting contact elements 21,,'21,'.for bearingon the roller 3, 'andrset bolts22, 22,, are adapted to force thepiece -20"towardthe roller 3 and thus bring the I SO 1 contacts, or bearing elements proper, 19,.

21, and 21 into intimate bearing contact with the roller. 3 wherein they, in effect, grind their tracks. The advantage of this construction is that a much more accurate bearing is obtainedone practicallyewith out 1o'oseness-'-than an ordinary journal box I 7 would provide.

cam being rotated as by being fast connected Preferably theroller 3 is driven by the driving gear 6 in mesh with the driven gear 23, the driving shaft 24 and the d uble universal joint connection 25; I

The before referred to ball feed is preferably constructed as follows. The ball delivery pipe 26 is perforated at 27 for the rethe passage of balls but when in retracted position permits, by virtue of the ball aperture 33 (Fig. 2), the passage of balls. For reciprocating the plate 32 it is preferably carried upon an arm 34.0scillatablymoui1ted upon the frame of the machine, as at 35, and carrying a roller or cam-follower 36 received in the endless cam slot 37 of the cam 38, the

with the roller 3.

' With the above construction it will be seen that as thecam 38 rotates the plate 32 is reciprocatedi When the plate32 is in retracted position the aperture is. in register 40 with the pipe 26, permitting a ball to drop to the gagingguideway. At thistime the. pin

. 28 lS projected into the hole 27 and-holds up the column'of balls above it. j When the plate 32 advances it closes thepipe and, by

virtue of the plate contacting the shoulder 31 of the pin 28, the pin is pushed back'per- I mitting the column of balls to move down i the pipe the distance of one ball and rest on feed pipe sufficiently short to -not interferewith .full reciprocation, as the' illustrated supplementaryfeed'pipe 26". )Thusthe balls the p'late.- When the plate retreatsthe pin,"

by virtue of the spring '30, advances and inserts itself betweeni the bottom and the nextto-the-bottom ballg a'nd' holds up the column except for the bottom ball. The aperture 33 now registers with the pipearrd'the bottom ball is permittedto .drop onto; the .g'uideway being guided, if desired, by a supplementary are deliveredgto and" spaced ashort distance apart.-

.y, Preferahlya u-itable hopper ;.39 1

the guidew-ay one at .a time vided. for. containing the' bal1s"an1d may com prise stationary bottom with its outlet 41, the side 42, and the cone shaped false bottom 43, the. two latter being connected for rotation with the central spindle 44 in any suitable manner and as of course well known .in the art, and the spindle 44 being rotated as by the drivingconnections indicated gen erally'as 45. p a

Preferably a suitable means, as for example the series of ball receiving pipes 46, is provided below the slot for maintaining the separation brought about by the gaging process.

It will be' understood that, although- I i have illustrated the straight-edge element 2 asa cylinder (that form being preferable as,

upon a given portion of the surface becoming worn, the cylinder may be turned slightly in its clamps to bring a new surface into use, thus eliminating the very frequent regrinding incident to mere plain straight-' edged stri s" of material,) I 'do not restrict myself to t at form as any other suitable element giving astraight-edge may be used.

It will also be understood that although I i have illustrated a device'having but one. ro

tating cylindrical straight-edge element I do not restrict myself to a device having but one rotating straight-edge element.

In the particular machine illustrated and which is more particularly adapted for gaging balls within a limit. of .0001 inch I may.

; use a gaging slot about seven inches long and make such slot .001 inch narrower at the forgtopfend than at .the back (bottom) '1 f course I do not restrict myself to ward end. these dimensions and indeed, 1n the present drawings the taper of the'slot, inorder'the I better to show the-invention is considerably greater than v.001 inch to seven inches. It will beseen that I have provided a de- Ivice of the character indicated which is simple, comparativelyinexpensive to manu- 5 facture, high-speed. and capable of great ac curacy.

Having thus described invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is L-In a device of the character indicated,

a pair of gaging-slot-defining elements so 10- cated with respect to each other as to provide a gaging-slot, one of said elements being-rotatable, means for rotating such element, means for feeding the articles'to .be gaged to said slot; suc'h meansfc'omprising a delivery pipe and a"re ciprocatingclosure plate for controlling exit from said pipe; and

means operatively connecting said rotative slofidefining -element "and said plate and trols the'reciprocation of said plate such last named means comprislng a camconnectedfor rotation with said rotatable element pro-.

and havingits'c am surface contoured to re- *ciprocate the follower of said cam during 'saidcam s rotation, an oscillatably mounted arm connected with said plate, and a folwhereb'y saidlelement during rotation con--.

travel along fiuenced by any-of the other articles; and

lower for said cam connected with said arm and contacting said cam; substantially as described?" 2. In an instrument of precision for gaging articles, a pair of gaging-slot-defining elements so located with respect to each other as to provide a gaging-slot, one of said elements being in the character of a roller with a smooth uninterrupted surface and having its rotational axis extending in the direction of said slot, means for rotating said roller in a direction to cause its slot defining side to travel upward from said,

slot, means for feeding the articles to said slot one at a time and in separated relation; saidroller acting to overcome the tractional effect of gravity upon said articles whereby said. articles W111 not, due to their weights,

pass through said slot before reaching the gage points upon said slot accurately corresponding to the respective articles and also acting to preserve the initial separation of the articles brought about by said feeding 'means whereby each article is'given a free travel along said slot free from and unin-' fluenced by any of the other articles; and

, such-feeding, means comprising a delivery pipe and a reciprocating closure plate for controlling exit from said pipe; and means operatively connecting said rotative slot-defining-element and said plate and whereby said element during rotation controls the reciprocation of said plate; substantially as described.

3. In an instrumentof precision for. gaging articles, a pair of gaging-slot-defining elements so located with respect to each other as to provide a gaging slot, one of said elements being in the character of a roller with a smooth uninterrupted'surface and having its rotational axis extending in the direction of said slot, means for rotating said roller in a direction to cause its slot defin- Iing side to travel upward from said slot,

such feeding means comprising a delivery pipe and a reciprocating closure plate for controlling exit from said pipe;"and means operatively connecting said rotative slot-de' fining-element and said plate and whereby said element during rotation controls the re I ciprocation of said plate; such last named means comprising a cam connected for rota tion with said rotatable element and having its cam surface contoured to reciprocate the follower of said cam during said cams rotation, an oscillatably mounted arm connected with said plate, and a follower for said camconnected with said arm and contacting said cam; substantially as described.

4:, In an instrument of precision for gaging articles, a pair of gaging-slot-defining elements so located with respect to each other as to provide a gaging-slot, one-of said elementsbeing in the character of a roller with a smooth uninterrupted surface and having its rotational axis extending in the direction of said slot, means for rotating said roller in a direction to cause its slot defining sideto travel upward from said slot, and means for feeding the articles to said slot one at a timeand in separated relation; said roller acting to overcome the tractional effect of gravity upon said articles whereby said articles will not, due to their weights, pass through said slot before reaching the gage points upon said slot ac-- curately corresponding to the respective articles and also acting to preserve the initial separation ofthe articles brought about by said feedingmeans whereby each articleis given a free travel along saidslot free from and uninfluenced by any of the other articles; and such ceding means comprising an article delivery pipe of a cross-section suflicient to accommodate a single-file column of articles and having its open end in delivery relation to said slot, such pipe being provided in the side with an article-stop-pin-receiving aperture, a reciprocatively mounted article-stop-pin arranged for insertion in and withdrawal from said aperture, a re- I ciprocatively mounted closure plate at said open pipe-end and having an article-aperture therein to be moved into and out of register with said pipe-end during reclprocation of said closure plate, and means for reciprocating said pin and plate constructed and arrangedto move the imperforate portion of said plate into register with said 1pipe-end when said pin is retracted and move the article-aperture of said plate into register with said' pipe-end when said pin is inserted in said pinzreceiving aperture;

substantially as described,

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

? CHARLES M; GEARING Witnesses:

HAROLD A. KINGSBURY, WM. E. WIGHTMAN,

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