US20230271293A1

US20230271293A1 - Polishing equipment for spherical body

Info

Publication number: US20230271293A1
Application number: US18/029,974
Authority: US
Inventors: Phong-Ning Jeng; Edward Kuan Hsiung HSIEH; Chun-Hsien Yang
Original assignee: Sri LLC
Current assignee: Sri LLC
Priority date: 2020-11-25
Filing date: 2020-11-25
Publication date: 2023-08-31
Also published as: WO2022115105A1; JP2023543349A; EP4251369A1

Abstract

A polishing equipment for a spherical body is provided, including: a base, including a tubular member configure to support the spherical body to be polished; a fluid pressurizing unit, being in communication with an interior of the tubular member and configure for fluid to flow into the interior of the tubular member to push the spherical body; a grinding member, configured to be relatively movable with respect to the tubular member, and configured for grinding an outer surface of the spherical body and rotating the spherical body by friction.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a polishing equipment for spherical body.

Description of the Prior Art

For many spherical products, in order to obtain a smooth surface and a true circle of the spherical body, it is usually necessary to perform grinding and polishing on the surface of the spherical product. In order to effectively stabilize the spherical product and to grinding and polishing of an entirety of the surface of the spherical product, a conventional polishing device includes at least three grinding units and at least a rotating unit for rotating the spherical product. The at least three grinding units are angularly arranged around the spherical product for respectively grinding and polishing different areas of the spherical product, and the at least a rotating unit is configured for causing the spherical product rotate, with a slight deflection angle relative to the vertical direction so as to ensure that the at least three grinding units can indeed grind all areas of the surface of the spherical product. TW201436935 discloses a like conventional polishing device.
However, the structure of this type of conventional polishing device is extremely complex and the manufacturing cost is high. In addition, the coordination between multiple grinding units and rotating unit is not easy to accurately control, and errors are prone to occur, resulting in problems of poor polishing efficiency, poor polishing stability, poor smoothness and poor roundness.
The present invention is, therefore, arisen to obviate or at least mitigate the above-mentioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide a polishing equipment for a spherical body, wherein the polishing equipment has a simple structure and can provide good polishing efficiency, stability and quality.
To achieve the above and other objects, a polishing equipment for a spherical body is provided, including: a base, including a tubular member configure to support the spherical body to be polished; a fluid pressurizing unit, being in communication with an interior of the tubular member and configure for fluid to flow into the interior of the tubular member to push the spherical body; a grinding member, configured to be relatively movable with respect to the tubular member, and configured for grinding an outer surface of the spherical body and rotating the spherical body by friction.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment(s) in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a stereogram of a preferable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a breakdown drawing of a preferable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a stereogram showing polishing operation according to a preferable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing polishing operation according to a preferable embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view showing polishing operation according to a preferable embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a partial enlargement of FIG. 5 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 6 for a preferable embodiment of the present invention. A polishing equipment for a spherical body 1 of the present invention includes a base 10, a fluid pressurizing unit 20 and a grinding member 30.
The base 10 includes a tubular member 11 configure to support a spherical body 60 to be polished; the fluid pressurizing unit 20 is in communication with an interior of the tubular member 11 and configure for fluid (gas or liquid) to flow into the interior of the tubular member 11 to push the spherical body 60, which can reduce frictional resistance to the spherical body 60 and/or suspends the spherical body 60 above the tubular member 11; the grinding member 30 is arranged to be relatively movable with respect to and the tubular member 11, and configured for grinding an outer surface of the spherical body 60 and rotating the spherical body 60 by friction. Whereby, the polishing equipment for spherical body 1 has a simple structure and lower production cost; by even and omnidirectional support of the fluid for the spherical body 60, contact of the grinding member 30 and the spherical body 60 is very stable during the grinding process, thus the polishing efficiency, stability and quality of the spherical body 60 (such as smoothness, roundness or the like) is good.
The base 10 further includes a rail 12 and a carrier 13 movably disposed on the rail 12, and the tubular member 11 is disposed on the carrier 13. Preferably, at least one of the tubular member 11 and the carrier 13 (one having relatively lower rigidity) has relatively better in shock absorbing, which is advantageous to polishing stability. The base 10 further includes a driving device 14 connected with the carrier 13, and the driving device 14 is configured to drive the carrier 13 to move relative to the grinding member 30, and thus the spherical body 60 can move to the polishing position or retreat after polished. The tubular member 11 is preferably replaceably disposed on the carrier 13 so that a tubular member with suitable size can be chosen according to a spherical body with specific size. In this embodiment, the driving device 14 is a telescopic cylinder device (pneumatic or hydraulic). It is noted that, in an alternative embodiment, the carrier 13 may be a driven by a transmission mechanism such as a threaded rod, chain, belt or the like.
Preferably, the tubular member 11 is movable along a first direction D1, and the grinding member 30 is movable along a second direction D2 which is non-parallel to the first direction D1. In this embodiment, the second direction D2 is perpendicular to the first direction D1. For example, the tubular member 11 can move back and forth (in the first direction D1), and the grinding member 30 can move left and right (in the second direction D2) or/and move up and down, so that it can be adjustable to obtain a good position and angle for polishing the spherical body 60 according to the size of the spherical body 60. Preferably, the grinding member 30 may be configured to be swingable (along a third direction D3) relative to the first direction D1. With different contact points and angles of the grinding member 30 and the spherical body 60, it can obtain different levels of polishing efficiency, stability and quality (such as smoothness, roundness or the like) of the spherical body 60.
In this embodiment, the tubular member 11 includes an opening 111 configured to receive a part of the spherical body 60. When the fluid enters the interior of the tubular member 11, the fluid provides good supporting effect, it is easy to control the force level of the fluid for supporting the spherical body 60 (contact friction level, or suspension above the tubular member 11). A fluid-penetrable layer 40 on which the spherical body 60 is disposed covers an end of the tubular member 11, and the fluid-penetrable layer 40 may be a fiber layer, woven or non-woven structure, integral or non-integral. The fluid-penetrable layer 40, which can stabilize the flow of the fluid, and evenly distribute the fluid so that distribution of force of the fluid for supporting the spherical body 60 is optimized and factors in polishing process are stable. Moreover, during polishing and rotation, the fluid-penetrable layer 40 can clean the dust produced by grinding on the spherical body 60, which improves smoothness of the spherical body 60. The fluid-penetrable layer 40 is positionally mounted to the tubular member 11 by a hoop member 50, and the hoop member 50 is preferably an annular member whose perimeter is adjustable, thus being easy to mount/dismount and replace the fluid-penetrable layer 40.
The fluid pressurizing unit 20 includes a pump 21 and a pipe member 22 communicating the pump 21 and the interior of the tubular member 11, and the pipe member 22 is flexible, which can be adapted for various requirements of different working environments and can have better applicability and adjustability. The fluid is pressurized by the pump 21 and flows into the interior of the tubular member 11, wherein the pressurized fluid provides larger force for supporting the spherical body 60 so that the frictional resistance to the spherical body 60 is lowered and so that the polishing process is effective and smooth.
The grinding member 30 includes a grinding face 31, and in a direction which the grinding face 31 faces toward the tubular member 11, a centerline C1 of the grinding face 31 and a centerline C2 of the tubular member 11 are offset from each other. Whereby, during the polishing process, the spherical body 60 can be driven to rotate, with a slight deflection angle relative to the vertical direction, by the grinding member 30, and thus an entirety of outer surface the spherical body 60 can be perfectly polished. During the polishing process, the grinding face 31, preferably, contacts an upper half part of the spherical body 60, which can obtain good polishing efficiency and stability and can effectively and precisely drive the spherical body 60 to rotate.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A polishing equipment for spherical body, including:

a base, including a tubular member configure to support a spherical body to be polished;

a fluid pressurizing unit, being in communication with an interior of the tubular member and configure for fluid to flow into the interior of the tubular member to push the spherical body; and

a grinding member, configured to be relatively movable with respect to the tubular member, and configured for grinding an outer surface of the spherical body and rotating the spherical body by friction.

2. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 1, wherein the base further includes a rail and a carrier movably disposed on the rail, and the tubular member is disposed on the carrier.

3. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 2, wherein the base further includes a driving device connected with the carrier, and the driving device is configured to drive the carrier to move relative to the grinding member.

4. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 1, wherein a fluid-penetrable layer on which the spherical body is disposed covers an end of the tubular member and allows the fluid to penetrate therethrough.

5. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 4, wherein the fluid-penetrable layer is a fiber layer.

6. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 4, wherein the fluid-penetrable layer is positionally mounted to the tubular member by a hoop member.

7. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 1, wherein the tubular member is movable along a first direction, and the grinding member is movable along a second direction which is non-parallel to the first direction.

8. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 7, wherein the grinding member is swingable relative to the first direction.

9. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 3, wherein the tubular member is replaceably disposed on the carrier; the driving device is a telescopic cylinder device; the fluid pressurizing unit includes a pump and a pipe member communicating the pump and the interior of the tubular member, the pipe member is flexible; a fluid-penetrable layer on which the spherical body is disposed covers an end of the tubular member and allows the fluid to penetrate therethrough; the fluid-penetrable layer is a fiber layer; the fluid-penetrable layer is positionally mounted to the tubular member by a hoop member; the hoop member is an annular member whose perimeter is adjustable; and the tubular member is movable along a first direction, and the grinding member is movable along a second direction which is non-parallel to the first direction.

10. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 1, wherein the tubular member includes an opening configured to receive a part of the spherical body.

11. The polishing equipment for spherical body of claim 1, wherein the grinding member includes a grinding face, and in a direction which the grinding face faces toward the tubular member, a centerline of the grinding face and a centerline of the tubular member are offset from each other.