US2481173A

US2481173A - Ring grinding fixture

Info

Publication number: US2481173A
Application number: US780971A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stenwall Robert
Original assignee: Muskegon Piston Ring Co
Current assignee: Muskegon Piston Ring Co
Priority date: 1947-10-20
Filing date: 1947-10-20
Publication date: 1949-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 1966-09-06

Description

Sept. 6, 1949. R1 STENWALL 2,481,173

RING GRINDING FIXTURE Filed OOL. 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 t mvamon I naam 51m-1ML TG. E.. Xgl

oRNgfs Sept. 6, 1949. R. STENWALL. v 2,481,173

RING GRINDING FIXTURE Filed Oct. 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l \NvE.NToR l' 'Rosan STLNWALL.

. L" Q1-hw SL Patented Sept. 6, 1949.

RING GRINDING FIXTURE Robert Stenwall, Newaygo, Mich., assignor to Muskegon Piston RingCompany, Muskegon, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 20, 1947, Serial No. 780,971

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a simple, novel, but very practical and eiiective attachment for ring grinding 'machines of the type shown in my Patent #2,397,298 granted March 26, 1946.

In the structure of the aforesaid patent the grinding of rings, and particularly piston rings at their outer curved surfaces, is very eficiently attained. Machines designed and built for piston ring grinding are capable of handling piston rings in substantially all of the diameter sizes, such as are used in internal combustion engines of automobiles. which may be packing rings, and others continuous rings without any partings therein, of smaller diameters than the smallest diameter of automotive piston rings, which can not be effectively ground upon the machines which have been built for piston ring grinding in accordance with the structure of my patent. Of course, other machines designed for smaller diameter rings less than what in general is about the smallest piston ring diameter, namely, 2% inches, could be built for such small ring grinding exclusively. This would necessitate the expense of a complete machine and the cost of its occupying floor space in a factory, not only at times when it was in use, but at all other times.

The present invention is directed to a simple, easily connected and quite as readily disconnected attachment for the piston ring grinding machines which have been built, and with such attachment, the other rings of the smaller diameters wanted may be quite as accurately and effectively ground when such attachment is used, as the larger diameter piston rings are ground in the existing machines without the attachment. Many rings having a diameter of approximately one inch and varying in diameters between one inch and the minimum size of internal combustion engine piston rings, and usable for many purposes, are rapidly ground with high quantity production with my invention.

It is an object and purpose of the present invention to provide a novel, practical and easily connected attachment for piston ring grinding machines of the structure disclosed in the aforesaid patent, with which the numerous sizes and diameters of rings of the lesser diameters wanted, may be effectively ground with rapid, high quantity production.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. l is a transverse vertical section through one of the piston ring grinding machines made There are other rings, some of in accordance with Patent #2,397,298, and to which the novel atttachment of the present invention is connected, said attachment being vshown in elevation and transverse section,

section of the structure Shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the shim attachment used when rings of smaller diameter `are to be ground.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the diierent figures of the drawings.

On a base plate I, spaced apart supporting posts 2 and 3 are secured, which are to carry the arbor on which a plurality of rings to he ground is mounted. At opposite sides of the posts, and `mounted upon the base in any suitable manner, are lower horizontal shafts 4 from which spaced arms 5 extend upwardly between the upper ends of which rubber covered horizontal rollers 6 are mounted. Bars 1 connect the arms 5 at each side of the structure described and are connected by links 8 with rocking arms 9 for moving the rollers 6 inwardly and outwardly toward the arbor I0, upon which a plurality of rings to be ground are held. Said arbors I0 at each end have bearings II which are to be received in blocks I2 secured at the upper ends of the posts 2 and 3. The blocks I2 are provided with concave recesses at their upper sides in which spaced hardened pins I3, as shown in Fig. v4, are located. The rings I 4, which are to be ground, are of larger interior diameter than the diameter of the arbor IEI over which they are located and from which they are suspended.

The structure thus far described is illustrative of the environment of my invention and is substantially identical with that disclosed in my rearlier patent. With the rings I4 sufficiently large in diameter, and usually at least 2'1/8 inches in diameter or more, the rollers ii may be swung inwardly toward each other to bear on opposite ,sides of the rings above the center of the arbor. The rollers are driven so that the rings are turned about their centers in the operation of the machine. Such driving mechanism forms no part of the present invention and is not shown or described, but it is fully shown and described in my earlier patent which has been mentioned.

In the present invention a bar I5 is detachably connected at the inner side of each of the posts 2 and 3 by bolts or screws. Horizontal shafts I6 extend between the end portions of the bars I5. Arms I'I are securely connected to said shafts I6 at the ends thereof and extend upwardly. Rollers I8 are mounted on and extend between the upper ends of the arms I'I, one roller I8 at each side of the arbor I0. The rollers I8 have axes of rotation above the rotative axes of the rollers 6 and are between said rollers 9 and the rings I4 which are to be ground.

From each of the shafts I6 an arm I9 extends downwardly. 'The lower ends of the two arms I9 are connected by a coiled tension spring 29 as shown, the effect of which is to tend to move the rollers I8 outwardly and thus maintain them against the driving rollers 6.

The grinding wheel 2I, having a horizontal under-grinding face, is disposed the same as in my issued patent, with its lower face in a plane such that the turning rings I4 are brought to said grinding face and the plurality of rings on the arbor, as shown in Fig. 3, simultaneously ground. The plates 22 at the inner sides of the posts -2 and 3 are hardened wearing plates against which the end rings 'III on the arbor may contact. Because the arbor I for the small diameter rings is of a smalle-r diameter than the arbor used with the larger piston rings, the arbor bearing blocks I2 are elevated by the inter-position of a spacer or shim 23 (Fig. 4) -between the upper ends of the posts 2 and 3 and the lower sides of the blocks.

It is evident that the connection of the attachment to the machine to condition the machine to grind the rings of small diameter is very quickly made. Bolts are passed through the bars I into the posts 2 and 3, and the blocks i2 are removed, the spacers vor shims 23 located in place, and then the block-s I2 reconnected.

The rings are driven by the rollers f5 through the interposed idle rollers I8 at the times when said rollers 6 are moved inwardly toward each other, and when rollers 6 are moved outwardly in the operation of the machine, the rollers I8 follow them by reason of the action of the spring 20, whereupon the rings on an arbor which have been ground may be removed with the arbor, and another arbor with unprocessed rings to be ground put in place of those removed, the machine operati-ng the same as described in my Patf ent #2,397,298.

The attachment described has proved very practical and useful. It makes unnecessary the building of a separate complete machine for grinding the rings of smaller diameters and utiy lizes machines designed and built for grinding rings of a .larger diameter. Not only is the expense of building separate machines avoided, but the floor space in a factory is not increased. The

demand for the small diameter rings is increasing. Their rapid grinding at their outer curved surfaces to precise dimensions and in large quantity economical production, is thus most effectively and economically attained.

The invention is defined in the appended claims l l and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

l'. claim:

l. An attachment for ring grinding machines comprising, two spaced apart horizontal bars located in substantially the same plane adapted to be connected to vertical spaced arbor supporting posts, a horizonal rock shaft mounted on and extending between the ends of said bars, one of said rock shafts extending between one of the ends of the spaced bars and the other between the other ends thereof, arms secured to said rock shafts adjacent their ends extending upwardly therefrom, horizontal rollers rotatably mounted at the upper ends of said arms, a resilient cover on each of said rollers, and yielding means con- 4 nected with said arms normally tending to move said rollers away from each other.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, said yielding means comprising members connected one to each rock shaft and extending downwardly therefrom, and coiled spring means connecting the lower vends of Said members tending "to pull said lmembers toward each other and move the rollers away from each other.

3. In a machine as described, an arbor support including, spaced apart posts having recessed upper ends adapted to support the end portions of `an 'arbor from which rings may be suspended, and an attachment mounted on said posts at the inner sides thereof comprising, a horizontal bar detachably connected to each post below its upper end, each 4'bar having ends extending beyond the sides of the posts, rock shafts mounted on the end portions of said bars and extending between them, aI-ms extending upwardly from the rock shafts, -horizontal rollers mounted 'on and extending between the upper ends of the arms adapted to bear against opposed sides of rings on an arbor, each l'of' said Vertical posts having a block at -its upper end w-ith a 4concave recess therein, means for detachably connecting said locks to the posts, and a fil-ler or shim vbetween the lower 'end of each of sa-id blocks and the upper end of each post detachably a-nd removably connected with its associated block `and post.

4. The elements of claim 3 in which said second rollers are movable toward and away from said arbor and yieldable means for moving them away from the arbor.

5. In a machine fas described, an farbor support including, spaced apart posts having recessed upper ends adapted to support the end portions of an arbor from which rings m-ay be suspended, and an attachment mounted on said posts at the inner sides thereof comprising, a horizontal bar detachably connected to each post below its upper end, each bar having ends extending beyond the sides of the posts, rock shafts mounted on the end por-tions of said bars and extending between them, arms extending upwardly from the rock shafts, horizontal rollers mounted on and extending between the upper ends of the arms adapted to bear against opposed sides of rings on an arbor, and a member connected to each rock shaft extending downwardly therefrom, and a coiled tension spring connecting the lower ends of said members.

6. A machine of the class described comprising two spaced apart bearings, an arbor rotatably supported in said bearings and supporting a plurality of rings, a pair of rollers on opposite sides and parallel with said arbor and movable toward and from the arbor, means for rotating said rollers and a second pair of rollers smaller in diameter than the first rollers, extending parallel with the arbor and interposed between and in engagement with said rst rollers and said rings above the horizontal centers thereof.

ROBERT STEN'VVALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS