US3596410A

US3596410A - Machine tool with retractable combined chordal gage and lateral locator

Info

Publication number: US3596410A
Application number: US799565A
Authority: US
Inventors: William E Happel
Original assignee: Litton Industries Inc
Current assignee: Litton Industries Inc
Priority date: 1969-02-17
Filing date: 1969-02-17
Publication date: 1971-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 1988-08-03
Also published as: GB1305936A; DE2006889B2; DE2006889C3; DE2006889A1; FR2035494A5

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a combined chordal gage and axial locator for use on grinding machines wherein cylindrical and annular surfaces are to be ground. A combined, single mounting for the normally independent chordal gage and axial locator and a common means for advancing and retracting both devices are provided. The gage and locating devices are advanced at the beginning of a grinding operation and prior to work rotation to provide endwise or axial location of the workpiece in relation to the grinding wheel and, at this time, the locating device is made operative, whereas, the chordal gage is maintained inoperative and is maintained a small distance from the workpiece during the axial movement thereof. Upon completion of endwise or axial location, the combined assembly is retracted, the grinding wheel is advanced, the workpiece is rotated, and the combined assembly is again advanced during the grinding operation whereupon the chordal gage is brought into operative engagement with the workpiece, whereas the axial locator is maintained inoperative. Retraction of the combined assembly into a protective hood is effected at the end of each grinding operation and said assembly is protected from damage during the placement of a further workpiece upon the machine.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor William E. Happel Waynesboro, Pa. [21 1 Appl. No. 799,565 [22] Filed Feb. 17, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 3, 1971 [73] Assignee Litton Industries, Inc.

Beverly Hills, Calif.

52 user .51/165 51 lnt.Cl ..B24b49/04 so FieldoISearch 51/165,

165.01,165.04,]65045,165.09.165.15,165.18, 105 SP, 105 EC FOREIGN PATENTS 1,381,888 11/1964 France Primary Examiner- Lester M. Swingle Attorney-Diller, Brown, Ramik & Holt ABSTRACT: This disclosure relates to a combined chordal gage and axial locator for use on grinding machines wherein cylindrical and annular surfaces are to be ground. A combined, single mounting for the normally independent chordal gage and axial locator and a common means for advancing and retracting both devices are provided. The gage and locating devices are advanced at the beginning ofa grinding operation and prior to work rotation to provide endwise or axial location of the workpiece in relation to the grinding wheel and, at this time, the locating device is made operative, whereas, the chordal gage is maintained inoperative and is maintained a small distance from the workpiece during the axial movement thereof. Upon completion of endwise or axial location, the combined assembly is retracted, the grinding wheel is advanced, the workpiece is rotated, and the combined assembly is again advanced during the grinding operation whereupon the chordal gage is brought into operative engagement with the workpiece, whereas the axial locator is maintained inoperative. Retraction of the combined assembly into a protective hood is effected at the end of each grinding operation and said assembly is protected from damage during the placement of a further workpiece upon the machine [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,603,043 7/1952 Bontemps 51/165 2,639,562 5/1953 Ba1siger.... 51/105 2,955,391 10/1960 Fred 51/165 3,064,395 11/1962 Price 51/165 3,145,507 8/1964 Price et a1 51/105 as amo PATENTED AUG 3 4971 SHEET 1 BF 5 m: E. HMPPEL ATTORNEYS PATENTED AUG 3 mm SHEET 2 OF 5 wwws a 0 1m @w mm I l I l l I Maw // zz/lzzrz 1r z r 1 z r/ 11/ INVENTOR WILUAM EHHPPEL Nam ATTORNEYS PATENTED AUB 31971 SHEET 3 BF 5 INVENTOR [MWLIAM E. HHPPEL fill/w \QKMQMJJ ATTORNEYS PATENTEU MB 3 19?:

SHEET 0F 5 INVENTOR WHLUME E. HAPPEL NZ ZZZ kmzaIxm mwdasz 5w v m@ x0500 Or Zaaam. m2

amt Mow mad mu am E ATTORNEYS WWI SHEET S [If 5 PATENTEU mm: 3 4971 ATTORNEYS INVENTOR A E. HRPPEL IECRB mm 1W MACHINE TOOL WITH RETRACTABLE COMBINED CHORDAL GAGE AND LATERAL LOCA'IOR combining the mounting and movement of a chordal gage and axial locator.

Provisions for effecting the axial location of a workpiece relative to the grinding wheel of a grinding machine is known in the art as disclosed, for example, in the US. Pat. No. 3,064,395, granted Nov. 20, 1962, to R. E. Price. Such known apparatus includes hydraulic provisions employed to rotate a screw to effect shifting of the normally provided headstock center, the workpiece, and the normally provided tailstock center to place the workpiece in precise operative relation to the grinding wheel. A locating finger is brought into the path of movement of an annular face ofthe workpiece being axially located, the locating finger detecting the precise axial location of the workpiece with respect to the grinding wheel and stopping endwise or axial movement of the work centers when correct positioning of the workpiece has been achieved. A chordal gage is brought into engagement with a cylindrical surface of the workpiece during the grinding operation to control grinding of the workpiece to its on-size dimension, at which time, grinding of the cylindrical surface is terminated.

Prior to this invention, previous devices for providing axial location and the application of a chordal gage were independently mounted and included separate operating controls.

According to the present invention, however, there is pro vided novel apparatus mounting the chordal gage and locating device on a single supporting member and for advancing and retracting the chordal gage and locating device as a single assembly prior to rotation of the workpiece. At this time the axial locator is brought into operative relation with the workpiece and is maintained operative until precise endwise or axial location of the workpiece is effected. During this time, however, the chordal gage is maintained inoperable and out of engagement with the workpiece while axial location is being effected and, conversely, upon rotation of the workpiece during the grinding operation, the chordal gage is advanced to ride on a peripheral surface of the workpiece to determine when size is obtained, whereas, the locating device or axial locator is maintained inoperative.

The chordal gage is retained from the peripheral surface of the cylindrical workpiece during axial location through the provision of a pneumatically operated holdback cylinder, the chordal gage being preferably removed from the workpiece an amount slightly greater than half the amount of stock to be removed by the grinding operation to provide a specific inoperative position of the calipher during axial locating. Unnecessary friction on the workpiece engaging surfaces of the chordal gage is thereby achieved while the workpiece is being axially shifted into location. The gage and its associated controller or control provisions are inoperable during axial positioning and are rendered operable when the grinding wheel is advanced for the beginning of a grinding operation.

An axia'l location controller or quill location controller associated with the axial locator provides a signal when the workpiece is properly axially positioned and the grinding wheel is rapidly advanced while the workpiece is rotated. Atlvancement of the grinding wheel effects, via a suitable limit switch, the advancement of the chordal gage onto the associated workpiece surface. The chordal gage and its associated controller is maintained operative until an on-size signal is provided. The operation of the axial locator is effected only when the grinding wheel is retracted.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide compact, combined gaging and locating provisions, reducing the space ordinarily required for such provisions.

Another object of this invention is to provide independent control of a chordal gage and axial locator, preventing the gage from being operable when the workpiece is axially posi tioned and preventing the locator from operating during the grinding operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide the signalling of full advancement or retraction of an axial locator by the provision of two airjets, the airflow of which is affected by full advancement of the locator into operative relation with a workpiece or retraction of the locator therefrom.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an axial locator including a locator finger for carrying an air jet stylus and moving the stylus into and out of operative association with a workpiece to signal movement of the workpiece axially into proper relation with a grinding wheel.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a locator finger according to the immediately foregoing object to control repetitively longitudinal positioning of the workpiece and including means for providing two-way adjustments of the stylus relative to the workpiece surface with which the stylus is brought into proximity.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a workpiece locator and a dimensional gage commonly driven and alternately operable with respect to a machine tool workpiece.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of this invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description and the several views illustrated in the drawings:

In the Drawings:

FIG. I is a front elevational view of the grinding machine to which the invention is applied and shows an axially movable headstock and an axially movable tailstock controllable for axial location ofa workpiece for the grinding thereof.

FIGv 2 is an enlarged side elevational view ofa chordal gage and axial locator suitable for application to the grinding machine of FIG. 11, and shows mounting provisions and driving provisions common to both.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the chordal gage and axial locator according to FIG. 2, and. shows the relationship of the chordal gage and axial locator with respect to a workpiece to be ground.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged rear view of a locator finger included in the axial locator shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and illustrates the configuration of the locator finger for limited resilience.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of pneumatic control provisions forming a part of the pneumatic controls employed in cooperation with the gage and locator assembly illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 4.

H6. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of electrical control provisions including a portion of the electrical controls employed in cooperation with the gage and locator assembly illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 4.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the workpiece and an associated grinding wheel.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a grinding machine 9 suitable for employment of the novel workpiece gaging and locating provisions to be discussed fully hereinafter. The grinding machine 9 includes a bed It) supporting thereon a carriage 11, upon which carriage 11 is mounted a headstock 12 and a tailstock 13 for supporting therebetween a workpiece W having both cylindrical and annular surfaces thereon to be ground by a grinding wheel 14 mounted on a wheelhead or wheel support 79 retractably mounted on said bed 10.

Provisions for effecting the advancement and retraction of the grinding wheel 14 are known in the art and, similarly, the tailstock 13 supports an axially movable work center 15 which may axially be driven in conventional or suitably selected fashion. The headstock 12 includes an axially movable quill 16, supporting a further work center 17 therein engageable with the workpiece W and suitably driven for precise axial location of the workpiece W with respect to the grinding wheel M.

The grinding wheel M is angularly disposed with respect to the axis of the workpiece W and may include thereon conical faces W, 19 and 20 for grinding of both

cylindrical workpiece surfaces

22 and 23 and annular workpiece surfaces such as, for example, the surface 24, as is best shown in FIG. 7.

A combined chordal gage and axial locator assembly, generally reference by the numeral 25 is supported intermediate the headstock l2 and the tailstock 13 upon a table 26 which, in turn, is supported upon the machine bed by a subtable 27 and suitable mounting provisions such as, for example, the brackets 28 illustrated in FIG. 1.

Turning to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the combined chordal gage and locator assembly 25 is mounted for advancement and retraction toward and away from the workpiece W. A protective hood 30 receives the combined gage and locator assembly 25 when that assembly is retracted away from the workpiece W, providing protection of the assembly during the loading of each workpiece W into position between the centers and 17.

A chordal gage 31 supports thereon a pair of

carbide inserts

32 and 33 for engagement with a cylindrical surface upon the workpiece W and a suitable air jet plunger 34 is centrally located upon the chordal gage 31 for signalling of the grinding of the associated cylindrical surface to a dimension within the on-size limits desired.

A pivotally mounted locator arm 35, to be describedmore fully hereinafter, includes an air jet stylus mounting end portion 36 movable into and out of operative relation with an annular surface upon the workpiece W.

A gage and locator base 37 provides common support for both the chordal gage 31 and the locator arm 35. The locator arm 35 is pivotally mounted upon the base 37 via a housing 38 which supports a centrally located shaft 40 therein, the shaft 40 being pivotable within the housing 38 and providing pivotal support for the locator arm 35. Suitably selected bearings may be employed within the housing 38 to support and provide easy pivoting of the shaft 40 therein and the housing 38 is terminated at one end, as best seen in FIG. 3, by a shaft accommodating hub 41 and at the remaining end, again as best seen in FIG. 3, by an end cap 42. The hub 41 is affixed to the shaft 40 as by a threaded member 43, the head of which is seen in FIG. 3, and the pivotal locator arm is supported upon the shaft 40 by suitably selected joining means such as, for example, the threaded members 44 and 45 shown in FIG. 2 extending through the arm 35 and into the hub 41, joining the arm 35 and the hub 41 for pivotal movement with the shaft 40.

A manifold 46 supported upon the gage and locator base 37 mounts a pair of self-

cleaning air jets

47 and 48 proximate the hub 41 and a pair of projections 50 and 51 extend outwardly from the hub 41 for alignment with the

air jets

47 and 48, respectively. Upon pivoting of the locator arm 35 fully toward the workpiece W, the projection 50 is brought into alignment with the air jet 47, 'sufficiently blocking passage of air therefrom to effect signalling of full advancement of the arm 35. Similarly, upon full retraction of the pivotally mounted locator arm 35 away from the workpiece W and into the protective hood 30, the projection 51 is brought into alignment with the further air jet 48 sufficiently blocking that jet to effect signalling of full retraction of the locator arm.

Pivotal movement of the locator arm 35 is effected by a drive fork 52 supported upon a movable mounting bracket 53. The drive fork 52 includes a downwardly opening slot 54 into which extends a drive pin 55 securely affixed to the pivotally mounted locator arm 35. Movement of the drive fork 52; then, toward and away from the workpiece W, effects pivoting of the arm 35.

As best illustrated in FIG. 4, the locator arm 35 is specifically provided with a limited degree of resilience through the provision of a narrowed portion 49 intermediate the driving pin 55 and the stylus accommodating end portion 36. Thus, should the arm 35 be engaged at the end portion'36 by the workpiece W, the arm 35 will flex slightly at the narrowed portion 49 without exceeding the elastic limit thereof, preventing damage to the arm and stylus mounted thereon. Additionally, a further narrowed portion 56 provides convenient fine ad justment of the axial positioning of the stylus bearing end portion 36 of the arm 35. The end portion 36 and a furtherjinger portion 57 of the arm 35 is joined to the remainder e arm at the narrowed portion 56 and a pair of threaded rnembers 58 and 60 extend through the finger portion 57, providing adjustment of the position of the stylus bearing end portion 36 by flexing of the arm 35 within the narrowed portion 56. g

The bracket 53, shown best in FIG. 2, which mounts the drive fork 52 as discussed hereinabove, also supports the chordal gage 31 for movement toward and away from the workpiece W. A block 69 is adjustably affixed to the bracket 53 by a threaded member 61 extending through a slot 62 in the block 69 and into threaded engagement with the bracket 53. The block 69 resiliently supports, through the provision of a pair of horizontally extending leaf springs 63 and 64, a pair of mounting members 65 and 66 which, in turn, resiliently mount the chordal gage 31 through the provision of a pair of vertically extending leaf springs 67 and 68. The chordal gage 31, then, is resiliently supported for permitting movement both vertically and horizontally with respect to the bracket 53 upon which it is mounted.

Movement of the bracket 53 and the drive fork 52 toward and away from the workpiece W effects advancement and retraction of both the chordal gage 31 and the locator arm 35. The bracket 53 is mounted upon a bracket 70 which embraces a connecting bar 71. The connecting bar 71 is bored transversely for accommodation of a guide rod 72 which is affixed to the connecting bar as by the threaded member 73. An upright support 74, fixedly attached to the gage and locator base 37, mounts a guide block 75 through which the guide rod 72 extends. Suitably, rollers 76 or other bearing provisions are provided within the guide block 75 for engagement with the guide rod 72 as the rod 72 moves through the block 75, guiding movement of the

brackets

70 and 53.

The connecting bar 71 is driven toward and away from the location of the workpiece W by a piston rod 77 of a suitably selected pneumatically driven piston-cylinder arrangement 78. A connecting bracket 80 joins the piston rod 77 and connecting bar 71, whereby actuation of the piston-cylinder arrangement 78 in opposite directions effects advancement and retraction of the entire combined gage and locator assembly 25.

With the the combined gage and locator assembly in its advanced position, the chordal gage 31 is retained out of engagement with the workpiece W by the provision of a pneumatically operated holdback cylinder 81 which is supported upon a cylinder support member 82 for movement with the combined gage and locator device 25. A piston rod 83 of the holdback cylinder 81 terminates in a linking member 84 which is connected with the chordal gage 31. In its advanced position, the chordal gage 31, by reason of its resilient mounting, is free for limited movement toward and away from the workpiece W and the holdback cylinder 81 is controlled to prevent movement of the chordal gage 31 into engagement with the workpiece W during axial location of the workpiece, thus limiting frictional engagement of the workpiece with the carbide inserts 32 and 33. Release of the chordal gage 31 by the holdback cylinder 81 allows the gage 31 to move into engagement with the workpiece W under the natural bias of the vertically extending leaf springs 67 and 68.

The operation of the combined gage and locator assembly 25 will best be understood with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, those figures showing the control provisions pertinent to the combined gage and locator assembly. Control of the operations of the overall grinding machine with respect to which the foregoing arrangements have been discussed are known in the art and do not form a part of the invention described herein. Such grinding machine control provisions are set forth, for example, in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,395.

As seen in FIG. 5, the air jet stylus supported by the end portions 36 of the pivotable locator arm 35 is connected, via a line 90, with a controller 91 which may include, for example, previously known or suitably selected air or pressure-actuated switch provisions capable of effecting electrical energization of known quill control provisions to effect precise location of the headstock supported quill l6 and the work center 17 mounted therein to provide precise positioning of the workpiece W with respect to the grinding wheel 14. Similarly, the air jet plunger 34, centrally located upon the chordal gage 31 is connected, via a line 92 with a further controller 93 again including suitably selected air or pressure actuated control provisions for controlling and eventually halting a grinding operation upon the detection of an on-size dimension of the surface engaged by the chordal gage 31.

The operation of the combined gage and locator assembly 25 occurs during the normal machine grinding cycle, after the workpiece W has been loaded between centers and after the tailstock work center has been advanced. The gage and locator assembly is advanced as a single unit by the application of pressure to the piston-cylinder arrangement 78 via an air line 94 extending from a port 95 of a solenoid actuated assembly advance valve 96. The port 95 of the valve 96 is placed in communication with a main air supply line 97 upon actuation of the assembly advance solenoid 4SOL.

OPERATION therefor.

Contact 6CR1, when closed, completes a circuit through contacts 2CR1, which is closed when the machine is in the grinding cycle; 18CR1, which is closed when the headstock quill 16 is reset; normally closed contact 23CR1; and contact 24CR1, which is closed with wheelhead 79 in retracted position, to energize relay 7CR.

Contact 7CR! closes in aholding circuit which includes timer contact 3TR1, bypassing contact 18CR1 which opens when the quill 16 advances for the locating function.

Contact 7CR2 closes in a circuit for manual operation of relay 7CR.

Contact 7CR3 closes in a circuit to energize solenoid 4SOL.

Solenoid 4SOL actuates valve 96 to direct fluid under pressure to cylinder 78 to actuate arm in a clockwise direction to advance the locator and gage assembly 25 to place the loca- I tor in the path of workpiece W.

With the locator and gage assembly 25 in this position, projection 50 stops the flow of air from air jet 47.

Blocking this discharge of air from air jet 47 closes pressure switch 2PS to complete a circuit to energize relay 8CR.

Contact 8CR1 closes in a circuit with contact 22CR1 to relay 61CR.

Contact 22CR1 remains open with wheelhead 79 in back position, thus relay 61CR remains deenergized and, therefore, solenoid 24SOL remains deenergized and valve 102 remains in the position and gage 31 is held out of contact with workpiece W at this time by the pressure in cylinder 81.

[n this position, quill controller 91 is activated to respond to the change in pressure of the air being discharged from the air jet stylus 29.

Gage controller 93 is not activated at this time.

Another contact (not shown) of relay SCR causes the quill 16 and headstock center 17 to advance, shifting workpiece W to the right until it is stopped as the workpiece flange approaches stylus 29.

The quill controller 91 responds by stopping the endwise movement of the quill l6 and workpiece W, and effects closing of contact 13CR1 by completing a circuit to energize a controlling relay (not shown) therefor.

Contact 13CR1, when closed, energizes timer relay 3TR which opens after a predetermined interval to deenergize relay 7CR.

Contact 7CR3 opens to deenergize solenoid 4SOL which directs fluid under pressure to the rod end of cylinder 78 to retract the locator and gage assembly 25.

Projection 51 stops the flow of air from air jet 48, actuating pressure switch 3P5.

Switch 3P5 completes a circuit to energize relay 9CR.

Contact 9CR1 completes a circuit to energize headstock motor relay IMF to start work rotation.

Grinding wheel 14 is advanced to begin a grinding opera tron.

Advance of the grinding wheel 14 closes a limit switch element 10LS1 to complete a circuit to energize relay 22CR.

Contact 22CR3 closes in a circuit which includes a conventionally operated tailstock limit switch 9LS which is closed when tailstock 13 is in work engaging position.

Contact 22CR2 closes in a circuit with normally closed conventionally operated limit switch element 10LS2 so that when wheelhead 79 is in back position, a circuit is completed to energize relay 23CR and opens contact 23CR1 in the circuit to relay 7CR. This prevents energization of relay 7CR and the advance of the locator and gage assembly 25 at the end of a grinding operation after wheelhead 79 and gage 31 have been retracted and quill 16 is reset and before tailstock 13 is retracted to remove the finished workpiece, and contact 6CR1 is still closed.

Advancing the grinding wheel 14 involves energizing a conventional control relay (not shown) controlling contacts 21CR1 and 21CR2.

Contact 21CR1 closes in a circuit to relay 7CR which bypasses contacts 24CR1 and 6CR1 so that relay 7CR may be energized when wheelhead 79 is advanced and the wheelhead back relay 24CR is opened.

Near the end of the grinding operation, limit switch 3L8 is closed by a cam (not shown) on the handwheel or some other portion of the feed mechanism. to complete a circuit through previously closed contact 2CR3, which is closed when the machine is in the grinding cycle, and contact 21CR2 to again energize relay 7CR and advance the locator and gage assembly 25, this time for applying the gage 31 to workpiece W.

Contact 7CR2 closes to complete a holding circuit through contact 2CR2, which is closed when the machine is in the grinding cycle, and maintains the circuit to 7CR after limit switch 3L8 opens.

With the locator and gage assembly :25 again in advanced position, projection blocks air jet 47 and closes pressure switch 2PS.

Pressure switch 2P5 closes to complete a circuit to energize relay 8CR.

Contact 8CR1 closes in a circuit with previously closed contact 22CR1 to energize relay 61CR.

Contact 61CR1 closes to energize solenoid 24SOL which shifts valve 102 to a position to connect cylinder 81 with ex haust so that gage 31 may advance into contact with work piece W.

When workpiece W has been ground to the specified dimension, the relay controlling contacts 21CR1 and 21CR2 are deenergized and contacts 21CR1 and 21CR2 in the circuit to relay 7CR, are opened.

Grinding wheel 14 is retracted and limit switch element IOLS closes in the circuit to relay 23CR.

Normally closed contact 23CR1 opens in the circuit to relay 7CR.

Thus, all circuits to relay 7CR are opened and relay 7CR is deenergized.

Contact 7CR3 is opened to deenergize solenoid 4SOL, shifting valve 96 to the left and directing fluid under pressure through line to the rod end of cylinder 78 to retract the locator and gage assembly 25.

The quill 16 is reset at the same time the grinding wheel 14 is retracted, energizing the relay controlling contact 18CR1 and closing contact 18CR1 in the circuit to relay 7CR.

Thus, every contact in the circuit to relay 7CR is closed except normally closed contact 23CR1 which was described before as open when wheelhead 79 is retracted.

Withoutthis contact, relay 7CR would be reenergized as soon as wheelhead 79 and quill 16 are retracted and the locator and gage assembly 25 would be advanced again.

The tailstock 13 can now be retracted and the finished workpiece removed from the machine.

in FIG. 6, manual control of the combined assembly is provided through the provision of a pushbuttori switch PSSi which is in operative relation with relay 7CR to either advance or retract the locator and gage assembly 25 when the machine has been positioned from normal to the setup cycle.

Setup contact SCRi is then closed, which permits relay ICE to be energized when switch P881 is depressed to effect the advancement of the locator and gage assembly 25 for axial location or for gauging which is dependent upon the position of grindingwheel 14.

When grinding wheel 14 is in retracted position, relay 7CR is energized through contacts CR1, BCRI as contact 24CR1 is closed and contact GCRl closes when tailstock i3 is fully advanced.

The assembly advance solenoid 4SOL is energized as previously described to effect the advancing of the locator and gage assembly 25 for axial locating.

When grinding wheel 14 is advanced, relay 7CR is energized through infeed contact ZlCRl when switch PS8! is depressed to effect the advancement of the locator and gage assembly 25 for gauging a workpiece as contact 21CR1 is closed. The gage advance solenoid 24801. will be energized as previously described.

The apparatus shown in the drawings and discussed hereinabove represents a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, as will be ap arent to those skilled in the art, variations in the preferred embodiment discussed herein may be made without departure from'th'e spirit and scopeof theinvention embodied therein.

lelaim:

l. in a grinding machine for grinding annular and cylindrical portions on a workpiece:

a. work support means.

b. means for rotatably supporting a workpiece on said work support means including axially adjustable support means is. a grinding wheel movable toward and away from a work piece,

d. a gage and locating assembly includin a ga e and an axial locator,

c. drive means including a single member for movin said gage and said locating assembly toward and away from a workpiece,

f. control means for preventing axial movement of a work- .piece when the workpiece is located in a predetermined location,

g. and means for advancing the gage on the periphery of a I cylindrical surface after axial location of the workpiece has been effected and before the cylindrical surface is onsize.

2. The grinding machine according to claim I wherein said single member comprises means for advancing and retracting said gage and axial locator as a single unit to provide endwisc location of the workpiece in relation to the grinding wheel prior to work rotation and gaging of the peripheral cylindrical surface to determine when onsize is reached during the rinding cycle.

3. The grinding machine according toclaim 1 wherein said axial locator includes a base member, a shaft supported by said base member and a pivotable locator finger secured to said shaft; said drive means including a combination gage mounting bracket and locator finger drive fork means for pivoting said finger and moving said gage, stabilizing means including a guide rod, spertured block and rod engaging rollers for stabilising movement of said combination gage-mounting bracket and locator finger drive means and a neumaticall operated piston=cylinder means for advancin and retractin a 8 4. A grinding machine according to claim 1 including means for signalling full advancement and full retractioiidi" the gage and locating assembly including self-cleaning air jets and first and second pressure switches associated therewith and responsive to alternate blockage of said jets by advancement and retraction of said assembly.

5. The grinding machine according to claim 1 including holdback cylinder means for releasably retaining said gage from riding on the workpiece during axial location thereof and surface, said locator finger including means providing said finger with limited resilience allowing limited bending and full recovery of the finger upon accidental impact of an air jet sty-' lus carried thereby with the workpiece.

7. A combined gage and locator assembly including locator means for locating a workpiece with respect to a machine tool element, gage means for gaging a workpiece dimension, mounting means common to both said locator means and gage means for mounting said locator means and gage means on a machine tool, common driving means for moving both said locator means and gage means toward and away from the workpiece for operative association therewith and means for preventing use of one of said locator means and gage means during use of the remaining of said locator means and gage means.

'8. The assembly according to claim 7 wherein said means for preventing comprises means retaining said gage means from operative association with workpiece during axial location of a workpiece and employment of said locator means.

9. The assembly according to claim 8 wherein said means for retaining said gage means includes a fluid actuated holdback cylinder assembly connected with said gage means for restraining further movement of the gage means into association with a workpiece when both said gage means andsaid 1 locator means are advanced by said drive means.

10. The assembly according to claim 7 including means resiliently supporting said gage means upon said drive means to allow movement of the gage means with respect to said drive means, said means for preventing including means for holding said gage means away from a workpiece against the bias of said means resiliently supporting said gage means.

11. The assembly according to claim 7 wherein said locator means includes a pivotal finger and fork drive means comprising a part of said drive means, said gage means being connected with said fork drive means for movement therewith.

12. The assembly according to claim 11 wherein said finger includes a resiliently deformable pori portion bendable without damage a limited extent upon accidental impact of said locator means with a workpiece.

13. A machine tool comprising means for supporting and locating a workpiece, tool means movable into and out of em gagement with the workpiece for the machining thereof, locator means for detecting precise location of the workpiece with respect to said tool means, gaging means for detecting the machining of the workpiece to a predetermined on-size dimension, and driving means common to both said locator means and said gaging meansfor simultaneously moving both said locator means and said gaging means toward the workpiece.

14. The machine tool according to claim 13 further includ ing means for preventing engagement of said gaging means with the workpiece when both said locator means and gaging means are advanced toward the workpiece by said driving means.

15. The machine tool according to claim 14 wherein said locator means includes a pivotally mounted locator finger having a driving pin secured thereto, said driving means including means for engaging said driving pin to pivot said finger toward and away from the workpiece.

16. The machine tool according to claim wherein said means for engaging said driving pin includes a mounting assembly slidable on guide means toward and away from the workpiece, said gaging means being supported upon said mounting assembly.

17. The machine tool according to claim 13 wherein said locator means includes a finger pivotally mounted upon a shaft for pivotal movement toward and away from the workpiece, said shaft having first and second projections connected therewith for angular movement therewith, and switching means mounted for actuation by said first and second projections to signal full advancement and full retraction of said locator means.

18. The machine tool according to claim 17 wherein said switching means includes first and second fluid jets positioned for alignment alternately with said first and second projections when said locator finger is alternately pivoted in opposite directions toward and away from the workpiece.

19. The machine tool according to claim 13 wherein said means for supporting a workpiece includes means for engaging a workpiece at opposite ends thereof, movably supported for locating the workpiece, the combination further comprising means connected with said locator means for controlling movement ofthe means for engaging the workpiece to control location ofthe workpiece with respect to the tool means 20. The machine tool according to claim 19 including means for moving said gaging means additionally into operative relation with the workpiece only after precise locating of the workpiece and advancement of the tool means toward the workpiece.

21. In a grinding machine for grinding adjacent annular and cylindrical portions ofa workpiece,

a. a base,

b. a work support,

c. means for rotatably supporting a workpiece on said work support comprising a headstock and tailstock, each having an axially movable center,

. a grinding wheel rotatably mounted in a wheel support,

. means for feeding said grinding wheel toward and from said workpiece,

means for effecting axial movement of one of said centers to engage a workpiece and move it in operative engagement with said other center,

g. a gage and a locator mounted on a single locator base member,

h. and means for making the locator operative and the gage inoperative before feeding said grinding wheel toward the workpiece, and means for making the locator inoperative and the gage operative during the feeding of the grinding wheel toward the workpiece.

{WW0 UNITED STATES PATEN 1 F? A Patent No. 3, 596,410 Dated A g 3, 1971 Inventor(s) WILLIAM HAPPEL I l P l I i It 18 certizied that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby-corrected as 'shown below:

i Column 1, line 47, read "holdback" as 'hold-back-; i

line 51 read "calipher" as --caliper-*.

Column 2, line 5, read "airflow" as -air flow--; line 73, after "for" inse'rt the Column 4, line 21 read "MOv'ement" as Movement line 45, read "holdback" as hold-back line 52 read "holdback" as hold-back' 4 Column 5, line 40', read "bypassing" as by-passing Column 6, line 30, read "bypasses" as by-passes Column 7, line 1, read "reenergized" as re-energized line 11 read "setup" as set up line 40, after "means" (second occurrence) insert a line 69, read "gagemounting'" as gage mounting Column 8, line 8 read "holdback" as hold- -back line 10 delete "chordal"; line'34, after "with" insert a Signed and sealed this L'lat h day of April 1972.

EDWARD T4.FLE'TCEIMH,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Paton ts

Claims

1. In a grinding machine for grinding annular and cylindrical portions on a workpiece: a. work support means, b. means for rotatably supporting a workpiece on said work support means including axially adjustable support means c. a grinding wheel movable toward and away from a workpiece, d. a gage and locating assembly including a gage and an axial locator, e. drive means including a single member for moving said gage and said locating assembly toward and away from a workpiece, f. control means for preventing axial movement of a workpiece when the workpiece is located in a predetermined location, g. and means for advancing the gage on the periphery of a cylindrical surface after axial location of the workpiece has been effected and before the cylindrical surface is on-size.

2. The grinding machine according to claim 1 wherein said single member comprises means for advancing and retracting said gage and axial locator as a single unit to provide endwise location of the workpiece in relation to the grinding wheel prior to work rotation and gaging of the peripheral cylindrical surface to determine when on-size is reached during the grinding cycle.

3. The grinding machine according to claim 1 wherein said axial locator includes a base member, a shaft supported by said base member and a pivotable locator finger secured to said shaft; said drive means including a combination gage mounting bracket and locator finger drive fork means for pivoting said finger and moving said gage, stabilizing means including a guide rod, apertured block and rod engaging rollers for stabilizing movement of said combination gage-mounting bracket and locator finger drive means and a pneumatically operated piston-cylinder means for advancing and retracting a piston rod thereof to effect movement of said gage and pivoting of said locator finger.

4. A grinding machine according to claim 1 including means for signalling full advancement and full retraction of the gage and locating assembly including self-cleaning air jets and first and second pressure switches associated therewith and responsive to alternate blockage of said jets by advancement and retraction of said assembly.

5. The grinding machine according to claim 1 including holdback cylinder means for releasably retaining said gage from riding on the workpiece during axial location thereof and means for releasing said chordal gage for further movement onto the workpiece upon correct axial location of the workpiece and during the grinding cycle.

6. A grinding machine according to claim 1 wherein said axial locator includes a locator finger movable toward and away from the workpiece and including air jet stylus mounting means for movement into close proximity with a workpiece surface, said locator finger including means providing said finger with limited resilience allowing limited bending and full recovery of the finger upon accidental impact of an air jet stylus carried thereby with the workpiece.

8. The assembly according to claim 7 wherein said means for preventing comprises means retaining said gage means from operative association with workpiece during axial location of a workpiece and employment of said locator means.

9. The assembly according to claim 8 wherein said means for retaining said gage means includes a fluid actuatEd holdback cylinder assembly connected with said gage means for restraining further movement of the gage means into association with a workpiece when both said gage means and said locator means are advanced by said drive means.

13. A machine tool comprising means for supporting and locating a workpiece, tool means movable into and out of engagement with the workpiece for the machining thereof, locator means for detecting precise location of the workpiece with respect to said tool means, gaging means for detecting the machining of the workpiece to a predetermined on-size dimension, and driving means common to both said locator means and said gaging means for simultaneously moving both said locator means and said gaging means toward the workpiece.

14. The machine tool according to claim 13 further including means for preventing engagement of said gaging means with the workpiece when both said locator means and gaging means are advanced toward the workpiece by said driving means.

16. The machine tool according to claim 15 wherein said means for engaging said driving pin includes a mounting assembly slidable on guide means toward and away from the workpiece, said gaging means being supported upon said mounting assembly.

19. The machine tool according to claim 13 wherein said means for supporting a workpiece includes means for engaging a workpiece at opposite ends thereof, movably supported for locating the workpiece, the combination further comprising means connected with said locator means for controlling movement of the means for engaging the workpiece to control location of the workpiece with respect to the tool means.

20. The machine tool according to claim 19 including means for moving said gaging means additionally into operative relation with the workpiece only after precise locating of the workpiece and advancement of the tool means toward the workpiece.

21. In a grinding machine for grinding adjacent annular and cylindrical portions of a workpiece, a. a base, b. a work support, c. means for rotatably supporting a workpiece on said work support comprising a headstock and tailstock, each having an axially movable center, d. a grinding wheel rotatably mounted in a wheel support, e. means for feeding said grinding wheel toward and from said workpiece, f. means for effecting axial movement of one of said centers to engage a workpiece and move it in operative engagement with said other center, g. a gage and a locator mounted on a single locator base member, h. and means for making the locator operative and the gage inoperative before feeding said grinding wheel toward the workpiece, and means for making the locator inoperative and the gage operative during the feeding of the grinding wheel toward the workpiece.