US3820247A

US3820247A - Solid adjustable mechanism for infinite height setting

Info

Publication number: US3820247A
Application number: US00312040A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Casey; R Casey
Original assignee: CASEY TOOLS AND DIE CO M
Current assignee: CASEY TOOLS AND DIE CO M
Priority date: 1972-12-04
Filing date: 1972-12-04
Publication date: 1974-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-28

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to an adjustable mechanism capable of achieving infinite height settings. This mechanism may be employed as a supporting or spacer block for various machining operations, or as a gauge block for inspection or other measuring functions. In the present disclosure, said mechanism is described and illustrated as a sine plate supporting block. In this regard, the mechanism or supporting block is used by a machinist in adjusting the elevation of a tiltable plate member of a sine plate machine tool. The supporting mechanism may include a plurality of discrete bottom base supports of different thickness so that large incremental changes in the overall height of the mechanism can be achieved in multiples of the thickest to the smallest base support. Primarily the assembly comprises a slide housing which receives a slide element transversely movable therein so that the top surface of the slide element moves vertically upwardly and downwardly relative to the slide housing and is at all times parallel to the bottom surface thereof. The slide housing has an inclined surface which has the direction of inclination transverse to the support bar of the upper member of the machinist''s sine plate. The slide member is securely held in position by a pair of lock bolts which are angled to be perpendicular to the inclined surface, and there is provided washers having flat edge sections engaging the sides of the slide so as to prevent turning of the washers during tightening of the lock bolts, which might upset the height setting.

Description

United States Patent [191 Casey et al. I

[ 1 June 28, 1974 1 SOLID ADJUSTABLE MECHANISM FOR INFINITE HEIGHT SETTING Inventors: Morris Dick Casey; Richard W.

Casey, c/o Casey Tools & Die Co. M-40 South, Dowagiac, Mich. 49047 Filed: Dec. 4, 1972 Appl. No.: 312,040

US. Cl... 33/174 S, 33/162 Int. Cl. G0lb 3/30 Field of Search 33/174 S, 174 TC, 162

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1953 Tornebohn 33/162 10/1957 Ozbilgic 33/162 OTHER PUBLICATIONS John Roberts, Adjusting Wedge for Heavy-Duty Sine Bar," June 6, 1946, page 143, American Machinist.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT The present disclosure is directed to an adjustable mechanism capabltings. This mechanism may be employed as a supporting or spacer block for various machining operations, or as a gauge block for inspection or other measuring functions. In the present disclosure, said mechanism is described and illustrated as a sine plate supporting block. 1n this regard, the mechanism or supporting block is used by a machinist in adjusting the elevation of a tiltable plate member of a sine plate machine tool. The supporting mechanism may include a plurality of discrete bottom base supports of different thickness so that large incremental changes in the overall height of the mechanism can be achieved in multiples of the thickest to the smallest base support. Primarily the assembly comprises a slide housing which receives a slide element transversely movable therein so that the top surface of the slide element moves vertically upwardly and downwardly relative to the slide housing and is at all times parallel to the bottom surface thereof. The slide housing has an inclined surface which has the direction of inclination transverse to the support bar of the upper member of the machinists sine plate. The slide member is securely held in position by a pair of lock bolts which are angled to be perpendicular to the inclined surface, and there is provided washers having flat edge sections engaging the sides of the slide so as to prevent turning of the washers during tightening of the lock bolts, which might upset the height setting.

SOLID ADJUSTABLE MECHANISM FOR INFINITE HEIGHT SETTING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION side of a right triangle formed by lower and upper plate l5 members of a machinists sine plate.

With reference to prior practices, during the manufacture of articles by machining there is occasionally the need to cut, mill, grind or drill a workpiece at an angle relative to a flat support or top surface of the workpiece. This is accomplished by fastening the workpiece to what is known as a sine plate so that the milling, cutting, grinding or drilling can take place at an angle which is set according to the trigonometric sine function of said angle. The sine plate has a pair of pivotal plate members, one forming the adjacent side of a triangle and the otherforming the hypotenuse of the triangle. The opposite side of the triangle is formed by a support block positioned between the free ends of the plate members. The free end of the top plate member, i.e. the one forming the hypotenuse of the triangle, has a round bar fastened thereto so that line contact is made with a support surface positioned therebeneath. When it is desired to position the top plate member of the sine plate at a given angle, a trigonometric table can be used to determine the sine function of the desired angle which, in turn, will reveal the height of the opposite side of the triangle, i.e. the side being formed by the support block. For convenience, the base of the sine plate, that is the plate member forming the adjacent side of the triangle, is of a length such that the trigonometric values can be converted directly into inches. Once the height of the opposite side is known, a set of gauge blocks, measuring devices of extreme accurate dimension, are used to fabricate a supporting unit of a predetermined height. This is then measured accurately and checked against the appropriate dimensions obtained by the trigonometric function. Once the accurate dimension is obtained by means of the gauge blocks a block of metal is machined to this dimension. This block of metal provides the desired support unit, and employed with the sine plate at the end thereof to form the support between the pivotal plate members. This is done, since the gauge blocks are extremely expensive and would be damaged if used to support the sine plate directly.

This measuring and machining of a separate support block requires considerable time and is therefore relatively expensive. The gauge blocks used to fabricate a measurable unit are much too sensitive and delicate to be used as support blocks in the sine plate unit. More specifically, they cannot be used around abrasive grinder dust nor can it withstand milling pressures and vibrations. Therefore, each time a new support block is needed, it must be fabricated first by the gauge blocks and then machined from a solid piece of metal to the same exact heigth. Should too much metal be removed, the machinist has no recourse but to start over.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an adjustable mechanism capable of use as a support block for a machinists sine plate which can be adjusted directly to the desired height thereby eliminating the need of machining a separate block for every angle or set up.

In addition, the adjustable mechanism of this invention may be employed with a plurality of discrete base elements of predetermined thickness which are in predetermined multiples of, for example, one-tenth of an inch. There may be provided four such base plates of thicknesses ranging from 0.10, 0.20, 0.30 and 0.60 inches and so on. These base plates may be aligned one on top of the other by suitable aperture and pin means. The aforementioned adjustable mechanism is mounted to the top portion of the joinedbase plates so that the final thickness of the assembly is adjustable over an infinite range within limits.

For example, taking the adjustable mechanism alone, the slide housing will preferably have a height of 0.200 inches. This value is chosen since most sine plates have a support block mounting slot 0.200 inches in depth.

, Thus, with the mechanism mounted in the slot, and the slide element in its lowermost position, the sine plate can be set to 0. The overall height of the mechanism is thus adjustable to any value therebetween 0.200 and the maximum height obtainable with the slide element in the uppermost position, i.e. 0.300 inch. In situations where the desired height for the supporting unit is greater than the maximum obtained with the mechanism per se, the above-mentioned base plates are used. As the mechanism itself is adjustable and will be set using precision gauge blocks or some other measuring unit, these base plates need not be machined to close tolerance.

Still another distinct advantage is that with the prior art practice of machining a solid block to size, if too much material was removed or an error made in the height calculation producing an undesired unit, the machinist had to start over. With the present invention, one need only readjust the slide element.

The adjustment is accomplished by providing an inclined surface in the slide housing, such that the inclined surface is oriented transverse to the support bar of the upper plate member of the machinists sine plate. Secondary inclined surfaces are provided outwardly of the slide surface and have threaded apertures formed therein to receive locking screws. The longitudinal axis of these locking screws are then oriented to be substantially perpendicular to the inclined surface, this providing maximum efficiency in gripping of the slide element which is movable along the inclined surface. A stop pin is provided and extends upwardly of the inclined surface to be inserted into an elongated slot so that the extent of travel of the slide along the inclined surface is limited, this limiting action being a function of the length of the slot receiving the pin. Most advantageously the washers about the locking screws have flat edge portions extending toward the slide element and in close proximity with the side wall surfaces thereof. By so providing the flat portions on the washers the washers are prevented from turning during tightening and loosening of the lock screws. This then prevents the slide from being moved out of position during tightening or in use where machining vibrations are encountered.

The adjustable mechanism can be adjusted to accura- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machinists sine plate showing the adjustable mechanism of the present invention being used as a sine plate supporting block, a workpiece is shown mounted to the sine plate in phantom line;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper slide housing and slide units forming the adjustable portion of the mechanism of this invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the slide housing and slide of FIG. 2, and it shows its relationship with the support blocks therebeneath;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

2; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2 and further illustrating the adjustability of the slide member relative to the slide housing.

FIGS. 6-8 show a modified form of the invention in which means are provided for stacking members on top of a slide.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, there is seen a sine plate support assembly designated generally by reference numeral 10 for holding a workpiece, shown in phantom line, so that milled slots or holes can be formed in the workpiece at the desired angular displacement relative to either the top or bottom surface thereof. The sine plate assembly 10 includes an upper plate member 11 and a lower plate member 12, each having a plurality of apertures therethrough. The apertures in the upper and lower plate members may be threaded so that the workpiece can be held in position against an alignment or register bar 13 or other similar alignment or register member. In the illustrated embodiment disclosed herein the sine plate support mechanism 10 includes locking straps l4 and 16 on each side of the sine plate and these locking straps are held in place by socket head screws 17. However, when extreme weight is applied to the sine plate, the locking straps l4 and 16 may tend to flex or otherwise move, this being an undesirable effect as it will change the angle of the top plate. To insure proper support of the upper plate member 1 1, a supporting block is positioned between the upper and lower sine plates to that a bar 18 of the upper plate member engages the top surface of the supporting block. The height of the supporting block is accurately determined so that the trigonometric sine function of the angle desired is obtained by the side opposite the angle being measured.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, the support block is an adjustable construction designated generally by reference numeral 20. The adjustable support block construction 20 includes an upper section or mechanism 21 which is infinitely adjustable within its range so that settings of four and five decimal places is readily obtainable. Coarse adjustments in the height of the assembly 20, i.e. adjustments in steps of tenths of an inch or more, are obtained by employment of the various sizes of the base plates 22 beneath the adjustable mechanism 21. The base plates 22, for example can come in thicknesses of 0.10; 0.20; 0.30; 0.40; 0.50, etc. and any one or combination of the base plates can be used to achieve the desired height. The lower plate member 12, includes a pair of

slots

23 and 24, designed to receive therein support assemblies 20. Normally one assembly would be used in each slot, or alternately a single central slot and support assembly might be employed. The

slots

23 and 24 are preferably formed to a depth of 0.200 inch, which corresponds to the height of mechanism 21, with the slide in its lowermost position.

The fine adjustment of top section or mechanism 21 is more clearly illustrated in FIG. 2 which shows a perspective view of the slide housing section 26 which receives a slide element 27. The slide housing 26 includes an inclined surface 26a along which the slide 27 travels. The slide housing 26 includes a pair of diametrically opposed recessed

portions

28 and 29 on opposite sides of the slide to receive threaded lock bolt means 30 and 31, respectively. The threaded

lock bolts

30 and 31 each have their axis perpendicular to the inclined surface 26a so that maximum clamping force can be transferred to the gib or

ledge portions

27a and 27b of the slide 27. Thus, the upper surface of the slide 27 is adjusted by shifting the slide element transversely within its slot for causing the slide to move upwardly and downwardly along the inclined surface 26. Once the proper position of the slide is achieved, it is maintained in that position by securely locking the

lock bolts

30 and 31 which act as clamping devices.

The slide housing 26 may include a pair of threaded

apertures

32 and 33 which receive assembly bolts (not shown) passing through the base plates beneath the housing 26. The various base plate members 22 include corresponding oversized, apertures 34 for accommodating said assembly bolts. These assembly bolts can be utilized to maintain the entire unit 20 in a one piece condition for as long as necessary, or allow it to be bolted directly to the lower plate 12. Also formed in the slide housing 26 is a pair of

nonthreaded apertures

36 and 37 which receive

alignment pins

38 and 39, respectively, from one of the lower base plates, these pins thus maintaining the stack of blocks in an aligned upright condition.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is seen an exploded perspective view of the adjustable mechanism of the present invention employed as a sine plate supporting block. Here it can be seen that the angle of inclination of the axes of the

lock bolts

30 and 31 are perpendicular to the inclined surface 26a so that maximum gripping force is achieved. Also, alignment of the plurality of base plates beneath the slide housing 26 is achieved by pins and apertures similar to the

pins

38 and 39 and

apertures

36 and 37. The

lock bolts

30 and 31 are provided with

washers

40 and 41 each having a flat edge surface 400 and 41a, respectively, which are directed inwardly in diametrically opposed relation with one another and overlie the gib or

ledge portions

270 and 27b of the slide 27. The flat edges of the washers come in close proximity to the

side wall portions

42 and 43, and as the

lock bolts

30 and 31 are tightened the

washers

40 and 41 are prevented from turning under pressure by a wedge lock action between the flat edges and the sides of the slide member. This is best illustrated in FIG. 4 which clearly shows the flat edge portions 40a and 41a in close proximity with the

side wall portions

42 and 43 of the slide 27. With the

washers

40 and 41 precluded from turning, tightening of the lock bolts will not alter the position of the slide 27. Also seen in FIG. 4 is a longitudinal slot 44 which is formed in the underside of the slide 27 and is used to limit the extent of travel of the slide. The slot 44 receives a pin 46 which engages the extreme ends of the slot to provide this limiting action.

Preferably, the slide 27 includes a step 48 formed at the top surface thereof to provide two distinct surfaces or

levels

49 and 50 upon which the bar 18 of the upper sine plate can rest. The incremental distance between the upper and lower surfaces formed by the step 48 can be any dimension desired, and can be even a multiple of the minimum fraction obtained by the base plates in FIGS. 6-8, there is shown a modified or companion version of the adjustable mechanism 21 discussed previously. In this regard, similar elements are designated by like reference numerals primed The adjustable mechanism 21 of FIGS. 6-8 is, in practice, considerably larger than the mechanism 21 discussed above, but constructed on the same general principle. The mechanism 21' will, of course, be used in situations where rather large workpieces are being machined.

Similar to the mechanism 21, the embodiment of FIGS. 6-8 employs a slide housing section 26', to which is mounted a slide member 27'. The slide housing 26' includes an inclined surface 26a along which slide 27 travels. The slide member 27' is maintained in place by a pair of lock screws 30' and 31, employed in conjunction with the

flat side washers

40 and 41.

The upper surface of the slide member 27', which is designated 60, is not stepped, as is the case with previously described mechanism 21. In addition, surface 60 is provided with a pair of locating

apertures

62 and 64, as shown in FIG. 6.

Accordingly, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the upper support surface 60 is designed to receive base plate elements 22'. These elements 22' are of varying thickness, thus rendering assembly provided by mechanism 21' and plates 22' adjustable over an infinite range within certain limits.

The individual base plate elements 22' will be of varying thickness, thus permitting a machinist to obtain a setting approximating the desired height. Next the slide member 27' is moved to vary slightly the overall height until the desired height is obtained. As seen in FIG. 8, each base plate member 22' includes a pair of locating or mounting pin elements 66 projecting from one surface thereof, and a corresponding pair of locating apertures 68 formed in the opposite surface, This arrangement permits the base plates 22' to be assembled in stacked relation, as needed.

In practice, it is contemplated that the base plate member 22' will be essentially the same size as the base plate elements 22, employed with the adjustable mechanism of FIGS. 1-5 and interchangable therewith. As such, a machinist need only purchase a single set of base plates, this set being usable with either the small adjustable mechanism 21 or the larger version 21'. F urther, by providing for additions of the base plates, directly to the upper surface of the slide member, the size of the plate is reduced, as is the amount of material and machining required to produce the base plate.

In addition, by sizing the base plates and slide support surface as discussed above, if desired one could employ the slide mechanism 21 of FIGS. 1-5 atop the base plates 22'. Such an arrangement would lend a fine degree of accuracy to large jobs.

By employing the adjustable mechanism of the present invention as a sine plate supporting block for machinist sine plates much time and labor is saved, thereby substantially reducing the cost of adjusting the angle of the sine plate. Accordingly, it will be understood that the adjustable mechanism of this invention can be employed as a support in a wide variety of situations, and is not limited to use as a support for a sine plate. In addition, variations and modifications in the general structure of this invention may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts disclosed and claimed herein.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. An adjustable mechanism capable for use as a sine plate supporting block or the like, comprising in combination; a slide housing having a planar bottom surface and an inclined surface disposed at an angle with respect to said bottom surface; a slide member movably positioned relative to said slide housing on said inclined surface thereof, said slide member having a lower surface and an upper surface, said lower surface being inclined with respect to said upper surface at the same angle as said slide housing surfaces, such that movement of said slide member relative to said slide housing along the inclined surface of said housing will maintain the upper surface of said slide member substantially parallel with the bottom surface of said slide housing although producing relative vertical movement therebetween, whereby the effective overall height of the mechanism may be varied; and lock means to fix the position of said slide member relative to said slide housing so that the overall height of the mechanism, once set, can be maintained, said lock means comprising a secondary inclined surface on said slide housing inclined at the same angle to said bottom surface as said first mentioned inclined surface on said housing, a threaded aperture formed in said slide housing having its axis perpendicular to the said inclined surfaces thereof, said slide member including a ledge formed along an edge thereof in confronting relation to said secondary inclined surface and parallel to the same inclined surface of the slide member, and fastener means threadedly engaged with said aperture and including means overlying said secondary inclined surface and said ledge to clamp said slide member firmly in position relative to said slide housing.

2. An adjustable mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said fastener means includes a lock bolt, and said means overlying said secondary inclined surface and said ledge includes a washer member carried by said lock bolt.

3. An adjustable mechanism according to claim 2 wherein said washer includes a flat edge portion engaged against a sidewall surface of said slide member, such that upon tightening and loosening of the lock bolt rotation of said washer and the corresponding movement of said slide member are prevented to thereby maintain the relative position of said slide member with respect to said slide housing.

4. An adjustable mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein a secondary inclined surface, a corresponding ledge upon the slide member and lock means are provided on both sides of said slide member.

5. The adjustable mechanism to claim 1 wherein said slide housing includes a pin extending upwardly therefrom and wherein said slide member includes a slot to receive said pin, said slot having an extent to limit the travel of the slide member within said slide housing.

6. The adjustable mechanism of claim 1 wherein said upper surface of the slide member is stepped to provide two discrete supporting areas.

7. The adjustable mechanism of claim 1 further in- 9. The adjustable mechanism according to claim 8,

wherein said base means and said slide housing include at least two sets of aligned apertures, the aperture in said housing being threaded such that an assembly bolt can be disposed in said apertures to maintain said mechanism in assembly.

Claims

7. The adjustable mechanism of claim 1 further including a plurality of plate members in stacked relation mountable to the upper surface of said slide member, and means on said upper surface for releasably reCeiving said plate members.

8. The adjustable mechanism according to claim 1 further including base means adapted to be removably mounted to said slide housing, said base means including a plurality of modular blocks of differing dimensions adapted to be stacked one on top of the other, such that upon mounting to said slide housing the overall height of said mechanism amy be further adjusted in fixed increments.

9. The adjustable mechanism according to claim 8 wherein said base means and said slide housing include at least two sets of aligned apertures, the aperture in said housing being threaded such that an assembly bolt can be disposed in said apertures to maintain said mechanism in assembly.