Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
  • B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
  • B24B29/00—Machines or devices for polishing surfaces on work by means of tools made of soft or flexible material with or without the application of solid or liquid polishing agents
  • B24B29/005—Machines or devices for polishing surfaces on work by means of tools made of soft or flexible material with or without the application of solid or liquid polishing agents using brushes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B24—GRINDING; POLISHING
  • B24B—MACHINES, DEVICES, OR PROCESSES FOR GRINDING OR POLISHING; DRESSING OR CONDITIONING OF ABRADING SURFACES; FEEDING OF GRINDING, POLISHING, OR LAPPING AGENTS
  • B24B7/00—Machines or devices designed for grinding plane surfaces on work, including polishing plane glass surfaces; Accessories therefor
  • B24B7/10—Single-purpose machines or devices
  • B24B7/19—Single-purpose machines or devices for grinding plane decorative patterns

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a new apparatus fo adding a brushed finish to a linear workpiece, in particular t adding such a finish to extruded aluminum, metallic, plastic o wood molding which is used to make picture frames.
• U.S. Patent 3,427,758 which is used for grinding rails such as the rails of rail road tracks.
• This machine is suited for abrading a con ⁇ tinuous length of material, but is designed to polish only a small portion of the rail, namely the top portion on which train wheels will roll.
• this heavy and cumbersome device is designed to travel along a fixed rail, rather than remain fixed while extruded material is fed through it.
• U.S. Patent 3,008,861 does involve abrading an extended length of material, but is chiefly designed to apply a surface to fibrous boards where the boards are abraded on only one relatively large planar surface before a film adhesive is applied to the abraded planar surface.
• Bailey U.S. Patent No. 1,857,832 discloses a series of polishing or buffing wheels arranged to contact, and thereby impart a desired surface finish to, a folded metal strip acting as an automobile window guide.
• the present invention provides apparatus which is able to remove by abrasion significant amounts of material from two contiguous surfaces of a longitudinal workpiece so as to impart a decorative finis thereto.
• th apparatus be adjustable with regard to the type of finish applie to the workpiece.
• angle of abrasion be adjustable, and that the workpiece be subjected t multiple abrasion with different abrasives at different angles, speeds and pressures.
• a still further object of the invention is to introduc patterns of abrasion on a workpiece of the type described, i opposing directions and at different angles and depths, whereb the patterns overlap and create an integrated textured effect such as a "distressed" pattern.
• a workpiece travels on rolling means along this common line, being selectively subjected to each abrasive means in sequence.
• the abrasive means are preferably rotary brushes mounted on speed-controllable motors.
• Each rotary means is adjustable with respect to angle, speed and direction of rotation, type of abrasive, and proximity or pressure with regard to the workpiece.
• the speed at which the workpiece travels through the apparatus may be controlled. The fine adjustments possible with the present inven ⁇ tion allow for exact selection of a finish and for consistent reproduction of any selected finish.
• Figure 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodimen of the invention
• Figure 2 is a side elevational view of a preferre embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 o Figure 1;
• Figure 4 is a view of a side finishing motor mount wit adjacent guide rollers;
• Figure 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 o Figure 4;
• Figure 6 is a rear view of a side finishing moto mount
• Figure 7 is a sectional view along the line 7-7 o Figure 1;
• Figure 8 is a sectional view along the line 8-8 o Figure 1;
• Figure 9 is a sectional view along the line 9-9 o
• Figure 10 is a sectional view along the line 10-10 o Figure 1. Description of the Preferred Embodiments
• a surfac finisher includes three pairs of rotary abrasive means, prefer ably finishing motors 10 and 12, 14 and 16, and.18 and 20. Th motors drive respective abrasion wheels 22 and 24, 26 and 28, an 30 and 32. Each of the motors 10,12,14,16,18 and 20 is adjustabl mounted to a table platform 34 and positioned substantially in linear configuration so that a linear workpiece 36 can be abrade by all six abrasion wheels 22,24,26,28,30 and 32 at the sam time.
• the side finishing motors 10 and 12 are mounted to abrad the left side of the workpiece 36, the left side being at the to of Figure 1.
• the top finishing motors 14 and 16 are mounted t abrade the top of the workpiece 36.
• Two transition finishin motors 18 and 20 are mounted to abrade the transition surface between the top and left side of the workpiece 36.
• the motors can, of course, be rearranged to attack the workpiece 36 in any order and each of the motors and abrasion wheels can be indepen ⁇ dently adjusted to abrade the workpiece 36 with a preselected pressure at a preselected angle, or to not abrade the workpiece 36.
• two sets of guide rollers 38 and 40 are mounted to the platform 34 at several points along the path of the workpiece 36, especially opposite the abrasion wheels.
• Horizontal rollers 38 provide horizontal stability by being positioned on both sides of the workpiece 36.
• Vertical rollers 40 are positioned above and below the workpiece 36 at each pai of motors 10 and 12, 14 and 16, and 18 and 20 to provide vertica support and stability. These rollers 38 and 40 are all prefera bly idling rubber rollers.
• two power rollers 42 and 44 frictionally engage th workpiece 36, one 42 at the entrance of the finisher and th other 44 at the exit of the finisher, the entrance being to th left of Figure 1.
• These power rollers 42 and 44 are powered b a drive motor 46 connected by a belt 49 to a drive pulley 47
• the drive pulley 47 is mounted on a shaft 54 to drive powe roller 42 and is connected by a chain 48 and two gears 50 and 5 to shaft 56 on which is mounted power roller 44.
• An input guide 58 is attached to the entrance of th finisher to aid in the insertion of long workpieces 36 into th finisher.
• Input rollers 60 are mounted on upward extensions o input guide 58. Workpiece 36 rests on top of input rollers 60 a it is fed into the finisher.
• exi guide 62 and exit rollers 64 are attached at the exit side. Rollers 60 and 64 ar also preferably idling rubber rollers.
• an embossing roller 66 may be added to th finisher. The embossing roller 66 is furnished with any indici or logo to be impressed into the underside of the workpiece 36 a it passes over the roller 66.
• Th evacuator 68 preferably comprises vertical walls 70 mounted t the platform 34 and a top 74, with a plurality of evacuatio pipes 72 connected through the top 74 to remove the particles t a remote suction and collection device (not shown).
• the sides o the evacuator 68 each comprise three doors 76 that are attache at their bottoms by hinges 78 to the platform 34. With the door
• the six finishing motors 10,12,14,16,18 and 20 are mounted on respective adjustable motor mounts 80,82,84,86,87 and 88, which allow three degrees of motion for the motors namely vertical, horizontal and rotational.
• the side motor mounts 80 and 82 (Figs. 4,5, and 6) and the top motor mounts 84 and 86 (Figs. 9 and 10) share similar structures.
• Each comprises a carousel mount 89 attached to the side of the appropriate motor.
• the carousel mount 89 allows rotation of the motor with respect to a support plate 90 that the mount 89 is also connected to by a bolt 92 and lock washer 94.
• the side and top motor mounts differ in their orientation to the respective support plate 90.
• the side finishing motors 10 and 12 are mounted to rotate in a vertical plane.
• the top motor mounts 84 and 86 include a right angle portion of the support plate 90 at the top, such that the motors 14 and 16 will rotate in a horizontal plane.
• the support plate 90 slidably engages two vertical tracks 96.
• a vertical adjusting screw 98 threadabl engages both the support plate 90 and the vertical tracks 96 fo precise adjustment of the vertical height of the motor.
• Th vertical tracks 96 are attached to a base 100, which slidabl engages two horizontal tracks 102, which are in turn attached t the platform 34.
• a horizontal adjusting screw 104 threadabl engages the base 100 and an anchor 106, which is attached to th platform 34.
• Both screws 98 and 104 have two oppositely threade areas, one at each end, so that rotation of a screw causes it two respective engaged parts to move in opposite directions either together or apart.
• the transition motor mounts 87 and 88 include many o the structures of the other mounts, but do not include th capability for vertical adjustment, except indirectly by rotatio of the carousel mount 89.
• the carousel mount 89 is connected t a transition support plate 108, which is directly connected to base 110.
• the transition support plate 108 has an angled portio where the carousel mount 89 is mounted, allowing for rotation o the transition motors 18 and 20 in a plane tilted 45 x fro vertical.
• the base 110 is slidably engaged to two horizonta tracks 102 and has a horizontal adjusting screw 104, similar t the side and top finishing motor mounts.
• the workpiece has at leas two outer surfaces that are orthogonal, one a side surface, th other a top surface. There is also a rounded transitiona surface at the intersection between the two orthogonal surfaces
• the side finishing motors 10 and 1 are aligned to attack the side surface of the workpiece 36 at a angle of 0' to 45* with respect to the direction of travel of th workpiece 36.
• the transition motors 18 and 20 attack th workpiece 36 on its transition surface, which is at a 45 x angl from the platform 34.
• the motors 18 and 20 can then be rotate to attack the surface at an angle between 0 l and 45 with respec to the direction of travel.
• the first and second top finishin motors 14 and 16 attack the top surface of the workpiece 36 an can attack the workpiece at an angle between 0 ⁇ and 45 wit respect to the direction of travel. It is important to note tha when both motors in any of the three pairs of motors — top transition or side — are both at the 45* setting, they attac the workpiece 36 at a right angle to each other. With a combination of the vertical, horizontal an rotational adjustments on the motor mounts 80,82,84,86,87, an 88, various surface finishes can be achieved. When a pair o motors are at right angles to each other, their respectiv abrasion surfaces will create a criss-cross finish on th workpiece 36.
• a control panel 112 ' is provided. While the preferred embodiment is designed to b electrically powered, it could be modified to operate hydrauli cally or pneumatically if desired.
• the control panel 112 has group of switches 114 for various functions, i.e., control of th drive motor 46 and each of the finishing motors 10,12,14,16,18 and 20.
• a group of ammeters 116 are also provided on the contro panel 112 that display the power consumed by each of th finishing motors, which can be related to pressure or wor applied to the workpiece 36. Readings can be recorded fo certain operations and selected finishes and returned to thes settings at later dates.
• the speed at which the workpiece 3 travels through the finisher will also affect the texture an pattern of the finish and can be adjusted by changing the spee of the drive motor 46 with a switch on the control panel 112.
• 22,24,26,28,30, and 32 are removable silicon carbide impregnate nylon rotary brushes.
• the finishing motors 10,12,14,16,18, an 20 are explosion-proof electrical motors.
• the abrasive surface can be interchanged with other types of abrasives which may b chosen to create a particular finish on the workpiece 36.
• the platform 34 is preferably provided with wheels 11 for easy movement away from nearby walls or machinery when lon workpieces are used.
• the wheels can b positioned to produce the desired finish.
• the angle of attac can be selected by rotating the carousel mount 89, while th pressure on the workpiece 36 is first roughly adjusted by th adjusting screws 98 and 104. Power is then supplied to the powe rollers 42 and 44, the embossing roller 66 and one or more of th finishing motors.
• the workpiece 36 is guided along the input rollers 6 and pushed into contact with the power and embossing rollers 4 and 66, assuming the embossing roller 66 is installed and at thi position.
• the embossing roller 66 applies an identificationio mark.
• Guide rollers 38 and 40 hold the workpiece 36 in vertically and horizontally stable position as the abrasion wheels 22,24,26,28,30, and 32 each in turn apply a scratch pattern on a surface of the workpiece 36.
• fine adjustments to the pressure of the abrasion wheels, and thus the scratch pattern can be achieved with screws 98 and 104.
• the workpiece 36 passes the last abrasion wheels 26 and 28, it is gripped by the power roller 44 and fed onto the output rollers 64 whereupon it may be removed from the finisher. While the embodiment of the invention shown and described is fully capable of achieving the results desired, it is to be understood that this embodiment has been shown and described for purposes of illustration only and not for purposes of limitation.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (1)

Citations (8)

• 1992
  • 1992-01-28 WO PCT/US1992/000737 patent/WO1992012822A1/en unknown
  • 1992-01-28 AU AU13261/92A patent/AU1326192A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (8)

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