This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 096144547, filed on Nov. 23, 2007.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a feeding mechanism, more particularly to a feeding mechanism for a woodworking machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
However, since the driving unit 9 of the feeding unit 5 is relatively heavy, the supporting stand 6 and therefore the part of the worktable 1 connected to the supporting stand 6 have a tendency to be pulled upwardly by the driving unit 9 via the horizontal arm 7. Such tendency may result in inclination of the worktable 1. Moreover, since the supporting stand 6 is fixed on the worktable 1, the distance travelled by is limited.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a feeding mechanism for a woodworking machine that can overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages associated with the prior art.
Accordingly, a feeding mechanism of the present invention is adapted for use with a woodworking machine. The woodworking machine includes a worktable that is disposed for supporting a workpiece thereon and that has a workpiece feeding side and a workpiece discharge side opposite to the workpiece feeding side, and a cutter that is provided on the worktable between the workpiece feeding side and the workpiece discharge side. The feeding mechanism includes a rail unit, a feeding unit, and a press roller unit. The rail unit is adapted to be disposed on the workpiece feeding side and the workpiece discharge side of the worktable and extends along a first direction. The feeding unit includes a slidable body that is adapted to extend across the worktable in a second direction transverse to the first direction, that is disposed slidably on the rail unit, and that has an abutment surface adapted to be perpendicular to the worktable and extending in the second direction, two rollers that are disposed on the slidable body and that are spaced apart from each other in the second direction, a belt component that is trained on the rollers and that abuts against the abutment surface of the slidable body, and a driving component that is disposed for driving the rollers to rotate along with the belt component. The press roller unit is adapted to extend slidably across the worktable in the second direction and includes a slidable seat that is disposed slidably on the rail unit, a press roller that is connected pivotally to the slidable seat, and a resilient component that is adapted for biasing the press roller to press the workpiece against the feeding unit.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
As shown in
The rail unit 300 includes a pair of parallel main rails 310 extending in a first direction (I) and adapted to be disposed respectively on the workpiece feeding side 110 and the workpiece discharge side 120 of the worktable 100 of the woodworking machine, and a pair of secondary slide rails 320 parallel to the main rails 310. The main rails 310 are located between the secondary rails 320. In this embodiment, each of the main and secondary rails 310, 320 has a round cross-section. However, the cross-section of each of the main and secondary rails 310, 320 should not be limited thereto. For example, each of the main rails 310 may have a rectangular cross-section while each of the secondary rails 320 may still have the round cross-section in other embodiments of this invention.
The feeding unit 400 includes a slidable body 10 that is adapted to extend across the worktable 100 of the woodworking machine in a second direction (II) transverse to the first direction (I) and that is disposed slidably on the main rails 310 of the rail unit 300, first and second rollers 21, 22 that are disposed on the slidable body 10 and that are spaced apart from each other in the second direction (II), a belt component 30 that is trained on the first and second rollers 21, 22, a driving component 40 that is disposed for driving the first and second rollers 21, 22 to rotate along with the belt component 30, a distance-adjusting unit 50 that is disposed on the slidable body 10, and an angle-adjusting unit 60 that is disposed on the slidable body 10.
The slidable body 10 of the feeding unit 400 includes an abutment plate 11, a first positioning plate 12 mounted securely on one end of the abutment plate 11 adjacent to the workpiece discharge side 120 of the worktable 100 of the woodworking machine, a second positioning plate 13 connected movably to the other end of the abutment plate 11 adjacent to the workpiece feeding side 110 of the worktable 100, a third positioning plate 14 spaced apart from the second positioning plate 13 and mounted securely on the end of the abutment plate 11 adjacent to the workpiece feeding side 110 of the worktable 100, and a locking handle 15 pivotable to lock the slidable body 10 on the main rails 310 of the rail unit 300 through operation of a cam mechanism (not shown). The abutment plate 11 has an abutment surface 111 adapted to be perpendicular to the worktable 100 and extending in the second direction (II), and a top surface 112 extending perpendicularly from a top edge of the abutment surface 111. The first and third positioning plates 12, 14 are mounted securely and respectively on the top surface 112 via screws. The secondary rails 320 of the rail unit 300 are connected securely and respectively to opposite ends of the slidable body 10.
The first and second rollers 21, 22 of the feeding unit 400 are disposed respectively on the first and second positioning plates 12, 13 of the slidable body 10 of the feeding unit 400. The first roller 21 is driven to rotate directly by the driving component 40. The second roller 22 has an axle 221 (see
In this embodiment, the belt component 30 of the feeding unit 400 is a conveyor belt that abuts against the abutment surface 111 of the abutment plate 11 of the slidable body 10 of the feeding unit 400.
As further shown in
The angle-adjusting unit 60 has a pivot shaft 61 that is provided on the second positioning plate 13 of the slidable body 10 of the feeding unit 400 and that extends through a top end of the axle 221 of the second roller 22 of the feeding unit 400 in the first direction (I) such that the axle 221 is pivotable about the pivot shaft 61, a lug plate 62 that is disposed securely on the second positioning plate 13, and an adjusting screw rod 63 extending through and co-movable with an end of the axle 221 at a position above the pivot shaft 61 and extending through the lug plate 62. The adjusting screw rod 63 has a shoulder portion 631 adjacent to one side of the axle 221 that is opposite to the lug plate 62 in the second direction (II ). The angle-adjusting unit 60 further has a nut 64 engaging threadedly the adjusting screw rod 63 and disposed adjacent to the other side of the axle 221 opposite to the shoulder portion 631 of the adjusting screw rod 63, such that the axle 221 is positioned between and close to the nut 64 and the shoulder portion 631 of the adjusting screw rod 63. Therefore, the top end of the axle 221 is co-movable with the adjusting screw rod 63 in the second direction (II). In other words, movement of the adjusting screw rod 63 relative to the lug plate 62 results in pivoting movement of the axle 221 about the pivot shaft 61. Due to the presence of the angle-adjustment unit 60, tilt adjustment of the second roller 22 relative to the second direction (II) is allowed.
As further shown in
The slidable seat 70 includes a pair of sleeves 71 sleeved respectively and movably on the secondary rails 320 of the rail unit 300, and a supporting arm 72 interconnecting fixedly the sleeves 71 and extending across the worktable 100. Each of the pivot rods 81 extends in a third direction (III) transverse to the first and second directions (I, II) and is connected to the supporting arm 72. Each of the connecting plates 82 has an end connected to and pivotable about a respective one of the pivot rods 81, and an opposite end connected pivotally to a respective one of the press rollers 83. Each of the fastening members 90 is sleeved fixedly on the supporting arm 72 and has two ends defining an opening through which a respective one of the pivot rods 81 extends. Each of the resilient components 84 is disposed between a respective one of the connecting plates 82 and a respective one of the fastening members 90, and is adapted for biasing a respective one of the press rollers 83 to press the workpiece 600 against the feeding unit 400. Each of the connecting plates 82 further has a stop portion 821 abutting against the supporting arm 72 for positioning the corresponding press roller 83 relative to the supporting arm 72 when the corresponding press roller 83 does not contact the workpiece 600. The control handle 85 is pivotable to lock the slidable seat 70 on the secondary rails 320 through operation of another cam mechanism (not shown).
As shown particularly in
When the belt component 30 of the feeding unit 400 needs to be replaced, the user can operate the distance-adjusting unit 50 of the feeding unit 400 by pivoting the handle rod 55 away from the second positioning plate 13, as shown in
Since the feeding unit 400 and the press roller unit 500 are provided across the worktable 100 of the woodworking machine by virtue of the rail unit 300 disposed on two sides of the worktable 100, the feeding mechanism of this embodiment will not cause the worktable 100 to incline. Moreover, the feeding unit 400 can slide back and forth in the first direction (I) along the main rails 310 without being obstructed.
It should be noted that, while this invention is exemplified using a plurality of fastening members 90 with a plurality of press rollers 83 connected thereto, only one fastening member 90 with one press roller 83 connected thereto may be employed in other embodiments of this invention.
As shown in
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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096144547 | Nov 2007 | TW | national |