GRINDING DEVICE FOR GRINDING END OF ROD INTO SPHERICAL SURFACE

Abstract

A grinding device includes a grinding wheel spun by a first driver, a holder, and a second driver providing linear movement to the holder. The grinding wheel defines a groove which has a hemispherical bottom surface. The holder holds a light-transmitting rod with an end inserted into the groove and set substantially parallel to a rotating axis of the grinding wheel.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to grinding technologies and, more particularly, to a grinding device for grinding an end of a rod into a spherical surface.

2. Description of Related Art

Electronic incense sticks include a tube having a spherical end. Light is directed to the spherical end to simulate the burnt head of a conventional incense stick. Currently, the spherical end is formed by manual grinding, which is an inefficient usage of human resource.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a grinding device, which can overcome the above-mentioned problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a planar schematic view of a grinding device for grinding an end of a rod into a spherical surface, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a grinding device 100, according to an embodiment, is configured for grinding an end 210 of a rod 200 into a spherical surface (not shown). The rod 200 can be tubular and is made of transparent material such as acrylic and polycarbonate. As such, the ground rod 200 can be used to finish an electronic incense stick, in which light is directed to the ground end 210 to simulate the burnt or smoldering head of a conventional incense stick.

The grinding device 100 includes a grinding wheel 20, a first driver 30, a holder 40, a second driver 50, and a blower 60.

The grinding wheel 20 is substantially a circular plate and is made of abrasive material such as ceramic, metal, or diamond. The grinding wheel 20 includes a first surface 21 and a rotating axis O substantially perpendicular to the first surface 21. The grinding wheel 20 defines a groove 22 into the first surface 21. The groove 22 is essentially a circular recess which is concentric about the rotating axis O and forms a cylindrical sidewall 23 and a hemispherical bottom surface 24. An inner diameter of the sidewall 23 is substantially equal to or slightly greater than an outer diameter of the rod 200. A roughness of the sidewall 23 is less than 0.8 micron, and in one embodiment, the roughness of the sidewall 23 is 0.2 micron. A roughness of the bottom surface 24 is in a range from about 0.2 micron to 0.8 micron.

The first driver 30 includes a rotating motor 31 and a shaft 32 coupled to the rotating motor 31. The rotating motor 31 spins the shaft 32 about a spin axis O′.

Referring to FIG. 2, the holder 40 includes two clamping plates 41, each of which defines a semi-cylindrical recess 42. The clamping plates 41 can be combined by fasteners such as screws 43 such that the recesses 42 cooperatively form a cylindrical hole (not labeled). A diameter of the cylindrical hole is substantially equal to or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the rod 200.

The second driver 50 is a linear motor and includes a stator 51 and a slider 52. The second driver 50 drives the slider 52 along the stator 51 in a direction D.

The blower 60 creates a fast-moving flow of air.

In assembly, the grinding wheel 20 is fixed to the shaft 32 such that the rotating axis O coincides with the spin axis O′. The rod 200 is clamped between the clamping plates 41 such that the rod 200 is accommodated in the recesses 42. Then, the clamping plates 41 are combined and are fixed to the slider 52 and the rod 200 is inserted into the groove 22 such that the rod 200 is substantially parallel to direction D and the rotating axis O.

In operation, the first driver 30 drives the grinding wheel 20 to rotate. The second driver 50 drivers the rod 200 to move towards the grinding wheel 20 along with the holder 40. Thus, the end 210 is subjected to grinding. The rod 200 can be pulled out at predetermined intervals and the blower 60 can blow the dust and powder of grinding out of the groove 22.

It will be understood that the above particular embodiments are shown and described by way of illustration only. The principles and the features of the present disclosure may be employed in various and numerous embodiments thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The above-described embodiments illustrate the possible scope of the disclosure but do not restrict the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A grinding device, comprising: a grinding wheel defining a groove symmetrical about a rotating axis and having a hemispherical bottom surface;a first driver coupled to the grinding wheel and configured for driving the grinding wheel to rotate about the rotating axis;a holder configured for holding a rod having an end inserted into the groove and set substantially parallel with the rotating axis; anda second driver coupled to the holder and configured for driving the rod to move towards the grinding wheel along a direction that is substantially parallel with the rotating axis.

2. The grinding device of claim 1, wherein the grinding wheel is a circular plate symmetrical about the rotating axis.

3. The grinding device of claim 1, wherein the grinding wheel is made of an abrasive material selected from the group consisting of ceramic, metal, and diamond.

4. The grinding device of claim 1, wherein the grinding wheel comprises a first surface substantially perpendicular to the rotating axis and the groove is defined in the first surface

5. The grinding device of claim 4, wherein the groove forms a cylindrical sidewall connecting the first surface and the bottom surface.

6. The grinding device of claim 5, wherein an inner diameter of the sidewall is substantially equal to or slightly greater than an outer diameter of the rod.

7. The grinding device of claim 5, wherein a roughness of the sidewall is less than 0.8 micron.

8. The grinding device of claim 5, wherein a roughness of the sidewall is 0.2 micron.

9. The grinding device of claim 1, wherein a roughness of the bottom surface is in a range from about 0.2 micron to 0.8 micron.

10. The grinding device of claim 1, wherein the first driver comprises a rotating motor and a shaft coupled to the rotating motor, the rotating motor is configured for driving the shaft to spin about a spin axis, and the grinding wheel is fixed to the shaft such that the rotating axis coincides with the spin axis.

11. The grinding device of claim 1, wherein the holder comprises two clamping plates, each of which define a semi-cylindrical recess, the clamping plates clamp the rod such that the rod is fittingly accommodated in the recesses of the two clamping plates.

12. The grinding device of claim 1, wherein the second driver is a linear motor and comprises a stator and a slider, the second driver is configured for driving the slider to slide on the stator along a direction which is substantially parallel with the rod and the rotating axis.

13. The grinding device of claim 1, comprising a blower, the second driver being configured to pull the rod out of the groove at a predetermined interval, and the blower being configured to blow air into the groove when the rod is pulled out of the groove.