Patent Application
20230075159
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for bicycle rims, especially to an intelligent automatic processing apparatus for spoke holes of bicycle rims which is adapted to drill spoke holes at different positions and angles of various bicycle rims and make drilling of the spoke holes on the rim more convenient.
Refer to Taiwanese Pat. Pub. No. 1258396B “bicycle rim drilling machine”, Taiwanese Pat. Pub. No. M450439U “composite rim drilling machine”, Taiwanese Pat. Pub. No. M369805U “rim drilling machine”, Chinese Pat. Pub. No. 201524819U “rim drilling machine”, and Chinese Pat. Pub. No. 206153612U “5-axis drilling machine for aluminum rims”, bicycle rim drilling machines available now mainly includes a plurality of drilling unit arranged around a machine base and a holding unit disposed on a center of the machine base. In order to drill holes on a rim, the rim is fixed by the holding unit and the plurality of drilling units are driven to move toward the rim synchronously to form corresponding spoke holes on the periphery of the rim.
The number of the drilling units disposed on bicycle rim drilling machine is determined according to the number of spoke holes users need. By the holding unit or a tool axis located at the center of the machine base being rotated an angle, holes are formed on an inner circular wall and outer circular wall of the rim and equally spaced around the rim. The traditional technique mentioned above is applied to the rim processing with equally spaced spoke holes for mass production of low-end products. However, some high-end or racing rims used in combination with hubs, the arrangement of spokes and the form of the inner circular wall are not designed in standard specifications in consideration of tension and horizontal component of force. That means the specifications of the spoke holes such as the number, the position, and the slope of the holes on the inner circular wall are all specific. Thus the prior arts mentioned above are not suitable for drilling different numbers of the spoke holes at different positions and batch production of the rims having the spoke holes with different slopes. The drilling of the spoke holes on the rim is not convenient. There is room for improvement and there is a need to provide a novel bicycle rim drilling machine.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an intelligent automatic processing apparatus for spoke holes of bicycle rims which is adapted to drill spoke holes at different positions and angles of various bicycle rims and make drilling of the spoke holes on the rim more convenient.
In order to achieve the above object, an intelligent automatic processing apparatus for spoke holes of bicycle rims according to the present invention includes a seat pivotally connected to a machine body and provided with a rotary base. While in use, a rim is clamped and fixed by clamping jaws on the rotary base. Then a control unit drives an incline unit to incline the seat connected at an angle desired for control of slopes of holes being drilled. The control unit also drives a rotary indexing power source to rotate the rotary base at different angles according to the numbers and positions of spoke holes to be drilled. Thus a drilling assembly drills the spoke holes required on the rim. Thereby the present apparatus is adapted to drill the spoke holes at different positions and angles of the rim by the control unit which adjusts the positions and inclination angles of the rim accurately. Therefore, the drilling of the spoke holes on the rim becomes more convenient.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Refer to
The machine body 1 is provided with a plurality of supports 11 fixed thereof, and a seat 12 disposed on the supports 11 and pivotally connected to the supports 11.
The clamp unit 2 consists of a rotary base 21 disposed over the seat 12, a plurality of clamping jaws 22 arranged around a center of the rotary base 21, and a jaw power source 23 mounted to a bottom of the seat 12 and connected to the clamping jaws 22 for transmitting power to the clamping jaws 22 so that the clamping jaws 22 are driven to open and close for catching and releasing objects. The clamp unit 2 is provided with an inner side and an outer side opposite to each other. The center of the rotary base 21 of the clamp unit 2 is the inner side while a periphery of the rotary base 21 is the outer side.
The rotary indexing power source 3 is disposed on the seat 12 and connected to the rotary base 21 of the clamp unit 2 for transmitting power to the rotary base 21 and driving the rotary base 21 to rotate with respect to the seat 12.
The inclination unit 4 is mounted to the machine body 1 and provided with a servo power source 41 connected to a rotating shaft 42 and transmitting power to the rotating shaft 42. The rotating shaft 42 is connected to the seat 12 for driving both the seat 12 and the rotary base 21 over the seat 12 to tilt forward and backward.
The outer drilling assembly 5 is located at the outer side of the clamp unit 2 and composed of a first movement module 51 arranged at the machine body 1 and a first drilling module 52 mounted to the first movement module 51. The first movement module 51 is capable of being moved, adjusted, and positioned in X, Y, and Z axes with respect to the machine body 1.
The inner drilling assembly 6 is located at the inner side of the clamp unit 2 and provided with a second movement module 61 mounted to the machine body 1 and a second drilling module 62 disposed on the second movement module 61. The second movement module 61 is capable of being moved, adjusted, and positioned in X, Y, and Z axes with respect to the machine body 1.
The jaw power source 23 of the clamp unit 2, the rotary indexing power source 3, the servo power source 41 of the inclination unit 4, the first movement module 51 and the first drilling module 52 of the outer drilling assembly 5, and the second movement module 61 and the second drilling module 62 of the inner drilling assembly 6 are connected to a control unit mounted to the machine body 1 in a wired or wireless way.
While in use, a rim 7 with an inner circular wall and an outer circular wall is arranged at the clamp unit 2 and then the control unit drives the jaw power source 23 of the clamp unit 2 to move the plurality of the clamping jaws 22 for clamping and fixing the rim 7. Also refer to
Also refer to
The position of each of the holes being drilled on the rim 7 is formed in turn by the rotary indexing power source 3 which drives the rotary base 21 to rotate and positions the rotary base 21 there. By setting an angle of clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the rotating shaft 42 driven by the servo power source 41 of the inclination unit 4, the inner spoke holes 72 formed on the inner circular wall of the rim 7 by the inner drilling assembly 6 are inclined at different angles (having different slopes). Moreover, the outer drilling assembly 5 and the inner drilling assembly 6 are not only drilling the spoke holes on the rim 7 accurately but also adapted to drill the spoke holes at different positions and with various inclination angles in a batch manner due to tri-axial displacement, adjustment, and positioning in X, Y, and Z axes of the first movement module 51 and the second movement module 61. The drilling of the inner spoke holes 72 and the outer spoke holes 71 can be controlled by programming. The control unit can firstly control the inner drilling assembly 6 to complete the drilling of the inner spoke holes 72 and then the outer drilling assembly 5 to drill the outer spoke holes 71. Or the control unit firstly controls the outer drilling assembly 5 to complete the drilling of the outer spoke holes 71 and then the inner drilling assembly 6 to drill the inner spoke holes 72. Or the outer spoke holes 71 and the inner spoke holes 72 are drilled at the same time under control of the control unit for saving processing time.
In summary, the present invention has the following advantages:
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalent.
