Patent Application
20120242024
The present disclosure relates to vices used in machining operations to retain and adjust a position of a member during a machining operation.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Vices used for clamping a part or member for operations such as machining, lancing, cutting, plasma cutting, electrical discharge machining (EDM) or the like operations conducted on the member by an operating device commonly include a movable clamp portion and a fixed clamp portion. The member is retained between the movable and fixed clamp portions by frictional contact with the movable and fixed clamp portions, and a compression force provided through the movable clamp portion. The member is initially aligned and measured multiple times to ensure a predetermined orientation with respect to the operating device. Disadvantages of common vices include the member moving from its retained position during the operation by forces exerted from the operating device.
Common vices permit the member to be aligned in two axes with respect to a bed or support and the operating device, a first axis provided by rotation/displacement of the vice and a second axis provided by use of the movable and fixed clamp portions. Adjustment of the vice to correct for perpendicularity or parallelism requires movement of the vice in a third axis. A common method of providing movement in the third axis is to add one or more shims under all or a portion of the vice to adjust a height or angle of the vice, therefore changing a height or angle of the member with respect to the operating device. Use of shims are a repetitive and time consuming operation, because multiple shims are often placed or replaced until the desired orientation of the member is achieved. Use of shims also commonly requires provision of multiple independent shims to achieve the desired standoff dimension of the vice, multiple shims of differing thicknesses to provide for minute adjustment of the standoff dimension, and/or shims having different areas to provide adequate support for the vice. Elimination of the use of shims and alternate provision of movement in the third axis is therefore desirable.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
According to several embodiments, a precision leveling vice includes a vice assembly having a fixed jaw, and a moving jaw moved toward the fixed jaw to frictionally retain a member and away from the fixed jaw to release the member. A swivel plate having the vice assembly connected to the swivel plate. A fixture plate positioned oppositely about the swivel plate with respect to the vice assembly. A pivot pin positioned between the swivel plate and the fixture plate permits the swivel plate and vice assembly to together move in a rocking motion with respect to the fixture plate by rotation about the pivot pin.
According to additional embodiments, a precision leveling vice includes a vice body having a fixed jaw and an opposed vice body end wall. A moving jaw is moved toward the fixed jaw to frictionally retain a member and away from the fixed jaw to release the member. A swivel plate has the vice assembly connected to the swivel plate. A fixture plate is positioned oppositely about the swivel plate with respect to the vice assembly. A pivot pin is positioned in a partial circular slot created in each of the swivel plate and the fixture plate permitting the swivel plate and vice assembly to together move in a rocking motion with respect to the fixture plate by rotation about the pivot pin. First and second adjustment fasteners are individually positioned through apertures at opposite ends of the swivel plate and are threadably engaged with the fixture plate. Opposite axial rotation of the first and second adjustment fasteners causes a head of one of the first or second adjustment fasteners to contact the swivel plate inducing the rocking motion.
According to further embodiments, a precision leveling vice system includes a vice body having a fixed jaw and an opposed vice body end wall. A moving jaw moves toward the fixed jaw to frictionally retain a member and away from the fixed jaw to release the member. A swivel plate has the vice assembly connected to the swivel plate. A fixture plate is positioned oppositely about the swivel plate with respect to the vice assembly and in direct contact with a machining device table surface. The fixture plate is horizontally movable with respect to the table surface by loosening fasteners inserted through elongated apertures of the fixture plate and threadably engaged with the table surface. A pivot pin is positioned in a partial circular slot created in each of the swivel plate and the fixture plate permitting the swivel plate and vice assembly to together move in a rocking motion with respect to the fixture plate by rotation about the pivot pin.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
Screw 24 is manually rotated through the use of a vice handle 26. Screw 24 is threadably received in a vice body wall 28 of vice body 12, oppositely positioned with respect to fixed jaw 20. Rotation of screw 24 displaces moving jaw 18 with respect to vice body wall 28. Vice body wall 28 and fixed jaw 20 each include a threaded aperture 29, 29′ which individually receive a threaded fastener (not shown) to releasably fix vice body 12 to a swivel plate 30. A fixture plate 31 is positioned oppositely about the swivel plate 30 with respect to the vice assembly 11. Swivel plate 30 is connected for example by releasably fastening to fixture plate 31. Fixture plate 31 is directly received on a table upper surface 32 of table 14 and releasably fastened using a plurality of fasteners 34. A swivel plate lower surface 36 is spatially separated from a fixture plate upper surface 38 and adjustably spaced using a plurality of first swivel plate jack fasteners 40 and a plurality of second swivel plate jack fasteners 42. Each of the first and second swivel plate jack fasteners 40, 42 are threadably received in individual ones of a plurality of threaded apertures 44 extending through swivel plate 30. A fastener end face 46 of each of the first and second swivel plate jack fasteners 40, 42 contacts the fixture plate upper surface 38 such that contact by the fastener end faces 46 of the first and second swivel plate jack fasteners 40, 42 stabilizes the orientation of swivel plate 30 with respect to table fixture plate 31.
A spacing or gap between swivel plate 30 and fixture plate 31 is also determined by a diameter of a pivot pin 48 which is received in each of a first partial circular slot 50 created in swivel plate 30 and a second partial circular slot 52 created in fixture plate 31. Each of the swivel plate 30 and the fixture plate 31 include one of the partial circular slots each aligned parallel with a longitudinal axis of the pivot pin 48 and each having a curvature substantially matching a diameter of the pivot pin 48 such that the swivel plate 30 is rotatable about the pivot pin 48 with respect to the fixture plate 31 with no horizontal displacement of the pivot pin 48. First and second partial circular slots 50, 52 are therefore coaxially aligned with each other. Pivot pin 48 is frictionally retained within both first and second partial circular slots 50, 52 to permit a rocking motion of opposed ends 51 a, 51 b of swivel plate 30 with respect to fixture plate 31 thereby providing an additional axis of movement for member 16. Pivot pin 48 positioned within first and second partial circular slots 50, 52 therefore provides a rocking means to rotate or rock the swivel plate with vice assembly 11 connected thereto with respect to fixture plate 31. To ensure vice system 10 can be used in an EDM machining system which requires the retention components to provide an electrically conductive path, a material of individual ones of the vice body 12, swivel plate 30, fixture plate 31 and pivot pin 48 can each be electrically conductive.
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Fasteners 54, 54′ induce the rocking motion and further provide end-to-end stability of swivel plate 30, while first and second swivel plate jack fasteners 40, 40′, 42, 42′ provide side-to-side stability of swivel plate 30 after the rocked position of swivel plate 30 is set by contact of the fastener heads of fasteners 54, 54′ with swivel plate 30. First and second swivel plate jack fasteners 40, 40′, 42, 42′ therefore provide a swivel plate stabilizing means. Fasteners 54, 54′ therefore provide a rocking adjustment means to control an amount of rock or angle of rotation of swivel plate 30 with respect to fixture plate 31. Swivel plate 30 is nominally oriented parallel to fixture plate 31 and can be rotated or rocked with respect to the longitudinal axis of pivot pin 48 anywhere from the parallel position to a maximum rocked position wherein one of the opposed ends 51a or 51b of swivel plate 30 contacts the fixture plate upper surface 38 of fixture plate 31. A greater or lesser angle of rocking defining the maximum rocked position can also be provided by increasing or decreasing the diameter of pivot pin 48.
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Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
