Patent Application
20130277903
The present invention relates generally to a vise for machining work pieces, and more particularly, relating to vise jaw plates for supporting and securing a work piece for machining and to the attachment of the vise jaw plates to the jaws of the vise.
In the machining of a work piece, it is customary to secure the work piece by a vise to hold the work piece against movement during machining. The process of securing a work piece by a vise or also referred to as the set-up of a work piece is time consuming and expensive in both labor costs and production costs. Because of this, there has been a considerable amount of attention in the field given to the development of variously configured vises and vise jaws all aimed at the purpose of reducing the time required for the set-up of a work piece. One such class of devices includes vise jaw plates having a pattern of holes formed through confronting faces thereof for the reception of dowel pins to aid in the positioning of the work piece between the vise jaws. Vise jaw plates of this class are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,419,540; 6,601,839; and 6,786,123 each of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
Conventionally, in the set-up of a work piece and the securement thereof by a vise, the position of the work piece, that is the work piece's position in space, is referenced from the deck surface of the vise because the elevation of the deck surface relative to the machine tool is a known constant and the work piece must be positioned in relation to the machine tool for machining.
The precise relational aspect between the vise deck surface and the work piece can become inaccurate as a result of the bottom surface of the vise jaw plate not being fully seated against the vise deck surface. An unseated vise jaw plate may result in shifting of the vise jaw plate during machining and/or in an inaccurate work piece set-up, either of which will result in an un-usable work piece. This becomes particularly problematic with vise jaw plates of the class having utilizing dowel pins, as referenced above, because during set-up, the operator relies upon the knowledge of the precise positioning of the dowel pin holes relative to one another and also relative to the vise deck surface.
While the devices heretofore meet their respective objectives and requirements, these devices do not recognize the problems associated with a vise jaw plate that is not fully seated against the vise deck surface. Accordingly, there is a need for vise jaw plates that include the advantages provided by the class of vise jaw plates having dowel pin holes for receiving dowel pins and work holders to support a work piece between the vise jaws and which also eliminates problems and drawbacks discussed above.
The embodiments of the present invention addresses this need by providing vise jaw plates that include a vise jaw mounting arrangement that causes the bottom surface of the vise jaw to become fully seated against a deck surface of the vise once mounted to the vise jaw.
Embodiments of the present invention also provide vise jaw plates having a pattern of holes formed through confronting faces thereof for the reception of dowel pins and work holders to aid in the precise positioning of a work piece between the vise jaws for machining.
Embodiments of the present invention further provide vise jaw plates providing reliable and repeatable work piece setup.
To achieve these and other advantages, in general, in one aspect a vise jaw plate for mounting on a vise having a vise jaw with first and second jaw plate attachment holes elevated a first distance from a deck surface of the vise is provided. The vise jaw plate has parallel front and back sides, left and right sides and a bottom side being substantially flat and orthogonal to the front and back sides. A plurality of equally sized holes are arranged in a pattern and extend through the front side and terminate at a position intermediate the front and back sides. First and second mounting bores are spaced horizontally between the left and right sides and extend through the front and the back sides and are arranged for cooperative alignment a with the first and second vise jaw mounting holes, respectively. Each of the first and second mounting bores having a first frustoconical portion extending through the front side, a second frustoconical portion extending through the back side, and a straight bore portion joining the confronting narrow ends of the first and second frustoconcial portions. Each the first and second mounting bores being elevated a second distance from the deck surface of the vise as measured when the bottom surface is rested upon the deck surface. The second distance of the first and second mounting bores is greater than the first distance of the first and second jaw plate attachment holes.
In general, in another aspect, the hole pattern being a staggered column-row matrix with the centers of holes in a common row being spaced an equal distance D1 and with the centers of holes in a common column being spaced an equal distance D2.
In general, in another aspect, one or more threaded bores extend through at least one of the left and right sides.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated embodiments of the invention.
The following drawings illustrate by way of example and are included to provide further understanding of the invention for the purpose of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the invention. No attempt is made to show structural details of the embodiments in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. Identical reference numerals do not necessarily indicate an identical structure. Rather, the same reference numeral may be used to indicate a similar feature of a feature with similar functionality. In the drawings:
With reference to
Vise jaw plates 12 and 14 are similarly fashioned and include parallel front and back sides 22 and 24, parallel top and bottom sides 26 and 28 and parallel left and right sides 30 and 32. The bottom side 26 is substantially flat and orthogonal to the front and back sides 22 and 24. The front sides 22 of plates 12 and 14 include matching patterns of precision located, equally-sized holes 34 extending through the front side in a direction towards the back side 24 and normal therewith. Holes 34 do not extend fully through to the back side 24, and terminate at an intermediate position between the front and back sides 22 and 24. In an embodiment, holes 34 are patterned in a staggered column-row matrix with the centers of holes 34 existing within a common row being spaced an equal distance D1 and with the centers of holes 34 existing in a common column being spaced an equal distance D2. In an embodiment, distance D1 and distance D2 are unequal. In an embodiment, holes 34 have a diameter of 0.25-inches, distance D1 is equal to 0.50-inches and distance D2 is equal to 0.75-inches. While, alternative hole-diameter, hole-spacing and hole-patterns may be utilized, the specific staggered column-row matrix with distances D1 and D2 being unequal provide load support and setup adjustability, which is not currently present in the devices heretofore.
Preferably, holes 34 are smooth bore holes free of threading for the reception of dowel pins 36 therein for the positioning and/or alignment of various work piece holders, such as, but not limited to V-blocks 44, angle finders 46, parallels (not shown), sine-plates (not shown), etc. One or more holes 34 could be threaded if so desired. Further, while it is not illustrated, dowel pins may also be used to directly position and support a work piece.
Vise jaw plates 12 and 14 may further include a plurality of vertically spaced holes 40 extending through the left side 30 and normal thereto. Holes 40 are each threaded and are adapted to receive a threaded fastener in the mounting of work piece holders or set-up devices, for example an adjustable vise clamp 48, to the left side of the vise jaw plate 12, 14. Vise jaw plates 12 and 14 may include a plurality of vertically spaced holes 42 extending through the right side 32 and normal thereto. Like holes 40, holes 42 are threaded and are adapted to receive a threaded fastener in the mounting of work piece holders or set-up devices, for example an adjustable vise clamp 50, to the right side of the vise jaw plates 12 and 14.
With reference to
Turning to
Likewise, through bore 56 includes a frustoconical first bore portion 62 extending through the front side 22 and a frustoconical second bore portion 64 extending through the back side 24. Frustoconical bore portions 62 and 64 are connected together at their confronting narrow ends by a straight bore portion 63.
With reference to
Turning now to
Additionally, while it is not specifically illustrated in the drawings of the figures, the action between the fasteners 70, 72 and bores 54, 56 as discussed above further operates to center the vise jaw plates 12, 14 horizontally (left-right across the vise jaw) with reliable repeatability, which is an additional advantage provided by the invention that is not found in the devices heretofore.
It is important to note, vise jaw plates 12 and 14 are configured for mounting to vise jaws 16 and 18 with the back sides 24 confronting as opposed to the front sides 22 confronting to provide smooth work piece griping surfaces if desired. In such a reverse mounting arrangement, the same function of seating the bottom sides 28 is provided.
A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
