Information
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Patent Grant
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6616515
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Patent Number
6,616,515
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Date Filed
Monday, September 17, 200122 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, September 9, 200320 years ago
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Inventors
-
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Examiners
- Hail, III; Joseph J.
- Thomas; David B.
Agents
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CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 451 45
- 451 47
- 451 48
- 451 65
- 451 72
- 451 160
- 451 177
- 451 193
- 451 203
- 451 208
- 451 224
- 451 229
- 451 249
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- 451 260
- 451 278
- 451 280
- 451 293
- 451 371
- 451 415
- 451 419
- 451 420
- 451 421
- 451 422
- 451 438
- 451 439
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International Classifications
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Abstract
A method and jointing attachment 10 for jointing the inserted tooth carbide heads 105 on the top 102 and bottom 103 rotary cutter heads of a thickness planer 100 having a movable carriage 104 that supports the bottom cutter head 103 and is provided with a laterally translatable grinding element 108 wherein the jointing attachment 10 includes an auxiliary motor member 40 that is mounted in a pivoted free floating fashion relative to the movable carriage 104 of the thickness planer 100 and supported by a drive belt member 50 that is attached to a selected one of the rotary cutter heads 102 103 and a pulley reel 43 mounted on the output shaft 42 of the auxiliary motor member 40 for imparting a counterclockwise rotation of the selected cutter head 102 103 to joint the inserted tooth carbide heads 105 through engagement with the grinding element 108.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of sharpening methods and apparatus in general and in particular to a universal jointing attachment for inserted tooth carbide heads.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 993,367; 4,987,704; 4,581,856; and 4,512,114, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse jointing arrangements for a variety of cutter heads used to produce different functions.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical universal jointing attachment for inserted tooth carbide heads in general and in particular for a specific type of thickness planer known in the industry as the Oliver “STRAITOPLANE”™.
The aforementioned thickness planer is provided with a pair of cutter heads which come in either 24″, 30″ or 36″ wide wherein the upper cutter head is fixedly secured in the main or mill framework of the thickness planer and the bottom cutter head is disconnectable from the main drive motor of the mill and mounted on a carriage that can be laterally withdrawn relative to the mill.
At the present time, Oliver Manufacturing Company does not make a jointing attachment for their ‘STRAITOPLANE”™ thickness planers, and users of that machine have encountered a great deal of difficulty in obtaining smooth cutting surfaces on the grinding knives provided thereon.
When grinding the individual knives, the allowable tolerances are between one and one and a half thousandths per inch and this process normally takes approximately 6 to 6½ hours to complete. However, the individual knives can be jointed from 3 to 5 times between each grinding procedure.
It should also be noted that once the grinding wheel makes contact with the guide behind the knives, the knives have to be turned. Given the fact that each knife has four sides, each knife can be jointed 4 to 5 more times thereby extending the life of the knives; and, with almost 300 knives installed on one thickness planer at an average cost of $11 per knife, this represents very substantial savings.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among owners of Oliver “STRAITOPLANE”™ thickness planers for a new and improved method and apparatus for jointing the inserted tooth carbide heads on both the upper and lower cutter heads of that device; and, the provision of such an arrangement is the stated objective of the present invention.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly stated, the universal jointing attachment that forms the basis of the present invention comprises in general a bracket unit, a mounting unit, an auxiliary motor unit and a drive belt unit which cooperate with the existing structural components on the Oliver Manufacturing Co. “STRAITOPLANE”™ thickness planers mentioned previously.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the auxiliary motor unit is fixedly secured to the mounting unit which is pivotally connected to either an upper or a lower bracket unit which is affixed to a portion of the thickness planer and the drive belt unit suspends the auxiliary unit in a generally upright fashion relative to a selected one of the rotary cutter heads.
The motor unit is then actuated to impart counterclockwise rotation to the selected cutter head whose inserted tooth carbide heads are “jointed” by engagement with a grinding element that is laterally translatable relative to the selected cutter head.
In addition, the bracket unit and the mounting unit are specifically designed to allow for a 180° rotation of the output shaft of the auxiliary motor unit relative to the thickness planer, as well as, for the lateral displacement of the auxiliary motor unit relative to both the selected cutter head and the thickness planer for the purpose of properly aligning the drive belt unit to impart counterclockwise rotation to the selected cutter head during the “jointing” process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of the universal jointing attachment suspended from a lower bracket unit that is installed on one model of the Oliver Manufacturing Co.'s thickness planers;
FIG. 2
is an isolated top plan view of the jointing attachment installed for left sided power take-off;
FIG. 3
is a top plan view of the jointing attachment installed on the lower bracket unit which is attached to a framework element suspended beneath the lower cutter head;
FIG. 4
is an isolated side view of the motor and mounting unit disposed on the upper bracket unit;
FIG. 5
is an isolated top plan view of the jointing attachment installed for left-sided power take off;
FIG. 6
is an isolated end side and top view of the auxiliary motor unit and mounting unit; and,
FIG. 7
is an isolated end side and top plan view of the upper bracket unit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particular to
FIG. 1
, the universal jointing attachment that forms the basis of the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral
10
. The attachment
10
comprises in general a lower bracket unit
11
, an upper bracket unit
12
, a mounting unit
13
, an auxiliary motor unit
14
and a drive belt unit
15
. These units will now be described in seriatim fashion.
Prior to embarking on a detailed description of the universal jointing attachment
10
, it would first be advisable to provide a detailed description of the specific thickness planer machine with which the jointing attachment
10
is specifically designed to be used.
As can be seen by reference to
FIG. 1
, the thickness planer machine designated generally by reference numeral
100
wherein both the top
102
and bottom
103
cutter heads are provided with a plurality of inserted tooth carbide heads
105
(hereinafter referred to as knives).
As can also be seen by reference to
FIG. 1
, the movable carriage
104
, is provided with a conventional grinding element
108
that is normally employed in the aforementioned periodic “grinding” versus “jointing” of the cutter knives
105
.
As can best be seen by reference to
FIGS. 1 and 3
, the lower bracket unit
11
is a part of framework element
200
and comprises a pair of independent bracket members
20
20
′ each having a generally open rectangular configuration wherein the opposed sides of each bracket member
20
20
′ are provided with aligned apertures
41
42
; and wherein the inboard ends of each of the independent bracket members
20
20
′ are secured at spaced locations to a framework element
200
that is disposed beneath the lower cutter head
103
by ⅝″ rod
45
.
Turning now to
FIGS. 2
,
5
and
7
, it can be seen that the upper bracket unit
12
comprises in general an elongated rectangular bracket bar member
30
provided with a pair of outwardly projecting bracket arms
31
32
wherein one bracket arm
31
is disposed proximate one end of the bracket bar member
30
and the other bracket arm
32
is disposed proximate to the midpoint of the bracket member
30
for reasons that will be explained presently.
As can best be appreciated by reference to
FIGS. 2 and
.
5
, each of the bracket arms
31
32
is provided with aligned apertures for ⅝″ rod
45
dimensioned to receive a portion of the mounting unit
13
and the bracket bar member
30
is provided with two pairs of concentrically aligned apertures
31
32
wherein each pair includes a discrete aperture for rod
45
and an enlarged aperture
35
dimensioned to receive the stem and enlarged head respectively of conventional fasteners (not shown) for affixing the bracket bar member
30
to the upper portion of the thickness planer
100
in a well recognized fashion as depicted in FIG.
4
.
Still referring to
FIGS. 2 and 5
, it can be seen that one pair
41
42
of the concentrically aligned apertures is disposed adjacent the end of the bracket bar member
30
that is not provided with a bracket arm and the other pair of concentrically aligned apertures
41
42
is disposed intermediate the bracket arms
31
32
.
Furthermore, the enlarged apertures
35
are formed on the front face
36
of the bracket bar member
30
while smaller apertures
34
are formed in the rear face
37
of the bracket bar member
30
.
As shown in
FIGS. 2
,
5
and
5
, the mounting unit
13
comprises a generally flat rectangular plate
40
secured to a pair of generally hollow rectangular mounting arms
41
42
wherein each of the mounting arms
41
42
projects beyond the ends of the mounting plate
40
and wherein the opposite ends of each of the mounting arms
41
42
is provided with pairs of aligned apertures
43
that are dimensioned to receive an elongated mounting rod
45
as depicted in
FIG. 1
for reasons that will be explained presently.
As shown in
FIGS. 2 through 4
, the auxiliary motor unit
14
in the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a ¾ HP motor member
50
having a stanchion
51
that is fixedly secured to the base plate
40
of the mounting unit
13
; wherein, the output shaft
52
of the motor member
50
is provided with a plurality of concentrically aligned pulley reels
53
whose purpose and function will be explained presently.
Turning now to
FIGS. 1 and 4
, it can be seen that the drive belt unit
15
comprises a selected drive belt member
60
that is dimensioned to engage the power take off reel
109
on either the 24″, 30″ or 36″ width cutter heads
102
or
103
of the mill
101
whereby the drive belt member and the mounting rod
45
provide a “floating” mounting arrangement for the auxiliary motor member
50
such that the weight of the motor
50
bears directly on the cutter heads
102
or
103
to drive them in a counterclockwise direction during the jointing process.
At this juncture, it should be noted that the bracket unit
20
20
′ is employed t support the jointing attachment adjacent the lower cutter head
103
and the upper bracket unit
13
is employed to support the jointing attachment
10
on the framework element
200
that is disposed below the lower cutter head
103
.
In addition, the mounting bar
45
is dimensioned so as to permit the motor unit
14
and the affixed mounting unit
13
to be laterally shifted to directly align a selected pulley reel
53
with the power take off reel
109
on the cutter heads
102
103
to eliminate any lateral torque forces on the drive belt member
60
during the jointing process.
The method of employing the jointing attachment
10
on a STRAITOPLANE™ thickness planer
100
is to attach either the lower bracket unit
11
or the upper bracket unit
12
at selected locations on the thickness planer
100
than employ the floating mounting unit
13
to position the motor unit
14
having the concentrically aligned pulley reel facing either toward or away from the mill
101
depending upon whether the upper
102
or lower
103
cutter head is intended to undergo the jointing process.
At this juncture, the drive belt member
60
is slipped over the appropriate power take off reel
109
and the motor unit
14
and mounting unit
13
are tilted upwardly to slip the opposite end of the drive belt member
60
over a selected one of the concentrically aligned pulley reels
53
mounted on the output shaft
52
of the motor member
50
which is then laterally shifted to align the drive belt member
60
in a straight line prior to allowing the drive belt member
60
to take on the full weight of the drive unit
14
and the mounting unit
13
.
Once the jointing attachment
10
is attached to the thickness planer
100
, the motor unit
14
is employed to impart counterclockwise rotation to the appropriate cutter head
102
,
103
and once the cutter head rpm reaches the appropriate speed, the grinding element
108
is laterally displaced along the outboard side
107
of the carriage
104
to “joint” the knives
105
on the cutter head
102
or
103
.
Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.
Having thereby described the subject matter of the present invention, it should e apparent that many substitutions, modifications, and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the invention as taught and described herein is only to be limited to the extend of the breadth and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A jointing attachment for a thickness planer having a rotatable top cutter head and a rotatable bottom cutter head mounted on a movable carriage having an outboard side provided with a laterally displaceable grinding element and an inboard side wherein both of the cutter heads are provided with a plurality of inserted tooth carbide heads and the jointing attachment comprisesan auxiliary motor member having an output shaft provided with at least one pulley reel, a drive belt unit including a drive belt member having one end adapted to be operatively connected to a selected one of said top and bottom cutter heads wherein the other end of the drive belt member is adapted to be operatively connected to said at least one pulley reel; and, means for mounting said auxiliary motor member in a free floating fashion relative to the thickness planer, whereby the drive belt member is used to support a portion of the auxiliary motor member relative to the inboard side of the movable carriage.
- 2. The jointing attachment as in claim 1; wherein, said auxiliary motor member is laterally displaceable relative to the thickness planer.
- 3. The jointing attachment as in claim 1; wherein, said auxiliary motor member is adapted to be selectively mounted relative to the inboard side of said carriage with the output shaft either facing away from, or facing toward said thickness planer.
- 4. The jointing attachment as in claim 2; wherein, said auxiliary motor member is adapted to be selectively mounted relative to the thickness planer with the output shaft either facing away from, or facing toward said thickness planer.
- 5. The jointing attachment as in claim 1; wherein, said auxiliary motor member is provided with a stanchion and said means for mounting said auxiliary motor member comprises at least in part a base plate fixedly secured to said stanchion and pivotally associated with the thickness planer.
- 6. The jointing attachment as in claim 5; wherein, the jointing attachment as in claim 1 wherein said auxiliary motor member is laterally displaceable relative to said thickness planer.
- 7. The jointing attachment as in claim 5; wherein, said means for mounting said auxiliary motor member in a free floating fashion further comprises at least in part: at least one mounting arm having one end attached to said base plate wherein the other end of said at least one mounting arm is pivotally associated with the thickness planer.
- 8. The jointing attachment as in claim 7; wherein, said means for mounting said auxiliary motor member further comprises at least in part: a bracket bar member fixedly secured to the inboard side of the movable carriage and having at least one outwardly projecting bracket arm that is pivotally associated with said at least one mounting arm.
- 9. The jointing attachment as in claim 5; wherein, said means for mounting said auxiliary motor member further comprises at least in part a pair of mounting arms fixedly attached to said base plate wherein both mounting arms have opposite ends which project beyond said base plate.
- 10. The jointing attachment as in claim 9; wherein, a selected pair of the opposite ends of the mounting arms are pivotally associated with the thickness planer.
- 11. The jointing attachment as in claim 10; wherein, said means for mounting said auxiliary motor member further comprises in part a mounting bracket bar fixedly secured to the thickness planer and provided with a pair of outwardly projecting bracket arms that are pivotally connected to said mounting arms.
- 12. The jointing attachment as in claim 11; wherein, the outwardly projecting bracket arms are provided with aligned apertures and the opposite ends of the mounting arms are provided with aligned apertures that may be selectively aligned with the aligned apertures in the bracket arms.
- 13. The jointing attachment as in claim 12; wherein, one bracket arm is disposed proximate to one end of said bracket bar member and the other bracket arm is disposed proximate the midpoint of said bracket bar member.
- 14. The jointing attachment as in claim 13; further comprising:an elongated pivot rod member dimensioned to be received in said aligned apertures for pivotally suspending the auxiliary motor member from the thickness planer.
- 15. The jointing attachment as in claim 1; wherein, the output shaft of the auxiliary motor member is provided with a plurality of concentrically arranged pulley reels.
- 16. The jointing attachment as in claim 7; wherein said means for mounting said auxiliary motor member in a free floating fashion comprises at least in part:a framework element disposed beneath the lower cutter head member and provided with a pair of independent spaced bracket members that are selectively pivotally associated with said auxiliary motor member.
- 17. The jointing attachment as in claim 8; wherein said means for mounting said auxiliary motor member in a free floating fashion comprises at least in part:a framework element disposed beneath the lower cutter head member and provided with a pair of independent spaced bracket members that are selectively pivotally associated with said auxiliary motor member.
- 18. A method of jointing inserted tooth carbide heads on the top and bottom rotary cutter heads of a thickness planer wherein the thickness planer is provided with a laterally displaceable carriage that rotatably suspends the bottom cutter head and which is provided with a laterally displaceable grinding element including the steps of:suspending an auxiliary motor member in a pivoted fashion from a first selected one of the rotary cutter heads and a portion of the thickness planer by a drive belt member that is operatively connected on one end to a selected portion of the selected one of the rotary cutter heads and operativley connected on the other end to a pulley reel disposed on the output shaft of the auxiliary motor member; actuating the motor member to provide a counterclockwise rotation to the selected cutter head via the drive belt member; and, bringing the laterally displaceable grinding element into sequential engagement with selected ones of the inserted tooth carbide heads of the selected rotary cutter heads.
- 19. The method as in claim 18 further comprising the intermediate step of:laterally displacing the auxiliary motor member relative to the selected portion of the thickness planer to align the drive belt member between the selected portion of the selected one of the rotary cutter heads and said pulley reel.
- 20. The method as in claim 19 further comprising the steps of:detaching the drive belt member from the first selected one of the rotary cutter heads; reattaching the drive belt member to the second selected one of the rotary cutter heads; actuating the motor member to provide a counterclockwise rotation to the selected cutter head via the drive belt member; and bringing the laterally displacable grinding element into sequential engagement with selected ones of the inserted tooth carbide heads of the selected rotary cutter heads.
- 21. The method as in claim 20 further comprising the intermediate steps of:reversing the orientation of the auxiliary motor member such that the output shaft of the auxiliary motor member is faced in the opposite direction; and, laterally displacing the auxiliary motor member relative to the selected portion of the thickness planer to align the drive belt member between the selected portion of the thickness planer to align the drive belt member between the selected portion of the selected one of the rotary cutter heads and said pulley reel.
US Referenced Citations (12)