Device for quick removal of a tool support

Abstract

 A device for rapidly removing a tool support, particularly but not exclusively useful during reconditioning of grinding wheels of grinding machines, the support including a body which is partially accommodated in a seat for receiving it; its particularity consists of the fact that it includes at least one internally threaded member which is suitable to engage a portion of the body which is externally threaded complementarily so as to abut against the rims of the seat, causing the disengagement of the body from the receiving seat. The invention fully solves the problems observed in the prior art, since it allows to remove the support from the machining head rapidly and easily. The device is also suited for fitting the support on the head without the risk of damaging the dressing tool.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for the quick removal of a tool support, particularly but not exclusively useful during operations for restoring grinding wheels of grinding machines.

[0002] It is known that after a certain period of use a grinding wheel has to be reconditioned by means of appropriate operations which are known as a whole as "dressing". The reasons that require this reconditioning are linked mainly to the gradual rounding of the abrasive particles of the active surface of the grinding wheel, secondly to the machining chips, which tend to cling in extremely large numbers to the surface, and thirdly to the loss of shape of the generatrix of the grinding wheel. Accordingly, the main goal of the dressing operation is to return the grinding wheel to the original conditions, except for a small but not significant decrease in diameter. Usually, this reconditioning is performed directly on the grinding machine, by making a diamond tool, known in fact as "diamond dressing tool", act on the rotating grinding wheel, performing what amounts to a "turning" of the disk of the grinding wheel. More specifically, the dressing tool is installed and locked at the end of a suitable support which in turn has, toward the opposite end, a conical portion which is suitable to be inserted in a complementarily shaped seat which is provided on the machining head. The operation for fitting the support on the head is sufficiently easy for machine tool operators, whereas the reverse operation is rather demanding, since the conical portion, due to the very intense stresses, tends to jam in the seat that receives it. In order to obviate this kind of problem, supports are commercially available which are provided, proximate to the seat of the dressing tool, with a transverse through hole or with two parallel flat portions provided on the sides. With the first solution, the support is disengaged by inserting a point in the hole and using it as a lever; with the other solution, the support is disengaged by axially pulling the support with a manual tool such as pliers or tongs.

[0003] A first drawback that can be noted in both of the described solutions consists of the fact that the removal operation is awkward and entails rather long execution times. In many cases it has been found that despite vigorous and repeated attempts, the support still remains trapped in the seat, entailing the need to disassemble the entire front part of the head and then act from the bottom of the seat in order to remove the support by expulsion.

[0004] A second drawback is the fact that the conical portion, whose taper is an essential and indispensable factor for the correct outcome of the dressing operation, tends to lose its original shape due to the above mentioned tampering.

[0005] Another drawback is due to the fact that the dressing tool can be damaged irreparably during this rough handling for removing the support.

[0006] A final drawback, particularly with the second above described solution, is the fact that the flat regions lose their original shape already at the first attempts at removal.

[0007] The aim of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks noted above, in known types of support for dressing tools, by providing a device which allows to remove in a very short time the support from the head and to disengage the support from the seat, in particularly onerous conditions, without having to disassemble the front part of the machining head.

[0008] An object of the invention is to provide a device which allows to remove the support without causing any kind of damage to the dressing tool.

[0009] Another object of the invention is to provide a device which allows to extend the useful life of the support.

[0010] Another object of the invention is to provide a device which is useful also during the assembly of the support on the head.

[0011] This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for rapidly removing a tool support, the support including a body which is partially accommodated in a seat for receiving it, characterized in that it includes at least one internally threaded member which is suitable to engage a portion of the body which is externally threaded complementarily so as to abut against the rims of the seat, causing the disengagement of the body from the receiving seat.

[0012] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the conventional dressing operation of a circular grinding wheel with a diamond dressing tool;

Figure 2 is a side view of the device according to the invention, applied to the support;

Figure 3 is a sectional side view, taken along an axial plane, of the device according to the invention during the step for removing the support from the head;

Figure 4 is a sectional side view, as in Figure 3, of the device according to the invention, during the assembly of the support on the tool;

Figure 5 is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the device according to the invention.

[0013] With reference to Figure 1, the dressing operation consists in making a diamond dressing tool 6 act, directly on the grinding machine, on the grinding wheel 7 to be reconditioned, which is turned about its own axis 8. More specifically, the diamond dressing tool 6 is installed and locked at the end of a suitable support, generally designated by the reference numeral 9, which is in turn fixed to the machining head 10. With reference also to Figures 2 and 3, the support 9 is constituted by an elongated body 11 which is divided into a cylindrical portion 12 and a conical portion 13. The cylindrical portion 12 ends, at the front, with a wedge-like configuration and has a longitudinal slot which accommodates, on the front point, the dressing tool 6 and a crescent 14 which is suitable to rigidly retain the tool. The conical portion 13 is suitable to be inserted in an appropriately provided cavity 15 which is shaped complementarily in the machining head 10 so as to lock the entire support 9. The device, generally designated by the reference numeral 16, consists of an internally threaded member 17 which engages the body 11 of the support 9 and more specifically the cylindrical portion 12, which is in turn externally and complementarily threaded. The member 17 is formed by a prism-shaped cap which is open on the screwing-on end and has, at the other end, a bottom 18 provided with a central through hole 19 to avoid any contact of the cap with the dressing tool 6. Conveniently, the prism-shaped cap is hexagonal, so as to allow engagement of the member 17 with a conventional actuation wrench of the type used in workshops and of the adequate size. Essentially, assuming that the support 9 is already fitted on the machining head 10 by virtue of the engagement of the conical portion 13 in the complementarily shaped receiving seat 15, one initially proceeds, as shown in Figure 2, by manually screwing the member 17 onto the cylindrical portion 12 until the rim 20 of the cap abuts against the rims 21 that surround the seat 15. Then, using an actuation wrench or an electric screwing/unscrewing tool, screwing is continued so as to produce, as shown in detail in Figure 3, the gradual removal of the support 9 from the head 10 by extraction of the body 11, or rather of the conical portion 13, from the seat 15. Once the support has been removed, the member 17 is easily separated from the support 9 by mutual unscrewing. In this case, the removal of the support 9 absolutely does not compromise the original shapes of the conical portion 13 and of the corresponding seat 15, since removal occurs without shifting from the longitudinal direction. The device 16 is also useful for fitting the support 9 on the head 10. It is in fact sufficient to screw the member for a few turns on the body 11 and then place the conical portion 13 in front of the receiving seat 15 and, as shown in detail in Figure 4, tap a few times with a hard rubber hammer on the bottom 18 in order to achieve optimum fixing of the support 9. Once the fixing has been completed, it is sufficient to remove by unscrewing, even manually, the member 17 from the support 9. In this way, the dressing tool 6 is not damaged in any way, since during the fitting operation it is fully protected by the cap of the member 17. The alternative embodiment shown in Figure 5 is useful only for the removal of the support 9. In this case, the member 17 is constituted by a nut 22 which essentially has the same role described for the cap.

[0014] In practice, it has been found that the described device achieves the intended aim and objects, since it allows to remove the support from the machining head rapidly and easily.

[0015] The device is also suitable, in the first embodiment, for fitting the support on the head without the risk of damaging the dressing tool, which is notoriously particularly expensive.
Finally, the device, together with the many described advantages, is constructively simple, inexpensive to manufacture and also useful for storage of the support and of the dressing tool.

[0016] The device according to the invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the same inventive concept expressed herein.

[0017] All the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

[0018] In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions and the contingent shapes, may be any according to the requirements.

Claims

1. A device for rapidly removing a tool support, said support comprising a body which is partially accommodated in a seat for receiving it, characterized in that it comprises at least one internally threaded member which is adapted to engage a portion of said body which is externally threaded complementarily so as to abut against the rims of said seat, causing the disengagement of said body from said receiving seat.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said member comprises a cap which is open on the screw-on side and is provided with a bottom which has a central hole.

3. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cap is hexagonal and prism-shaped so as to engage a wrench for screwing and unscrewing.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said member comprises a hexagonal nut.

Drawing