Abstract: Automated forming apparatus including a horizontal feedbelt and an overlying gantry containing a number of tool heads for forming alphanumeric trim pieces for sign letters. A number of laterally and vertically controlled tool heads are indexed to the feedbelt and operative per programmed micro-instructions to clamp, bend and cut a spooled trim material to define an alphanumeric shape. One or more formed trim pieces are fitted to a flat panel that is separately formed to a corresponding alphanumeric shape to define a letter which can be used alone or as a cover to a mating canister.

Abstract: A clamping device for connecting a toolhead and a toolholder on machine tools using a cylindrical or at least partly conical location hole with corresponding shank, wherein a rotatable clamping bolt with spiral guides is used, in clamping to move clamping members outwards from within, thus providing a positive and non-positive locking of the toolhead and the toolholder. The clamping bolt has at least one stop to limit the angle of rotation in clamping. The retainer for the clamping members is spring mounted in the toolholder.

Abstract: A rotary damper has a movable valve supported on a support projection radially outwardly projecting from a shaft of a rotating member which is rotatably disposed in a chamber filled with a viscous fluid in a casing. Depending on the direction in which the rotating member rotates in the chamber, the movable valve opens or closes a fluid path defined between the movable valve and an inner circumferential surface of the casing. The movable valve may be angularly movably supported on the support projection which is of a circular cross-sectional shape or radially movably supported on the support projection which is of a rectangular cross-sectional shape.

Abstract: A handle includes a pair of pipes slidably engaged in a pair of tubes and having a handle secured on top. A hand grip is slidably engaged in the handle. An actuator is secured to the hand grip so as to be moved by the hand grip. A latch may engage with the pipes and the tubes so as to prevent the pipe from moving relative to the tube. An actuator includes a cam for engaging with the latch so as to disengage the latch from the tube when the actuator is moved toward the handle by the hand grip. The latch can be easily moved by the actuator.

Abstract: A squaring machine has an elongate housing with a rotatable spindle extending from one end thereof and attached to which is a tool for squaring the end of work piece. At the opposite end of the housing are first and second feed members, the first feed member in the form of a screw which is locked against axial movement within the housing, and the second feed member in the form a nut which is locked against rotation with respect to the housing. The feed nut is rotatably connected to an end of the spindle such that rotation of the feed screw will cause axial movement of the spindle. Also, the machine includes a first and second removable retainers, each of which has a pair of opposing jaws for clamping around a cylindrical work piece, however, the jaws of the first retainer are for grasping a work piece of a different size than the jaws of the second retainer.

Abstract: A snubber is disclosed for use on an airplane translating door hinge arm (13) comprising a hydraulic device (41) and a flow regulation system (40). The hinge arm (13) includes sprockets (25, 27) placed at the ends (15, 17) of the hinge arm (13). Roller chain pieces (31) rotate partially about the sprockets (25, 27). A pneumatic actuator (33) having a through-rod (37) and housing (35) is located on one side of the hinge arm (13). The actuator housing (35) is supported by a support member (23) integral with the hinge arm (13). The ends of the actuator through-rod (43) are each coupled to first ends of each of the roller chain pieces (31). The hydraulic device (41) comprising a housing (47), a through-rod (43), a piston 45, a first compartment (49), a second compartment (51), and hydraulic fluid, is also supported by the support member (23). The ends of the hydraulic device through-rod (43) are each coupled to second ends of each of the roller chain pieces (31).

Abstract: A cutting insert has top and bottom surfaces and a center hole extending between those surfaces. The insert is seated in a pocket of a toolholder. A clamp is attached to a body of the toolholder by a screw which extends through a through-hole of the clamp and is threadably engaged with the body. An inner end of the clamp engages the body, and a projection at the outer end of the clamp enters the center hole of the insert. When the clamp is tightened, it is displaced downwardly such that a planar under surface of the clamp pushes downwardly against the insert, and is also displaced inwardly so that the projection of the clamp pushes the insert rearwardly against an upright support surface. The inward displacement of the clamp is achieved by causing the inner end of the clamp to engage an inclined surface of the body, or by causing a head of the screw to displace the clamp inwardly.

Abstract: Apparatus and method to prepare battery plate lugs for use with automated machines for cast on operations. The apparatus comprises an anvil having top and opposite side walls for receiving a battery cell including a plurality of plates with lugs attached thereto. The tops of the plates are placed over the top of the anvil with the lugs positioned along the sides of the anvil and in contact therewith. A pair of rams on opposite sides of the anvil are moved inward to engage and partially flatten the lugs to render the lugs thinner and to remove whatever oxides have been formed on the surfaces of the lugs. A pair of knives on opposite sides of the anvil are moved inwardly to cut the lengths of the lugs to a uniform size.

Abstract: Wheels of rail vehicles are trued while the wheels are kept rotating about a wheel center of rotation that is continuously corrected to keep the center of rotation in a fixed position in response to eccentricities a wheel may have, especially in its outer circumference. For this purpose, a sensor for each wheel of two wheels forming a set senses a respective excursion of a center of rotation of each wheel being trued in a set to provide respective excursion signals which are supplied to a central processing unit that provides control signals to a power drive for wheel guide rollers which support the wheel set to be trued. The power drive applies wheel position adjusting force components, preferably directed radially relative to the respective wheel rotational axis in response to the control signals from the central processing unit whereby the excursions are compensated and the wheel rotation center is kept in a fixed position.

Abstract: A machine tool having a machining member such as a grinding wheel, a milling cutter, shaping cutter or also includes a slide on which a straight edge bar is mounted. The straight edge bar is engaged by the machining member to machine a surface on the bar held on the slide. The slide is moved at the feed rate used for machining with the particular machining member used, and then the bar is rotated about its longitudinal axis, that is, the axis parallel to the movement of the slide. The amount of error from a straight line that has been formed is sensed by sensors positioned in the same plane as the contact line of the grinding wheel. The actual error of the slide is thus determined, and portions of the surface of the bar can be gradually scraped or refined by other means until the sensors indicate that the surface has become a precise straight edge. The straight edge surface can then be used as a reference for checking workpieces or for automatic error compensation. Surfaces at 90.degree.

Abstract: A milling cutter for truing railroad wheels has a milling drive shaft (10) with at least two, preferably three, cutter sections (3, 4, 5). One fixed cutter section (4) is rigidly connected to the shaft (10). At least one, preferably two, cutter sections (3, 5) are axially shiftable along the shaft (10) and receive their torque drive through the fixed cutter section through a releasable coupling such as a claw clutch (9, 30). One axially shiftable section (3, 5) is positioned on each side of the fixed section (4), with a gap (22) therebetween. Preferably, the shiftable sections (3, 5) are interconnected (at 21) so that an axial adjustment of one section is synchronously transmitted to the other section and vice versa.

Abstract: Apparatus for cutting a workpiece includes a rotatable cutting tool, a rotatable spindle for rotating the cutting tool, and a quick-connect and disconnect kinematic coupler for releasably coupling together the rotatable cutting tool and the rotatable spindle. The kinematic coupler includes a plurality of projections which cooperate with and enter a corresponding number of grooves to precisely place the cutting tool relative to the spindle and prevent relative movement between the cutting tool and the spindle.

Abstract: A device and method are provided for reducing a length of an annular core on which a roll is mounted. If the core extends beyond the end of the roll, the roll is unstable when it is stacked. This device and method will trim the length of the core extending beyond the end of the roll to provide a flat face across the entire end of the roll. A stable stacking arrangement will therefore be ensured. The router includes a collar, a router bit and a transparent disk or plate mounted thereon. The router bit will chip away the portion of the core which extends beyond the end of the roll. A vacuum can be operatively attached to the router in order to remove chips formed by the router bit. The collar on the router will keep the bit spaced from the roll to prevent damage to the roll. This collar and the transparent disk or plate will also aid in guiding the router.

Abstract: A turn broaching machine for broaching a workpiece comprises a hollow arbor having a plurality of axially spaced apart, circumferentially extending cutting segments projecting radially outwardly from the side wall thereof. The cutting segments each have a radially outer peripheral edge provided with broaching elements. A closed loop system circulates a heated fluid through the arbor. The fluid is heated to an elevated temperature of about 100 F.-150 F. to maintain the arbor in a similarly heated condition during broaching. Maintaining the arbor at a relatively constant, elevated temperature during broaching stabilizes the broach by eliminating axial thermal expansion.

Abstract: A tool carousel is provided comprising a carousel wheel mounted on a shaft of the tool carousel, a series of holders mounted to and distributed around the periphery of the carousel wheel to hold, respectively, a series of individually removable tools. Carousel locator formations are distributed at intervals around the carousel wheel, whereby the carousel wheel can be rotated or indexed to any desired rotational position corresponding to a selected one of the tools. The carousel wheel of the tool carousel comprises several individual elements, each of a molded plastic material, arranged in a ring side-by-side with each other around the shaft, each element extending radially outwardly from the shaft. A radially outer part of each element is connected or joined to a correspondingly radially outer part of each of two adjacent elements, one on either side thereof, the elements having portions of the carousel locator formations formed integrally therewith and having the holders formed integrally therewith.

Abstract: An index-feed machining system comprising a plurality of machining units, each having a cassettes having a plurality of machining means and detachably fitted to a machining unit proper, disposed at intervals of mP (m being a given positive integer, and P being a feeding pitch of a workpiece) in a direction in which the workpiece is fed to sequentially machining the workpiece that is index-fed at the feeding pitch of mP, in which a ram is vertically movably provided on an upper end of the machining unit proper constituting the machining unit, a hydraulic cylinder is provided in the machining unit or the ram, a piston is vertically movably provided in the hydraulic cylinder, an actuating unit comprising an eccentrically rotating shaft and the piston that can be engaged with each other via a connecting rod or via a connecting rod and the ram, is provided above the machining unit, and a hydraulic circuit is provided so that operating fluid can be selectively introduced from the hydraulic circuit to an upper part

Abstract: A high-speed carbide rotary cutting tool designed for use in the carving, cutting and shaping of most materials including, but not limited to, wood, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, bone, stone, plastics and composites. It is designed for use in high-speed, hand-held rotary grinders, such as flex shaft hand pieces, die grinders, and other high-speed stationary grinding tools, primarily using 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch shaft sizes. The tool includes a triangular solid carbide cutting head shaped for cutting different profiles. The cutting head is brazed to a mandrel in such a manner as to render the tool one piece.

Abstract: A hinge mechanism has a damping mechanism and is capable of removing or reducing to the least extent the damping action of the damping mechanism when opening the seat or the seat lid of a toilet bowl, of securely holding the seat or the seat lid at the open position, of making the damping action effective so that the seat or the seat lid can turn gradually to its closed position and of avoiding the breakage of the damping mechanism due to jerky loading when the seat or the seat lid is turned with a jerk. The hinge mechanism comprises a case, a hinge shaft supporting the seat or the seat lid and supported in the case for rotation and axial movement, a fluidic damping mechanism formed between the case and the hinge shaft, and a resilient means biasing the hinge shaft in one direction.

Abstract: Motor spindle cooled by coolant for a machine tool comprising a workpiece spindle and a drive motor having a rotor surrounding the workpiece spindle, concentric with the workpiece spindle and connected to the workpiece spindle, and a stator surrounding the rotor and concentric with the rotor, and comprising a spindle housing accommodating the drive motor and coolant channels surrounding the stator, at least one inner coolant channel enclosing the stator at least to a major extent and at least one outer coolant channel similarly enclosing the stator at least to a major extent being provided--in section through the three-phase motor perpendicularly to the spindle axis--for decoupling the spindle housing thermally from the drive motor, the outer coolant channel lying--in relation to the spindle axis--outside the inner coolant channel in the radial direction, and a coolant inlet being connected to a first end of the outer coolant channel, the second end of the outer coolant channel to a first end of the inner coo

Abstract: A tool clamping mechanism for clamping a tool using a thrust applied by a hydraulic/pneumatic cylinder as an actuator. This thrust is weaker than that of coned disc springs withstanding a force applied during a cutting operation or the like of the tool. Compression of the coned disc springs is reduced so as to assure reliable and stable rotation of the spindle. The clamping mechanism further includes a force increasing mechanism constituted by sloped portions between a first draw bar and a second draw bar which is concentric to the first draw bar, a tapered surface of an annular piece, and a plurality of balls. When the second draw bar retreats, the balls are raised from the groove to a larger diameter portion of the second draw bar, so that an urging force of the coned disc springs acts on the first draw bar, and clamps the tool to the spindle.