Automatic tool-changing device for a machine tool

Claim 2

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head located at a work performing station, the tracks being spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a toolholding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at the work performing station and driving means associated with the spindle movable into engagement with the tool at the work performing station for rotating it while it is maintained on the chain.

Claim 3

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool-shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, said lower pair of track being shaped in the form of a U with a semicircle at the bottom and having two straight vertical sides, said upper pair of tracks being shaped in the form of an inverted U, the lower tracks being fixed to the lower half of a spindle head, and the upper tracks being slidably mounted on the upper half of a spindle head, and springs positioned in said lower half slidably supporting the upper pair of tracks, said pair of tracks together being in the form of an ellipse.

Claim 4

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool-shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, said lower pair of track being shaped in the form of a U with a semicircle at the bottom and having two straight vertical sides, said upper pair of tracks being shaped in the form of an inverted U, the lower tracks being fixed to the lower half of a spindle head, and the upper tracks being slidably mounted on the upper half of a spindle head, and springs positioned in said lower half slidably supporting the upper pair of tracks, said pair of tracks together being in the form of an ellipse.

Claim 5

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool-shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station, and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, said tool-changing device utilizing a tool-holding ring-shaped chain comprising a plurality of tool holders each equipped with journaled bearings to rotatably hold a tapered tool holding spindle, each tool holder being provided with a pair of fixed arms on each side thereof rotatably connected by a plurality of rollers at each end of said arms.

Claim 6

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool-shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station, and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, said tool-changing device utilizing a tool-holding ring-shaped chain comprising a plurality of tool holders each equipped with journaled bearings to rotatably hold a tapered tool holding spindle, each tool holder being provided with a pair of fixed arms on each side thereof rotatably connected by a plurality of rollers at each end of said arms.

Claim 7

An automatic tool-changing device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said tool-changing device utilizing a tool-holding ring-shaped chain comprises of a plurality of tool holders each equipped with journaled bearings to rotatably hold a tapered tool-holding spindle, each tool holder being provided with a pair of fixed arms on each side thereof rotatabLy connected by a plurality of rollers at each end of said arms.

Claim 8

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool-shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, wherein the tool-shifting device comprises a guide rod extending between fixed support plates, a piston rod arranged in spaced parallel disposition relative to the said guide rod, a cylinder assembly slidably mounted on the spaced rods and movable axially thereof, the said piston being located in a cylinder within the cylinder assembly, fluid feed means for supplying fluid under pressure to one side of the piston thereby to effect movement of the cylinder assembly relative to the rods, an engagement cylinder extending transversely of the cylinder assembly, a spring-loaded piston within the engagement cylinder, the said fluid feed means further supplying fluid under pressure to the engagement cylinder thus to move the spring-loaded piston against the spring means thereof, the tool-shifting device being provided with a plurality of spaced lugs extending into the path of the spring-loaded piston when moved under control of the cylinder assembly.

Claim 9

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool-shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, wherein the tool-shifting device comprises a guide rod extending between fixed support plates, a piston rod arranged in spaced parallel disposition relative to the said guide rod, a cylinder assembly slidably mounted on the spaced rods and movable axially thereof, the said piston being located in a cylinder within the cylinder assembly, fluid feed means for supplying fluid under pressure to one side of the piston thereby to effect movement of the cylinder assembly relative to the rods, an engagement cylinder extending transversely of the cylinder assembly, a spring-loaded piston within the engagement cylinder, the said fluid feed means further supplying fluid under pressure to the engagement cylinder thus to move the spring-loaded piston against the spring means thereof, the tool-shifting device being provided with a plurality of spaced lugs extending into the path of the spring-loaded piston when moved under control of the cylinder assembly.

Claim 10

An automatic tool-changing device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the tool-shifting device comprises a guide rod extending between fixed support plates, a piston rod arranged in spaced parallel disposition relative to the said guide rod, a cylinder assembly slidably mounted on the spaced rods and movable axially thereof, a piston on the piston rod fixed axially thereof, the said piston being located in a cylinder within the cylinder assembly, fluid means for supplying fluid under pressure to one side of the piston thereby to effect movement of the cylinder assembly relative to the rods, an engagement cylinder extending transversely of the cylinder assembly, a spring-loaded piston within the engagement cylinder, the said fluid feed means further supplying fluid under pressure to the engagement cylinder thus to move the spring-loaded piston against the spring means therefor, the tool-shifting device being provided with a plurality of spaced lugs extending into the path of the spring-loaded piston when moved under control of the cylinder assembly.

Claim 11

An automatic tool-changing device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the tool-shifting device comprises a guide rod extending between fixed support plates, a piston rod arranged in spaced parallel disposition relative to the said guide rod, a cylinder assembly slidably mounted on the spaced rods and movable axially thereof, a piston on the piston rod fixed axially thereof, the said piston being located in a cylinder within the cylinder assembly, fluid feed means for supplying fluid under pressure to one side of the piston thereby to effect movement of the cylinder assembly relative to the rods, an engagement cylinder extending transversely of the cylinder assembly, a spring-loaded piston within the engagement cylinder, the said fluid feed means further supplying fluid under pressure to the engagement cylinder thus to move the spring-loaded piston against the spring means therefor, the tool-shifting device being provided with a plurality of spaced lugs extending into the path of the spring-loaded piston when moved under control of the cylinder assembly.

Claim 12

An automatic tool-changing device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the tool-shifting device comprises a guide rod extending between fixed support plates, a piston rod arranged in spaced parallel disposition relative to the said guide rod, a cylinder assembly slidably mounted on the spaced rods and movable axially thereof, a piston on the piston rod fixed axially thereof, the said piston being located in a cylindEr within the cylinder assembly, fluid feed means for supplying fluid under pressure to one side of the piston thereby to effect movement of the cylinder assembly relative to the rods, an engagement cylinder extending transversely of the cylinder assembly, a spring-loaded piston within the engagement cylinder, the said fluid feed means further supplying fluid under pressure to the engagement cylinder thus to move the spring-loaded piston against the spring means therefor, the tool-shifting device being provided with a plurality of spaced lugs extending into the path of the spring-loaded piston when moved under control of the cylinder assembly.

Claim 13

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, including a tool-rotating mechanism located in the spindle head and a motor-driven sleeve rotatably mounted on bearings in the lower part of the spindle head, a driven spindle shaft slidably mounted within the sleeve for movement axially thereof, means for reciprocally moving said spindle shaft including a housing at the remote extremity of the spindle shaft, a connecting rod, a fluid piston secured to the said rod, and the cylinder in the upper part of the spindle head and within which the piston moves, the said spindle shaft having a tapered hole formed at its lower extremity adapted to receive and to engage the tapered end of a rotatably mounted shank positioned at the work performing station on movement of the spindle shaft in one direction and to become disengaged from and to release the shank upon movement of the spindle in the opposite direction.

Claim 14

An automatic tool-changing device comprising a pair of tracks divided into upper and lower sections mounted around a spindle head and spring loaded to mutually expand and provide tension to a tool-holding ring-shaped chain loaded with a plurality of tools movably guided by said tracks, a tool shifting device which moves the tool-holding chain to position one tool at a time at a work performing station and means movable relative to said tracks for rotating said one tool, including a tool-rotating mechanism located in the spindle head and a motor-driven sleeve rotatably mounted on bearings in the lower part of the spindle head, a driven spindle shaft slidably mounted within the sleeve for movement axially thereof, means for reciprocally moving said spindle shaft including a housing at the remote extremity of the spindle shaft, a connecting rod, a fluid piston secured to the said rod, and the cylinder in the upper part of the spindle head and within which the piston moves, the said spindle shaft having a tapered hole formed at its lower extremity adapted to receive and to engage the tapered end of a rotatably mounted shank positioned at the work performing station on movement of the spindle shaft in one direction and to become disengaged from and to release the shank upon movement of the spindle in the opposite direction.