Grinding machine with adaptive control system

Claim 2

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed and carrying thereon a rotatable wheel spindle having secured thereto a grinding wheel, feeding means for moving said wheel slide toward and away from said workpiece, sizing means capable of continuously measuring a diameter of the workpiece, grinding resistance detecting means for detecting a grinding resistance applied on said grinding wheel, and control means for controlling said feeding means in response to said grinding resistance detecting means to control said grinding resistance during a part of grinding operation and for controlling said feeding means in response to said sizing means during the remaining grinding operation.

Claim 3

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means is adapted to control said feeding means in response to said grinding resistance detecting means to control said grinding resistance during a rough grinding operation.

Claim 4

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means is adapted to control said feeding means in response to said grinding resistance detecting means to maintain said grinding resistance substantially constant during said part of grinding operation.

Claim 5

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means is adapted to control said feeding means in response to said grinding resistance detecting means to reduce said grinding resistance in accordance with the reduction of the removal material left on the workpiece.

Claim 6

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed and carrying thereon a rotatable wheel spindle having secured a grinding wheel thereto, feeding means including a pulse motor for moving said wheel slide toward and away from said workpiece, a pulse generator for supplying electric pulses generated thereby to said feeding means, sizing means capable of continuously measuring a diameter of the workpiece, grinding resistance detecting means for detecting a grinding resistance applied on said grinding wheel, and feed control means for controlling the frequency of the electric pulses generated by said pulse generator in response to said grinding resistance detecting means to control said grinding resistance during a part of grinding operation and for controlling the frequency of the electric pulses in response to said sizing means during the remaining grinding operation.

Claim 7

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed and carrying thereon a rotatable wheel spindle having secured a grinding wheel thereto, feeding means including a pulse motor for moving said wheel slide toward and away from said workpiece, a pulse generator for supplying electric pulses generated thereby to said feeding means, sizing means capable of continuously measuring a diameter of the workpiece, grinding resistance detecting means for detecting a grinding resistance applied on said grinding wheel, and feed control means for controlling the frequency of the electric pulses generated by said pulse generator in response to said grinding resistance detecting means to control said grinding resistance during a part of grinding operation and for controlling the frequency of the electric pulses in response to said sizing means during the remaining grinding operation.

Claim 8

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein said feed control means is adapted to control the frequency of the electric pulses in response to said grinding resistance detecting means to control said grinding resistance during a rough grinding operation.

Claim 9

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein said grinding machine further comprises means for calculating a differential between a required value of the workpiece and a value thereof measured by said sizing means to supply a signal to said feed control means to control said feeding means.

Claim 10

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein said calculating means supplies the signal to said feed control means to render the control of said grinding resistance detecting means ineffective to stop the part of grinding operation.

Claim 11

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein said grinding machine further comprises means for calculating a differential between a required value of the workpiece and a valve thereof measured by said sizing means, and position coding means responsive to said sizing means and said electric pulses supplied to said feeding means, said position coding means being operable to supply a signal to change the speed of said wheel slide beforE engagement between the grinding wheel and the workpiece.

Claim 12

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein said position coding means comprises register means, responsive to said calculating means, counting means for counting the number of said electric pulses supplied to said feeding means, and comparing means responsive to said register means and said counting means for supplying said signal so that said control means changes the frequency of said electric pulses.

Claim 13

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein said grinding resistance detecting means comprises bearing means for carrying said wheel spindle and provided with pockets therein, transducing means for producing a signal in accordance with a pressure differential produced at said pockets, and resistance control means responsive to said signal produced by said transducing means and for supplying a control signal to said feed control means to control the number of said electric pulses generated by said pulse generator.

Claim 14

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein said bearing means is further provided with at least one pair of pockets diametrically opposed in the direction of the movement of the wheel slide, and means is provided for producing a pressure differential between said pair of pockets to shift the wheel spindle toward the workpiece, whereby the workpiece is ground to a required value.

Claim 15

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein said resistance control means comprises means responsive to said transducing means and for calculating a grinding resistance per unit of width applied on said grinding wheel, means for presetting a preset grinding resistance means for calculating a differential between said grinding resistance per unit of width and said preset grinding resistance, and means responsive to said last named means and for supplying said control signal to said feed control means to control the number of said electric pulses generated by said pulse generator, thereby to maintain the grinding resistance applied on said grinding wheel at said preset grinding resistance.

Claim 16

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 13 wherein said resistance control means further comprises means for reducing said preset grinding resistance in accordance with the reduction of removal left on the workpiece and which comprises means for calculating a differential between a required value of the workpiece and a value thereof measured by said sizing means.

Claim 17

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein said sizing means comprises a bracket movably mounted on said bed, a housing pivotably mounted on said bracket, an electric motor mounted on said housing, feed screw means adapted to be rotated by said motor, a pair of nuts threadedly engaged with said screw means, a pair of feelers arranged to embrace the workpiece and connected to said feed screw means through said nuts, spring means interposed between the nut and the feeler to render relative movement therebetween, and means for measuring the distance between said feelers.

Claim 18

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 15, wherein said sizing means further comprises switching means for effectuating the confirmation of pivotal movement of said housing when said feelers are moved by said electric motor, whereby the actuation of said electric motor is stopped.

Claim 19

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed and carrying a rotatable grinding wheel thereon, electrically controlled feeding means for moving said wheel slide toward and from said workpiece, sizing means capable of measuring a diameter of the workpiece, control means responsive to said sizing means and operable to control the frequency of electric pulses generated by a pulse generator, and position coding means responsive to said sizing means and said electric pulses supplied to said feeding means, said position coding means being operable to sUpply a signal to said control means to change the speed of said wheel slide before engagement between the grinding wheel and the workpiece.

Claim 20

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed and carrying a rotatable grinding wheel thereon, electrically controlled feeding means for moving said wheel slide toward and from said workpiece, sizing means capable of measuring a diameter of the workpiece, control means responsive to said sizing means and operable to control the frequency of electric pulses generated by a pulse generator, and position coding means responsive to said sizing means and said electric pulses supplied to said feeding means, said position coding means being operable to sUpply a signal to said control means to change the speed of said wheel slide before engagement between the grinding wheel and the workpiece.

Claim 21

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 17, wherein said position coding means comprises register means responsive to said sizing means, means for counting the number of said electric pulses supplied to said feeding means and comparing means responsive to said register means and said counting means and for supplying a signal so that said control means changes the frequency of said electric pulses.

Claim 22

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 17, wherein said grinding machine further comprises grinding resistance detecting means for detecting a grinding resistance applied on said grinding wheel and for supplying said control means with a signal in accordance with the grinding resistance to control the grinding resistance.

Claim 23

A grinding machine as claimed in claim 19, wherein said control means capable of controlling said feeding means to control the grinding resistance in accordance with the detected grinding resistance by changing the feed rate of the said wheel slide.

Claim 24

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed, bearing means mounted in said wheel slide for rotatably carrying a wheel spindle having a grinding wheel secured thereto, said bearing means being formed with pockets therein, fluid-pressure means communicating with said pockets, feeding means for moving said wheel slide toward and away from said workpiece, transducing means operative to generate a signal proportional to a pressure differential produced in said fluid-pressure means in said pockets, and control means for controlling said feeding means in response to said transducing means to maintain the grinding resistance applied on said grinding wheel at a predetermined value.

Claim 25

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed, bearing means mounted in said wheel slide for rotatably carrying a wheel spindle having a grinding wheel secured thereto, said bearing means being formed with pockets therein, fluid-pressure means communicating with said pockets, feeding means for moving said wheel slide toward and away from said workpiece, transducing means operative to generate a signal proportional to a pressure differential produced in said fluid-pressure means in said pockets, and control means for controlling said feeding means in response to said transducing means to maintain the grinding resistance applied on said grinding wheel at a predetermined value.

Claim 26

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed, bearing means mounted in said wheel slide for rotatably carrying a wheel spindle having a grinding wheel secured thereto, said bearing means being formed with pockets therein, fluid-pressure means communicating with said pockets, feeding means for moving said wheel slide toward and away from said workpiece, transducing means operative to generate a signal proportional to a pressure differential produced in said fluid pressure means in said pockets, means responsive to said transducing means for calculating a grinding resistance per unit of width applied on said grinding wheel, means for presetting a selected grinding resistance, means for calculating a differential between said grinding resistance per unit of width and said selected grinding resistance, and control means for controlling said feeding means in response to said differential calculated by said calculating means to maintain the grinding resistance per unit of width at said selected grinding resistance.

Claim 27

A grinding machine comprising a bed, a work support slidably mounted on said bed and adapted to carry a workpiece thereon, a wheel slide slidably mounted on said bed, bearing means mounted in said wheel slide for rotatably carrying a wheel spindle having a grinding wheel secured thereto, said bearing means being formed with pockets therein, fluid-pressure means communicating with said pockets, feeding means for moving said wheel slide toward and away from said workpiece, transducing means operative to generate a signal proportional to a pressure differential produced in said fluid pressure means in said pockets, means responsive to said transducing means for calculating a grinding resistance per unit of width applied on said grinding wheel, means for presetting a selected grinding resistance, means for calculating a differential between said grinding resistance per unit of width and said selected grinding resistance, and control means for controlling said feeding means in response to said differential calculated by said calculating means to maintain the grinding resistance per unit of width at said selected grinding resistance.