Alignment of shell onto mandrel

Claim 2

Apparatus for positioning a hollow workpiece in accurate axial alignment with an expandable mandrel located within said workpiece to prevent cocking of said workpiece upon expansion of the mandrel into firm supporting contact with the interior wall of the workpiece, comprising in combination: mounting means located exteriorly of said workpiece and movable substantially radially toward and away therefrom; yoke means and means connecting said yoke means to said mounting means for limited pivotal movement with respect thereto in at least one plane; first and second shoe means engageable with the periphery of said workpiece and means movably mounting said first and second shoe means on said yoke means at spaced locations thereon, said shoe means being engageable with said workpiece at a pair of points circumferentially spaced on said workpiece; whereby movement of said mounting means radially toward said workpiece causes said first and second shoe means to engage said workpiece and urge said workpiece radially against said mandrel so that said workpiece engages the said mandrel when the latter is in a nonexpanded condition along a single axial zone of contact, so as to axially align said workpiece with said mandrel in an accurate manner.

Claim 3

The apparatus defined in claim 1, in which said means connecting said yoke means and said mounting means comprises a pin having a portIon of noncircular cross section and means defining a hole in one of said yoke means and said mounting means, said hole being of noncircular cross section and sized to loosely receive said noncircular cross section portion of said pin, the other of said yoke means and mounting means being engaged with said pin at a portion thereof different from said noncircular cross section portion; whereby the loosely interfitted relationship of said portion of said pin and said hole allows pivotal movement of said yoke means with respect to said mounting means in at least one plane and said pivotal movement is limited in extent by abutment of faces of said portion of said pin and said hole.

Claim 4

The apparatus defined in claim 2, in which said pin is normally substantially parallel to the axes of said workpiece and mandrel and in which the interrelationship of said pin portion and said hole allows limited pivotal movement of said yoke means with respect to said mounting means in three mutually orthogonal planes, one of which extends substantially radially of said axis of said pin.

Claim 5

The apparatus defined in claim 1, in which said yoke means is a substantially C-shaped yoke, said means connecting said yoke and said mounting means is located substantially centrally of said yoke, said first and second shoe means are spaced along said yoke in opposite directions from said means connecting said yoke to said mounting means, said yoke lies in a plane which extends substantially radially of the axis of said mandrel and the paths of movement of said first and second shoe means are substantially parallel to the axis of said mandrel.

Claim 6

The apparatus defined in claim 1, including lost motion means for allowing movement of said first and second shoe means substantially linearly of said yoke means and in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of said mandrel; whereby said shoe means may be engaged with the periphery of said workpiece and move axially therewith and with respect to said yoke means.

Claim 7

The apparatus defined in claim 5, in which said lost motion means include a pair of flanges extending from each of said shoe means in overlapping relation with the opposed portions of said yoke means, the spacing of said flanges exceeding the thickness of said portions of said yoke means so as to allow movement of said shoe means with respect to said yoke means in a direction perpendicular to said flanges, the extent of such motion being limited by interference of said flanges with said portions of said yoke means and means extending between said flanges and yoke means for supporting said shoe means on said yoke means for slideable movement in said direction.

Claim 8

The apparatus defined in claim 6, in which said means extending between said flanges and said yoke means comprises a pin, one of said yoke means and flanges being fixed to said pin and the other thereof being slideably arranged with respect to said pin.

Claim 9

The apparatus defined in claim 1, including abutment means carried at least indirectly by said yoke means and arranged in radially overlapping relation with said workpiece, said abutment means being engageable by the end of said workpiece to enable said shoe means to move with said workpiece as said workpiece moves axially with respect to said mounting means.

Claim 10

The apparatus defined in claim 1, in which said means connecting said yoke means to said mounting means allow pivotal of said yoke about three mutually perpendicular axes and wherein the angle of movement about each such axis is less than 90 degrees.

Claim 11

Apparatus for accurately positioning a hollow workpiece for end machining operations thereon, comprising in combination: first, second and third work stations and conveyor means for transporting the hollow workpiece sequentially past said first, second and third work stations; tool means at each of said first and third work stations for machining first and second ends, respectively, of said workpiece; first and second expandable maNdrels located at said first and third work stations, respectively; means at each of said first and third work stations for inserting said expandable mandrels loosely in said workpiece; means at each of said first and third work stations for locating said workpiece axially with respect to said mandrels; positioning means at each of said first and third work stations and located externally of said workpiece and in radial opposition to said mandrel for urging said workpiece radially against said mandrel during expansion of said mandrel within said workpiece to insure contact of the opposed surfaces of said mandrel and said workpiece along an axially extending zone of contact therebetween so that said workpiece and mandrel are held in axial parallelism during expansion of said mandrel into supporting contact with the interior of said workpiece; means for relatively moving said tool means and said mandrel with said workpiece engaged thereby for machining first and second ends of said workpiece at said first and third work stations, respectively; means at said second work station for turning said workpiece end-for-end.

Claim 12

Apparatus for accurately positioning a hollow workpiece for end machining operations thereon, comprising in combination: first, second and third work stations and conveyor means for transporting the hollow workpiece sequentially past said first, second and third work stations; tool means at each of said first and third work stations for machining first and second ends, respectively, of said workpiece; first and second expandable maNdrels located at said first and third work stations, respectively; means at each of said first and third work stations for inserting said expandable mandrels loosely in said workpiece; means at each of said first and third work stations for locating said workpiece axially with respect to said mandrels; positioning means at each of said first and third work stations and located externally of said workpiece and in radial opposition to said mandrel for urging said workpiece radially against said mandrel during expansion of said mandrel within said workpiece to insure contact of the opposed surfaces of said mandrel and said workpiece along an axially extending zone of contact therebetween so that said workpiece and mandrel are held in axial parallelism during expansion of said mandrel into supporting contact with the interior of said workpiece; means for relatively moving said tool means and said mandrel with said workpiece engaged thereby for machining first and second ends of said workpiece at said first and third work stations, respectively; means at said second work station for turning said workpiece end-for-end.

Claim 13

The apparatus defined in claim 10 in which said positioning means includes contact means capable of contacting the exterior wall of said workpiece at first and second circumferentially spaced points thereon and means for supporting said contact means on said positioning means for at least limited movement with respect thereto in at least one plane; means movably supporting said positioning means and means for urging same toward said workpiece and mandrel for causing said contact means to engage said workpiece; whereby forcible engagement of said workpiece by said positioning means prior to expansion of said mandrel causes said workpiece to become precisely axially aligned with said mandrel, said contact and alignment being maintained as said mandrel expands into gripping relation with said workpiece.

Claim 14

The apparatus defined in claim 10 in which said positioning means includes: mounting means located exteriorly of said workpiece and movable substantially radially toward and away therefrom; yoke means; a pin connecting said yoke means and said mounting means, said pin having a portion of noncircular cross section and means defining a hole in one of said yoke means and said mounting means, said hole being of noncircular cross section for loosely receiving said portion of said pin, the other of said yoke means and mounting means being engaged with said pin at a portion thereof different from said noncircular cross section portion, the loosely interfitted relationship of said portion of said pin and said hole allowing pivotal movement of said yoke means with respect to said mounting means in at least one plane, said pivotal movement being limited in extent by abutment of faces of said portion of said pin and said hole; first and second shoe means engageable with the periphery of said workpiece and means movably mounting said first and second shoe means on said yoke means at spaced locations thereon, said shoe means being engageable with said workpiece at a pair of points circumferentially spaced on said workpiece; whereby movement of said mounting means toward said workpiece causes said first and second shoe means to engage said workpiece.

Claim 15

The apparatus defined in claim 12, in which said pin is normally substantially parallel to the axes of said workpiece and mandrel and in which the interrelationship of said pin portion and said hole allows limited pivotal movement of said yoke means with respect to said mounting means in three mutually orthogonal planes, one of which extends substantially radially of said axis of said pin, said yoke means is substantially a C-shaped yoke, said pin connecting said yoke and said mounting means is located substantially centrally of said yoke, said first and second shoe means are spaced along said yoke in opposite directions from said pin connecting said yoke to saiD mounting means, said yoke lies in a plane which extends substantially radially of the axis of said mandrel and said first and second shoe means having pivot axes substantially parallel to the axis of said mandrel; and including lost motion means for allowing movement of said first and second shoe means substantially linearly of said yoke means and in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of said mandrel whereby said shoe means may be engaged with the periphery of said workpiece and move axially therewith and with respect to said yoke means, said lost motion means including a pair of flanges extending from each of said shoe means in overlapping relation with opposed portions of said yoke means, the spacing of said flanges exceeding the thickness of said portions of said yoke means so as to allow movement of said shoe means with respect to said yoke means in a direction perpendicular to said flanges, the extent of such motion being limited by interference of said flanges with said portions of said yoke means, an elongate pin extending between said flanges and yoke means for supporting said shoe means on said yoke means for slideable movement in said direction, one of said yoke means and flanges being fixed to said elongate pin and the other thereof being pivotally arranged with respect to said elongate pin whereby the interconnection of said yoke means and shoe means allows both pivotal and axial movement of said shoe means with respect to the axis of said elongate pin.