US3818580A — Machine tool with automatic tool-change

Claim 1

Independent Claim 136 words

In a machine tool with automatic tool-change, the machine tool comprising a spindle, a tool storage magazine, and a toolchange member adapted to move a tool between the magazine and the spindle, the improvement wherein the magazine comprises an endless track, a plurality of carriages slidable along the track, each carriage being adapted to releasably carry a tool, means for driving said carriages along the track, said tool-change member including a movable portion of said track adapted to support one of said carriages, said portion being rotatably mounted on a shaft supported on said machine tool and having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said spindle, and moving means for moving said portion on said shaft in an arcuate path between a first position in said magazine and a second, tool-changing position for said spindle.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 136 words

In a machine tool with automatic tool-change, the machine tool comprising a spindle, a tool storage magazine, and a toolchange member adapted to move a tool between the magazine and the spindle, the improvement wherein the magazine comprises an endless track, a plurality of carriages slidable along the track, each carriage being adapted to releasably carry a tool, means for driving said carriages along the track, said tool-change member including a movable portion of said track adapted to support one of said carriages, said portion being rotatably mounted on a shaft supported on said machine tool and having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said spindle, and moving means for moving said portion on said shaft in an arcuate path between a first position in said magazine and a second, tool-changing position for said spindle.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 37 words

The machine tool of claim 1, in which the tool-change member further comprises an arm carrying said track portion and rotatably mounted on said shaft to move the movable portion of the track in said arcuate path.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 69 words

The machine tool of claim 1 including a column having a cap, the spindle being mounted on a saddle which is movable on said column between a lower working position and a raised tool-change position of the spindle, the track lying in a horizontal plane above said spindle, the track surrounding said cap located on the column and secured to the cap by brackets projecting outwardly from the cap.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 58 words

The machine tool of claim 1, in which the plurality of carriages are located end-to-end along the track, each of said carriages having at least one formation projecting therefrom, the driving means for the carriages comprising a toothed wheel mounted adjacent said track, the teeth of said wheel projecting outwardly to engage said formations projecting from the carriages.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 63 words

The machine tool of claim 4, in which each of said carriages include at each end a boss having a radiused surface, the carriages being located end-to-end along said track so that the end boss of each carriage contacts a similar boss on the next adjacent carriage for transmission of the drive provided by said driving means from one carriage to the next.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 106 words

The machine tool of claim 1, in which the tool carried by each of said carriages is gripped in a tool holder that is held positively but releasably in each carriage by holding means comprising a pin movably housed in the carriage and engaging a portion of said tool holder for locking the tool holder in the carriage, and including a block fixed to a column in which the spindle is movable, the block being located adjacent said second position of the movable portion of said track and contacting said pin to displace said pin sufficiently to release the tool holder for removal from the carriage.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 116 words

The machine tool of claim 8, in which each of said carriages includes a slot, the engaged portion of said tool holder comprising a flange adapted to extend into said slot, the pin being mounted on the carriage to intersect the slot and having a head of enlarged diameter, the pin being biased by a spring to a position in which the head is located in the slot and cooperates with a portion of said flange to lock said tool holder in said carriage, the pin cooperating with said block to overcome said spring bias and take up a position in which the head is located outside the slot unlocking the tool holder from the carriage.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 80 words

The machine tool of claim 7, in which the flange of the tool holder has a radial slot adapted to receive the pin when the tool holder is located in the slot in the carriage, and a recess located along the length of the radial slot to receive the head of the pin when the head is located in the slot in the carriage, such engagement of the head in the recess holding the tool holder positively in the carriage.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 66 words

The machine tool of claim 8, including means to hold the pin stationary with the head of the pin located outside the slot in the carriage, said holding means being operative during substantially all of the period of engagement between said block and said pin in which the movable portion of the track is in its second position and the spindle is in a tool-chage position.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 72 words

The machine tool of claim 9, in which the means to hold the pin comprises a latch mounted on the block, such latch being moved into locking position by a member carried on and protruding from said carriage in spaced relationship with said pin when the movable portion of the track approaches its second position, and being released after the movable portion has returned partly from its second towards its first position.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 73 words

The machine tool of claim 10, wherein the projecting member includes a sloping face located relative to said pin and being moved relative to said latch to contact the latch and move it into a locking position when the movable portion of the track approaches its second position, and being moved clear of the latch to release the latch when the movable portion has returned partly from its second towards its first position.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 43 words

The machine tool of claim 1, including at least one carriage arrest member located at the track along said the movable portion of the track and adapted to be actuated to immobilise one of said carriages adjacent a carriage on that movable portion.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 34 words

The machine tool of claim 12, in which the carriage arrest member comprises a hydraulic cylinder having a movable stem that projects toward the track to selectively engage a formation on the carriage immobilized.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 75 words

The machine tool of claim 1, including a yieldable retaining member on the movable portion of the track yieldably contacting a formation on each of said carriages as it is located on said movable track portion, said retaining member being yieldable on movement of said carriages by said driving means and being adapted to retain said one carriage in that movable portion when the movable portion moves between said first position and said second position.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 39 words

The machine tool of claim 1, in which the carriages are provided with independently rotatable rollers to slid along the track, some of said rollers having axes located at right angles to the axes of other of said rollers.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 39 words

The machine tool of claim 4, in which said formations projecting from each carriage comprise a pair of rollers with parallel axes mounted on a common surface of said carriage and adapted to be engaged by the toothed wheel.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 28 words

The machine tool of claim 4, in which the toothed wheel is connected to a positional transducer to indicate to a control circuit the position of the carriages.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 39 words

The machine tool of claim 1, including a tool substitution station spaced away from the magazine, and automatic means to move one of said carriages and the tool holder associated therewith bEtween the magazine and the tool substitution station.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 55 words

The machine tool of claim 18, in which the carriage moving means comprises a section of said tool-carrying track movable between a first position in which said portion is aligned with the track and a second position at the tool substitution station, and means to move said track section between said first and second positions.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 75 words

The machine tool of claim 19, in which the tool substitution station is located vertically below the track and in which the means to move the track section comprises at least one vertical guide extending between the tool substitution station and the track and a hydraulic cylinder having a piston stem connected to the movable track section and movable parallel to the guide to displace the track section between said track and said substitution station.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 114 words

In a machine tool with a storage magazine for tools, a spindle adapted to receive a took, and automatic tool-change means for inserting a tool from the magazine into the spindle for use and replacing it in the magazine after use, the improvement comprising a tool substitution station located vertically below the magazine and automatic means to move a tool between the magazine and the tool substitution station comprising a body adapted to support the tool in the magazine, at least one guide extending between the magazine and the tool substitution station, and means to move said body along the guide comprising a hydraulic cylinder having a stem to which the body is connected.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 114 words

In a machine tool with a storage magazine for tools, a spindle adapted to receive a took, and automatic tool-change means for inserting a tool from the magazine into the spindle for use and replacing it in the magazine after use, the improvement comprising a tool substitution station located vertically below the magazine and automatic means to move a tool between the magazine and the tool substitution station comprising a body adapted to support the tool in the magazine, at least one guide extending between the magazine and the tool substitution station, and means to move said body along the guide comprising a hydraulic cylinder having a stem to which the body is connected.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 40 words

The machine tool of claim 21, in which the magazine comprises an endless track each tool being releasably held in a carriage that is slidable along the track, the body comprising a section of the track that accommodates a carriage.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 134 words

In a machine tool with a storage magazine for tools, a spindle adapted to receive a tool, and automatic tool-change means for inserting a tool from the magazine into the spindle for use and replacing it in the magazine after use, the improvement wherein the magazine comprises an endless track each tool being releasably held in a carriage that is slidable along the track, and comprising a tool substitution station located below the magazine and automatic means to move a tool between the magazine and the tool substitution station comprising a movable portion of said track accommodating said carriage, at least one guide extending between the movable track portion of said magazine and the tool substitution station, and means to move said track portion along the guide between the magazine and the substitution station.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 134 words

In a machine tool with a storage magazine for tools, a spindle adapted to receive a tool, and automatic tool-change means for inserting a tool from the magazine into the spindle for use and replacing it in the magazine after use, the improvement wherein the magazine comprises an endless track each tool being releasably held in a carriage that is slidable along the track, and comprising a tool substitution station located below the magazine and automatic means to move a tool between the magazine and the tool substitution station comprising a movable portion of said track accommodating said carriage, at least one guide extending between the movable track portion of said magazine and the tool substitution station, and means to move said track portion along the guide between the magazine and the substitution station.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 67 words

The machine tool of claim 23, in which the tool is secured in a tool holder, and including holding means releasably holding the tool holder in the carriage, and including a member located at the tool substitution station and adapted, on arrival of the track section at the tool substitution station, to release the holding means automatically, so freeing the tool holder for removal from the carriage.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 106 words

The machine tool of claim 27, in which the tool holder has a flange located in a slot in the carriage, said flange having a radial slot with a recess along the length of said slot, the carriage including a pin movable in the carriage and having a head seated in said recess under the action of a biasing spring to hold the tool holder in the carriage, the tool substitution station including a stud adapted to engage the pin and move the pin to a position in which its head is clear of the recess thereby freeing the tool for removal from the tool holder.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 163 words

In a machine tool with automatic tool change, the machine tool comprising a spindle, a tool storage magazine, and a tool change member adapted to move a tool between the magazine and the spindle, the improvement wherein the magazine comprises an endless track suspended on said machine tool, a plurality of carriages slidable along said track, each carriage being adapted to releasably carry a tool, means for driving said carriages along said track, said tOol change member including a movable portion of said track adjacent said spindle adapted to support one of said carriages, a slide for carrying said movable track portion in a rectilinear path from a position of registry with said magazine track to a tool change position adjacent said spindle to engage a tool in said spindle, and drive means mounted on said machine tool relative to said track and said slide for moving said slide forward and backward relative to said track along an axis parallel to said spindle.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 163 words

In a machine tool with automatic tool change, the machine tool comprising a spindle, a tool storage magazine, and a tool change member adapted to move a tool between the magazine and the spindle, the improvement wherein the magazine comprises an endless track suspended on said machine tool, a plurality of carriages slidable along said track, each carriage being adapted to releasably carry a tool, means for driving said carriages along said track, said tOol change member including a movable portion of said track adjacent said spindle adapted to support one of said carriages, a slide for carrying said movable track portion in a rectilinear path from a position of registry with said magazine track to a tool change position adjacent said spindle to engage a tool in said spindle, and drive means mounted on said machine tool relative to said track and said slide for moving said slide forward and backward relative to said track along an axis parallel to said spindle.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 25 words

The machine tool of claim 26 wherein said drive means comprise a hydraulic cylinder having a stem parallel to said cylinder and carrying said slide.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 105 words

The machine tool of claim 20 wherein the tool holder has a flange located in a slot in the carriage, said flange having a radial slot with a recess along the length of said slot, the carriage including a pin movable in the carriage and having a head seated in said recess under the action of a biasing spring to hold the tool holder in the carriage, the tool substitution station including a stud adapted to engage the pin and move the pin to a position in which its head is clear of the recess thereby freeing the tool for removal from the tool holder.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1977-06-24	1977-12-24	1978-06-25	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1981-06-24	1981-12-24	1982-06-25	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1985-06-24	1985-12-24	1986-06-25	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Machine tool with automatic tool-change

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