Apparatus for working aligned bores

Claim 1

An apparatus for working with a tool at least one of a plurality of bores aligned on an axis wherein the bores are associated with the crankshaft bearings of internal combustion engines, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for generating a laser beam to be passed through said bores and for aligning the laser beam with a longitudinal axis aligning said bores; a driven hollow shaft for supporting said tool in one of said bores, said hollow shaft being positioned within said bore and surrounding the longitudinal axis thereof and said hollow shaft being adjustable with respect to said laser beam to align with the laser beam and said longitudinal axis; centering discs positioned in those bores not being worked on by said tool, said centering discs including means for indicating misalignment between said discs and said laser beam, said centering discs further including movable measuring devices and chucking means for adjusting and subsequently fixing, respectively, said centering discs within said bores wherein the centering discs are centered with respect to the bores; a cylindrical prism centrally mounted mounted within said hollow shaft for alignment with the laser beam, the prism having a cylindrical reflecting mantle surface and conical end surfaces having aligned axes which are aligned with the laser beam for initially splitting the laser beam into components which components reflect from said reflecting mantle surface and converge back to a single beam when the aligned axes are aligned with the laser beam and converge back into a plurality of beams when the aligned axes are out of alignment with the laser beam, whereby misalignment can be detected.

Claim 2

An apparatus for working with a tool at least one of a plurality of bores aligned on an axis wherein the bores are associated with the crankshaft bearings of internal combustion engines, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for generating a laser beam to be passed through said bores and for aligning the laser beam with a longitudinal axis aligning said bores; a driven hollow shaft for supporting said tool in one of said bores, said hollow shaft being positioned within said bore and surrounding the longitudinal axis thereof and said hollow shaft being adjustable with respect to said laser beam to align with the laser beam and said longitudinal axis; centering discs positioned in those bores not being worked on by said tool, said centering discs including means for indicating misalignment between said discs and said laser beam, said centering discs further including movable measuring devices and chucking means for adjusting and subsequently fixing, respectively, said centering discs within said bores wherein the centering discs are centered with respect to the bores; a cylindrical prism centrally mounted mounted within said hollow shaft for alignment with the laser beam, the prism having a cylindrical reflecting mantle surface and conical end surfaces having aligned axes which are aligned with the laser beam for initially splitting the laser beam into components which components reflect from said reflecting mantle surface and converge back to a single beam when the aligned axes are aligned with the laser beam and converge back into a plurality of beams when the aligned axes are out of alignment with the laser beam, whereby misalignment can be detected.

Claim 3

An apparatus for working with a tool with at least one of a plurality of bores aligned on an axis wherein the bores are associated with crankshaft bearings of an internal combustion engine, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for generating a laser beam to be passed through said bores and for aligning the laser beam with the longitudinal axis aligning said bores; a driven hollow shaft for supporting said tool in one of said bores, said hollow shaft being positioned in said bore and surrounding the longitudinal axis thereof, an annular disc fixed within said hollow shaft and said hollow shaft being adjustable with respect to said laser beam to align the axis of said annular disc with the laser beam; centering discs positioned in those bores not being worked on by said tool, said centering discs including means for indicating misalignment between said discs and said laser beam, said centering discs further including movable measuring devices and chucking means for adjusting and subsequently fixing, respectively, said centering discs within the bores associated therewith whereby the centering discs are centered with respect to the bores; prism means mounted in at least one of said discs for monitoring adjustment of said hollow shaft, said prism means having reflecting mantle surface means and aligned refracting end surfaces for initially splitting the laser beam into components and thereafter converging the components into at least one discrete beam, which discrete beam is indicative of alignment of the hollow member with the longitudinal axis.

Claim 4

An apparatus for working with a tool with at least one of a plurality of bores aligned on an axis wherein the bores are associated with crankshaft bearings of an internal combustion engine, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for generating a laser beam to be passed through said bores and for aligning the laser beam with the longitudinal axis aligning said bores; a driven hollow shaft for supporting said tool in one of said bores, said hollow shaft being positioned in said bore and surrounding the longitudinal axis thereof, an annular disc fixed within said hollow shaft and said hollow shaft being adjustable with respect to said laser beam to align the axis of said annular disc with the laser beam; centering discs positioned in those bores not being worked on by said tool, said centering discs including means for indicating misalignment between said discs and said laser beam, said centering discs further including movable measuring devices and chucking means for adjusting and subsequently fixing, respectively, said centering discs within the bores associated therewith whereby the centering discs are centered with respect to the bores; prism means mounted in at least one of said discs for monitoring adjustment of said hollow shaft, said prism means having reflecting mantle surface means and aligned refracting end surfaces for initially splitting the laser beam into components and thereafter converging the components into at least one discrete beam, which discrete beam is indicative of alignment of the hollow member with the longitudinal axis.

Claim 8

An apparatus for working with a tool with at least one of a plurality of bores aligned on an axis wherein the bores are associated with crankshaft bearings of an internal combustion engine, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for generating a laser beam to be passed through said bores and for aligning the laser beam with the longitudinal axis aligning said bores; a driven hollow shaft for supporting said tool in one of said bores, said hollow shaft being positioned in said bore and surrounding the longitudinal axis thereof, an annular disc fixed within said hollow shaft and said hollow shaft being adjustable with respect to said laser beam to align the axis of said annular disc with the laser beam; centering discs positioned in those bores not being worked on by said tool, said centering discs including means for indicating misalignment between said discs and said laser beam, said centering discs further including movable measuring devices and chucking means for adjusting and subsequently fixing, respectively, said centering discs within the bores associated therewith whereby the centering discs are centered with respect to the bores; a prism mounted in the last disc of the apparatus wherein the prism includes a cylindrical reflecting mantle parallel with said longitudinal axis and a first refracting end surface in the form of a projecting truncated cone aligned with said longitudinal axis, the truncated cone having a planar surface extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis, and said prism having a second refracting end surface which is a projecting cone having two intersecting conical surfaces wherein the conical surface adjacent the axis is more obtuse than the conical surface which intersects the cylindrical mantle and wherein the conical surface adjacent the axis has a projected base which corresponds in shape and area to the flat surface of the opposing refracted end face whereby the laser beam is refracted upon exit from the prism to form a circular pattern, and monitoring means aligned with the said longitudinal axis for monitoring said pattern and indicating when said pattern is unsymmetrical which is indicative of misalignment of the hollow shaft member with the longitudinal axis.

Claim 9

An apparatus for working with a tool with at least one of a plurality of bores aligned on an axis wherein the bores are associated with crankshaft bearings of an internal combustion engine, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for generating a laser beam to be passed through said bores and for aligning the laser beam with the longitudinal axis aligning said bores; a driven hollow shaft for supporting said tool in one of said bores, said hollow shaft being positioned in said bore and surrounding the longitudinal axis thereof, an annular disc fixed within said hollow shaft and said hollow shaft being adjustable with respect to said laser beam to align the axis of said annular disc with the laser beam; centering discs positioned in those bores not being worked on by said tool, said centering discs including means for indicating misalignment between said discs and said laser beam, said centering discs further including movable measuring devices and chucking means for adjusting and subsequently fixing, respectively, said centering discs within the bores associated therewith whereby the centering discs are centered with respect to the bores; a prism mounted in the last disc of the apparatus wherein the prism includes a cylindrical reflecting mantle parallel with said longitudinal axis and a first refracting end surface in the form of a projecting truncated cone aligned with said longitudinal axis, the truncated cone having a planar surface extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis, and said prism having a second refracting end surface which is a projecting cone having two intersecting conical surfaces wherein the conical surface adjacent the axis is more obtuse than the conical surface which intersects the cylindrical mantle and wherein the conical surface adjacent the axis has a projected base which corresponds in shape and area to the flat surface of the opposing refracted end face whereby the laser beam is refracted upon exit from the prism to form a circular pattern, and monitoring means aligned with the said longitudinal axis for monitoring said pattern and indicating when said pattern is unsymmetrical which is indicative of misalignment of the hollow shaft member with the longitudinal axis.