Belt sander apparatus

Claim 2

Apparatus for supporting a rotating endless sanding belt adapted to sand a workpiece in a central operating range spaced from lateral edges comprising a sliding contact supported adjacent and extending across said belt beyond said lateral edges and having air discharge perforations connected with a pressurized source for producing an air cushion between said sliding contact and said central operating range of said belt, the improvement of lateral sealing means on said sliding contact aligned with said lateral edges of said belt and extending the full extent of said sliding contact to provide lateral edge seals for said air cushion while producing uniform grinding pressure in said central operating range.

Claim 3

Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said sliding contact has a tensioned sliding coating between said sealing means.

Claim 4

Apparatus as defined in claim 2, in which said lateral sealing means includes spaced shims and said sliding coating extends across said shims.

Claim 5

Apparatus as defined in claim 3, in which said shims have a thickness corresponding to the thickness of said air cushion.

Claim 6

Apparatus for supporting a rotating endless sanding belt having a central operating range located between opposite lateral edges and moving in a longitudinal direction comprising an elongated hollow body extending transversely of the rotating sanding belt and defining a stationary sliding contact surface exposed to said belt with opposite ends of said hollow body located beyond said lateral edges, said contact surface having air discharge perforations with a pressurized source connected to said hollow body for producing an air cushion between said contact surface and said belt in the central operating range of said belt, the improvement of lateral sealing means extending from contact surface outside of the central operating range of said belt and aligned with said lateral edges of said belt and providing bands for sliding contact with said lateral edges of said belt to provide seals for said air cushion while accommodating flexing of said belt to conform to irregularities of a workpiece being sanded in said central operating range.

Claim 7

Apparatus for supporting a rotating endless sanding belt having a central operating range located between opposite lateral edges and moving in a longitudinal direction comprising an elongated hollow body extending transversely of the rotating sanding belt and defining a stationary sliding contact surface exposed to said belt with opposite ends of said hollow body located beyond said lateral edges, said contact surface having air discharge perforations with a pressurized source connected to said hollow body for producing an air cushion between said contact surface and said belt in the central operating range of said belt, the improvement of lateral sealing means extending from contact surface outside of the central operating range of said belt and aligned with said lateral edges of said belt and providing bands for sliding contact with said lateral edges of said belt to provide seals for said air cushion while accommodating flexing of said belt to conform to irregularities of a workpiece being sanded in said central operating range.

Claim 8

Apparatus as defined in claim 5, in which said lateral sealing means comprises shims extending between opposite edges of said hollow body and having a thickness approximately corresponding to the thickness of said air cushion.

Claim 9

Apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which said shims having a thickness of between about 1 mm and 3 mm.

Claim 10

Apparatus as defined in any one of claims 6 or 7, in which said shims have beveled inner edges providing a smooth transition between upper surfaces of said shims and said contact surface.

Claim 11

Apapratus as defined in any one of claims 6 or 7 in which said shims have rounded corners on opposite ends of inner edges of said shims.

Claim 12

Apparatus as defined in any one of claims 6 or 7, further including a flexible sliding coating extending across said contact surface and said shims.