Cage slot grinding machine
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to machines for grinding slots of ball cage members such as used in torque transmitting universal joints. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In grinding the slots of ball cage members, it is a basic requirement that, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the edges in one side of the six slots Wp of a cage member W be ground into alignment with a line A and that edges Wb in the outer side of the six slots Wp be ground into alignment with another line B, thereby making the widths of the six cage slots Wp identical with one another in the axial direction of the cage member W. 
     However, a known grinding machine of this type as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,307,640 to A. H. Rzeppa is not designed to grind the edges Wa in one side of the six cage slots Wp with a common grinding wheel and to grind the edges Wa in the other side of the six cage slots Wp with another common grinding wheel. This causes the finish accuracy of the edges in either side to be degraded due to a variance in the infeed dead stop positions or in the dressing infeed end positions. Using the known grinding machine, it is therefore difficult and substantially impossible to grind the six cage slots Wp so that the six edges Wa in one side are aligned with the line A, and that the six edges Wb in the other side are aligned with the line B. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved cage slot grinding machine whereby a plurality of slots of a cage member can be ground not only to be identical in width with one another but also to be aligned about the circumference of the cage member. 
     Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved grinding machine of the character set forth above capable of grinding a plurality of slots of a cage member with high efficiency and in substantially the same grinding condition as one another. 
     Briefly, in a cage slot grinding machine according to the present invention, there is provided a work head rotatably carrying a work spindle, on one end of which a cage member to be ground is removably mounted. An index device is connected with the work spindle to selectively bring a plurality of slots on the cage, two at a time, into alignment with first and second grinding wheels through the rotation of the work spindle. Each time two new cage slots are respectively brought into alignment with the first and second grinding wheels, the same are respectively extended into the two new cage slots through the movement of first and second wheel supports in a first direction perpendicular to the axis of the work spindle but in opposite directions. The first and second wheel supports, after being so moved, are advanced in a second direction parallel to the axis of the work spindle to impart infeed movements respectively to the first and second grinding wheels. A pivotal oscillatory device is further provided which gives the work spindle an oscillatory pivotal movement along a predetermined angular distance during the movement of the wheel supports in the second direction. These wheel supports, when moved in the second direction, are advanced in opposite directions whereby the edges on one side of all of the cage slots are ground with the first grinding wheel while the edges on the other side of all of the cage slots are ground with the second grinding wheel. 
     According to the present invention, efficient grinding is realized since the edge on one side of a cage slot and the edge on the other side of another cage slot are simultaneously ground. More importantly, no variance in size is provided with respect to finished edges on any side of any of the cage slots. In other words, all of finished slots of any cage member are circumferentially aligned with one another, with the edges in one side being encompassed in a plane and with the edges in the other side being all encompassed in another plane. This advantage is achieved by the unique utilization of two grinding wheels on one grinding machine, that is by using the first grinding wheel for the edges on one side and the second grinding wheel for the edges on the other side. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing and other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a cage member and a workpiece to be ground; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the cage member; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, of a cage slot grinding machine according to the present invention; 
     FIGS. 3a-3c are schematic illustrations of control devices associated with the structure of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the grinding machine taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the grinding machine looking from a direction indicated by the arrow V of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is an explanatory view descriptive of the movement of a first grinding wheel during dressing operation; and 
     FIG. 7 is another explanatory view descriptive of the movement of the first grinding wheel during grinding operation. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, a cage slot grinding machine according to the present invention is shown having a bed 10, on which a work slide 11 is carried for sliding movement in a direction perpendicular to the axis of a work spindle, referred to later. An oscillatory device 14, including a hydraulic actuator 12 and a piston 13, is provided on the bed 10 for sliding movement of the work slide 11 in said direction. The work slide 11 fixedly mounts thereon a work head 15 rotatably supporting a work spindle 16. This spindle 16 has secured at one end thereof a chuck 17 adapted to clamp a cage member W, which has six radial slots Wp as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and which is used in conventional torque transmitting universal joints. 
     The other end of the work spindle 16 is provided with first and second indexing plates 20 and 40 keyed thereon. As schematically shown in FIG. 3c, the first indexing plate 20 has six stops 21 spaced in equiangular relation. The second indexing plate 40 also has six notches 41 spaced in equiangular relation, but oriented in a direction opposing the stops 21. A rod 23 and a pawl 43 are respectively engageable with any of the stops 21 and any of the notches 41 from such directions that they urge the plates 20 and 40 to rotate in opposite directions, respectively. At the rear side of the work head 15, there are provided a reciprocation drive device 25 for reciprocating the rod 23 and an index drive device 45 for pivotally moving the pawl 43. 
     The reciprocation drive device 25 is composed of a hydraulic cylinder 26 slidably receiving a piston 27 therein. The piston 27 is reciprocally moved by supplying pressurized fluid selectively into left and right chambers of the cylinder 26. A rod 28 of the piston 27 contains therein a set-free device 31 including a piston 30 slidable in the rod 28. This set-free device 31 serves for bringing the rod 23 of the piston 30 into and away from contact with any of the stops 21. 
     The indexing drive device 45 is constituted by a hydraulic cylinder 46 and a piston 47 slidably received therein. A rod 48 of the piston 47 is formed with rack teeth 49, which engage a pinion 51 rotatable bodily with a rotational member 50 on the work spindle 16. This arrangement permits straight movement of the piston 47 to be transmitted as rotational movement to the pinion 51 and the rotational member 50. The pawl 43 is pivotably carried on a lateral surface of the rotational member 50. Therefore, the member 50, when rotated in counterclockwise direction, brings the pawl 43 into engagement with any of the notches 41 to rotate the second indexing plate 40 through a predetermined angle, but when rotated in clockwise direction, slides the pawl 43 along the circumferential surface of the second indexing plate 40 to a retracted angular position. 
     Further, first and second wheel slides 60a and 60b are mounted on the bed 10 and respectively at diametrically opposite sides of the chuck 17. In order to move the wheel slides 60a and 60b in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the work spindle 16, first and second feed devices 63a and 63b are provided, comprising a set of a hydraulic cylinder 61a and a piston 62a and another set of a hydraulic cylinder 61b and a piston 62b. First and second wheel supports 64a and 64b are in turn mounted respectively on the first and second wheel slides 60a and 60b for sliding movement in a direction parallel with the axis of the work spindle 16. First and second wheel heads 65a and 65b, fixedly mounted respectively on the first and second wheel supports 64a and 64b, respectively support first and second grinding wheels Ga and Gb for rotation about axes perpendicular to the axis of the work spindle 16. First and second infeed devices 66a and 66b are provided for respectively infeeding the first and second wheel supports 64a and 64b in a direction parallel to the axis of the work spindle 16 but in opposite directions with each other. Accordingly, the first grinding wheel Ga is infed toward the edge on one side of a cage slot Wp, while the second grinding wheel Gb is infed toward the edge on the other side of another slot Wp, as best shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 5. 
     The first infeed device 66a is composed of a nut 67a rotatably, but axially fixedly supported on the first wheel support 64a and a screw shaft 68a threadedly engaged with the nut 67a. The relative rotation of one of the nut 67a and the screw shaft 68a to the other effects a grinding or dressing infeed movement of the first wheel support 64a and hence, the first grinding wheel Ga. In order to give the nut 67a rotation, a grinding infeed device 69a (FIG. 3a) is provided including a rapid feed cylinder 70a and a grinding infeed cylinder 71a, in which pistons 72a and 73a are respectively slidably contained. The piston rods 74a and 75a of the pistons 72a and 73a are in axial alignment with each other for abuttable engagement. The piston rod 74a is formed with rack teeth 77a engaged with a pinion 76a, which is keyed on the nut 67a. The operation of the grinding infeed device 69a is such that the piston 72a is advanced at a rapid feed rate until the abutting engagement of its rod 74a with the piston rod 75a and, after such engagement, at a slow feed rate by being subjected to the displacement of the piston 73a. The rack teeth 77a and the pinion 76a engaged therewith serve to transmit the movement of the piston 72a to the nut 67a. 
     In order to rotate the screw shaft 68a, on the other hand, a dressing infeed device 78a is provided being embodied as a known rachet feed mechanism which is composed of a hydraulic cylinder 79a, a piston 80a, rack teeth 81a, a pinion 82a, a ratchet pawl 83a and a ratchet wheel 84a. Intermittently rotatably by the ratchet mechanism is a worm shaft 85a with a worm 87a, which is in meshing engagement with a worm wheel 88a keyed on a rotational sleeve 89a. This sleeve 89a is freely rotatable about the screw shaft 68a and is disengageably connected with a hand wheel 90a keyed on one end of the screw shaft 68a. Accordingly, this arrangement serves to transmit the intermittent rotation of the worm shaft 85a to the screw shaft 68a. 
     The second infeed device 66b is identical in construction with the first infeed device 66a and therefore, is not described in detail. It should be noted however that in the drawings, particularly FIG. 3b, the parts of the second infeed device 66b which correspond respectively to those of the first infeed device 66a are designated by the same reference numerals each with appended letter &#34;b&#34; instead of &#34;a.&#34; 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a dresser base 92 is fixedly provided on the work slide 11 and immediately under the cage member W on the chuck 17. The dresser base 92 mounts thereon first and second dresser supports 93a and 93b, which are displaceable in a direction parallel to the axis of the work spindle 16. Adjusting screws 94a and 94b are manually rotatable to respectively adjust the slide positions of the dresser supports 93a and 93b in said direction. First and second dressing tools 95a and 95b, secured respectively to the dresser supports 93a and 93b, are respectively oriented in inwardly opposite directions in the vicinity of diametrically opposite ends of the cage member W on the chuck 17. The dressing tools 95a and 95b are provided for respectively dressing the first and second grinding wheels Ga and Gb. The dresser supports 93a and 93b, though positioned on the work slide 71 in this particular embodiment, may be mounted on the bed 10. 
     The operation of the apparatus as constructed above will be described hereinafter. It is now assumed that all movable members of the grinding machine are in their original positions as illustrated in FIG. 3 and that the cage member W to be ground has been clamped in place on the chuck 17. In this original condition, the right chamber of the cylinder 26 and the left chamber of the cylinder 29 have received fluid under pressure, with the pistons 27 and 30 urged respectively to the left and right stroke ends thereof. Also, the left chamber of the indexing cylinder 46 has received fluid under pressure, with the piston 47 being urged toward the right. The first and second indexing plates 20 and 40 have therefore been engaged at one of the stops 21 and one of the notches 41 through the rod 23 and the pawl 43, respectively, so as to maintain the work spindle 16 at the angular position that the pistons 27 and 30 respectively determine at the left and right stroke ends thereof. The cage member W and the chuck 17, when at the shown angular position, has brought a pair of diametrically opposite slots Wp thereof into axial alignment with the first and second grinding wheels Ga and Gb, as shown in FIG. 4. 
     When fluid under pressure is supplied alternatively into the left and right chambers of the reciprocation cylinder 26, after the above-noted original condition, the piston 27 is reciprocally moved, whereby the work spindle 16 and the cage member W on the chuck 17 are rotatably moved about a predetermined angular distance θ (FIG. 4) which corresponds to the length, in the circumferential direction, of the cage slots Wp. During this rotational movement, a counter force by the piston 47 against the movement of the piston 27 always acts upon the second indexing plate 40. Accordingly, the first and second indexing plates 20 and 40 are respectively pressed upon the rod 23 and the pawl 43, so that the rotational movement of the work spindle 16 reliably follows the movement of the piston 27. From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the pressure of the fluid to the cylinder 48 is choosen to be lower than that of fluid to the cylinders 26 and 29 and therefore that either of the pistons 27 and 30 is movable against the counter force by the piston 47. 
     The oscillatory device 14 is then brought into operation to impart reciprocation movement to the work slide 11, and therefore, the cage member W on the chuck 17 is reciprocally moved in a direction transverse to the axis of the work spindle 16 as the spindle is rotated. In this condition, fluid under pressure is supplied to the right chamber of the rapid feed cylinder 70a to move the piston 72a toward the left as seen in FIG. 3a. The feed nut 67a is thus rotated through the rack teeth 77a and the pinion 76a, and this results in rapid advancement of the first wheel support 64a and, hence, the first grinding wheel Ga, in a direction parallel to the axis of the work spindle 16. Since the grinding infeed cylinder 71a has received fluid under pressure at the left chamber thereof to maintain the piston 73a at the right stroke end, the advance movement of the piston 72a is discontinued at the position where the rod 74a comes into contact with the rod 75a.  This causes the first grinding wheel Ga to stop at a rapid feed end position P2 as shown indicated in FIG. 6. When subsequent operation of the dressing infeed device 78a effects the rotation of the screw shaft 68a, the first wheel support 64a is moved in a direction parallel to the axis of the work spindle 16 so as to advance the first grinding wheel Ga to a dressing infeed end position P3 as indicated in FIG. 6. The first feed device 63a is then operated to move the first wheel slide 60a toward the left. The first grinding wheel Ga is brought into engagement with the dressing tool 95a in mid course of its leftward movement and is dressed by the dressing tool 95a with the result that the grinding surface of the first grinding wheel Ga is reduced to the rapid feed end position P2. 
     The leftward movement of the first wheel support 64a is further continued until the piston 62a reaches its right stroke end to extend the first grinding wheel Ga into the cage slot Wp of the cage member W on the chuck 17. Thereafter, fluid under pressure is gradually exhausted from the left chamber of the grinding infeed cylinder 71a, which permits the piston 72a to further advance together with the piston 73a, thereby rotating the feed nut 67a again. The first wheel support 64a is advanced at a grinding feed rate in a direction parallel to the axis of the work spindle 16. As a result, the first grinding wheel Ga is infed toward the edge Wa on one side of the cage slot Wp and begins to grind the edge. When the piston 73a is advanced to the left stroke end thereof, the first grinding wheel Ga reaches its infeed end position P4 as indicated in FIG. 6, whereby the edge Wa in one side of the cage slot Wp is ground to a predetermined size. 
     Subsequently, fluid under pressure is supplied into the left chambers of the rapid feed cylinder 70a and the grinding infeed cylinder 71a, whose pistons 72a and 73a are thus moved toward the right. This effects reverse rotation of the feed nut 67a, which in turn effects retraction movement of the first wheel support 64a until the first grinding wheel Ga is withdrawn to the retracted end position P1 as shown in FIG. 6. Following the retraction of the first wheel support 64a, the reverse operation of the first feed device 63a is effected to retract the first wheel slide 60a in a direction transverse to the axis of the work spindle 16. The first grinding wheel Ga is thus extracted from the cage slot Wp of the cage member W on the chuck 17, whereby the grinding of the edge Wa on one side of the cage slot Wp is completed. 
     At the same time as the aforementioned sequential movements of the first grinding wheel Ga, the second grinding wheel Gb is successively given a rapid feed movement, a dressing infeed movement, a traverse extension movement, and a grinding infeed movement. In each of these movements the second grinding wheel Gb is moved in a direction opposite to that in which the first grinding wheel Ga is moved during the aforementioned corresponding movement. Accordingly, the edge Wb on the other side of the cage slot Wp which is diametrically opposed to the cage slot Wp ground in the first grinding wheel Ga is ground with the second grinding wheel Gb when the same is given a grinding infeed movement. The reverse operations of the second grinding infeed device 69b and the second feed device 62b are then carried out, whereby the second grinding wheel Gb is returned to its original position. 
     When the first and second grinding wheels Ga and Gb are returned to their original positions, the supply of pressurized fluid to the left and right chambers of the reciprocation drive cylinder 26 is stopped to discontinue the rotational movement of the work spindle 16. Fluid under pressure is then supplied to the right chamber of the indexing cylinder 46, whose piston 47 is thus moved toward the left with a result that the pawl 43 is slid over the circumferential surface of the second indexing plate 40 so as to be retracted in clockwise direction. Immediately after this operation, fluid under pressure is also supplied to the right chamber of the set-free cylinder 29, and this causes the leftward movement of the piston 30 to disengage the rod 23 from one of the stops 21 on the first indexing plate 20. When the pawl 43 is clockwise retracted slightly beyond another notch 41 next to the previously engaged notch 41, fluid under pressure is supplied into the left chamber of the indexing cylinder 46 so that the pawl 43 begins to advance in counterclockwise direction. The pawl 43 is engaged with the new notch 41 in the course of its counterclockwise movement and is further advanced as it positively rotates the second indexing plate 40. Immediately after the counterclockwise movement of the first and second indexing plates 20 and 40, fluid under pressure is supplied into the left chamber of the set-free cylinder 29 to move the rod 23 toward the right. This causes the rod 23 to come into abutting engagement with another or a new stop 21 next to the previous stop 21 with which the rod 23 was earlier in abutting engagement, and further causes the first and second indexing plates 20 and 40 to rotate to the angular position established by the piston 30 at the right stroke end thereof. The work spindle 16 and the cage member W are thus rotated through a predetermined angle (60 degrees in this embodiment) in the counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4, whereby another pair of diametrically opposite cage slots Wp are brought into alignment with the first and second grinding wheels Ga and Gb. 
     Upon completion of the indexing operation, fluid under pressure is distributed alternatively to the left and right chambers of the reciprocation drive cylinder 25, and rotational movement of the cage member W is restarted for the grinding of another pair of newly indexed cage slots Wp. Since dressing the grinding wheels Ga and Gb is unnecessary for the newly indexed cage slots Wp, the first feed device 63a is operated to advance the first wheel slide 60a toward the left, and the first grinding wheel Ga is extended into one of the newly indexed cage slots Wp as shown in FIG. 7. Subsequent supply of pressurized fluid to the right chamber of the rapid feed cylinder 70a effects the leftward movement of the piston 72a accompanying the rotation of the feed nut 67a, and by the consequent rapid advance movement of the first wheel support 64a, the first grinding wheel Ga is rapidly advanced from the retracted end position P1 to the rapid feed end position P2. The movement of the piston 72a is controlled by the piston 73 after abutting engagement of the rod 74a with the rod 75a. As a result, the first grinding wheel Ga is further advanced at the grinding feed rate which corresponds to the speed of the piston 73a, to grind the edge Wa on one side of the cage slot Wp. As the piston 73a reaches its left stroke end which establishes the grinding infeed end position P4 of the first grinding wheel Ga, fluid under pressure is supplied into the left chambers of the rapid feed cylinder 70a and the grinding infeed cylinder 71a to effect the reverse rotation of the feed nut 67a. The first wheel support 64a is thus retracted until the first grinding wheel Ga reaches the retracted end position P1 as shown in FIG. 7. Further, reverse operation of the first feed device 63a is performed to retract the first wheel slide 60a, thereby withdrawing the first grinding wheel Ga from the newly indexed cage slot Wa, and this results in the completion of grinding the edge Wa on one side of the newly indexed cage slot Wa. 
     During the above-described movement of the first grinding wheel Ga, the second grinding wheel Gb is also moved in the same manner as described above but in an opposite direction for each movement. Accordingly, the grinding operation for the edge Wb on the other side of the other newly indexed cage slot Wp is also completed when the second grinding wheel Gb is retracted to the original position almost at the same time as return of the first grinding wheel Ga to the original position therefor. 
     Furthermore, efficient simultaneous grindings are performed with respect to the edge Wa on one side and the edge Wb on the other side of a succeeding pair of diametrically opposite cage slots Wp. This is accomplished in the same manner as the above-described simultaneous grindings by bringing the succeeding pair of the cage slots Wp into alignment with the first and second grinding wheels Ga and Gb and then by imparting to these wheels Ga and Gb oppositely directed infeed movements along the axis of the work spindle 16 after extensions of the wheels Ga and Gb into the cage slots Wp. 
     Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.