US828875A - Counterbalancing device. - Google Patents

Description

No. 828,875. PATENTED AUG. 21, 1906.

- 13. P. BULLARD, JE-

'GOUNTERBALANGING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

UNITED STATES PATENT ornron.

EDWARD P. BULLARD, JR, OF BRIDGEPORT. CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE BULLARD MACHINE TOOL COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CON- NECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

COUNTE'RBALANCING DEVICE- Specification-of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 21, 1906.

Application filed November 28, 1905. Serial No. 289.502.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD P. BULLARD, Jr., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Counterbalancing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in adjustable counterbalancing devices for use inconnection with machinery of various kinds, and especially -boringmills, lathes, and planers.

In machinery of this character numerous devices have been used to counterbalance the weight of the head, rail, and other parts of the machine to insure ease of operation and adjustment.v The more common constructions of the above counterbalance devices include a weight and chain, the latter being carried up and over rollers of suitable arms. This form of counterbalance, which, as before stated, is largely used, is in many in stances undesirable, owing not only to its obj ectionable appearance, but also to the great amount of room required for the long arms employed, and, further, to the fact that they are more or less difficult to operate. I have therefore devised my present construction with a view of overcoming the above objections and producing a counterbalance which shall first be applicable to machines of various kinds and makes, which shall be neat, compact, and easily operated, and which shall be particularly well adapted for use on boring-mills and vertical lathes.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, I have illustrated my invention in connection with the head and cross rail as used on b0ringmills and vertical turret-lathes; but in so doing I do not wish to be in any way confined in its use to either of such uses or, in fact, to use on any machine in particular, and I reserve the right to employ it wherever adapted.

Upon the drawings similar characters of reference denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures, and of which Figure 1 shows a front elevation'of a crossrail, saddle, slide, and head such as are used on boring-mills and with my novel counterbalancing device applied thereto for counterbalancing the weight of the head. Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar enlarged vertical cross-section takenon line 4 4 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the sliderack and pinions to engage the same as seen from arrow (1, Fig. 4,and showin in slightly an exaggerated manner the re ative positions of said pinions with respect to the rack as in operation.

Referring in detail to the characters of ref erence marked upon the drawings, A indicates a portionof the frame and Ways of a machineas, for instance, a boringmill-and B a cross-rail adjustably mounted thereon. I

C represents a saddle movable on the rail, and D a guide-plate swiveled to the saddle in the usual manner.

E represents a slide, and F the turrethead, mounted upon the lower end of the slide and adapted to carry the several tools to be used upon the machine. This slide and head in this particular instance represent the parts which my improved device is connected with and counterbalances.

The slide in question is provided with a vertically-disposed rack G, secured thereto in any preferred manner. This rack is provided with a double engagement, one engagement being a pinion H, mounted upon a short shaft I, bearing a bevel-gear J, which meshes with a corresponding gear K, keyed to the shaft L. Said shaft is mounted in an inner bracket M, secured to the saddle, and an outer bracket N, attached to the end of the rail. The outer end of this shaft L carries a pulley O, to which is attached a sheet-metal strap P,

connections it will be seen that an adjustable and operative connection is made between the slide and the weight, whereby one counteracts the weight of the other in a very simple, compact, and novel manner.

The second connection to the rack is obviously for the purpose of adjusting the same and its weight and likewise to hold the rack in such adjusted positions as will again be referred to. This second connection comprises a pinion R, out on the hollow shaft S to engage the teeth of the rack in common with the teeth of the before-mentioned pinion H 9 suspending a weight Q. From thisline of and obviously turns therewith. The said hollow shaft is mounted in a bushing T in the saddle and in turn forms a bearing for the short shaft I, before mentioned. The outer end of the shaft S carries a worm-gear U, which meshes with a worm V, mounted upon a shaft W, journaled in bearing X of the bracket M and in the outer end Y of the rail. The outer end of the said shaft W may be shouldered, as shown, to receive a suitable crank, by means of Which it can be rotated by an attendant to operate the worm, gear, pinion, rack, and slide to adjust the latter to the vertical position desired.

The normal tendency of the weight and slide are obviously to pull from each other. Consequently from the above construction it will be apparent that the normal engagement between the rack G and the pinion H is along the upper edge of the teeth of the pinion and the lower edge of the teeth of the rack, as indicated in Fig. 5, while the engagement between the pinion R and the said rack is vice versa, or between the under side of the teeth of the pinion and the upper side of the teeth of the rack, thus serving to hold said rack tight and steady, preventing movement thereof as a result of any play or wear which may exist between the teeth of the rack and pinions, thus forming what I may term a lock for the slide to insure such an engagement thereof as will hold it against either an up or down strain.

It will further be noted that my counterbalancing device is equally effective in its operation if the slide be in either a vertical or angularly-adjusted position, which latter is commonly required in a machine of this sort.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire'to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A counterbalance comprising a rack, a pair of adjoining but independent pinions connected with the rack, a weight and connections therefrom to one of said pinions, and a second and distinct connection with the other pinion for adjusting the rack as desired.

2. A counterbalance, comprising a straight rack, a pinion to engage the same, a weight and connections therefrom to said pinion for supporting the rack, a second pinion beside the first-named pinion and in engagement with said rack, and means for operating the latter pinion to adjust the rack and weight.

3. A counterbalance, comprising an attached rack, a pinion engaging the same, a weight, connections intermediate said pinion and weight, a second pinion engaging the rack adjacent to the first-named pinion and separate means for operating the said latter pinion to adjust said rack.

4. A counterbalance comprising an attached rack, a inion to engage the same, a shaft upon which said pinion is mounted, connections from said shaft including a weight, a second inion to also engage the rack, and indepen ent connections with said second pinion for rotating the same to adjust said rack and weight. l

5. In a counterbalance the combination with an attached rack, of a pair of pinions rotating upon the same axis to engage the rack, connections from one of said pinions including a weight for supporting the rack, and connections with the second pinion for adjusting the rack and weight.

6. In a counterbalance, the combination with a slide bearing a rack, of apinion to engage the same, a weight and connections therefrom to one of said pinions for supporting the rack and slide, a second pinion in engagement with the rack and means for operating the latter pinion to adjust the slide.

7. In a counterbalance, the combination I with a slide, of a shaft, connections from said shaft to said slide, a weight operatively connected with said shaft to support the head, and a second shaft connected with the slide, and means for operating said second shaft to adjust the slide.

8. In a counterbalance, the combination with a slide bearing a rack, a pinion to engage the same, ashaft for the pinion, a weight and connections with said shaft for supporting said slide, and means for adjusting the slide and weight.

9. In a counterbalance, the combination with a rack, of a pinion to engage the same, a shaft, a second shaft connected with the firstnamed shaft, a weight connected with the second shaft for supporting the rack, and means for adjusting the said rack and weight.

10. In a counterbalance, the combination with a rack and slide, of connections with said rack for adjusting the same, a weight, shaft and gear connections intermediate said rack angl weight for supporting the same and said sli e.

11. In a counterbalance, the combination with a slide and rack for the same, of a shaft bearing a pinion to engage the rack, a second shaft, connections with the first-named shaft for adjusting the same and its slide and rack, a second pinion to engage the rack and weight, and connections therefrom to the pinion for supporting the rack and its slide.

12. In a counterbalance, the combination with an attached rack, of a shaft bearing a pinion to engage the rack, a second shaft journaled within said first-named shaft, a pinion upon said second shaft to engage the rack and weight, connections with one of said shafts for supporting the rack, and means connected with the second shaft for adjusting said rack to the position desired. 7

13. In a counterbalance, the combination with a slide-rack, of separately-operated pinions to engage the rack, a shaft for each of said pinions, a worm and gear connections for operating one of said shafts a shaft to ad: ,1

just the worm-gear and slide, beveled gear connections from the weight to the other pinion for supporting the weight of the rack.

14. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a cross-rail, of a slide mounted thereon, horizontal shafts mounted in said rail, a weight supported from one of said shafts, connections from said weighted shaft to the slide for supporting the latter, separate connections from said slide to the second shaft whereby the slide is adjusted by the rotation of said shaft.

15. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a cross-rail bearing a slide, horizontal shafts mounted in said rail,

gear connections from one of said shafts to the slide for adjusting the same, a weight suspended from the second shaft, a short shaft extending into the slide, gear connections between the short shaft and weighted shaft, and means for connecting said short shaft with the slide whereby the latter is supported.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, this 23d day of October, A. D. 1905.

EDWARD P. BULLARD, JR.

Witnesses:

F. J. LOWENSTEIN, HARRIs S. BARTLETT

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