Collet Comprising a Seal

Abstract

A collet includes a plurality of clamping jaws movable relative to one another, at least one recess provided in one of mutually facing side faces of adjacent clamping jaws, and a spring inserted into each recess and supporting the adjacent clamping jaws resiliently relative to one another, and a seal sealing the gap between two side faces of adjacent clamping jaws, with the seal having a fastening portion engaging in the at least one recess.

Claims

1. Collet comprising a plurality of clamping jaws which can be moved with respect to one another, at least one recess provided in one of the mutually facing side faces of adjacent clamping jaws, in each case, a spring inserted into a recess which resiliently loads the adjacent clamping jaws with respect to one another, and a seal sealing the gap in each case between two side faces of adjacent clamping jaws, the seal having a fastening portion (32) engaging in the at least one recess, wherein the fastening portion is designed as a hollow cylinder accommodating the spring.

2. (canceled)

3. Collet according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening portion is designed as a spring.

4. Collet according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening portion is designed as a resilient cylinder.

5. Collet according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer contour of the seal corresponds to the outer profile of the side faces of the clamping jaws.

6. Collet according to claim 1, characterized in that the seal fully fills the gap between two side faces of adjacent clamping jaws.

7. Collet according to claim 1, characterized in that the seal comprises a sealing lip extending from the plane of the seal.

8. Collet according to claim 7, characterized in that the sealing lip is arranged on the edge of the seal.

9. Collet according to claim 1, characterized in that the seal is mirror-symmetric with respect to the gap plane between the clamping jaws.

10. Collet according to claim 1, characterized by three clamping jaws.

Description

[0020] The invention is explained in greater detail in the following with reference to a particularly preferred embodiment which is shown highly schematically in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a particularly preferred design of a collet according to the invention;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the collet from FIG. 1; and

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a particularly preferred design of a seal for use in the previously shown collet in a sectional view (A) and in a plan view (B).

[0024] FIG. 1 is, by way of example, a perspective view of a particularly preferred design of a tensile clamp according to the invention, e.g. double cone clamps. Although the invention is explained in greater detail with reference to this specific kind of collet, the invention is in principle suitable for any kind of collet or guide clamp. Although an element that holds the collets together is not shown for reasons of clarity, it goes without saying that, for this purpose, the clamping jaws must be movable with respect to one another but must not come apart completely.

[0025] The collet 10 shown comprises a plurality of, namely three, clamping jaws 20 which are movable with respect to one another. The gap formed between each of the clamping jaws 20, which gap is formed between two side faces of adjacent clamping jaws 20, is sealed on all sides by a seal 30 in each case, and therefore chips produced during machining cannot enter the gap.

[0026] The seal 30 is, as shown in FIG. 2, fastened to the collet 10 by the fastening portions 32 engaging in the recesses 22 arranged in the side faces of adjacent clamping jaws 20.

[0027] In the example shown, the fastening portions 32 are designed in particular as cylinders which are resilient at least in the direction of their longitudinal axis and therefore have spring-loading properties. In this particularly preferred embodiment, the fastening portions 32 therefore replace the screw springs that are conventionally used according to the prior art.

[0028] Finally, FIG. 3 shows the particularly preferred design of the seal 30 in a sectional view (A) and in a plan view (B). The seal is mirror-symmetric in particular with respect to the gap plane between the clamping jaws 20 and has a sealing lip 34 which extends on both sides of the gap plane or on both sides of the seal 30.

[0029] The sealing lip 34 in particular extends around the seal 30. Additional sealing lips (not shown) can be arranged within the circumference occupied by the sealing lip 34, which additional sealing lips can optionally prevent chips which have passed the sealing lip 34 from penetrating into the recesses 22 of the clamping jaws. For this purpose, the fastening portions 32 can in particular be surrounded by an additional sealing lip protecting the cylindrical portion thereof.

[0030] The present invention is suitable in particular for retrofitting existing collets, whether these have screw springs or leaf springs, provided that their clamping jaws have a recess for fastening the springs. In addition, the invention is of course also suitable for producing new collets according to the invention.