Abstract
A rolling apparatus for an annular workpiece includes roller, a rolling wheel device, a base, and a stand. The roller has two circular frames that holds the annular workpiece therein using removable fixing members. After an outer circumferential surface of the annular workpiece is tightly wrapped by an investment material, the fixing members are removed to leave a through hole at the center of the investment material and the annular workpiece has its inner circumferential surface exposed at the through hole. The cylindrical rolling wheel of the rolling wheel device passes through the through hole of the investment material and rolls on the inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece against a rolling platform of the base to increase the density of the annular workpiece. During the rolling operation, the investment material positions the annular workpiece and protects textures and patterns preformed on the outer circumferential surface.
Claims
1. A rolling apparatus for an annular workpiece, wherein the rolling apparatus is configured to perform a rolling operation on an inner side of the annular workpiece and the rolling apparatus comprises: a roller, comprising two circular frames butt-jointed with each other, a removable bottom mount, a removable bottom stem, and a removable central sleeve configured to be butt-jointed with the removable bottom stem, the removable bottom mount being configured to receive the two circular frames and centrally formed with a hole, the removable bottom stem being placed over the hole of the removable bottom mount and located at a center of the butt-jointed two circular frames, the removable bottom stem being atop provided with a cylindrical head with a reduced diameter as compared to the removable bottom stem, the cylindrical head being configured to receive the annular workpiece, the removable central sleeve having an inner hole that is configured to receive the cylindrical head of the removable bottom stem, the two circular frames being filled with an investment material, wherein when the removable bottom mount, the removable bottom stem, and the removable central sleeve are removed, a through hole is formed at a center of the investment material, with an outer circumferential surface of the annular workpiece tightly wrapped by the investment material and an inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece exposed at the through hole; a rolling wheel device, comprising a cylindrical rolling wheel and being configured to perform the rolling operation on the inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece in the roller; and a base, comprising a rolling platform, wherein in the rolling operation, the roller rolls on the rolling platform.
2. The rolling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical head of the removable bottom stem is configured to receive the annular workpiece, so that one side of the inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece rests on a shoulder of the removable bottom stem, and when the removable central sleeve is butt-jointed with the removable bottom stem, the removable central sleeve abuts against an opposite side of the inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece.
3. The rolling apparatus of claim 1, wherein an upper circular frame of the two circular frames of the roller is provided with at least one plug, and a lower circular frame of the two circular frames is provided with at least one single-ended socket that is located to correspond to the at least one plug of the upper circular frame, so that when the two circular frames are butt-jointed, the at least one plug is inserted to the at least one single-ended socket.
4. The rolling apparatus of claim 1, wherein an upper circular frame of the two circular frames of the roller is provided with at least one first double-ended socket, and a lower circular frame of the two circular frames is provided with at least one second double-ended socket that is located to correspond to the at least one first double-ended socket of the upper circular frame, so that when the two circular frames are butt-jointed, at least one screw is inserted into the at least one first double-ended socket and the at least one second double-ended socket, and at least one nut is screwed to the at least one screw.
5. The rolling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rolling wheel device further comprises two bearings, two bearing bushing adapters, and two bearing sleeves, the two bearing bushing adapters each being centrally provided with a polygonal receiving hole, the two bearing bushing adapters being received by inner circumferential surfaces of the two bearings, respectively, the two bearings being received in the two bearing sleeves, respectively, and the two bearing sleeves each further being laterally provided with at least one lug, in which two ends of the cylindrical rolling wheel are polygonal shape that matches the two polygonal receiving holes of the two bearing bushing adapters, and are configured to be inserted to the receiving holes of the two bearing bushing adapters, while the cylindrical rolling wheel passes through the through hole of the investment material in the roller and the annular workpiece.
6. The rolling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the base is further provided with two rails that are located at the two opposite sides of a lower part of the rolling platform, respectively, in which the rolling platform is further provide with two lengthwise retainers for retaining the rolling roller.
7. The rolling apparatus of claim 5, wherein the rolling wheel device is further provided with a stand that comprises two lateral plates and two positioning arms, the two positioning arms passing through through holes of the two lateral plates, the two positioning arms each being provided with at least one notch for receiving the at least two lugs of the two bearing sleeves of the rolling wheel device, the two lateral plates and the two positioning arms being opposite at two sides of the rolling platform and substantially perpendicular to an extending direction of the rolling platform, the base being further provided with two rails that are located at the two opposite sides of a lower part of the rolling platform, and the stand being configured to move along the two rails of the base.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] A better understanding of the present disclosure may be obtained from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, the features are not necessarily drawn to scale. In fact, dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily enlarged or reduced for clarity of discussion.
[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a rolling apparatus for an annular workpiece according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a side view of a roller in the rolling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the roller in the rolling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of a rolling wheel in the rolling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the rolling wheel in the rolling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing of a base in the rolling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing of a stand in the rolling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 illustrate installation of the roller onto the rolling platform in the rolling apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0023] The spatial relationship between two elements as described herein is not limited to the orientation illustrated in the drawings, but is also applicable to orientations not shown, such as an inverted orientation.
[0024] Furthermore, the terms first, second, and the like, as used herein, do not imply any particular order or ranking, but are merely for distinguishing between elements or operations that are described using similar technical terms.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, a rolling apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to perform a rolling operation on the inner circumferential surface of an annular workpiece R as shown in FIG. 2 to increase the density of the annular workpiece R and improve the internal structure of the material of the annular workpiece R, so as to enhance the structural strength and hardness of the annular workpiece R. The annular workpiece R may be a ring or a bracelet, with its outer circumferential surface previously embossed with patterns or textures. The rolling apparatus 100 primarily comprises a roller 200, a rolling wheel device 300, and base 400. The rolling wheel device 300 is supported by a stand 500.
[0026] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 depict the roller 200 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure with a side view and an exploded view. The roller 200 primarily comprises two circular frames 210, 220, a removable bottom mount 230, a removable bottom stem 240, and removable central sleeve 250. The circular frame 210 is the upper circular frame, and the circular frame 220 is the lower circular frame. The circular frames 210, 220 and combined by butt-joining. In some embodiments, the upper circular frame 210 contains a plurality of first double-ended sockets 212 and a plurality of plugs 214, while the lower circular frame 220 contains a plurality of second double-ended socket 222 and a plurality of single-ended sockets 224. Therein, the second double-ended sockets 222 and the single-ended sockets 224 correspond to the first double-ended sockets 212 and the plugs 214, respectively. The plugs 214 of the upper circular frame 210 are to be received in the corresponding single-ended sockets 224 of the circular frame 220. The first double-ended sockets 212 are aligned with the second double-ended sockets 222, so that a plurality of screws 260 can be inserted into the corresponding first double-ended sockets 212 and second double-ended sockets 222. Then a plurality of nuts 262 can be screwed to the screws 260 to combine the circular frames 210, 220. For example, the first double-ended sockets 212, the plugs 214, the second double-ended sockets 222, and the single-ended sockets 224 may each be provided in the number of three, so as to ensure stable combination of the circular frames 210, 220.
[0027] The removable bottom mount 230 is configured to carry the circular frames 210, 220. As shown in FIG. 3, in some embodiments, the removable bottom mount 230 is provide with at least three positioning legs 232 for positioning the circular frames 210, 220. The three positioning legs 232 may be arranged on the removable bottom mount 230 with a certain interval therebetween. The removable bottom mount 230 is centrally formed with a hole 234.
[0028] The removable bottom stem 240 is located above the hole 234 of the removable bottom mount 230 and is at the center of the combined circular frames 210, 220. The removable bottom stem 240 is atop provided with a cylindrical head 242 that has a reduced diameter for the annular workpiece R to mount therearound and receive rolling. Specifically, the annular workpiece R is mounted around the cylindrical head 242 and falls on the top surface of the removable bottom stem 240 so that the annular workpiece R has its inner circumferential surface RI rest on the shoulder 241 at the top surface of the removable bottom stem 240. Particularly, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the annular workpiece R comprises an outer circumferential surface RO and the inner circumferential surface RI inside the outer circumferential surface RO. The inner circumferential surface RI abuts against the shoulder 241 of at the top surface of the removable bottom stem 240. The outer circumferential surface RO is beyond the top surface of the removable bottom stem 240. The top surface of the removable bottom stem 240 may be slightly lower than the circular frame 220.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 3, after the annular workpiece R is mounted around the cylindrical head 242 of the removable bottom stem 240, the removable central sleeve 250 is installed onto the removable bottom stem 240. Specifically, the removable central sleeve 250 has an inner hole 252. The cylindrical head 242 of the removable bottom stem 240 can be received in the inner hole 252 of the removable central sleeve 250, so that the removable central sleeve 250 presses on the inner circumferential surface RI of the annular workpiece R. In some embodiments, the removable central sleeve 250 is atop provided with a ferrule 254. The ferrule 254 is for a tool, such as a screw driver, to be inserted therein, in order to subsequently remove the removable central sleeve 250 from the cured investment material 270. The investment material 270 may for example be high-temperature investment powder (e.g., a phosphoric acid or an ethyl silicate).
[0030] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, to process the workpiece, the investment material 270 is filled into the circular frames 210, 220 in several fills to fix the removable bottom mount 230, the removable bottom stem 240, the removable central sleeve 250, and the annular workpiece R. After the investment material 270 is cured, the removable bottom mount 230, the removable bottom stem 240, and the removable central sleeve 250 are removed, so that a through hole 272 is left in the investment material 270. At this time, the outer circumferential surface RO of the annular workpiece R is tightly wrapped by the investment material 270, while the inner circumferential surface RI is exposed at the through hole 272 formed in the investment material 270.
[0031] Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5. Therein, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are the schematic drawing and exploded view of the rolling wheel device 300 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The rolling wheel device 300 may primarily comprise a cylindrical rolling wheel 310, two bearings 320, two bearing bushing adapters 330, two bearing sleeves 340. The two bearing bushing adapters 330 are inserted in the inner circumferential surfaces of the two bearings 320, respectively. Each of the bearing bushing adapters 330 has a polygonal receiving hole 332. The two bearings 320 are inserted into the two bearing sleeves 340, respectively. Each of the bearing sleeves 340 has at least one lug 342 raised from its lateral wall from facilitating combination between the rolling wheel device 300 and the stand 500. The cylindrical rolling wheel 310 has its two ends 312 each formed as a polygonal structure that corresponds to the shape of the receiving hole 332 of the bearing bushing adapter 330, so that the two ends 312 can be inserted into the receiving holes 332 of the two bearing bushing adapters 330, respectively. The cylindrical rolling wheel 310 passes through the through hole 272 of the investment material 270 of the roller 200 and the annular workpiece R positioned in the investment material 270, so as to roll and press on the inner circumferential surface RI of the annular workpiece R in the roller 200. When the rolling wheel device 300 performs the rolling operation, the cylindrical rolling wheel 310, in virtue of the polygonal structures of the two ends 312, drives the bearing bushing adapters 330 to rotate. The bearing bushing adapters 330 inlaid in the inner circumferential surfaces of the bearings 320 then drive the inner circumferential surfaces of the bearings 320 to rotate. This can effectively reduce the rotation-incurred wear appearing between the two ends 312 of the cylindrical rolling wheel 310 and the polygonal receiving holes 332 of the bearing bushing adapters 330 without changes in shape.
[0032] Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 6. Therein, FIG. 6 depicts a base 400 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The base 400 comprises a rolling platform 410 and two rails 420. The rolling platform 410 has an extending direction ED. The rolling platform 410 is for the roller 200 to rotate thereon and thereby move to and fro along the extending direction ED. The two rails 420 are located at the two opposite sides of a lower part of the rolling platform 410, respectively. The stand 500 of the rolling wheel device 300 is configured to move to and fro on the two rails 420 along the extending direction ED of the rolling platform 410. Two lengthwise retainers 412 are installed at two lateral sides of the rolling platform 410, respectively. The two lengthwise retainers 412 are arranged along the extending direction ED so as to retain the rolling roller 200. In some embodiments, baffles 414, 416 are provided at the front and back sides of the rolling platform 410, respectively, so as to set limits for the roller 200 rolling forward and backward. Each of the lengthwise retainers 412 has its two opposite ends connected to the baffles 414, 416, respectively.
[0033] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the base 400 comprises two brackets 430 for stably supporting the rolling platform 410 and facilitating the rolling operation. Each of the brackets 430 may have two slots 432, 434 arranged below the rolling platform 410. The brackets 430 of the base 400 may be any structure that can ensure stability of the roller 200 throughout the rolling operation, and are not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 6.
[0034] Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 7. Therein, FIG. 7 depicts a stand 500 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The stand 500 is installed on the base 400 and configured to carry the rolling wheel device 300 while moving along the two rails 420. The stand 500 may primarily comprise a pedestal 510, a plurality of elastic elements 520, and a rolling portion 530. The pedestal 510 is mounted on the rails 420 of the base 400. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the pedestal 510 comprises four legs 512, two bars 514, two links 516, and four castors 518. Each of the links 516 is connected to two legs 512 at the same side of the rolling platform 410. The two bars 514 pass through the two links 516. Further, the bars 514 are received by the slots 434 on the two brackets 430 of the base 400. The four castors 518 are each provided at the bottom of a respective leg 512, so as to enable the pedestal 510 to move along the rails 420. The pedestal 510 may be structured in any suitable manner and the present disclosure is not limited to the shown structure.
[0035] The elastic elements 520 are such installed on the legs 512 of the pedestal 510 that they are located at two opposite sides of the rolling platform 410. The elastic elements 520 may each be a spring. In the rolling operation, the elastic elements 520 provide the operator with a downward rolling stroke. The rolling portion 530 is mounted on the elastic elements 520 and spans over the rolling platform 410. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the rolling portion 530 comprises two opposite lateral plates 532 at the two sides of the rolling platform 410, and two connecting plates 534 that connect the two lateral plates 532. The stand 500 may further comprises a beam 540 passing through the two lateral plates 532 of the rolling portion 530 and getting received in the slots 432 on the two brackets 430 of the base 400. The beam 540 thus lies across the rolling platform 410 at the lower part to structurally stabilize the rolling portion 530.
[0036] The rolling portion 530 further comprises two opposite positioning arms 536 inserted into the two lateral plates 532, respectively, so that the two positioning arms 536 are located at two sides of the rolling platform 410. The positioning arms 536 are substantially perpendicular to the extending direction ED of the rolling platform 410. Each of the positioning arms 536 has at least one notch 536a for receiving the lug 342 of the respective bearing sleeve 340 of the rolling wheel device 300 shown in FIG. 4, so as to position the bearing sleeves 340 around the positioning arms 536. In some embodiments, each of the positioning arms 536 has its free end formed with a threaded segment 536b for a nut 538 to screw thereon, thereby retaining the bearing sleeve 340 on the positioning arm 536.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in operation, the removable bottom stem 240 is placed over the hole 234 of the removable bottom mount 230 first, and the lower circular frame 220 is placed on the removable bottom mount 230. Subsequently, the annular workpiece R is mounted around the cylindrical head 242 of the removable bottom stem 240 before the removable central sleeve 250 is installed on the cylindrical head 242 of the removable bottom stem 240 to abut against the inner circumferential surface RI of the annular workpiece R. Afterward, the liquid investment material 270 is filled into the entire circular frame 220 to cover the outer circumferential surface RO of the annular workpiece R. After the investment material 270 is cured, a separating agent is applied to the surface of the cured investment. Then the plugs 214 of the upper circular frame 210 are inserted into the single-ended sockets 224 of the lower circular frame 220 so that the circular frames 210, 220 are butt-jointed. Then the liquid investment material 270 is filled in the entire circular frame 210.
[0038] When the investment material 270 in the circular frames 210, 220 is cured, it fixes the removable bottom mount 230, the removable bottom stem 240, the removable central sleeve 250, and the annular workpiece R. Subsequently, a screw driver may be inserted into the ferrule 254 on the removable central sleeve 250 and used to rotate the removable central sleeve 250 so as to remove the removable central sleeve 250 from the investment material 270, and get the removable bottom mount 230 and the removable bottom stem 240 removed at the same time. Consequently, the through hole 272 is left in the investment material 270. Then the screws 260 are inserted to the corresponding first double-ended sockets 212 and second double-ended sockets 222, and the nuts 262 are used to hold the screws 260 in position. At this time, the annular workpiece R is positioned and fixed at the center of the roller 200. Therein, the outer circumferential surface RO of the annular workpiece R is tightly wrapped by the investment material 270, while the inner circumferential surface RI is exposed at the through hole 272, as shown in FIG. 2. Afterward, the roller 200 with the screws 260 screwed can be heated in a heating furnace.
[0039] FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 schematically illustrate installation of the roller 200 on the rolling platform 410 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. After the roller 200 is heated to a predetermined forging temperature, the roller 200 is placed on the rolling platform 410 of the base 400 for the coming rolling operation applied to the annular workpiece R. The rolling wheel device 300 of FIG. 4 may be prepared while the roller 200 is heated. The cylindrical rolling wheel 310 at the center of the rolling wheel device 300 is movably received in the receiving holes 332 of the bearing bushing adapters 330 and can be installed or uninstalled at any time. The bearings 320, the bearing bushing adapters 330, and bearing sleeves 340 are normally fixed. In other words, the two bearing bushing adapters 330 have been installed in the bearing 320 in advance, and the bearings 320 have been inlaid in the bearing sleeves 340.
[0040] In installation, as shown in FIG. 8, the polygonal part at the right end of the cylindrical rolling wheel 310 is inserted to the receiving hole 332 of the bearing bushing adapter 330 in the bearing 320 in the bearing sleeve 340, and then further inserted to the right positioning arm 536 of the rolling portion 530 of the stand 500. Afterward, the cylindrical rolling wheel 310 is inserted to the through hole 272 of the investment material 270 on the roller 200 shown in FIG. 2 and the annular workpiece R. As shown in FIG. 9, at this time, the bearing sleeve 340, the bearing 320, and the bearing bushing adapter 330 that have been assembled are inserted to the left positioning arm 536 of the rolling portion 530, and the polygonal part at the left end of the cylindrical rolling wheel 310 is inserted to the receiving hole 332 of the bearing bushing adapter 330 in the left bearing 320. At last, the nuts 538 are screwed to the threaded segments 536b of the positioning arms 536, thereby setting up the roller 200 and the rolling wheel device 300.
[0041] Now the annular workpiece R is ready to receive the rolling operation. Referring to FIG. 1, an operator may place his/her hands on the positioning arms 536 at the opposite sides of the rolling portion 530 of the stand 500, and exert a downward force to make the cylindrical rolling wheel 310 press on the inner circumferential surface RI of the annular workpiece R in the roller 200. Then the operator presses the rolling portion 530 of the stand 500 downward and pushes the stand 500 to move along the rails 420 of the base 400. Afterward, the operator pushes the rolling portion 530 of the stand 500 downward and pulls the stand 500 to move backward. In this way, by pressing the rolling portion 530 of the stand 500 downward and making it roll forward and backward for several times, the rolling operation is accomplished. The number of the times of rolling may be determined dependent on individual workpieces. Instead of the foregoing manual operation, the pressing and moving steps in the rolling process may be alternatively performed hydraulically and/or electrically.
[0042] Upon the completion of the rolling operation, the nuts 538 are first unscrewed from the positioning arms 536 at the two sides of the rolling portion 530 of the stand 500, and the bearing sleeve 340, bearing 320, bearing bushing adapter 330 at either side of the rolling wheel device 300 along with the central cylindrical rolling wheel 310 are removed before the bearing sleeve 340, bearing 320, and bearing bushing adapter 330 at the other side are removed. Afterward, the roller 200 is removed, and the nuts 262 are unscrewed to allow the screws 260 to be removed. At this time, the circular frames 210, 220 of the roller 200 can be separated. At last, the investment material 270 is broken into pieces to allow the rolled annular workpiece R to be retrieved. The annular workpiece R is thus ready for the subsequent processing, such as grinding.
[0043] It is clear from the above embodiment that, with the rolling apparatus of the present disclosure, the outer circumferential surface of the annular workpiece can be tightly wrapped by the investment material of the roller and the inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece can be exposed at the through hole at the center of the investment material. Thereby, in the process where the cylindrical rolling wheel passing through the through hole of the investment material rolls on the inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece to increase the density of the annular workpiece, the outer circumferential surface of the annular workpiece, along with the patterns and textures formed thereon, is protected by the investment material from unintentional rub and damage. Additionally, since the roller is circular and the through hole is at the center of the roller, the cylindrical rolling wheel can roll on the inner circumferential surface of the annular workpiece stably and evenly.
[0044] The present disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments and it is understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, as the contents disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the concept of the present disclosure should be encompassed by the appended claims.
