GB846925A - Work supports for welding or other operations on a workpiece - Google Patents

Abstract

846,925. Work-holders. BRITISH OXYGEN CO. Ltd. March 25, 1958 [March 29, 1957], No. 10410/57. Class 83 (3). In a support and manipulator for the automatic welding &c. of cylindrical work, the work is carried by pairs of rollers 4, Fig. 1, mounted in units 1, 2, movable along a track 3 by rollers 7, for adjustment, when the work is removed, but prevented from movement, when the work is in position, by the retraction of the rollers 7. In one form, each roller 7, Fig. 2, is on an axle 7a connected to a piston 12 in a cylinder 11. The piston 12 is connected by a screw 15 to a disc 18 supporting a resilient ring 10 of rubber &c., which is also engaged by an upper disc 19, abutting the cylinder 11 and engaged by an adjusting-screw 16 locked by a nut 17. The piston is prevented from rotating by a screw 13 and slot 14. In operation, the units 1, 2, are adjusted to the required distance apart, and the work 5 is then placed upon them. The weight of the work compresses the rings 10, thereby depressing the cylinders 11 so that they engage the track 3 and prevent subsequent movement of the units. On removal of the work, the units are again supported by the rollers 7 and may be moved on the track. The initial compression of the rings 10 is adjusted by the screws 16 to suit the weight of the work. In a modification, each roller 22, Figs. 3 and 4, has a compressible ring of rubber &c. 20, and is rotatable on an axle 23 secured in a cradle 25 pivoted at 28 in a frame 27 which constitutes the base of the unit 1 or 2. The initial protrusion of the roller from the unit, in the unloaded condition, is adjusted by a screw 30 in the frame 27. Brake-lining material may be secured to the part of the unit engaging the track to increase friction and help prevent movement of the unit.