US2566970A - Expansion gauge - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 4, 1951 s. o. swENssoN EXPANSION GAUGE Filed Deo. 21, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l F IG.

irllll L Sept. 4, 1951 s. o. swENssoN EXPANSION GAUGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 21, 1948 .recesses in .the members Patented Sept. 4, 1,951

`UN I TED :or FICE 2 anims.l (elfes-1,78)

This invention relates .to expansion rgauges ior taking measurements of holes 'or' similar cavities and `has for itsprimary object to provide an improved construction which is easy `to manipu-` late and ensures a'high degree of ,exactness I attain thisy and yother'objects bymechanism illustrated in, the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1. is an elevation of an expansion gauge constructed in. yaccordance with this invention and viewed .from the Vleft of Fig: 2,; the upper and lower portions of'the gauge -being shown as separated from each other, and part 'of an appertaining indicator being broken away; Fig. Zis a sectional View of the gauge along the line 2 2, Fig. 3.; Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken on the line 3-3. Fig. 2; Fig. 4` is atop view of a modied embodiment of the invention;v Fig."v 5 is a sectional elevation thereof, the section being taken on the line 5-5, Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 vis a section in part of a third embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, reference numerals IIJ-denote a number of abutting members spaced from each other and disposed such as approximately to form parts of an annular body. lThe members I have substantially spherical outer faces II and cylindrical .inner faces I2 andare attheir inner faces soldered,V welded or'otherwise secured to cylindrical sections I3 of aresilient member, the sections I3 being interconnected by inwardlyprojectin'g portionsl4. The portions I4 are resilient in the circumferential direction and tend to move the sections I3 and members I0 radially inwardly so as to reduce the clearancesV I5 between the members I0.

Centrally within the member I3, I4 there is provided a rod I6 which at its upper end is connected with a 4collar I1. The .rod I6 extends with a sliding t through a guide member I8 whichby meansof a bayonet-catch I9 is detachably secured to a tubular housingvZD. Near the lower end of the rod I6, there is anvenlarged, `portion or .collar 2| against which rests one end of` a helical spring `22 the other lend of which `abuts against .the bottom of a recess in the guide member I8. .Between the inner 'faces I2 of the abutting members `III and themembers I1 and VI8 there-arefprovided slightly conical andthinwalled vcovers .23 and 24, respectively, which lat =their central. portions .are vinserted into annular I1 and .I8 and ,at their .againstthe, faces I2 and the I3. The

outerA edgesY abuV vkupper and vlower iedges v`of the sections.

directions, but' 're `11 directi'Qn! iin-iwhicli-the collar I=1 is;remotel to a .greatl distancefrom .l the .guide member-i8. z vEhe covers :23- an'd `24A maintainzztne. members .il 0, .aridi I3 in :posi-tions .suchthat .fthe .zouterpiaces .LI I .of Ithe members (A2-:IllV :are touching aan. .imaginarytscylindricalsurface indicated :b ithe'glines; 4. I,j4|`in Fie; .2.41 l-I-r,1..this .costieri-riale abutting-members II can be introduced into a hole 42, 42 having a :dia-meter .ereatelethanithe fdiametszi; the .-Cy-

41 thafhandle resiliency movmentetlm' .at

IIJ will touch imaginary cylindrical surfaces having gradually increasing diameters until the movement will be stopped when the faces I I come into contact with the wall 42, 42 of the hole to be gauged. Since the movement of the rod I6 is transmitted to the pointer 38, the diameter of the hole can be read on the scale 32. In order to withdraw the gauge from the hole, the handle 28 should be slightly depressed toward the position indicated by full lines so as to force the abutting members II) radially inwardly.

Instead of having all of the members I abut against a common cylindrical surface it may in certain cases be desirable to gauge a hole by contact at three points only. To this end, contact members may be permanently and detachably secured to three of the members I0, such contact members being indicated by dotted lines 43 in Fig. 3.

Turning now to the modified form of construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the housing 50, rod 5I, bar 52 and indicator 53 are generally designed in a similar manner, and serve the same purposes, as the corresponding parts of the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. Each of the abutting members 54 is provided with two inner projections 55 and 56 having vertically extending recesses or grooves which are engaged by the edges of slotted cylindrical members 51, as will be clearly seen from Fig. 4 in which, for the sake of clearness, part of the upper cover is broken away and the lower cover is omitted. The cylindrical members 51 consist of a suitable resilient material and tend to force the members 54 circumferentially toward each other. In this embodiment, too, there are provided an upper conical cover 58 and a lower conical cover 59 abutting against the recessed inner faces of the members 54. In the present instance, the apices of the cones formed by the covers are directed inwardly against each other, whereas in the previously described embodiment they are directed from each other. In order to make the covers as rigid and resistant as possible in the radial direction, they are formed with depressed portions BIJ, and in order to render possible variations of the apex angle of the cone, each cover has a number of radial slots 6I serving the same purpose as the portions .25 and 2'6 of the first embodiment.

The rod 5I is secured to the central portion of the upper cover 58 and is subject to the action of a helical spring 62 which tends to force the rod upwards and thus to increase the distance between diametrically opposed abutting members 54. The rod 5I has a collar 63 to be engaged by an arm 64 of a handle 65 pivotally mounted at 66.

The mode of operation is substantially the same as that described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. In Fig. 5, the handle 65 is shown in its depressed position in which the spring 62 is compressed and the members 54 can be introduced into a hole to be gauged. When the lever 65 is released, the spring 62 tends to make the conical covers more nearly plane with the result that the members 54 will be forced radially outwardly against the resilient action of the members 51.

In both embodiments described, the covers are preferably constructed in a manner such that in entirely unloaded conditions they are less conical than in their inserted positions so that the covers, too, will tend to force the abutting mem- 4 bers outwardly against the resiliency of the members I4 and 51.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 6, the abutting members for contacting the wall of a hole to be gauged are constituted by sections 10 of a substanitally spherical hollow member 1I, the sections 10 being spaced apart by inwardly pressed portions 12 extending along meridians of the sphere. The member 10 is made of some resilient material, and the portions 12 tend to contract the member 16 such as to decrease the diameter d thereof. The portions 1'2 thus act in the same manner as the portions I4 shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and as the resilient members 51 shown in Figs. 4 and 5. At its bottom, the member 1I has an opening the edges of which are tightly attached to a nipple 13 threaded into a tube 14 which slidably extends into a housing f the dotted line 85.

15. Into the lower portion of the housing, there is threaded a hollow plug 16 which communicates with a Bourdon tube 11 of a pressure gauge 18. Between the lower end of the tube 14 and the upper end of the plug 16, a flexible bellows 19 is inserted in a liquid-tight manner. A handle or lever mounted on the housing 15 at 8| is articulated to a link 82 Which is pivoted on a ring 83 inserted in a recess in the tube 14. The hollow system, that is, the spherical member 1I and the Bourdon tube 11 as well as the passages therebetween are entirely or to a considerable degree lled with a liquid 84, such as oil.

In operation, the member 1I is introduced into the hole to be gauged. Then the lever 80 is depressed so as to force the tube 14 downwards within the housing 15. Due to the resultant increase in pressure of the liquid, the member 1I will be expanded until the outer faces of the sections 16 will touch the wall of the hole. The pressure of the liquid prevailing at that moment will obviously be a function of the diameter of the hole and will be indicated by the pointer of the pressure gauge 18, the seal of the same being preferably graduated so as to indicate the diameter of the hole in a convenient unit of length. It will be manifest that the conical abutting members 23 and 24 (Fig. 2) and the conical members 58 and 59 (Fig. 5) may either directly bear against the inner faces of the abutting members I0 and 54 respectively or each may engage a suitable member carried by the adjacent abutting member and constitute a part thereof.

If desired, contact members may be secured to the outer faces of the sections 16, as indicated by Also in other respects, the constructions described may be modified within the scope of the appending claims.

What I claim is:

l. An expansion'gauge comprising in combination a plurality of abutting members disposed circumferentially with respect to a common axis and having outer faces which touch an imaginary circumscribed cylindrical surface, resilient means engaging said abutting members substantially in the circumferential direction thereof and tend'- ing to move said members radially inwardly, two substantially conical members abutting against the inner faces of said abutting members, a stationary part secured to the central portion of one of said conical members, a displaceable rod secured to the central portion of the other one of said conical members, said conical members being circumferentially resilient, resilient means engaging said stationary part and said rod and tending to movesaid rod so asV to increase the apex angles of said conical members whereby to move said abutting members radially outwardly against the action of said first-named resilient means, and means indicating the position of said rod.

2. An expansion gauge comprising in combination a plurality of abutting members disposed circumferentially with respect to a common axis and having outer faces which touch an imaginary circumscribedcylindrical surface, resilient means engaging said labutting members substantially in the circumferential direction thereof and tending to move said members radially inwardly, two sub-` stantially conical members abutting against the inner faces of said abutting members, a stationary part secured to the central portion of one of said conical members, a displaceable rod secured to the central portion of the other oneof said conical members, said conical members being circumferentially resilient, resilient means engaging said stationary part and said rod and tending to move said rod so as to increase the apex angles of said conical members whereby to move said abutting members radially outwardly against the action of said first-named resilient means, manually operable means for counteracting the tendency of said second-named resilient means whereby to decrease the apex angles of said conical members and permit said first-named resilient means to move'gsfaid abutting members radially inwardly, and means indicating the position of said rod.

SVEN OLOF SWENMSSON.

i REFERENCES CITED The followingtreferences are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,557,846 Kallensee Oct. 20, 1925 1,631,019 Darlington May 31, 1927 1,676,248 Bryant July- 10, 1928 2,047,607 Zimmerman July 14, 1936 2,249,954 -Hellberg et al. July 22, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date y 4,190 Austria May 25, 1901 138,823 Great Britain Feb. 19, 1920 OTHER REFERENCES American Machinist, June 5, 1945, page 150.

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