U.S. patent number 3,650,073 [Application Number 05/011,584] was granted by the patent office on 1972-03-21 for iceskate blade sharpening machine and method of using said machine for sharpening iceskate blades.
Invention is credited to Charles Weisman.
United States Patent |
3,650,073 |
Weisman |
March 21, 1972 |
ICESKATE BLADE SHARPENING MACHINE AND METHOD OF USING SAID MACHINE
FOR SHARPENING ICESKATE BLADES
Abstract
A pair of iceskate blades are aligned with a templet in a jig.
The templet is brought to bear against a rigid fence that is
mounted on a structure that includes adjustably positioned endless
abrasive belts that are arranged to contact and abrade the bottom
surface of the iceskate blades.
Inventors: |
Weisman; Charles (Valley
Stream, NY) |
Family
ID: |
21751058 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/011,584 |
Filed: |
February 16, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
451/303 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B24B
21/002 (20130101); B24B 3/003 (20130101); B24B
17/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B24B
21/00 (20060101); B24B 3/00 (20060101); B24B
17/00 (20060101); B24b 021/16 () |
Field of
Search: |
;51/135R,141 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Simpson; Othell M.
Claims
What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:
1. An apparatus for sharpening an iceskate blade, said apparatus
comprising the combination of:
a. first frame means;
b. a motor mounted on said first frame means, said motor having
rotatable output means;
c. at least one endless, abrasive belt driven by said motor output
means;
d. means on said first frame means for supporting said belt whereby
at least a portion thereof traverses a substantially linear
path;
e. second frame means for removably supporting at least one
iceskate blade in opposition to said belt; and
f. template means and template follower means, one of said last two
mentioned means being secured to said first frame means, the other
of said last two mentioned means being secured to said second frame
means, said template follower means being in opposition to said
template means and arranged to be contacted by the surface thereof
whereby the iceskate blade is placed in contact with and is abraded
by said belt in accordance with the contour of said template
means.
2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said belt
supporting means comprises elongated platen means having a convex
transverse cross section, said belt being flexible and adapted to
conform to the shape of said platen means.
3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 further includes means
for adjusting the position of said platen means relative to said
blade supporting means.
4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said means for
adjusting the position of said platen means comprises a screw
journaled in said first frame means and threaded through said
platen means whereby rotation of said screw moves said platen means
relative to the blade and in a direction perpendicular to the
longitudinal plane of the blade.
5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said means for
adjusting the position of said platen means comprises a tongue and
groove arrangement for coupling said platen means and said first
frame whereby said platen means is moveable in a direction
perpendicular to the longitudinal plane of the blade and means for
retaining said platen means in its adjusted position.
6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 3 wherein said means for
adjusting the position of said platen means comprises means for
moving said platen means in a plane parallel to the longitudinal
plane of the blade, said movement of said platen means being
relative to said first frame means, and means for retaining said
platen means in its adjusted position.
7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said belt has
an abrasive surface only in the central portion thereof, the
longitudinal edges of said belt being free of said abrasive.
8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 7 further including means
for retaining the longitudinal edges of said belt on said belt
supporting means.
9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further including a
pair of spaced apart idler pulleys positioned at the ends of said
belt support means, said pulleys together with said motor output
means providing means for guiding said belt along a substantially
triangular path.
10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further including
means for releasably clamping the blade on said second frame
means.
11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said template
means has an arcuate surface conforming to the desired blade
rock.
12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11 further including
means for releasably clamping said template means in said second
frame means.
13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said template
follower means has a substantially flat surface adapted to abut
said template means.
14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 13 further including
means for releasably clamping said template follower means in said
first frame means.
15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said second
frame means comprises first and second support members and means
for adjusting the lateral spacing there between.
16. An apparatus for simultaneously sharpening a pair of iceskate
blades, said apparatus comprising the combination of:
a. first frame means;
b. a motor mounted on said first frame means, said motor having
rotatable output means;
c. a pair of endless abrasive belts driven by said motor output
means, said belts being spaced apart in a direction parallel to the
rotational axis of said motor output means;
d. means on said first frame means for supporting said pair of
belts whereby at least a portion of each of said belts traverses a
substantially linear path;
e. second frame means for removably supporting the pair of iceskate
blades in substantially the same spaced apart relation and in
opposition to said pair of belts; and
f. template means and template follower means, one of said last two
mentioned means being secured to said first frame means, the other
of said last two mentioned means being secured to said second frame
means, said template follower means being in opposition to said
template means and arranged to be contacted by the surface thereof
whereby the iceskate blades are placed in contact with and are
abraded by said belt in accordance with the contour of said
template means.
17. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein said belt
supporting means comprises a pair of spaced elongated platen means
each having a convex transverse cross section, said belts being
flexible and adapted to conform to the shape of said platen
means.
18. The apparatus in accordance with claim 17 further includes
means for adjusting the position of each said platen means relative
to said blade supporting means.
19. The apparatus in accordance with claim 18 wherein said means
for adjusting the position of said platen means comprises a screw
journaled in said first frame means and threaded through said
platen means whereby rotation of said screw moves said platen means
relative to the blades and in a direction perpendicular to the
longitudinal plane of the blades.
20. The apparatus in accordance with claim 18 wherein said means
for adjusting the position of said platen means comprises a tongue
and groove arrangement for coupling said platen means and said
first frame whereby said platen means is moveable in a direction
perpendicular to the longitudinal plane of the blade and means for
retaining said platen means in their adjusted position.
21. The apparatus in accordance with claim 18 wherein said means
for adjusting the position of said platen means comprises means for
moving said platen means in planes parallel to the longitudinal
plane of the blades said movement of said platen means being
relative to said first frame means, and means for retaining said
platen means in its adjusted position.
22. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein said belts
have an abrasive surface only in the central portion thereof, the
longitudinal edges of each said belt being free of said
abrasive.
23. The apparatus in accordance with claim 22 further including
means for retaining the longitudinal edges of said belts on said
belt supporting means.
24. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 further including a
pair of spaced apart idler pulleys positioned at the ends of said
belt support means, said pulleys together with said motor output
means providing means for guiding said belts along a substantially
triangular path.
25. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 further including
means for releasably clamping the blade on said second frame
means.
26. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein said template
means has an arcuate surface conforming to the desired blade rock
of each of the blades.
27. The apparatus in accordance with claim 26 further including
means for releasably clamping said template means in said second
frame means.
28. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein said template
follower means has a substantially flat surface adapted to abut
said template means.
29. The apparatus in accordance with claim 28 further including
means for releasably clamping said template follower means in said
first frame means.
30. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16 wherein said second
frame means comprises first and second support members and means
for adjusting the lateral spacing there between.
Description
The aforementioned abstract is neither intended to define the
invention of the application which, of course, is measured by the
claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the
invention in any way.
This invention relates generally to grinding machines and more
particularly to a grinding machine for and a method of precisely
sharpening the lower, running surface of a pair of iceskate
blades.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve maximum efficiency in the use of iceskates, the
blades must be accurately sharpened, so as to provide a concave
surface on the bottom edge. The concave or hollow portion of the
blade runs for the length of the blade and must be defined by sharp
longitudinal edges that are in a common plane as near to
perpendicular to the side edge of the blade as is possible.
Furthermore, a generous radius is provided from the sole to the
heel portions of the blade. A properly sharpened blade not only
permits the skates to be used to maximum efficiency but it also
makes skating easier thus adding to the enjoyment of skating for
amateurs. Needless to say, professional skaters must maintain their
blades at peak quality. However, in spite of the inherent hardness
of the blade material they become dull with even limited use.
Iceskate blades can, of course, be honed by hand. However, it is
virtually impossible to manually sharpen blades accurately
regardless of the care that is exercised. For this reason, attempts
have been made to develop machines that will perform the blade
sharpening task automatically. Preferably, the machines should
sharpen a pair of blades at the same time. While the prior art
machines that are presently available represent a substantial
improvement over hand operations, it has long been recognized that
they leave much to be desired, as far as the accuracy of the
sharpening and the convenience of the operation are concerned.
Generally speaking the prior art machines use grinding stones that
are susceptible to wear. Because of the expense of the stones they
are frequently kept in service long after they have outlived their
usefulness. While the stone can be dressed to restore it
approximately to its original condition, this too, is a burdensome
job that requires considerable skill in order to be done properly.
The use of a high speed grinding stone requires considerable
experience and even a skilled operator can improperly sharpen
iceskate blades if he uses uneven pressure or if he does not
manipulate the iceskate blades uniformly against the stone.
An example of the prior art, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
1,487,142 issued on Mar. 18, 1924 to V.A. Boker. This patent
teaches the use of a clamp for rigidly securing a pair of iceskate
blades in parallel relationship to each other. The clamp is also
provided with means for retaining a guide plate. The guide plate is
positioned against an arcuate guide that is located between a pair
of rotatable grinding stones. When the stones are driven by a
motor, the operator rocks the guide plate against the guide so that
the iceskate blades are abraded by the stones. It is apparent that
the success of the sharpening operation depends upon the skill and
manual dexterity of the operator. Moreover, the stones must be
frequently dressed to maintain them in their best condition.
SUMMARY
The present invention by way of contrast, provides means for
accurately sharpening a pair of iceskate blades whereby the need
for an operator's skill and manual dexterity is minimized. Further,
the present invention provides means for automatically grinding a
transversely concave surface on the running edge of the blade in
addition to the longitudinal radius. In accordance with this
invention, the iceskate blades are held in a fixture in spaced
parallel relationship to each other and to an accurately formed
templet that is positioned intermediate to the two blades. The
fixture is then brought adjacent to a grinding machine that
includes two spaced endless abrasive belts that are in opposition
to the blades. The belts are easily adjustable and easily replaced
when worn. A rigid fence is positioned opposite the templet. The
belts, in the vicinity of the blades traverse a substantially
linear path as opposed to the periphery of the circular grinding
stones used in the prior art. With the templet abutting the fence,
all that is necessary for the operator to do is gently rock the
templet back and forth against the fence so that the blades are
ground in accordance with the shape of the templet. Means are
provided for vertically adjusting the belts relative to each other,
the belts being of a new type having an abrasive central section
formed on a flexible material. The outboard lengths of the belts
are free of abrasive material.
Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to
provide an improved iceskate blade sharpening machine.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an
iceskate blade sharpening machine utilizing endless abrasive
belts.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide means
for clamping a pair of iceskate blades on a jig in spaced parallel
relationship to a templet, the blades and the templet being in
opposition to endless abrasive belts and a rigid fence,
respectively.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide an improved
iceskate blade sharpening machine, as described above, further
including means for accurately adjusting the position of the
abrasive belts.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved
method for sharpening iceskate blades.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention
will, in part, be pointed out which particularity and will, in
part, become obvious from the following more detailed description
of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawing which forms an integral part thereof.
In the various figures of the drawing like reference characters
designate like parts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, illustrating
the improved iceskate blade sharpening machine comprising the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the belts and drive means therefor that
are used with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the belts and support means
therefor taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3A is a fragmentary, perspective view illustrating a portion
of an endless abrasive belt and the support means therefor;
FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the iceskate blade holding jig
taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the iceskate blade holding
jig; and
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a typical templet used with the present
invention.
Referring now to the drawing and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and
3A, there is shown an iceskate blade sharpening machine 10
comprised of a grinding section 12 and a jig or support section 14.
The grinding section 12 is comprised of a support casting 16
adapted to be secured to a table 18 by means of bolts 20. The upper
portion of the casting 16 includes, as shown in FIG. 2, a dovetail
slide 22 which is engaged by a platen mount 24 that includes a gib
26. Screws 28 provide means for properly aligning the gib 26 with
respect to the casting 16. At the top of the casting there is
provided a micrometer screw 30 (FIG. 1 and FIG. 3) with a
1/1000-inch indicator dial 32.
Upper and lower platens 34a and 34b, respectively, are secured to
the upper and lower platen mounts 24a and 24b by means of screws
36. The platens 34a and 34b may have a radius of one-half inch to 2
inches. At each end of each of the platen mounts 24a and 24 b there
are provided upper and lower idler pulleys 38 that turn on axles
40. Each of the idler pulleys are mounted on an arm 42 that is
secured to an angle bracket 44 by means of bolts 46. The holes in
the angle bracket 44 through which the bolts 46 pass are slotted in
the vertical direction to permit vertical adjustment of the pulleys
38. The angle brackets 44 are secured to the platen mount 24 by
means of bolts 48 which pass through horizontally slotted holes in
the angle brackets 46 so as to permit horizontal adjustment of the
idler pulleys 38.
Behind the vertical casting 16 there is provided a vertical plate
50 which is hingedly mounted thereon by means of a pin 52. A
compression spring 54 acts between the plate 50 and the casting 10
so as to normally urge the plate 50 in a direction away from the
casting 10. A screw 54 provides means for adjusting the biasing
effect of the spring 52. An electric motor 56 is secured to the
plate 50 by means of a motor mount 58 and screws 60. Upper and
lower drive pulleys 62a and 62b are secured to the drive shaft 64
of the motor 56 by means of set screws 66, one of which is shown
typically in FIG. 2. The motor mount 58 has slotted screw holes so
that the motor 56 and the drive pulleys 62a and 62b can be
vertically adjusted. A motor well 68 is provided in the table 18 to
allow space for the motor 56.
A pair of endless abrasive belts 70a and 70b are trained about the
upper and lower drive pulleys 62a and 62b and the idler pulleys 38.
As shown best in FIG. 3A, the abrasive belts 72 are coated only in
the center portion 74 with the longitudinal edge portions 76 being
free of any abrasive material. The abrasive belts 72 are made of a
very flexible cloth so that they may very readily assume the radius
of the platens 34a and 34b. Along the top and bottom edges of the
upper and lower platen mounts 24a and 24b there are provided hinges
80 that are lightly pressured by springs 82 so that the hinges 80
press against the moving belts 72 and thereby keep them formed to
the shape of the platens 34a and 34b.
As shown best in FIG. 3, the micrometer screw is threaded into the
upper and lower platen mounts 24a and 24b with oppositely directed
threads in each of the platen mounts 24a and 24b. That is, the
upper portion of the micrometer screw 30 that is threaded in the
upper platen 24a will be provided with right hand threads, for
example, while the lower end of the micrometer screw 30 is threaded
into the lower platen mount 24b where it will be provided with a
left hand screw. Thus, when micrometer screw 30 is rotated the
platen mounts 24a and 24b will move towards and away from each
other in unison. In order to take up any axial play, that may be
inherent in the mating screw threads, compression spring means 84
are positioned between the casting 16 and the upper platen mount
24a and also between the upper and lower platen mounts 24a and
24b.
The grinding section 12 of the device is completed by means of a
fence 86 which is integral with laterally spaced arms 88 that are
secured to the casting 16 by means of screws 90. Horizontally
slotted holes in the arms 88 permit adjustment of the fence towards
and away from the casting 16 in a horizontal plane.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 for a description of the
jig or iceskate blade support section 14 of the machine 10. The jig
14 is comprised of two members 100 consisting of upper and lower
plates 102 and 104 respectively, and a connecting plate 106. A
U-shaped bracket 108 is formed integrally with the connecting
member 106 in order to receive a transverse alignment bar 110.
Screws 112 rigidly clamp the members 100 to the alignment bar 110
when the members 100 are in their proper position. A cross piece
114 extends between each of the upper and lower plates 102 and 104
and includes upper and lower blade clamps 116a and 116b secured
thereto by means of screws 118. The blade clamps 116a and 116b
further comprise a central portion 120 that is secured to the cross
pieces 114 by means of screws 122. Screws 124 extending between the
blade clamp members 116a and 120 as well as 116b and 120 are used
to adjust for various thicknesses of blades. A templet 126 which
will be described in greater detail hereinafter is secured to the
right hand edge (FIG. 1) of the central blade clamp portion 120 by
means of a set screw 128.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a typical templet 126. The templets are
approximately 16 inches long and 0.156 inch thick. They may be
shaped to radii of 6 feet to 30 feet. The choice of the radius is
made by the skater in accordance with the type of skating he wishes
to do. A typical skate blade has a 7 foot radius rock and a concave
running surface with a radius of five-eighths of an inch. The
radius rock is the curvature of the bottom of the blade along its
length. The concave hollor is the round depth of the bottom of the
blade. The edges of the blade are defined as the inner and outer
lower edges formed by the sides and bottom of the blade. It is
essential that a line drawn transversely of the edges of the blades
be perfectly square with the sides of the blades.
In order to sharpen a pair of blades, the thickness of the blade is
measured with a micrometer. The standard thickness of a blade is
usually 0.156 inch. The micrometer adjusting screw 30 is turned to
indicate 0.156. It should be noted at this time that the center of
the platens 34a and 34b are at the same height above the table 18
as the points A and A.sup.1 in FIG. 1. When this is so, the
indicator dial 32 reads 0.000. The screw of the micrometer 30 is
provided with 20 threads per inch in order to impart a
half-thousandths vertical movement of the platen mounts 34a and 34b
while indicating one-thousandths on the indicator 32. Since the
micrometer screw has 20 threads per inch, it will move the platens
34a and 34b up and down (depending upon the direction of rotation
thereof) half of a thousand, while the indicator dial shows 1,000.
Thus, the center of the blade is aligned vertically with the center
of the platens 34a and 34b. With the templet 126 positioned against
the fence 86, the templet 126 is aligned with the blades at the
front and back of the blades. The templet 126 and the fence 86 are
vertically aligned by means of a machinist's square so that they
are in the same plane.
The motor 56 is turned "ON" and the skate blade is rocked against
the moving abrasive belts 72a and 72b which are backed up by the
platens 34a and 34b respectively. It is not necessary to sweep the
jig across the belts 72 because of the linear extent of the belts
between the pulleys. After several passes against the belt 72, the
blades will acquire the shape of the templet 126 and will also
acquire a hollow that conforms to the radius of the platens 34a and
34b. After the skates are removed from the jig 14, any slight burs
on the side of the blade may be removed with a small, fine grained
stone.
As hereinbefore described a method for sharpening a pair of
iceskate blades comprises the steps of aligning the blades with a
reference template in a jig, placing the template against a flat,
elongated fence and then rocking the blades on the fence so that
the blades are abraded by endless, abrasive belts moving along a
substantially linear path in the vicinity of the blades. The step
of aligning the blades may include the step of aligning both the
upper and lower edges of each blade with respective edges of the
template. An additional step in the sharpening method may be the
final removal of small burs using fine polishing means.
While the foregoing method contemplates sharpening two blades at
one time, the structure of this invention lends itself to an
iceskate blade sharpening method wherein one blade is sharpened at
a time and then the sharpened blade is used as a template for
sharpening the other blade of a pair. For example, only a single
abrasive belt is used. A single blade is aligned in the jig with a
template and is sharpened as described above. Then the jig is
inverted and the template is replaced by the previously sharpened
blade. Another blade is placed in the jig and is sharpened using
the previously sharpened blade as the template. In this manner, the
second blade is shaped exactly as the first.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing, that since the abrasive
belts move along the length of the blades during sharpening, a very
smooth skating surface is produced and the edges are very sharp and
uniform. The radius rock of blades that have been improperly
sharpened, or which have been worn from excessive use, may very
easily be restored by means of standard templets. Because of the
design of the apparatus, it is virtually impossible to accidentally
dig into the blade while it is being sharpened. It is a very simple
matter to remove a blemish anywhere on the blade by sharpening only
that part. The apparatus is very simple to use and obviates the
need for any skill or manual dexterity on the part of the
operator.
It has been disclosed heretofore the best embodiment of the
invention presently contemplated. However, it is to be understood
that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled
in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.
* * * * *