Steady Rest Angle Lever Cam Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing steady rests for clamping and holding workpieces on machine tools have complex guide paths and require longer movement paths for opening and closing, making the design cumbersome and inefficient.

Innovation Solution

The steady rest design incorporates angle levers linked rotatably to the central holding member, with gate/pin arrangements that allow for shorter transmission paths and easier guiding, enabling the outer holding members to be pivoted beyond their normal open position through curved and straight gate/pin mechanisms, simplifying the return function.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If control levers with pins guided in straight gates are used to couple outer holding members to the central holding member, then the return function is achieved, but the guide paths become long and the design becomes complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereturn functionVSAvoidguide path complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the return function from the complex control lever mechanism and implements it through a simpler cam surface mechanism. The cam surface on the central holding member directly engages with the outer holding members, eliminating the need for separate control levers with pins and gates, thereby achieving the return function with shorter guide paths and reduced complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent merges the return function into the main clamping mechanism by integrating the cam surface directly onto the central holding member. This consolidation eliminates separate control components and their associated guide paths, achieving both functions (clamping and return) through a unified, simpler structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Reliability

If control levers with pins guided in straight gates are used to couple outer holding members to the central holding member, then the return function is achieved, but the guide paths become long

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereturn functionVSAvoidguide path length

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of using a pin guided in a gate (point contact), the patent inverts the approach by using a cam surface (surface contact) that guides the outer holding members. This inversion from linear gate guidance to curved cam surface guidance significantly shortens the guide path while maintaining the return function

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Ease of operation

If outer holding members are pivoted further beyond their normal open position, then the opening for workpiece insertion is enlarged, but the mechanism complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveworkpiece insertionVSAvoidmechanism complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The cam surface is designed to automatically pivot the outer holding members beyond the normal open position as the central holding member retracts. This preliminary action prepares the steady rest for workpiece insertion by pre-opening the holding members to an optimal angle, eliminating the need for additional control mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses a curved cam surface instead of straight gate paths to guide the outer holding members. The curvature of the cam surface naturally produces the extended pivot motion beyond the normal open position, achieving enhanced workpiece access through geometric design rather than complex mechanical linkages

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Data Source

PatentUS8286955B2Steady rest

Publication Date: 2012.10.16 SCHUNK GMBH & CO KG

AI summary

The invention relates to a steady rest for clamping and/or for holding a workpiece (W) on a machine tool, comprising three holding members (3, 4, 5) mounted in a housing (2) and displaceable in a common plane, two of which are designed as two-armed levers pivotably supported in the housing (2), and the central holding member (5) is guided in a straight line. The two outer holding members (3, 4) are kinematically connected respectively to the central holding member (5) via an angle lever (10, 11) so that with an opening movement of the central holding member (5) the outer holding members (3, 4) are pivoted apart from one another. The angle levers (10, 11) are linked rotatably onto the central holding member (5), respectively the one leg of the angle levers (10, 11) being connected to the associated outer holding member (3, 4), and the other leg being connected to the housing (2) by means of gate/pin arrangements.