US3330041A - Marking apparatus - Google Patents

Description

July 11, 1967 w, w, DUPLER 3,330,041

MARKING APPARATUS Filed April 16, 1965 m .1 um i I %s DRAFTING MACHINE [NV/ENTOR mm MUa o/er I WXM United States Patent 3,330,041 MARKING APPARATUS William W. Dupler, Birmingham, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 448,769 14 Claims. (Cl. 33-18) This invention relates to improvements in marking apparatus for scribing lines on a surface.

In certain manufacturing procedures, e.g., those relating to vehicle body manufacture, drawings are required of such an accuracy that dimensions can be scaled directly from the drawing. Most drawings do not permit this and, in fact, have notes of caution about scaling the drawing, pirmarily because the blueprints of the master drawing may shrink or stretch or the master drawing may either be slightly out of scale or be of a different scale from the actual part. To permit this direct scaling, not only must the lines on a drawing be visible, but they must be of a relatively constant and narrow width. Unless the marking is to be done by scratching or scribing, this involves depositing on the drawing surface some type of visible material from a marking element that will necessarily wear. Therefore, this wear must, in order to produce the constant width line, be controlled.

Accordingly, unique marking apparatus is proposed incorporating novel provisions for moving a marking element so as to distribute the wear thereof and also to facilitate the making of. constant width marks, which can be virtually any width desired.

Also contemplated is a marking device that permits an elongated marking element to be so moved during marking that the marking portion changes often enough to accurately distribute wear of the marking element.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows somewhat schematically marking apparatus incorporating the principles of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational view, partially in section, of a marking device employed by the FIG- URE 1 apparatus; and

FIGURES 3 and 4 show, respectively, enlarged sectional and perspective views of the marking end of the marking device shown in FIGURE 2.

Referring first to the FIGURE 1 apparatus, the numeral denotes generally a marking device and the numeral 12 a drafting machine,.which can be adapted in any known 'way to maneuver either manually or automatically the marking device 10 relative .to the surface of a drawing 14. The drawing 14 may be made of any suiitable material; e.g., a paper-like material, metal, plastic, etc. If formed .of metal the sufrace can be coated with some type of substance that aids in defining the lines. The marking device 10 employs an elongated marking element, such as a gold wire 16, that is continuously maneuvered as the marking device 10 moves along the drawing 14 by a drive mechanism, viewed generally at 17. The mode of obtaining this will be'clescribed more in detail later. The gold wire is suggested for scribing a white coated metallic drawing 14. Of course, wires of other materials can be used. The selection of materials will generally be determined by the type of drawing used and the requirements of a particular job.

Considering nowthe details of the marking device 10 displayed in FIGURE 2, the marking device 10 has an elongated support 18 provided with a tapered marking end 20 and a spindle end 22. The spindle end 22 is formed by a hollow screw 24 that is threadedly attached to the support 18. Axially spaced on the spindle end 22 and held in position thereon by the screw 24 are a driving spool 26 and a driven spool 28. Also threadedly joined to the elongated support 18 is is a drive ring 30. Both the drive ring 30 and the driving spool 26 have suitable teeth at 32 and 34 for respectively engaging chains 36 and 38 shown in FIGURE 1. Other type endless drive arrangements can be made, as will readily occur to those versed in the art. For instance, belts can be used, then too, direct connections by gearing or the like to be made.

The gold wire 16 extends around the marking end 20 via recessed guideways 40 and grooves 42, each extending lengthwise along the elongated body 18 and on opposite sides thereof. The structure exposes a minimum amount of the wire at a tip 44 of the tapered end 20 to the drawing surface so that a relatively thin line can be made, keeping in mind that thin lines are easier to scale accurately. As viewed in FIGURE 4, the tapered end 20 is constructed by forming opposite, somewhat flat diverging surfaces, as at 46, in which the recessed guideways 40 are formed.

The marking device 10 is revolvably and axially mounted within a machine bracket 48 that includes a coil spring 50, which exerts a constant upward bias on the marking device 10. This upward bias is opposed by an adjustable downward bias obtained from an offset crank arm 52. This ofiset crank arm 52 is rotatably adjustable and acts against a flanged rod 54 that extends downwardly through the hollow screw 24 and engages a coil spring 56 positioned within a center bore 58 in the elongated support 18. The adjustment of the offset crank arm 52 accurately establishes the pressure that the wire 16 is to exert on the surface of the drawing 14, and thus also contributes to the control of wear distribution.

The driving forces for revolving the driving spool 26 and the drive ring 30 are, as mentioned, derived from the driving mechanism 17. This driving mechanism 17 employs a drive wheel 60 that is rotatably mounted on a bracket 62 appropriately attached to the machine bracket 48. The drive wheel 60 is arranged so as to be in frictional contact with the surface of the drawing 14 and, therefore, is revolved as the marking device 10' is moved by the drafting machine 12. Gearing 64 of a suitable ratio is utilized to transfer this drive to the chains 36 and 38. The gearing 64, as displayed, includes a rim gear 66 concentric with and drive-connected to the drive wheel 60. The rim gear 66 drives a small idler gear 68 that is concentric with and drive-connected to a large idler gear 70. The large idler gear 70in turn drives a small driven gear 72, which is concentric with and joined to a large driven gear 74. The large driven gear 74 finally drives a face gear 76 that rotates a main shaft 78 on which a pair of sprockets 80 and 82 are drive-mounted. The gears 68 and 70, the gears 72 and 74, and the main shaft 78 are all revolvably supported on the bracket 62.

The sprocket 80 directly drives the driving spool 26 through the chain 38 while the sprocket 82 indirectly drives the drive ring 30 through a chain 84, which drives an idler sprocket 86, and then through another idler sprocket 88, which drives the chain 36. Consequently, the drive ring 30 and the'driving spool 26 are driven in opposite directions. The direction, of course, being determined by which way the drafting machine 12 is moving the marking device 10 and correspondingly revolving the drive wheel 60.

Reviewing. the operation, with the drafting machine 12 operative to maneuver the marking device 10 along the surface of the drawing 14, the drive wheel 60, as explained, will cause the gearing 64 to rotate the chains 36 and 38 and, accordingly, the drive ring 30 and the driving spool 26 in opposite directions. Hence, the elongated support 18 will be rotated while simultaneously the opposite rotation of the driving spool 26 will cause the wire 16 to be moved relative to the tip 44 and, of course, relative to the surface of the drawing 14. The wire 16 will be unwound from or wound on the driving spool 26 as determined by the direction of rotation of the driving spool 26.

Assuming the wire 16 is being unwound from the driving spool 26 it will, of course, be wound on the driven spool 28. As is well appreciated the two spools 26 and 28 will have angular velocities determined by the amount of wire wound on each. For example, the spool with the most wire wound thereon will rotate as a slower speed than the other. This difference in angular velocities is provided for by the FIGURE 2 illustrated structure since the driving spool 26 and the driven spool 28 are not driveconnected but permitted to have relative rotation. The adjustment of the screw 24 is such, however, that there is a slight frictional drag between the drive ring 30 and the driven spool 28 for assuring that the wire 16 is wound and unwound from the spools 26 and 28 with the maintenance of the proper amount of tension so as to avoid the introduction of slack that would interfere with the obtaining of a constant width line.

As will be appreciated, with the wire 16 being constantly moved the Wear is distributed, and with the wire 16 being of gold a corresponding gold mark is made on the surface of the drawing 14. This wear distribution contributes to the control of the width of this mark. Further facilitating this attainment of a constant width is the rotation of the elongated support 20 itself about its axis. The amount of gold deposited on the drawing 14 can be, of course, modified by adjusting the pressure exerted by the offset arm 52, whereas the width of the line is determined by the sizes of the wire 16 and the tip 44. The amount of wire 16 used, i.e., to be unwound from one of the spools, should be chosen so that the drafting machine 12 can move the marking device the entire length of the drawing 14 before reversing directions and the wire 16 commences to rewind.

Then too, the movement of the wire 16 both lengthwise and about the axis of the support 18 is produced by the driving mechanism 18, which is self-driven so that coordination between the movement of the gold wire 16 is made with the movement of the marking device 10 across the drawing 14.

The invention is to be limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for marking a member, the combination of a marking device having an elongated movable marking element arranged so as to have a portion thereof engageable with the member, means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member, and drive means adapted to travel along the member and receive drive therefrom, the drive means being also adapted to transfer the drive to the marking element for moving the marking element lengthwise in synchronism with the movement of the marking element by the maneuvering means so that the portion thereof in engagement with the member changes to facilitate distribution of wear of the marking element and also to facilitate the making of a constant width mark on the member.

2. In apparatus for marking a member, the combination of a marking device having an elongated marking element movably mounted thereon and arranged so as to have a portion thereof in engagement with the member, means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member, drive means adapted to travel along the member so as to receive drive therefrom, the drive means being also adapted to transfer the drive to the marking element both for revolving the marking device relative to the member and for moving the marking element lengthwise so that the portion thereof in engagement with the member continuously changes to facilitate the distribution of wear of the marking element and also to facilitate the making of a constant width mark on the member.

3. In apparatus for marking a member, the combination of a marking device having a wire-like marking element movably mounted thereon and arranged so as to have a portion thereof in engagement with the member, means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member, drive means adapted to travel along the member so as to receive drive therefrom, the drive means being also adapted to transfer the drive to the marking element both revolving and moving lengthwise the marking element relative to the member and in synchronism with movement of the marking device by the maneuvering means relative to the member so as to distribute the wear of the marking element and also enable a constant width mark to be made on the member.

4. In apparatus for marking a member, the combination of a marking device, means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member, the marking device having a wire-like movable marking element arranged so as to have a portion thereof engageable with the member, and drive means adapted to travel along the member and receive drive therefrom for transfer to the marking element so as to move the marking element lengthwise in synchronism with the movement of the marking device by the maneuvering means so as to facilitate the distribution of wear of the marking element and also to facilitate the making of a constant width mark on the member, and means maintaining a predetermined pressure between the marking element and the member.

5. In apparatus for marking a member; the combination of a marking device; means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member; the marking device having a wire-like movable marking element arranged so as to have a portion thereof engageable with the member, and means rendering the marking element movable lengthwise so that the portion in engagement with the member changes to facilitate wear distribution and also to facilitate the making of a constant width mark on the member; means permitting the marking device to be revolved to further facilitate wear distribution and the making of the constant width mark on the member; and drive means adapted to travel along the member and receive drive therefrom for transfer to the marking element both for revolving the marking device and for moving lengthwise the marking element.

6. In apparatus for marking a member; the combination of a marking device; means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member; the marking device including driving and driven spools, a support having the driving and driven spools revolvably positioned thereon for rotation relative to each other, and an elongated marking element having opposite ends thereof respec tively wound on the driving and driven spools and arranged on the support so as to engage the member; and means revolving the driving spool so as to cause the marking element to be moved relative to the member thereby facilitating the distribution of wear thereof and also facilitating the making of a constant width mark on the member.

7. In apparatus for marking a member; the combination of a marking device; means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member; the marking device including driving and driven spools, an elongated support having the driving and driven spools revolvably mounted on one end thereof and having a guideway at the other end thereof, and a marking wire extending by way of the guideway between the driving and driven spools and having the opposite ends thereof respectively wound on the driving and driven spools; and a drive mechanism for transferring drive to the driving spool; the drive mechanism including a drive wheel arranged so as to engage the member and receive drive therefrom, means transferring drive from the drive wheel to the driving spool in response to the relative movement of the marking device relative to the member so as to continuously move the marking wire within the guideway to facilitate both wear distribution of the marking wire and the making of a constant width line on the member.

8. In apparatus for marking a member; the combination of a marking device; means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member; the marking device including driving and driven spools, a support having a marking end and a spool support end, the driving and driven spools being positioned on the spool support end for rotation relative to each other, and an elongated marking element having the opposite ends thereof wound respectively on the driving and the driven spools and arranged so as to extend therebetween and by way of the marking end, the support also being arranged so as to be revolvable; a drive mechanism for both revolving the support and the driving spool; the drive mechanism including a drive wheel operatively connected to the member so as to receive drive therefrom and means transferring drive from the drive wheel both to the driving spool and to the support so as to continuously move the marking element for facilitating both wear distribution and the making of a constant width mark.

9. In apparatus for marking. a member; the combination of a marking device; means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member so as to make a mark on the member; the marking device including an elongated support having a tapered marking end and a spindle at the opposite end, axially spaced driving and driven spools revolvably positioned on the spindle for rotation relative to each other, the elongated support having guideways each extending lengthwise from the marking end and on opposite sides of the support, a marking wire extending by way of the guideways between the driving and driven spools so as to extend beyond the marking end and having the opposite ends thereof wound respectively on the driving and the driven spools, and a drive ring operatively connected to the support; and a drive mechanism arranged to revolve both the drive ring and the driving spool so as to cause the portion of the marking Wire in engagement with the member to continuously change and thereby facilitate both the distribution of wear and the making of a constant width mark; the drive mechanism including a drive wheel engageable with the member so as to be revolved thereby in response to relative movement between the member and the marking device, gearing driven by the drive wheel, and means for transferring drive from the gearing both to the drive ring and to the driving spool and in opposite directions as determined by the direction of rotation of the drive wheel.

10. In apparatus for marking a member, the combination of a marking device, means maneuvering the marking device relative to the member so as to make a mark on the member, the marking device including an elongated support having a tapered marking end and a spindle at the opposite end, axially spaced driving and driven spools revolvably positioned on the spindle for rotation relative to each other, the elongated support having guideways each extending lengthwise from the marking end on opposite sides of the support, a marking wire extending by way of the guideways between the driving and driven spools so as to extend beyond the marking end and having the opposite ends thereof wound respectively on the driving and the driven spools, a drive ring 6 operatively connected to the support, and a drive mechanism arranged to revolve both the drive ring and the drive spool so as to cause the portion of the marking wire in engagement with the member to continuously change and thereby facilitate both the distribution of Wear and the making of a constant width mark, the drive mechanism including a drive wheel engageable with the member so as to be resolved thereby in response to relative movement between the member and the marking device, gearing driven by the drive wheel, endless chain means fortransferring drive from the gearing both to the drive ring and the driving spool and in opposite directions as determined by the direction of rotation of the drive wheel, and means adjustably establishing the pressure between the marking wire and the member.

11. A device for marking a member comprising a pair of spools, a support having the pair of spools revolvably positioned thereon for rotation relative to each other, and an elongated marking element having the opposite ends thereof wound on a respective one of the pair of spools and so arranged on the support as to extend therebetween and have a portion thereof in engagement with the member.

12. A marking device comprising an elongated support having a marking end provided with a guideway, a wirelike marking element arranged on the support so as to extend by way of the guideway beyond the marking end, and means arranged on the support so as to permit movement of the marking element relative to the marking end.

13. A marking device comprising a pair of spools, an elongated support having the pair of spools revolvably mounted on one end thereof and having a guideway at the other end thereof, and a marking wire extending by way of the guideway between the pair of spools and having the opposite ends thereof wound on a respective one of the pair of spools.

14. A marking device comprising an elongated support having a tapered marking end and a spindle at the opposite end thereof, a pair of axially spaced spools revolvably positioned on the spindle for rotation relative to each other, the elongated support having guideways each extending from the marking end lengthwise and on opposite sides of the elongated support, and a marking wire extending by way of the guideways between the pair of spools so as to extend beyond the marking end and having the opposite ends thereof wound on arespective one of the pair of spools.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,701,417 2/1955 Graham 33-18 2,810,960 10/1957 Johnson et a1 3318 3,179,089 4/1965 Civitarese 3341 3,256,607 6/1966 Graham 33-32 LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner. H. N. HAROIAN, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN APPARATUS FOR MARKING A MEMBER, THE COMBINATION OF A MARKING DEVICE HAVING AN ELONGATED MOVABLE MARKING ELEMENT ARRANGED SO AS TO HAVE A PORTION THEREOF ENGAGEABLE WITH THE MEMBER, MEANS MANEUVERING THE MARKING DEVICE RELATIVE TO THE MEMBER, AND DRIVE MEANS ADAPTED TO TRAVEL ALONG THE MEMBER AND RECEIVE DRIVE THEREFROM, THE DRIVE MEANS BEING ALSO ADAPTED TO TRANSFER THE DRIVE TO THE MARKING ELEMENT FOR MOVING THE MARKING ELEMENT LENGTHWISE IN SYNCHRONISM WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE MARKING ELEMENT BY THE MANEUVERING MEANS SO THAT THE PORTION THEREOF IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MEMBER CHANGES TO FACILITATE DISTRIBUTION OF WEAR OF THE MARKING ELEMENT AND ALSO TO FACILITATE THE MARKING OF A CONSTANT WIDTH MARK ON THE MEMBER.

Images