JPS6311266A - Buff grinding method and device for ring-shaped burr of golfball - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to golf balls, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for automatically removing ring flash on a golf ball.

(Prior Art and Its Problems) Golf ball covers are generally made by molding two hollow semicircular cover halves around a core, or by injection molding a cover material around the core. , molded using one of these methods. Molding two semi-circular cover halves around a core is a conventional method, typically carried out by a frame containing multiple sets of ball cup molds. Each ball cup mold has an indentation pattern that is etched into the cover halves when the frame is closed and heat and pressure are applied to the cover halves.

The action of heat and pressure joins the cover halves to form a solid cover with small indentations in the surface. The excess cover material seeps between the paired ball cup molds and connects the balls to each other to create a matrix of balls, with each ball connected to its neighbor by the excess or overflow cover material. has been done.

Golf ball cover injection molding operations are performed in the conventional manner, by placing the core inside a retractable bottle cup mold and injecting the cover material around the core. Ball cup molds are generally housed within a frame. Generally, the ball cup mold is configured such that the cover material is forced into the ball cup mold through a runner to form the above-mentioned matrix links. In either case, when the ball is removed from the matrix, a ring or flash of cover material remains around the ball. This undesirable ring flash is generally removed by a buffing operation.

For example, the ring-shaped casting may be removed by a worker using a manual buffing machine. The worker places the ball into the rotating holder with the ring-shaped flash in the vertical direction. Next, the worker brings a rotary grinding wheel into contact with the ring-shaped mold to remove any unnecessary excess material.

If the grinding wheel is pressed against the ball for too long or too hard, too much material will be removed and the ball seams will become flat bands. Also, if the grinding wheel is not pressed for a sufficiently long time or with a sufficiently strong force, a ring-shaped flash will remain on the surface of the ball. Both of these are unsatisfactory. The length of time the grinding wheel is left on and the intensity of pressure will vary from person to person and from ball to ball.

Typically, workers use manual buffing machines to buff the balls in continuous eight-hour shifts. This is tiring and repetitive work. The percentage of balls for which the ring flash cannot be successfully buffed because the worker presses the ball against the grinding wheel for too short or too long will vary depending on the skill level of the individual worker. .

An automatic flash removal method and apparatus has been developed that eliminates the need for individual workers to manually remove ring flash from each ball separately. The present invention significantly increases the percentage of balls that can successfully buff ring flash.

One embodiment of the present invention allows balls to be automatically inspected one by one as they are removed from the matrix. For example, balls that cannot be made round during the molding process are automatically ejected before the buffing process.

Broadly speaking, the present invention orients the golf ball so that the ring flash lies in a predetermined plane and then removes the ring flash. If possible, the ring-shaped flash should be on a horizontal surface.

The golf ball orientation operation may be performed manually or automatically.

Manual orientation work is performed after each worker orients the ball so that its ring-shaped flash is horizontal. A suitable automatic working device may also be a vibrating orientation device. This includes a conventional device comprising at least one cup at the bottom similar to a ball cup having an indentation pattern similar to that of a golf ball or a portion of a golf ball and a securing arm at the top. .

The ball is placed between the cup and the arm, with the cup below the ball and the arm above the ball. The ball continues to vibrate until the dent pattern on the ball surface matches the dent pattern on the cup.

Another automatic device for orienting a golf ball is to automatically maintain the orientation of the golf ball obtained from the matrix. This method is well received. In this example, the balls are carefully removed from the mold and all of the balls are interconnected with flash and overflow material. The matrix is fed to a die punch which forces the balls out of the matrix and onto a conveying device. The die punch is vertical and the matrix is first aligned horizontally and then fed horizontally into the die punch. By aligning the matrix horizontally, the ring-shaped flashings can also be aligned horizontally. A transport device, for example a car, is equipped with a plurality of storage cups. Each receiving cup is shaped like a ball cup mold and has an indentation pattern similar to that of a golf ball. The matrix is held loosely so that the die cup punch can align the ball as the die punch pushes the ball out of the matrix and into the receiving cup of a waiting vehicle.

The cup is located directly below the die cup punch. This operation keeps the ring-shaped flash in a horizontal direction.

Both the vibratory orientation device and the ball orientation device from the matrix utilize the indentation pattern on the surface of the golf ball to preferably orient the ring flash onto a horizontal plane. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the ring flash itself can be used to horizontally orient the ring flash on the ball.

The ball is oriented so that the ring flash is horizontal.The next step is to automatically remove the ring flash. Each ball is unloaded from the carrier and placed into a holder by a loader to remove ring flash from the ball. When the balls are unloaded from the carrier and placed on the holder, the loader holds the ring-shaped flash horizontally. Said holder preferably has a bottom cup for receiving the ball and a fixed arch for resting on the head of the ball. The bottom cup of the holder has a dimpled pattern similar to that of a golf ball.

Next, the holder holds and rotates the golf ball during the ring-shaped flash removal process.

Preferably, the height of the golf ball is inspected after it is placed in the holder, but before the ring flash is removed. This inspection confirms the direction of the ring-shaped flash, and also checks whether the ball is complete, for example, a sphere, whether it is misaligned, and whether the buffing line is raised.

To separate balls that are not properly seated from balls to be buffed without removing ring flash from the balls.

The separation operation can be performed at any time during the process after the inspection process. Preferably, the separation operation is performed at the end of the buffing cycle. To accomplish this, the inspection station signals in advance that ring flash should not be removed from balls that are not properly seated.

The ring-shaped flash is removed by grinding, cutting, or polishing. Preferably, a section of the ring flash is first removed using a cutter, and then the remaining excess is removed using two consecutive belt sanders consisting of a rough finishing belt and a fine finishing belt. Remove cover material. In the most preferred embodiment, a brush is used to remove remaining particles. Before the polishing operation, a cutter is first used to make sure that each remaining ring flash that is to be subjected to the polishing operation is fairly uniform in terms of the height it projects from the ball.

These and other objects of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description.

(Embodiment) A preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 11. FIGS. 1-11 show aligner 10, punch 12, carrier or car 14, and loading station 16.
, holder 18, inspection station 20, cutting station 22, rough polishing station 24, fine polishing station 26, brush station 28, and sorting station 30.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of aligner 10, punch 12, and carrier 14.

Balls 110 are retained by a ring-shaped molding and overflow material 112 interconnecting each ball to form a matrix 114 inside frame 11B. The frames 116 are stacked vertically, with multiple matrices 114 stacked one on top of the other. The bottom matrix 114 is moved along the trajectory 118 towards the punch L1.2.

Punch 12 includes a conventional pneumatic cylinder 120 having a piston 122 connected to a die 124.

Die 124 is in the shape of a ball cup mold with a dimpled pattern similar to golf ball 110.

Once the ball 110 aligns with the die 124, the die 124 forces the ball 110 out of the matrix 114 and into the vehicle or car 12fi. The car 1213 has a concave pattern similar to the golf ball 110 and includes a plurality of cups 128 similar to the ball cup mold. A plurality of rails 129 punch the car 126 12
and loading station 16.

A minecart 126 loads the ball 110 to the loading station 16
Move to.

FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the loading station 1B and holder 18. Loading station 16 is arm 130
It has a telescoping arm 130 attached to a control box 132 to control the movement of the motor. The arm 130 includes a vacuum head 134 that can remove the ball 110 from the car 126 and remove the ball 110 while the arm 130 moves the ball 110 to the holder 18.
is held.

FIG. 3 shows ball 110 being placed into holder 18 by arm 130. FIG. Holder 18 includes a holder cup 136 that resembles a ball cup and has a dimpled pattern similar to the dimpled pattern on ball 110. Once the ball 110 is transferred to the holder 18 and placed in the holder cup 138, the vacuum in the vacuum head 134 is removed and the arm 130 retracts to grab another ball. When ball 110 enters holder cup 136 of holder 18, retaining arm 138 lowers to securely hold ball 110 within holder cup 136 (FIG. 4).

The holder 18 is a circular rotary index table 140
A loading station 1G, an inspection station 20° cutting station 22, a rough polishing station 24, a fine polishing station 26, a brush station 28, and a ball sorting station 30 are installed around the rotary table 140. rotary table 140
has a plurality of holders 18, and as the table 140 rotates, it is placed opposite another holder 18 or a loading station into which a ball 110 is placed. Holder cup 1313 rotates at inspection station, cutting station, rough polishing station 24, fine polishing station 26, and brush station 28, respectively. This is preferably done by an endless belt connected to a pulley 142 and a motor 143. Pulley 1
42 is attached to shaft 144. A shaft 144 is connected to the holder cup 138. The running of belt 141 under table 140 is configured such that belt 141 does not engage pulley 142 at loading station 16 . Please refer to FIGS. 3-8 and 10.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of holder 18, showing starwheel 145 attached to shaft 144. The star wheel 145 is a five-toothed wheel with a pointed tip, as shown in FIG. Starwheel 145 rotates with shaft 144. At loading station 16, a resilient stop arm 146 engages star wheel 145 to stop rotation of cup 13B at five predetermined positions. By stopping the cup 138 in one of its predetermined positions, the cup 136 can be properly oriented to accommodate the ball 110, thus maintaining the correct orientation of the golf ball 110. Stop arm 146 is retracted from starwheel 145 as arm 138 is lowered to grab ball 110.

The first station following the loading station is the inspection station 20. FIG. 6 shows a preferred embodiment of inspection station 20. FIG. Ball 110 is holder cup 1
Sensor arm 14 when the tube seat is about to sit correctly in 36
7 passes the holder arm 138 under it. However, when the ball 110 is not properly placed on the holder cup 136, the arm 138 becomes high and the sensor arm 1
Push 47 up. When an incorrectly seated ball progresses further around the table, the ball is not polished. As will be explained in detail later, this ball is "ejected".

The balls 110 are then each moved to a cutting station 20, where a portion of the ring flash 112 is removed from the properly seated balls. Use any cutting means. Use the blade 148 if possible. A high-speed rotary cutter with a tungsten carbide blade is most suitable. A blade 148 is mounted within the housing 150 that extracts the ball 110 when it is not properly seated.

The amount of cut off of the ring-shaped flash 112 is determined by the position of the blade 148 with respect to the ball 110. The amount of ring-shaped flash 112 on ball 110, the distance that the flash protrudes from the surface of ball 110, or the thickness, differs from ball to ball. The position of the holder cup 13G relative to the cutting blade 148 is always the same. Therefore, the position of the ball 110 relative to the blade 148 is always the same.

This means that each ball after contacting the blade 148 leaves the cutting station 22 with a ring-shaped flash 112 projecting from its centerline of rotation at approximately the same diameter. In this way, the cutting station 22 has a sharpening PBm in the polishing station 24.26.
This results in a ring-shaped flash protruding only slightly from the surface of the ball 110 at the polishing station 24,26.

At the cutting station 22 , the cup 136 is rotated so that the blade 148 acts on all of the ring flash 112 .

Next, the ball 110 moves to the rough polishing station 24,
Here, a continuous abrasive belt 15 with appropriate coarse abrasive grains is used.
Step 2 polishes a portion of the casting wire as shown in FIG.

A rough abrasive belt 152 resides within housing 164. At the rough polishing station 24, a cup 136 is rotated by a belt 141 and a motor 143. The rotating tip 13G rotates the ball 110, thus causing the abrasive belt 152 to act on all the ring flashes 112 in turn. In order to avoid excessive abrasive action along one horizontal line or at one point on the continuous abrasive belt 152, the abrasive belt 152 preferably oscillates in a vertical plane so that different horizontal portions thereof are The ring-shaped flash 112 is brought into contact.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the rough polishing station 24.

A rough polishing belt 152 is driven by a drive capstan 155. Capstan 156 is used to guide belt 152. Capstan 157 and runny 158 force (belt 152 is tied to ball 110. Capstan 157 and shoe 158 are adjusted so that belt 152 flexes along the circumference of ball 110 as shown in FIG. .

Capstan 157 and shoe 158 are attached to sliding device 159. Sliding device 159 retracts when ball 110 is not properly seated. This allows belt 1
52 from contacting the ball 110.

Fine sanding station 26 is identical to rough sanding station 24, but continuous belt 152 is a finer sandpaper than the coarse sandpaper used in rough sanding station 24.

Next, the ball 110 moves to the brush station 28.

FIG. 10 shows a preferred embodiment of a brush station 28 made up of brushes 162 within a housing 164.

Brush 162 is a rotating brush for removing any loose or dangling dressing debris still remaining on the ball. This brush 1B2 has bristles made preferably of nylon with carbide particles embedded in them.

At the brush station 28, the belt 14 and the motor 143 rotate the cup 136;
6 causes the ball 110 to rotate while the brush 162 is rotating.

Finally, the holder 18 is moved to the sorting station 30.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of sorting station 30. At the beginning of a cycle, the sorting arm 166 swings to the left or right as shown in FIG. 11 in response to a signal received from the inspection station 20 as to whether the ball 110 is properly seated or not. Air hose 1138 then blows ball 110 out of cup 13B.

Improperly seated balls are sorted into unbuffed bins and returned to the reloading position at the loading station, or hand buffed, a process that ensures that the balls are properly seated. The game continues unless the ball is incomplete and the ball is not defective. If a ball is imperfect, such as a ball that is not round or misaligned, or has a raised buffed line, the ball is generally considered a "fail".

The sorting operation can be performed anywhere around the rotary table and after the inspection station.

Although it is preferred to use a rotating table with a holder fixed thereto, linear or other shapes such as continuous conveyor belts can also be used.

If the balls are removed from the matrix by other equipment, or if other automatic or manual systems are used to orient and load the balls so that the ring flash is level. If so, the aligner 0, the punch 12, and the carrier 14 can be omitted.

It is preferred to use a combination of a cutter, rough grinder, fine grinder and brush to remove ring flash. However, it is possible to use a cutter and a sander or just a sander.

It is intended that the claims be not limited to the preferred embodiments of the invention which have been chosen herein for purposes of illustration only, and that they shall include all modifications and changes thereto that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is understood that this is planned.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing the matrix aligner, punch, and car of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view showing an arm that removes the ball from the car according to the invention, and Fig. 3 is a front view showing the ball being loaded into the holder according to the invention. Figure 4 is a front view showing the arm, Figure 4 is a front view of the holder for holding the ball according to the invention, Figure 5 is a bottom view of the holder of the invention, and Figure 6 is the correct leveling of the ring-shaped flash before removal. 7 is a front view of the cutter of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a front view of the continuous belt polisher of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the cutter of the present invention. Top view of the polishing machine in Figure,
FIG. 10 is a front view of the brush station, and FIG. 11 is a plan view of the sorting machine. IO...Aligner 12...Punch 14...Car 16...Loading station 18...
Holder 20... Inspection station 24...
...Rough polishing station 26...Precision polishing station 28...Brush station 30...Sorting station 110...Ball 11
2...Ring-shaped flash 114...Matrix 1
16... Frame 122... Piston 12
4...Die 126...Car 128...
・Cup 129...Rail 130...Arm 132...Control box 134...Vacuum head 13B...Holder cup 138...
・Holding arm 140...rotary table 141・
...Belt 142...Pulley 143...
Motor 144... Axis 145... Star wheel 146... Stop arm 147... Sensor arm 148... Blade 150... Housing
152...Abrasive belt 155...Capstan 15G...Capstan 157...Capstan 158...Shoe 159...Sliding device
162... Brush 164... Housing 1
66... Sorting arm 108... Air hose and application examination request at the same time Procedural amendment 11-, + 3, .-- 1

Claims (19)

[Claims] (1) a) Automatically orienting the golf ball so that the ring-shaped flash is on a predetermined plane; b) Automatically moving the golf ball to a station that automatically removes the ring-shaped flash on the golf ball. 1. A method for buffing a ring-shaped flash of a golf ball, the method comprising the step of: removing a portion of the ring-shaped flash from the golf ball by buffing the ring-shaped flash of a golf ball. (2) The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of removing ring-shaped flash includes a continuous step of cutting and polishing. (3) The method according to claim 2, wherein the polishing step includes a first rough polishing step followed by a second fine polishing step. (4) a) aligning a matrix of golf balls on a predetermined plane; b) pushing a plurality of golf balls from the matrix onto a carrier; c) automatically removing a portion of the ring-shaped flash of the golf balls. 1. A method for removing ring-shaped flash from a golf ball, the method comprising: automatically moving the golf ball to a station for removing ring-shaped flash from a golf ball. (5) First, the golf ball is automatically moved to a first station excluding a part of the ring-shaped casting flash, and then the golf ball is automatically moved to a second station, and the 5. The method of claim 4, wherein ring flash is removed from the golf ball by removing additional portions of the flash. (6) The method of claim 5, wherein the first station is a cutting station and the second station is a polishing station. (7) a) aligning a matrix of golf balls on a predetermined plane; b) ejecting a plurality of golf balls from the matrix onto a carrier; c) placing the golf balls on a loading machine; d ) placing each golf ball on a holder, e) holding each golf ball so that the ring-shaped flash is on the planned plane, f) golf ball so that the ring-shaped flash of the golf ball is on the planned plane. g) cutting the ring flash from the golf ball to a uniform diameter; h) polishing the remaining ring flash from the ball; i) brushing the ball. A method for removing ring-shaped flash from a golf ball, the method comprising: finishing the ball. 8. The method according to claim 7, comprising the step of sorting the balls into boxes in which they are properly seated and boxes in which they are improperly seated. (9) The method according to claim 7, wherein the polishing step includes a rough polishing step and a precision polishing step. (10) Features include the following steps: a) orienting the golf ball so that the ring-shaped flash exists on a predetermined plane; and b) removing a portion of the ring-shaped flash by a continuous process of cutting and polishing. A method for buffing the ring-shaped flash of a golf ball. (11) The method according to claim 10, wherein the polishing step includes a first rough polishing step followed by a second fine polishing step. (12) a) a device for automatically orienting a golf ball so that the ring-shaped flash lies on a predetermined plane; b) a station for automatically removing a portion of the ring-shaped flash from the golf ball; c) a station at said station; An apparatus for buffing a ring flash on a golf ball, comprising: an apparatus for automatically displacing the golf ball from the apparatus for automatic orientation. 13. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said station includes a cutting station and a polishing station. (14) The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the polishing station includes a rough polishing station and a fine polishing station. (15) a) an alignment device for aligning a matrix of golf balls on a predetermined plane; b) an extrusion device for ejecting the golf balls from the matrix; c) automatically removing a portion of the ring-shaped flash from the golf balls. d) a device for automatically moving the golf ball to said station to enable the ring flash to be removed at said station; A device for removing burrs. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said station includes a cutting station and a polishing station. (17) a) an alignment device for arranging a matrix of golf balls on a predetermined plane; b) an extrusion device for ejecting the golf balls from the matrix; c) a conveying device for moving the ejected golf balls; d) a loading device for loading golf balls; e) a holding device for receiving golf balls from said loading device; f) an inspection device for determining whether a golf ball is correctly seated in said holder; g) said ring-shaped casting. h) a polishing device for removing residual ring-shaped flash; i) a brushing device for brushing particles on the golf ball. A device for removing ring-shaped flash from golf balls. (18) The device according to claim 17, wherein the polishing device includes a rough polishing device and a precision polishing device. (19) a) a device for orienting the golf ball so that the ring flash is on a planned plane; b) a cutting device for removing a portion of the ring flash; c) a device for removing the remainder of the ring flash; A device for buffing a ring-shaped flash of a golf ball, comprising: a polishing device.