Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B28—WORKING CEMENT, CLAY, OR STONE
  • B28D—WORKING STONE OR STONE-LIKE MATERIALS
  • B28D1/00—Working stone or stone-like materials, e.g. brick, concrete or glass, not provided for elsewhere; Machines, devices, tools therefor
  • B28D1/22—Working stone or stone-like materials, e.g. brick, concrete or glass, not provided for elsewhere; Machines, devices, tools therefor by cutting, e.g. incising
  • B28D1/225—Working stone or stone-like materials, e.g. brick, concrete or glass, not provided for elsewhere; Machines, devices, tools therefor by cutting, e.g. incising for scoring or breaking, e.g. tiles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B27—WORKING OR PRESERVING WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL; NAILING OR STAPLING MACHINES IN GENERAL
  • B27B—SAWS FOR WOOD OR SIMILAR MATERIAL; COMPONENTS OR ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
  • B27B27/00—Guide fences or stops for timber in saw mills or sawing machines; Measuring equipment thereon
  • B27B27/08—Guide fences or stops for timber in saw mills or sawing machines; Measuring equipment thereon arranged adjustably, not limited to only one of the groups B27B27/02 - B27B27/06

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a tile-cutting machine, in particular to one of the type equipped with a measuring bar pivoting around a cutting axis.
• tile-cutting machines may be roughly divided into two types: manual and electric ones.
• manual tile- cutting machines which represent an extremely specialised field, where few skilled manufacturers possess the knowledge necessary to identify the peculiar solutions needed to determine the success of a simple but functional product .
• the pivoting graduated bar for tile measuring and registration is still somewhat weak, due to its struc- tural slenderness.
• the choice of position of the graduated bar clamping member always brings about complications.
• said position must be defined in such a way as not to cause interference between the clamping member and the bar itself for a wide rotation arc, preferably wider than 90°, and allowing said member to exert a clamp- ing force in such a direction as not to apply a load transverse to the graduated bar - which would be exposed to irreparable warping within a short space of time - or to the rotation pivot - which would end up seizing or with an excessive play in its housing.
• a graduated bar that is easily readable in many conditions of use of the machine, without the need for tailoring or adjusting already at the manufacturing stage in order to satisfy such specific circumstances.
• fig. 1 is a perspective view of the whole machine according to the invention
• fig. 2 is a plan view of the head portion only and of the graduated bar according to the invention, the bar being depicted without stiffening arc and rotated at the stop
• fig. 3 is a plan top view of a similar machine to that depicted in fig. 2, with the complete graduated bar, shorter and set at 0°
• fig. 3A is a section view taken along the line III-III of fig. 3; fig.
• fig. 4 is a perspective view of the head portion only according to the invention
• fig. 5A is a perspective view of the graduated bar
• fig. 5B is a perspective view of the stiffening arc
• figg. 5D-5G are a plan view, an elevation front view and two section views along lines V-V and VI -VI of the graduated bar shown in fig. 5A respectively
• fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the two elements that make up an abutting portion for the graduated bar .
• a tile-cutting machine consists of, in a manner known per se, a base 1, pressure die cast for exam- pie in an aluminium alloy - from which a first post la projects and on which two floating supporting pads 2a and 2b are mounted - and a header 3, from which a second post 3a projects.
• a sliding rail 4 lies longitudinally along the base, onto which a tool- supporting member 5 is slideably guided.
• Such tool- supporting member is equipped with a cutting tool, such as a small wheel made of special steel (not shown in fig. 1) .
• the coupling between tool-supporting member 5 and the sliding rail 4 thereof further determines positioning of the cut line, commonly placed exactly along the longitudinal axis of the rail 4, shown in fig. 2 in the axis a-a'.
• the head of frame 3 further carries a seat (fig. 4) in which a pivot 7 of a graduated bar 8 is engaged allowing it to rotate.
• the pivot 7 and the seat 6 thereof are of a frusto-conical shape. This eases precise coupling of the two pieces, with- out requiring costly machining and even when a certain degree of wear becomes apparent .
• the pivot 7 preferably has at its end re- taining means such as a bolt to prevent it from falling out of its seat 6. This advantageous solution allows to maintain machine alignment and measurement precision.
• the tapered pivot would tend to come out of its seat in an asymmetrical way, and then to be irregularly blocked by a clamping member, determining misalignment of the bar.
• the graduated bar 8 (fig. 5A) has a semicircular cup 81, whose symmetrical centre coincides with the revolution axis of the pivot 7 and from which two co-axial, rectilinear portions of the bar depart: a first shorter portion 82 and a longer portion 83.
• the whole body of the graduated bar is preferably obtained using a thin-walled pressure die casting of an aluminium alloy (as shown in fig. 5G also) .
• Cup 81 consists of a semicircular sector plane 81a from whose periphery a perimeter rim 81b projects perpen- dicularly that links with the ends of the two bar portions 82 and 83, strengthening the assembly.
• the cup 81 ends at the front with a straight edge 81c. Only in a limited central area, around the revolution axis of the pivot 7, does the bottom plane 81a have a recess 81a', which advantageously allows the cutting tool to descend below the tile top plane in the final phase of the operation, i.e. when the tile-breaking element of the tool -supporting member must be pressed vigorously onto the tile to open the en- graving .
• the pads can adequately support the tile up to a distance very close to the area where the breaking element shall act .
• the base frame before the front edge of the pad also has slits F at a right angle to the engraving axis (fig. 4) . These slits advantageously allow discharge of debris below the base, so that they do not end up underneath the working surface of the floating pads affecting their regu- lar functioning.
• the two bar portions 82 and 83 consist of a thin side panel, 82a and 83a respectively, substantially perpendicular to the tile supporting pad, and of a slanting upper panel, 82b and 83b respectively, oriented so as to be eas- ily read by the operator during use and slightly recessed in relation to the bar profile.
• the vertical side panels 82a and 83a are provided with first measurement notches. These notches are engraved in the side panel at an increasing depth towards the slanting side. The peculiar shape of the notches allows an easy ex- traction of the pressure die cast piece from its mould.
• a main graduated scale can advantageously be obtained, for example engraved during pressure die casting also, coinciding with the first notches mentioned above.
• a thin adhesive strip onto which another measuring scale is reproduced preferably a different one (for instance employing another unit of measure) or with a different orientation to the one repre- sented by the notches on sides 82a and 83a.
• This solution - comprising two graduated scales having different angles and orientations, which can also be chosen as desired (applying or not applying the adhesive strip) - improves readability of the tile measure in all conditions.
• the main printed scale is intended to be employed in machines with a "pull" tool-supporting member (which typically represents a cheaper option)
• the scale applied with an adhesive strip is intended to be employed in machines with a "push” tool-supporting member (which, typically representing a more expensive option, can absorb the extra cost of the adhesive strip) .
• the scale represented by the notches on the side panels 82a and 83a further continues on the front edge 81c of the cup 81 (figg. 5D and 5E) .
• the "zero" (0) position of the graduated scale is always found at the revolution axis, since the revolution axis is always located along the cut line a-a'.
• the shorter portion 82 features a length of the same order as the radius of the header 3 to the rotation centre 6: this prevents the portion 82 from protruding excessively from the perimeter of the header 3, in the position of lower stop of the bar 8 (fig. 2) , which benefits machine transportability and eliminates the need to remove the graduated bar from the base.
• the longer bar portion 83 further features a horizon- tal side 83c, onto which an additional graduated scale can be applied, for example one with reference notches slanting 45°, which is in any case useful to engrave the tile when measurements are taken between the tile edge and the side to be cut .
• an additional graduated scale for example one with reference notches slanting 45°, which is in any case useful to engrave the tile when measurements are taken between the tile edge and the side to be cut .
• a guiding rail 10 is secured to two small brackets 9a and 9b. On this rail 10 a reference element 11 is sliding, which will be described later.
• the rail 10 is in the shape of a cylin- drical rod, mounted freely rotating on the brackets 9a and 9b: this allows to rotate the reference element or prong 11, axially and torsionally integral with the rod 10, to temporarily exclude the element so that it does not obstruct the working surface without losing the measurement registration already set.
• the connecting means 84 and 85 are provided, respectively integral with the shorter portion 82 and the longer portion 83 of the graduated bar 8, to which the ends of an arc-shaped stiffening and guiding structure 12 are fixed.
• the arc structure is preferably in the shape of a thin-walled, upside-down U profile (as is clearly shown in fig. 5F) .
• Such shape is particularly advantageous in terms of lightness and resistance to bending and torsion stresses .
• the track 31 features shoulders or lateral containment edges, at least in some areas (see, for instance, the side steps 31a shown in fig. 4) .
• the coupling of the arc structure 12 with the bar 8 allows to obtain an assembly which is altogether light but sufficiently rigid to guarantee the necessary durability, and measurement and registration precision; the fact that the arc structure 12 can be joined with the connecting means 84 and 85 after manufacturing of such parts, totally overcomes the bending and shrinkage problems that would otherwise be apparent if the assembly was obtained as a single piece by pressure die casting.
• the connecting means 84 and 85 comprise a slot hole, so that mounting of the arc using locking means (for example bolts, nails or rivets) may occur with a certain room for adjustment, allowing to absorb moulding and assembling tolerances.
• locking means for example bolts, nails or rivets
• An alternative embodiment of the invention features an arc structure consisting of two converging, curved arms integral with the graduated bar. In the point of convergence, where the resulting arc is hence interrupted, the two arms are joined by locking means inserted into slots similar to the ones described above.
• the arc structure has its centre in the pivoting axis 6 and such a radius as to pass externally just beyond the front post 3a.
• This layout provides the tile-cutting machine with a pleasantness and overall harmony which allows to contribute to the added value mentioned earlier.
• a clamping member 13 is provided, for example a small, screw- in, adjustable clamping handle, known per se in the field.
• Such clamping member is screwed into a seat 32 and, by ad- justable rotation, rises or descends towards the base pushing a suitable pressure pad 13a against the arc structure 12; the arc structure is thus tightened against the track 31, establishing in this way a fixed working condition of the graduated bar integral with it .
• a small abutting column 33 is provided, that rises vertically from the track 31.
• the top end 33a of the column 33 is located in close contact (dis- tance d shown in fig. 3A) with the lower inner surface 12a (fig. 5F) of the arc 12 so as to directly contrast the downward load by the pressure pad 13a, without an excessive load discharging onto the sides of the arc structure 12.
• a catch 12b projects over the arc and is capable of abutting a shoulder element (not shown) , mounted integral with the base or with the post 3a, which allows accurate positioning at 0° of the graduated bar in a repeatable way (fig. 3) .
• Fig. 6 depicts instead the reference element against which the edge of a tile is placed to establish the desired measure or adjustment of the cut.
• Said reference element consists of a lower half por- tion 110 and of an upper half portion 111, that can be coupled with each other by means of a threaded knob 112 turn- ing idle in a bush Ilia and screwed into a threaded seat 110a.
• Two clamping jaw portions, 110b and 111b respectively, are capable of clamping or releasing the guide 10 when the knob 112 is screwed on or off respectively.
• the lower half portion 110 While the upper half portion 111 has a mere locking function on the guide 10, the lower half portion 110 also features a reference bracket 113 which, during use, lies substantially horizontal resting over the working surface (fig. 1) .
• the bracket 113 has a peculiar shape, which can be well gleaned from fig. 6. From the main slanting body 110c a first triangular plate 113a departs, about 7,5 mm tall, ending with a slanting side edge 113b at whose end a small reference column 113c is provided.
• the column 113c with a substantially triangular section, features a side facing the cut line a-a' which is perpendicular to the graduated bar 8.
• a second plate 113d projects, which is thinner (about 3 mm, which is the minimum thickness commonly found in commercially available tiles) than the first plate 113a, of length L equal to about 48 mm, with a general parallelogram plan shape.
• the longer base 113d' is perpendicular to the measur- ing bar 8. At the free end of the longer base 113d' a second column 113e is provided, with similar characteristics as the first one 113c.
• the prong 11 has a short side 110 parallel to the graduated scale provided on the horizontal side 83c of the graduated bar: this enables the user to read easily the position of the prong along the bar even using this slanting scale (typically for 45° engravings) .
• the invention offers some original solutions that allow the tile- cutting machine manufactured according to the teachings described above to fully achieve the objects cited in the preamble, so as to obtain excellent results in terms of strength, lightness and quality of the cut.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Forests & Forestry (AREA)
• Processing Of Stones Or Stones Resemblance Materials (AREA)
• Devices For Post-Treatments, Processing, Supply, Discharge, And Other Processes (AREA)
• Glass Compositions (AREA)
• Preparation Of Clay, And Manufacture Of Mixtures Containing Clay Or Cement (AREA)

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Publications (3)

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (3)

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• 2002
  • 2002-10-01 IT IT002075A patent/ITMI20022075A1/it unknown
• 2003
  • 2003-09-22 ES ES03757880T patent/ES2324777T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-09-22 DE DE60327444T patent/DE60327444D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-09-22 EP EP03757880A patent/EP1545849B9/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-09-22 WO PCT/EP2003/010520 patent/WO2004030883A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2003-09-22 AU AU2003273915A patent/AU2003273915A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-09-22 AT AT03757880T patent/ATE430009T1/de active

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