Tool or tool holder

• US 6,297,747 B1
• Filed: 08/27/1998
• Issued: 10/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bilz Werkzeugfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Otto Bilz, Werkzeugfabrik GmbH & Co., Siemens AG
• Inventors: Bader, Rudolf, Magori, Valentin, Fischerauer, Gerhard, Schmidt, Frank, Ostertag, Thomas, Steudte, Ruediger, Voss, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, ALBERT KANG
• Application Number:
  US09/141,064
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.28, 340/10.1, 340/567, 340/10.2, 340/10.3, 342/42, 310/13.R, 310/13.D, 333/150, 333/153
• US Class Current: 340/870.28
• CPC Class Codes: B23B 2260/122 Safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: B23B 31/083 axially
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 17/00 Arrangements for observing, indicating or measuring on machine tools for automatic control or regulation of feed movement, cutting velocity or position of tool or work B23Q15/00
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 17/098 by measuring noise
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/012 Contact-making feeler heads therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/48 using wave or particle radiation means G01D5/26 takes precedence

Abstract

A tool holder for holding a tool has at least one sensor for measuring an operating parameter of the tool holder or the tool during the operation thereof and generating measured value signals which are fed to a signal processing unit for evaluation. The sensor is a surface acoustic wave sensor operating according to acoustic wave principles and its measured value signals are readable in a contactless manner by means of radio waves. The surface acoustic wave sensor requires no current supply circuit but instead draws transmission energy required for transmission of the measured value signals to the signal processing unit from a high frequency interrogation signal, that is transmitted by radio waves from the signal processing unit and is received by the surface acoustic wave sensor.

Claims

1. A tool holder for holding a tool in combination with at least one sensor for monitoring operation of the tool holder, comprising:

the tool holder including operating parts;

said at least one sensor being a surface acoustic wave sensor provided on at least one of said operating parts and including first means for measuring an operational parameter of the holding tool and generating signals corresponding to said operational parameter of the holding tool measured by said first means and transmitting said signals in a contactless manner, and second means for receiving said signals from said first means in said contactless manner; and

supplying said signals to a signal processing unit for evaluation of said operational parameter.

2. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said second means includes means for interrogating said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor by radio waves.

3. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one surface acoustic sensor is provided with at least one antenna.

4. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor includes means for transmission of said signals to said signal processing unit from energy of a high frequency interrogation signal produced in said signal processing unit by radio waves.

5. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor includes means for measuring observation.

6. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor includes additional identification means for generating an identification signal including information regarding an identification code.

7. The tool holder as defined in claim 6, wherein the signals corresponding to said measured operational parameters and said identification signal have different frequencies.

8. The tool holder as defined in claim 7, wherein a plurality of the surface acoustic wave sensors are provided on the operating parts of the tool holder and each each acoustic wave sensor has a different identification frequency.

9. The tool holder as defined in claim 8, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor is rigidly mounted on a shaft of the tool holder and includes means for detecting an operation-dependent parameter to be measured during an operation of the tool holder by measuring at least one of temperature, force, torque and position thereof.

10. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor is formed as a temperature-compensating sensor.

11. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor has a hermetically closed housing.

12. The tool holder as defined in claim 11, wherein said housing is held in a receptacle of the tool holder in a fixed and fluid-tight manner.

13. The tool holder as defined in claim 3, wherein said at least one antenna is protectively received in a recess provided in the tool holder and is held therein in a fixed and fluid-tight manner.

14. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor monitors an operation-variable parameter and includes at least one passive switching device for monitoring, said at least one passive switching device including means for deriving energy for said switching device from changes in said operation-variable parameter being measured.

15. The tool holder as defined in claim 14, wherein said at least one passive switching device has means for switching a reflector of said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor.

16. The tool holder as defined in claim 14, wherein said at least one passive switching device has a switch for switching an antenna of said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor.

17. The tool holder as defined in claim 14, wherein said at least one surface account wave sensor includes additional identification means for generating an identification signal including information regarding an identification code and said at least one passive switching device includes means for influencing at least one of a signal corresponding to said measured operational parameter and said identification signal.

18. The tool holder as defined in claim 14, wherein said at least one passive switching device has a threshold transmitter.

19. The tool holder as defined in claim 14, wherein said at least one passive switching device has a reed contact with a coil.

20. The tool holder as defined in claim 19, wherein said at least one passive switching device has a permanent magnet for activation of the reed contact.

21. The tool holder as defined in claim 14, wherein said at least one passive switching device comprises a resonance circuit including a coil and a piezoelectric element.

22. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, wherein said tool is selected from the group consisting of a detection tool, a measuring tool, a cutting tool, a clamping tool and an end-of-travel limiting tool.

23. The tool holder as defined in claim 1, further comprising a rapidly changeable chuck for cutting or shaping screw threads.

24. The tool holder as defined in claim 23, further comprising a shaft receivable in a receptacle of a machine spindle, a sleeve connected to said shaft and having means for receiving a rapidly changeable insert with said tool;

and a length compensating device for compensating for an axial relative shift of said shaft and said sleeve connected to said shaft, and wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor has an antenna and a switching device including means for responding to the length compensating device as a sign for exceeding a predetermined advance force of the tool in order to switch one of an antenna and a reflector of said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor.

25. The tool holder as defined in claim 24, wherein said switching device has a reed contact on one operating part and a permanent magnet on another operating part which is axially and radially adjacent to the reed contract.

26. The tool holder as defined in claim 25, wherein said one operating part having the reed contact is said shaft and said another operating part having the permanent magnet is said sleeve.

27. The tool holder as defined in claim 25, wherein said antenna is an approximately ring-like element contained in a recess of an outer portion of said sleeve.

28. The tool holder as defined in claim 24, wherein said at least one surface acoustic wave sensor is hermetically sealed in a housing and said housing is received is said sleeve.