Ford Motor Company Limited

Nathaniel L Field

David A Donovan

Michael A Pulick

Anthony T Anderson

Hossein Nivi

Veljko Milenkovic

David James Chesney

Bernard Huang

Robert C Petrof

Lowell R Brown

Robert D Abramson

Shimshon Shmuter

John W Grant

A linear motor control system and method to increase apparent motor stiffness by providing linear motor resistance to perturbations caused by external forces exerted on a slide mass and a base mass. Primary and secondary sensors detect the accelerations of the slide mass and the base mass relative to ground and generate acceleration signals corresponding thereto. A position detector senses the position of the slide mass relative to the base mass and generates a position signal corresponding thereto. A signal processor processes the first and second acceleration signals and the position signal to determine deviations in the position, velocity and acceleration of the slide mass relative to the base mass from selected values caused by the external forces, and to generate a motor control signal to provide linear motor resistance against such deviations.

Linear motor control system and method

A fast tool change holder is provided for holding a tool adapter onto an internally delivered coolant spindle. The holder comprises an expandable split collet which can be inserted into the tool adapter and expanded in order to hold the adapter onto the spindle. The split collet has an expandable bladder therein which receives a coolant fluid from the spindle and expands under the pressure of the coolant fluid radially outwardly for expanding the split collet. The bladder enables the coolant fluid to assist mechanical and centrifugal forces associated with the split collet to hold the tool adapter onto the spindle.

Cutting tool holder for high speed spindle machining system

A method of making a cast dual-metal monoblock, by (i) casting an iron-based insert to define walls for one or more chambers or passages for each of combustion, piston reciprocation, gaseous induction and gaseous exhaust; (ii) forming a sand core wrapping directly about said insert to cover such insert except for the extremities of the walls defining the passages for gaseous induction and exhaust and the chamber for piston reciprocation, such extremities being remote from the walls defining the combustion chamber; and (iii) die casting an aluminum-based metal jacket about the assembly of said insert and core wrapping to complete the dual-metal monoblock. Advantageously, in step (ii), there is further included the formation of a top sand core assembly for defining one or more oil and/or valve train passages or chambers, the top sand core assembly being stationed to rest on the insert during casting of the jacket.

Method of making and apparatus for monoblock engine construction

Valve seats are machined at the end of an axially deep, narrow cavity of a workpiece having an axially clampable surface within the cavity adjacent one or more valve seats. The method comprehends: (a) supporting a rotary driven spindle assembly of sufficient length to extend through the axial extent of the cavity and reach the valve seat, the spindle carrying a cutting tool at its extremity, the support being in a nonrotatable housing effective to fit closely to the interior of the cavity (within a tolerance of 0.01 inches) and effective to move along the axis of the cavity to bring the cutting tool into machining contact with the valve seats; (b) securing a radially rigid but axially resilient diaphragm to the end of the housing, the diaphram extending transversely across the interior of the cavity; (c) afer inserting the housing and spindle into the cavity so that the cutting tool is proximate the valve seat but out of contact therewith, axially clamping a portion, of the diaphragm remote from the spindle, against the axially clampable surface; and (d) moving the rotary driven spindle assembly axially toward the valve seat to conduct machining contact of the cutting tool therewith, the axially resilient diaphragm providing accurate supporting alignment for the tool under even high speed machining conditions.

Method and apparatus for machining valve seats and valve stem guides in

A low friction finger follower rocker arm is fabricated from flat metal strip sheet stock having a stamped configuration with a centralized opening adapted to be bent later into a channel; the shaping and hardening of the stock section is carried out prior to such bending. The method comprises: (a) (i) shaping the stock to have a pair of aligned journal openings, a pivot surface at one end, a stud contacting surface at the other end, and a pair of grooves aligned with the extremities of the centralized opening and containing the surface therebetween, (ii) locally hardening the surfaces and the edges of the opposed openings; (b) bending the shaped stock along the grooves to form a partial channel having side walls with an included angle of no greater than 40.degree. and with the journal openings approaching alignment on a common axis; and (c) inserting a journalized low friction wear assembly in the opposed journal openings, and then completing the bending of the stock so that the sides of the channel are substantially parallel.

Method of making low friction finger follower rocker arms

A method of making a cast dual-metal monoblock, by (i) casting an iron-based insert to define walls for one or more chambers or passages for each of combustion, piston reciprocation, gaseous induction and gaseous exhaust; (ii) forming a sand core wrapping directly about said insert to cover such insert except for the extremities of the walls defining the passages for gaseous induction and exhaust and the chamber for piston reciprocation, such extremities being remote form the walls defining the combustion chamber; and (iii) die casting an aluminum-based metal jacket about the assembly of said insert and core wrapping to complete the dual-metal monoblock. Advantageously, in step (ii), there is further included the formation of a top sand core assembly for defining one or more oil and/or valve train passages or chambers, the top sand core assembly being stationed to rest on the insert during casting of the jacket.

Stitch-machining the walls of a cylindrical blind cavity of a workpiece, the cavity being deep and narrow with respect to the axis of the cavity, is carried out by: (a) supporting a tubular housing for axial movement throughout substantially the axial extent of the cavity interior and in close-fitting tolerance to the walls of the cavity, the tubular housing having a free end; (b) rotationally driving a spindle (10,000-40,000 rpm) in the tubular housing for conjoint axial movement with the tubular housing, the spindle extending beyond the housing end for carrying a radially adjustable cutting tool; (c) inserting the tubular housing together with the rotationally driven spindle into the cavity (at lineal speeds of 400-800 inches/minute) with a cutting tool radially positioned for rough boring of the cavity walls, while guiding and steering the tubular housing and spindle to accurately concentrically position the cutting tool with respect to the cavity axis; (d) substantially immediately upon the execution of rough boring, withdrawing the tubular housing together with the rotationally driven spindle from the cavity with the cutting tool repositoned for finish boring of the cavity wall during withdrawal; and (e) upon substantial execution of finish boring and withdrawal of the tubular housing and spindle into a fixed housing positioned closely adjacent the face of the workpiece, moving said workpiece relatively transversely with respect to the axis of the spindle for carrying out milling while radially adjusting the cutting tool for milling of the face, the tubular housing being guided and steered within the fixed housing to attain close milling tolerances.

Method and apparatus for stitch-machining deep cavities in metal

Method and apparatus for conducting boring of a series of spaced walls on a workpiece using a self-adjusting boring bar. The method comprises: (a) supporting a spindle in a rotationally fixed tubular housing to provide an assembly having an unsupported extremity adapted to extend throughout the series of walls, the support providing for independent rotary movement but conjoint axial movement of the spindle within such tubular housing, such spindle carrying a cutting tool to project beyond the tubular housing; (b) providing an angularly flexible joint in each of said spindle, such as complementary curvilinear splines on two mated ends of different portions of said spindles, and tubular housing, such as separate tubular housing sections coupled by a web; (c) advancing the cutting tool successively through the series of walls to machine the aligned openings and thereby causing the spindle and tubular housing to follow successively through such machined openings, said spindle and housing providing, during advancement to machine the second and successive walls of the series, (i) concentric macroalignment of the spindle within the tubular housing and macroalignment of the tubular housing within the walls of the openings, and (ii) a sense of microalignment of the housing within at least the previously machined; and (d) in response to a sensed micromisalignment of said spindle head, selectively imparting a microangular steering force to the tubular housing and thereby to the spindle to achieve the desired microalignment. The apparatus employs a split tubular housing with piezoelectric means for imparting microscale angular adjustments.

Method and apparatus for self-adjusting boring bar

Valve seats are machined at the end of an axially deep, narrow cavity of a workpiece having an axially clampable surface within the cavity adjacent one or more valve seats. The method comprehends: (a) supporting a rotary driven spindle assembly of sufficient length to extend through the axial extent of the cavity and reach the valve seat, the spindle carrying a cutting tool at its extremity, the support being in a nonrotatable housing effective to fit closely to the interior of the cavity (within a tolerance of 0.01 inches) and effective to move along the axis of the cavity to bring the cutting tool into machining contact with the valve seats; (b) securing a radially rigid but axially resilient diaphragm to the end of the housing, the diaphragm extending transversely across the interior of the cavity; (c) after inserting the housing and spindle into the the cavity so that the cutting tool is proximate the valve seat but out of contact therewith, axially clamping a portion of the diaphragm remote from the spindle, against the axially clampable surface; and (d) moving the rotary driven spindle assembly axially toward the valve seat to conduct machining contact of the cutting tool therewith, the axially resilient diaphragm providing accurate supporting alignment for the tool under even high speed machining conditions.

A low friction finger follower rocker arm is fabricated by starting with a flat metal strip sheet stock section having a stamped configuration with a centralized opening being adapted to be bent later into a channel for such rocker arm. The shaping and hardening of the stock section is carried out prior to such bending. The method steps comprise the following: (a) while substantially in the flat condition (i) shaping the strip sheet stock section to have at least a pair of journal openings aligned on opposite sides of said centralized opening, a pivot surface at one end of the strip sheet stock section, a stud contacting surface at the other end of the strip sheet stock section, such surfaces being aligned with the centralized opening along a line transverse to the alignment of said journal openings, and a pair of grooves aligned with the extremities of the centralized opening and containing the surfaces therebetween, (ii) locally hardening the surfaces and the edges of the opposed openings; (b) bending the shaped strip sheet stock section along the grooves to form a partial channel having side walls with an included angle of no greater than 40.degree. and with said journal openings approaching alignment on a common axis; and (c) inserting a journalized low friction wear assembly with its journals in said opposed journal openings, and then completing the bending of said strip sheet stock section so that the sides of the channel are substantially parallel and locking the wear assembly journals to the channel side walls.

The large rotational inertia applied to a driveline component during normal driving conditions is simulated in a test stand that contains a component that driveably connects an input motor and an output motor. A computer repetitively executes an algorithm that produces a commanded torque signal which is supplied as a control signal to the motor drive of one of the electrical motors to produce an output within that motor equal to the commanded torque. The control system applies to the powertrain component under test an inertia that simulates the actual vehicle inertia. The target state of the system, when the vehicle inertia is applied, is completely defined from information known when the component being tested has substantially less inertia applied.

Computer simulated inertia for motor vehicle powertrain testing

A balancing mechanism for reducing the vibration of a piston type internal combustion engine having a crankshaft and a camshaft comprises one or more reciprocating balance weights driven by two rotating cams with at least one of said cams being driven by either said crankshaft or said camshaft.

Reciprocating balance weight mechanism for a piston type internal

A shift lever and throttle lever coaxially mounted on the casing of an automatic transmission are engaged, respectively, by a lever mounted on each of two concentric shafts whose axes are aligned with the axis of the transmission levers. The shafts have torque sensors located between the levers carried by the shafts and bearings that support the shafts in rotation. The outer shaft has a radial positioning actuator which is hydraulically driven from a source of hydraulic pressure through a servo controlled valve that selectively opens and closes hydraulic passages. The actuator includes a vane fixed to the shaft and a stator that divides a cavity into two halves, each of which is pressurized selectively by operation of the servo. The angular position of the shaft from a reference position is produced by a variable impedance transducer whose sensor is held at a fixed distance from the axis of the shaft and which produces an output voltage that is proportional to the distance between the face of the sensor and a cam surface, whose distance from the axis of the shaft varies linearly with its rotation from a reference position.

Angular positioning actuator

A method for measuring the relationship between the angle of rotation of a threaded fastener and the torque applied to the threaded fastener and for detecting variations in the rate of increase of torque with respect to the corresponding angular displacement of the fastener within predetermined torque limits, the first torque limit being the lowest threshold torque that is experienced as the threaded fastener is tightened, the next higher torque limit being a calibrated starting point torque intermediate the lower torque limits for the zone of the desired maximum torque values for the fastener and the threshold torque, the next two higher torque limits defining the torque zone representing the desired maximum torque to be applied to the fastener to assure a quality assembly.

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Northville, MI, United States of America

Nathaniel L Field