The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 31, 2004
Filed:
Aug. 12, 2002
Orrin P. Beggs, Belvidere, IL (US);
Unova IP Corp., Woodland Hills, CA (US);
Abstract
A connecting rod is cracked by mounting it on a fixture having a split mandrel and driving a pair of opposed wedges between the mandrel halves. The fixture is mounted on a support and is transported by a conveyor through a series of stations where the rod is split, separated into two pieces, the crack zone is cleaned, and the pieces are reunited along the crack lines. The use of two opposed wedges cancels out the horizontal forces of the wedges and results in a vertical force that cracks the rod. The fixture floats relative to the support allowing the connecting rod to be centered relative to the wedges. A break limiter limits the displacement of the first side of the rod to crack to prevent distortion of the second side before it cracks. In the event the fixture malfunctions, the entire fixture is removed from the conveyor and replaced by another fixture, thus reducing downtime.