The present invention relates to shaping machines and in particular machines which can be used with panels for the purposes of drilling, cutting, shaping and/or a like action in respect of those panels.

Accordingly the invention resides in a shaping machine for use with panels comprising a base adapted to be associated with a support surface which is adapted to support a panel, said base supporting a head member which in turn supports a drill head, a disc cutter and an abrasive belt, said head member being rotatable on the base to bring the drill head or alternatively the disc cutter into a working position with respect to the support surface, the drill head and the disc cutter being movable towards and away from the support surface when in the working position, said abrasive belt associated with a work station provided on the base, said work station being adapted to support a panel adjacent the abrasive belt, a drive means provided to selectively drive the drill head, the disc cutter and the abrasive belt.

Throughout the specification, the term disc cutter is intended to include a grinding disc or wheel, a sanding disc or a saw blade.

The panel in which the machine can be used may comprise any panel formed of any material which can be drilled, cut and shaped. According to one embodiment, the machine is intended as a shaping machine for use with glass panels.

In another form the invention resides in a driving interconnection between a drive pulley and two or more driven pulleys having a separate pulley belt interconnecting the drive pulley and the driven pulleys, each pulley belt being associated with a tensioning means which is able to tension one of the pulley belts to the exclusion of the other pulley belts, the drive pulley being associated with a pulley belt support which partially surrounds the drive pulley in the region

in contact with the pulley belts in order to engage and support the untensioned pulley belts in the region surrounding the drive pulley

The invention will be more fully understood in the light of the following description of several specific embodiments. The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of the first embodiment in a position at which the abrasive belt is able to be used to shape a panel;

Figure 2 is an illustration of the driving connection of the first embodiment between the drive motor and the abrasive belt;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the machine according to the first embodiment with the machine in a position which the disc cutter can be used;

Figure 4 is an illustration of the driving arrangement for the disc cutter of the first embodiment;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the machine according to the first embodiment with the drill head in position; and

Figure 6 is an illustration of the driving arrangement between the drive motor and the drill head of the first embodiment.

The first embodiment is directed to a shaping machine which can be used for the purposes of cutting, shaping and drilling glass sheets. The embodiment comprises a base 11 which comprises a first portion 12 and a second portion 13 which are fixed to each other to be substantially perpendicular to each other. The first portion 12 comprises a box-shaped member while the second portion 13 comprises a pair of substantially parallel brackets 14 which are supported at one side of the first portion to extend upwardly therefrom and which are provided

with a pair of elongate parallel rod like extensions 15 which in turn slidably support a table 16 which can be moved longitudinally along the extensions 15. In addition, if desired the table 16 may be supported from the extensions 15 to be capable of transverse movement with respect to the extensions 15. The inner end of the extensions 15 are provided with a stop member 17 which extends between the extensions 15 and serves to control the inner most extent of movement of the table 16 on the extensions 15. Suitable controls can be provided between the table 16 and the extensions 15 to facilitate accurate positioning of the table and thus the panel supported on the table. In addition, suitable clamping means may be provided on the table to engage the panel and hold it in position on the table to prevent relative movement therebetween. By means of the controls and the clamping means, the panel can be accurately positioned for shaping by the machine of the present embodiment.

The first portion 12 supports a head member 18 from a shaft 19 which extends substantially perpendicularly from the first portion 12 and which rotatable supports a head 18 such that the head is capable of rotation about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 19. The head 16 comprises a base member 20 in the form of a panel which is provided with a journal 21 at its lower side which is received over the shaft 19.

The base member 20 supports a drive motor 22 having a drive shaft 23, an endless loop of abrasive belt 24 supported between three rollers comprising a first driven roller 25 supported from a first driven shaft 26 and a pair of idler rollers 27 and 28; a disc cutter 29 supported upon a second driven shaft 30 and a drill head 31 supported upon a third driven shaft 32. To effect a driving interconnection between the drive shaft 23 of the drive motor 22 and each of the driven shaft 26, 30 and 32 are associated with a set of pulleys which are interconnected by a set of belts.

The drive shaft 23 supports a set of three pulleys which are each associated with a belt where each belt is associated with either the abrasive belt, the disc cutter

or the drill head 31. The abrasive belt 24 is driven through a first pulley belt 33 which extends from one of the drive pulleys to a first driven pulley 34 provided on the first drive shaft 26 and a first tensioning idler pulley 36. The disc cutter is driven through a second pulley belt 37 which extends between the respective driven pulley on the drive shaft 23 and a second driven pulley 38. The second driven shaft which passes between a pair of second tensioning pulleys 39 and 40. The drill head 31 is driven by a pair of third drive pulley belts 41 and 42 where one drive pulley extends between a driven pulley on the drive shaft 23 and an idler pulley 43 supported on the base plate 20. The other third drive pulley 42 extends between the idler pulley 43 and one of a set of third driven pulleys 44 supported on the third drive shaft 32. The one third drive pulley 41 also is required to pass between a pair of third tensioning idler pulleys 45 and 46. The idler pulley 43 which is associated with the drive for the drill head is provided with a number of pulleys of varying dimensions as is the third driven pulley 44 to facilitate a variation in speed of the drill head 31.

Each of the tensioning idler pulleys 36, 39, 40, 45 and 46 are supported upon a set of articulated arms 47, 48 and 49 which are pivotally supported from the base plate 20 and are controlled in their movement by movement of a single handle 50 pivotally supported at one end from the base plate 20. The first tensioning pulley 36 supported upon the first arm 47 which generally takes the form of a bell crank lever, the other end of which is connected to a radial arm associated with the handle 50 whereby on rotation of the handle 50 to the position as shown at Figure 2, the first tensioning roller 36 is engaged with the first drive pulley belt 33 to tension that pulley belt and cause the first driven shaft 26 to be drivingly connected to the drive shaft 23.

On rotation of the shaft 50 to the position as shown at Figure 4, the first tensioning pulley 36 is moved out of engagement with the first drive pulley belt 33 while the second pair of tensioning pulleys 39 and 40 are moved into engagement with the second pulley belt 37 to tension that belt and effect a driving connection between the drive shaft 23 and the second driven shaft 30.

The second pair of tensioning idler rollers 39 and 40 are supported at spaced locations on the second arm 49 which also takes the form of a bell crank. The second arm 49 is connected to the handle 50 through a radial arm whereby on rotation of the radial arm 50, the idler rollers can be moved into and out of engagement with the second pulley belt 37.

The pair of third tensioning rollers 45 and 46 are each carried upon the third arm 49 which again serves as a bell crank and which is caused to be pivotally moved through a linkage to a radial arm on the second handle 50 whereby rotation of the handle 50 to the position as shown at Figure 6 brings the third tensioning rollers into engagement with the one third drive pulley 41 to effect a driving connection between the drive shaft 23 and the third driven shaft 32.

As a result of the action of the handle 50, the abrasive belt 24, the disc cutter 29 and the drill head 31 can be selectively operated to the exclusion of the other components.

The drive pulleys are associated with a support shroud 51 which will support the non-tensioned pulley belts around the drive pulley to prevent the non-tensioned pulley belts from engaging with the drive pulley. The shroud surrounds the drive pulley in spaced relation thereto in the region where the pulley belts pass around the drive pulley. When a pulley belt is out of tension around the drive pulley, the shroud serves to prevent the spreading of the pulley belt at either side of the drive belt where the pulley belt leaves engagement with the drive pulley and in turn causes the pulley belt to spread or expand in the region where it passes around the drive pulley. The disengagement which is effected between the drive pulley belt and the pulley by means of the shroud serves to positively hold the pulley belt out of engagement with the drive belt when not in a state of tension. As a result, only that pulley belt which is in state of tension around the drive pulley will be caused to be driven by the pulley belt.

One side of the support plate 20 supports a first strut 52 which is articulated and comprises a pair of elongate elements pivotally connected end to end. One end

of the first strut 52 is pivotally mounted to the support plate 20. The free end of the first strut 51 is provided with a spigot 53 which is engagable with a hole 54 in an upstanding bracket 55 supported from one of the stop 17 of the second portion 13 when the base plate has been indexed to a position at which the disc cutter 29 lies above the table 16 with its plane substantially perpendicular thereto as shown at Figure 1 and 3. The pivotal connection between each portion of the strut 52 is connected to a link member 56, the other end of which is pivotally connected to a lever 57 pivotally supported from the base plate 20. Pivotal movement of the lever 57 will cause the portions of the first strut to articulate with respect to each other which will inturn serve to vary the spacing between the lower edge of the disc cutter 29 and the table 16. The base plate 20 further supports a spacer 58 which limits the amount of movement of the base plate 20 and thus the disc cutter 29 towards the table 16. The spacer 58 is capable of adjustment to vary the spacing. The first strut 50 serves to provide a stable interconnection between the head 18 and the second portion 13 in order that the movement of the disc cutter towards and away from the table 16 and any panel supported thereon can be controlled.

When it becomes necessary to drill a hole in the panel, the head is indexed by rotation about the support shaft 19 such that the drill head 31 is brought into a position at which the central axis is substantially perpendicular to the table 16. In order to rigidly support the base plate 20 with respect to the table 16 such that the central axis of the drive head 31 is perpendicular to the plane of the table 16, a second strut 60 is provided between the table 16 and the base plate 20. The second strut 60 is bolted to a face of the base plate 20 whereby on rotation of the base plate 20 into the position as shown at Figure 5, the free end of the second strut 60 engages the table 16. If desired, the free end can be bolted or fixed to the table 16 to prevent movement therebetween. The second strut 60 is made to be capable of a variation in length in order that the position of the base plate with respect to the table 16 can be adjusted to bring the central axis of the drill head 31 into perpendicular relationship with the table 16. The drill head 31 is associated with a suitable control activated through a rotary handle 61 in order

to move the drill chuck 62 towards and away from the table 16 in order that the drill bit 63 can be brought into and out of engagement with the panel supported on the table 16.

In order to positively retain base member 20 in position when the disc cutter is to be used or alternatively when the drill head is to be used, the first portion 12 is provided with a pair of support brackets 64 and 65 which are each provided with a clamping means operated by a handle 66 and 67 respectively. The brackets 64 and 65 are located in a position at which the panel of the base member 20 closely abut the respective bracket when the disc cutter 29 or drill head 31 are in their respective positions. When the base member is abutting the respective bracket member, the handle can be used to apply the clamping means to the base member to hold it in position.

The first portion 12 also supports a work station 70 for utilisation of the abrasive belt 24 to shaping the edge of a panel. The station comprises an upstanding plate 71 supported from the side of the first portion 22 and which is substantially parallel with the plane of the abrasive belt as it passes over the first idler pulley 27. The plate supports a set of spaced rollers 72 which can support the edge of the panel adjacent the abrasive belt 24 in order that the edge can be moved past the abrasive belt for treatment by the abrasive belt.

In addition, at a position spaced above the work station 70, a platen 75 is removably mounted to the base member 20 to lie underneath the abrasive belt 24 in its passage between the first idler roller 27 and the driven roller 25. The platen has a width corresponding to the width of the abrasive belt and serves to provide support for the belt in the event that the portion of the belt is to be used for shaping any component that may be applied against the belt in that region. The lower most edge of the platen 75 is provided with a transverse support 26 which is located such that it will be positioned above the exposed surface of the abrasive belt 24 to extend transversely across the abrasive belt and provide a

support surface for any item that is to be shaped by that portion of the abrasive belt.

As stated previously, the first portion 12 comprises a box-shaped member. The first portion comprises a closed chamber which has an opening associated with a closure (not shown) and which can be filled with water. The machine according to the embodiment further incorporates a pump (not shown) which is provided with a set of outlet ducts (not shown); one of which is associated with the cutter disc 29, the other of which is associated with a drill head 31 , a third of which can be associated with the abrasive belt 24 whereby water can be delivered collectively to either of those components to facilitate their respective cutting actions.

In order to provide the required tension to the abrasive belt 24 and facilitate the removal of the abrasive belt for replacement or servicing purposes, the other idler roller 28 which supports the abrasive belt 24 is supported from a support bracket 75 which is slidably supported upon the base member 20 in order that the other idler roller can be moved into and out of engagement with the abrasive belt 24. This movement is effected by means of a lever control as shown at Figure 1 which comprises a second handle 76 pivotally supported from the base member 20 for pivotal movement about a pivot axis 77 and having a radial arm 78 which pivotally supports a link member 79 which is in turn supported upon a lever 80 pivotally carried on the base member 20 the other end of which supports the bracket 75 which in turn supports the other idler roller 28. A suitable tensioning means is provided on the end of the link member 79 to effect connection to the lever 80 whereby the position of the brackets 75 can be adjusted.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the first and second portions 13 and 12 are to be interconnected through a transverse shaft to be pivotally interconnected with each other whereby the second portion 13 which supports the table 16 can remain substantially horizontal while the first portion

12 can be moved into a first position at which it is upstanding with support to the second portion 13 at which position the disc cutter or the drill head can be selectively brought into engagement with a panel supported on the table 16 and a second position at which the first portion is substantially horizontal provide access to the work station 70.

In addition, if desired, the second portion 13 may comprise a pair of brackets similar to the brackets 14 of the first embodiment which may be mounted directly to the side of a table whereby the machine can be used on an existing table.

It should be appreciated that the scope of the present invention need not be limited to the particular embodiment described above.