Claims:I/WE CLAIM:
1. A sensor less automatic system for automatic Hardness testing of a specimen consisting of;
Main screw (01);
Dash Pot (02);
Plunger (03);
Load Set (04);
Indentor(05);
Diamond Holder (06)
Arrangement for automatic Screw Lifting (07);
Load Hanger (08);
Weight Shift Clip(09);
Load Selection disc (10);
Indentor Holding Housing (11);
Clamping cone (12);
Clamping Cone Check NUT (13);
Test Table (14);
Telescope Sleeve (15);
Level Indicator (16);
Pivot vee (17);
thrust Bearing (18);
Main screw Sleeve (19);
Screw guide Plan (20);
Hanger Vee (21);
Hanger Wash (22);
Valve Screw Spring (23);
Main Lever (24);
Weight selection Motor (25);
Unit Top Plate (26);
Unit Rotating Shaft (27);
Unit Bottom Plate(28);
Unit Big Gear (29);
Top cover (30);
loading Vee (31);
Linear Bearing (32);
Plug (33);
Sleeve Clamping Plate(34);
On/Off Switch (35);
Leveling screw (36)
LCD Display (37);
Dial Gauge (38);
PLC Wiring Panel (39);
Box for Test Bock and Indenters(40);
Pot for Weight Selection (41).
2. The hardness testing system as claimed in claim -1, the weights are under time control are applied on free end of lever, which transmits the pressure on plunger and thereby on the work piece for determination of hardness value and a clamping device enables the tight clamping of work piece during the test which at times cannot be checked under normal conditions.
3. The hardness testing system as claimed in claim -1, the load is applied on the indenter with the help of dead weights hung on to a lever that runs across the top compartment of the machine body and the Lever is supported by knife edge pivots for minimal friction.
4. The hardness testing system as claimed in claim -1, the work table is flat round disc freely rotatable, mounted on top of the elevating screw and stepper motor (M2) with the help of gear, rotates the nut of elevating screw to lift or lower the work table where the specimen is placed.
5. The hardness testing system as claimed in claim -1, the speed change in the system achieved without sensors
, Description:FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to the field of mechanical engineering and more particularly to a material hardness testing instrument. This machine applies load on the specimen without use of any photo sensor, limit switch or proximity sensor.

[0002] Here a mechanism is developed for automatic Hardness testing of a specimen. Present invention provides automatic lifting of rod up to indenter, then applies minor and major load automatically and completes cycle. The hardness value comes directly on screen. In this process no sensors are used. It is very smooth and easy handling that operator have to push start button only.

PRIOR ART AND PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED

[0003] Penetration hardness testers are well-known in the art, and generally include a diamond or ball tipped penetrator and means to apply minor or major loads of predetermined magnitudes through the penetrator to a test specimen in successive load cycles. The hardness of the surface being tested produces results such as a Rockwell number or Brinell number. The hardness is related to the depth of penetration of the penetrator into the surface when a selectable value of compressive force is applied to the penetrator. In prior art Rockwell type hardness testers, the force that is exerted on the penetrator is produced by gravity acting on weights, and this in turn is transferred by mechanical means to the penetrator. The depth of penetration is generally directly measured from the tool and generally displayed on a dial indicator, digital display or other display apparatus. Prior art apparatus requires gravity acting on weights, and the measurement of the tool movement through mechanical assemblies is subject to impreciseness as the tester is repeatedly utilized subjecting the apparatus to wear through repeated mechanical movement.

[0004] To resolve the above problem here a sensorless mechanism is developed for automatic Hardness testing of a specimen. This machine is are designed for measuring hardness of metals and alloys of all types hard or soft, whether flat, round or irregular in shape. These machines are simple in design, easy to operate, yet very sensitive and accurate. The enclosed design protects the internal operating parts from deter mental dust and extraneous elements. It is capable to work on pre-defined speed and constant pre loading in order to get less variation.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION:

[0005] Rockwell hardness has been extensively used as a scale for indicating the hardness of a material. The Rockwell hardness is a value which is calculated from the difference in depth of penetration of an indenter between first and second two initial test loads, which are obtained when an initial test load is applied to a sample, and when a major test load obtained by adding an additional test load to the initial test load is applied to the sample and the load is returned to the initial test load. There have been various proposals submitted for improving accuracy of the test.

[0006] It has already been proposed where portable Rockwell hardness tester consisting of a hand wheel, a micrometric nut, a micrometric screw, a drum wheel, a U-shaped elastomer, a hardness indicating gauge, an indenter and a handle. The hand wheel applies test force; the micrometric nut and micrometric screw together with the drum wheel measure the depth of the indentation; the U-shaped elastomer and the hardness indicator gauge together realize the measurement of the test force; and the hardness value is read on the drum wheel. The above-mentioned concepts are mainly applied to measurement of middle and small sized parts and the operation is very inconvenient and is usually executed by two persons in cooperation, one holding the tester and one mounting the chain. The hardness scale on the drum wheel is read through a transparent magnifying lens with a reading line. The mentioned testers all have problems such as inconvenient operation, low efficiency, reading errors, failure or inconvenience to test large workpieces.

[0007] The principal objective of the invention is to provide a sensor less automatic loading of minor and major load in Rockwell hardness testing. This will result in smooth functioning of process with great accuracy.

[0008] Another objective of the invention is to make the testing procedure of Rockwell Hardness testing easy in which operator only needs to push start button and wait for result. The enclosed design protects the internal operating parts from deter mental dust and extraneous elements.

[0009] The further objective of the invention is the ability to pre-define speed and constant pre loading in order to get less variation and to provide an effective and standard working process for any user so that the indenter damage can be completely avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Known indentation hardness testers require extensive handling, especially with regard to the application of loads using weights, the use of additional weights in preload hardness test methods, and the damping of movement by means of oil brakes to be provided. In conventional Rockwell tester machine, the minor load is applied manually by lifting the platform and then major load is applied. To control the lifting of platform limit switches, photo sensors or proximity sensors can be used, but they have problems in case of small or large job and in case of edge or chamfer. So here disclosure is made regarding a material hardness testing machine applies load on the specimen without use of any photo sensor, limit switch or proximity sensor. It is capable to work on pre-defined speed and constant pre loading in order to get less variation along with protecting the internal operating parts from deter mental dust and extraneous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] While the present invention is described herein by way of example, using various embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is neither intended to be limited to the embodiment of drawing or drawings described nor designed to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated with specific figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiment outlined in any way. The drawings and detailed description of it are not intended to restrict the invention to the form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention covers all modification/s, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. The headings are used for organizational purposes only and are not meant to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this specification, the worn "may" be used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning, must).

[0012] Further, the words "an" or "a" mean "at least one” and the worn “plurality” means one or more unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents and any additional subject matter not recited, and is not supposed to exclude any other additives, components, integers or steps. Likewise, the term "comprising" is considered synonymous with the terms "including" or "containing" for applicable legal purposes. Any discussion of documents acts, materials, devices, articles and the like are included in the specification solely to provide a context for the present invention.

[0013] In this disclosure, whenever an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase "comprising", it is also understood that it contemplates the same element or group of elements with transitional phrases "consisting essentially of, "consisting", "selected from the group comprising”, "including", or "is" preceding the recitation of the element or group of elements and vice versa.

[0014] Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited in its application to the details outlined in the following description or exemplified by the examples. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for description and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0015] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs. Besides, the descriptions, materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting. Methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention.

[0016] The present invention provides a system with sensorless mechanism for automatic Hardness testing of a specimen. This machine is are designed for measuring hardness of metals and alloys of all types hard or soft, whether flat, round or irregular in shape. It is fully automatic machine enclosed in a fabricated body. For protection of the work table screw from dirt and dust, covers are provided.

[0017] The machine consists of Main screw (01), Dash Pot (02), Plunger (03), Load Set (04), Indentor(05), Diamond Holder (06) Arrangement for automatic Screw Lifting (07), Load Hanger (08), Weight Shift Clip(09), Load Selection disc (10), Indentor Holding Housing (11), Clamping cone (12), Clamping Cone Check NUT (13), Test Table (14), Telescope Sleeve (15), Level Indicator (16), Pivot vee (17), thrust Bearing (18), Main screw Sleeve (19), Screw guide Plan (20), Hanger Vee (21), Hanger Wash (22), Valve Screw Spring (23), Main Lever (24), Weight selection Motor (25), Unit Top Plate (26), Unit Rotating Shaft (27), Unit Bottom Plate(28), Unit Big Gear (29), Top cover (30), loading Vee (31), Linear Bearing (32), Plug (33), Sleeve Clamping Plate(34), On/Off Switch (35), Leveling screw (36) LCD Display (37), Dial Gauge (38), PLC Wiring Panel (39), Box for Test Bock and Indenters(40), Pot for Weight Selection (41).

[0018] The hardness tester is of fabricated body. The enclosed design protects the internal operating parts from deter mental dust and extraneous elements. The main screw is also protected by a telescopic sleeve. The basic system is one of weights and levers. The weights are under time control are applied on free end of lever, which transmits the pressure on plunger and thereby on the work piece for determination of hardness value. A clamping device enables the tight clamping of work piece during the test which at times cannot be checked under normal conditions.

[0019] Here the load is applied on the indenter with the help of dead weights hung on to a lever that runs across the top compartment of the machine body. Lever is supported by knife edge pivots for minimal friction.

[0020] The load engagement is timer controlled and as per standard metallurgical practice, load is kept ‘ON’ for 5 seconds (Timer S18/1+S18/2 set to 5 seconds dwell time, time can be changed if you feel so). The work table is flat round disc freely rotatable, mounted on top of the elevating screw. A stepper motor (M2) with the help of gear, rotates the nut of elevating screw to lift or lower the work table. When a specimen is lifted upward and it touches to indenter, mains screw will move up to the set point slowly to avoiding accidental bang between the work and indenter. The screw is fully protected by telescopic cover. With cover assembled, the work piece clearance can be 220 mm maximum. For round jobs V block is provided as an accessory.

[0021] The machine operation is simple and cycle is started by pressing ‘cycle start’ push button. Machine operation starts with the sample being placed on the table. To activate the machine the start button has to be pressed on the touch screen provided. The platform is automatically raised at the test speed set in the HMI (Human Machine Interface). Lifting of the platform is slow as it can damage the indenter if not controlled. If done manually, it takes a lot of time and an experienced operator is required

[0022] When the test piece touches the indenter lightly, the lifting speed of the platform decreases again. For this feedback is received from the dial indicator, which is used for the hardness calculation. The speed changes from test speed to feed speed (preload speed according to the standard). The sample rises until it reaches the target value that is 300.0 target value with feedback from the dial. This type of loading is known as pre-loading or minor loading. This is a very controlled and accurate operation with an error of +/- 0.33%. This step of checking Rockwell hardness is very difficult to do manually. This speed change is achieved without sensors including photo, proximity switch, limit switch, and others. Here as soon as the pre-loading is completed, the automatic loading of the dead weight (major load) is carried out by the motorized cam mechanism. After the major loading, dwell time (settling time) begins. When the dwell time is over, the sample is unloaded from the same motor assembly. The hardness number is displayed on the screen. After result shown, screw automatically down by the distance fed in touch screen to optimize productive cycle time.

[0023] While there has been illustrated and described embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art, to be understood that various changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, modifications, substitutions and modifications, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims and their equivalents.

FIGURE DESCRIPTION

[0024] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate an exemplary embodiment and, together with the description, explain the disclosed embodiment. In the figures, the left and rightmost digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of the system and methods of an embodiment of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and concerning the accompanying figures, in which:

[0025] Figure 1 shows the Sectional Side view of the material hardness testing instrument.

[0026] Figure -2 illustrates the Front View of the material hardness testing instrument with the emergency switch (42) and the LCD Screen(37).

[0027] Figure – 3 illustrates the diagrammatic