U.S. patent number RE29,795 [Application Number 05/861,190] was granted by the patent office on 1978-10-10 for self-contained feed roll for power punch presses.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Vamco Machine and Tool, Inc.. Invention is credited to Harry Eyberger.
United States Patent |
RE29,795 |
Eyberger |
October 10, 1978 |
Self-contained feed roll for power punch presses
Abstract
A self-contained unit to be attached to a power punch press to
provide a feed for stock being fed to the press. The unit contains
a direct drive from the punch press crankshaft to feed rolls which
are located adjacent to the table of the press. A non-slip,
positive, drive is provided from the crankshaft of the punch press
to an index drive which receives continuous, uniform rotary motion
and converts it into non-continuous, incremental movement of the
index drive output shaft. A positive, non-slip drive is provided
between the index drive output shaft and the power driven feed
roll. The feed roll unit also contains a compressed air-operated
cylinder arrangement to release the idler feed roll at a
predetermined period during the punch press cycle so that the stock
being fed to the press is free from the feed rolls during the
pressing portion of the punch press operating cycle. A cam secured
to the punch press crankshaft actuates a solenoid valve which, in
turn, opens a pilot valve and permits flow of compressed air to
reverse the power cylinder, which normally urges the idler feed
roll against the power driven feed roll, and thereby releases the
idler feed roll to release the stock between the feed rolls of the
self-contained unit.
Inventors: |
Eyberger; Harry (Pittsburgh,
PA) |
Assignee: |
Vamco Machine and Tool, Inc.
(Pittsburgh, PA)
|
Family
ID: |
24612309 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/861,190 |
Filed: |
December 16, 1977 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
651295 |
Jul 5, 1967 |
03483782 |
Dec 16, 1969 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
83/245; 226/154;
83/202; 83/228 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B21D
43/09 (20130101); Y10T 83/444 (20150401); Y10T
83/4551 (20150401); Y10T 83/4508 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
B21D
43/09 (20060101); B21D 43/09 (20060101); B21D
43/04 (20060101); B21D 43/04 (20060101); B26D
005/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;83/202,228,245,261,253
;226/154-156 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Meister; J. M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Price, Jr.; Stanley J. Adams; John
M.
Claims
I claim:
1. A self-contained feed roll unit for a power punch press having a
crankshaft rotating in timed relation to the pressing portion of
the operating cycle of said punch press, said feed roll unit
comprising:
(a) a power driven feed roll;
(b) an idler feed roll rotatably supported on a movable frame and
normally urged toward said power driven feed roll, said idler feed
roll being periodically moved away from said power driven feed roll
by feed roll release means to free stock being fed to said power
pass during the pressing portion of said power press operating
cycle;
(c) an index drive having an input shaft to receive continuous,
uniform rotary motion and an output shaft transmitting
non-continuous, incremental rotary motion;
(d) first positive drive means drivingly connecting said index
drive input shaft to said power press crankshaft; and
(e) second positive drive means .[.drivingly connecting.].
.Iadd.including a first drive member connected to said index drive
output shaft, a driven member connected to said power driven feed
roll, an idler member drivingly connected to said first drive
member and said driven member to thereby drivingly connect
.Iaddend.said index drive output shaft to said power driven feed
roll, said second positive drive means being adjustable to vary the
ratio of the angular velocity of said index drive output shaft
relative to said power driven feed roll.
2. The self-contained feed roll unit of claim 1 wherein said second
positive drive means is formed of chains and sprockets connecting
said index drive output shaft and said power driven feed roll and
the length of stock fed to said power press is varied by changing
the sizes of said sprockets.
3. The self-contained feed roll unit of claim 1 wherein said feed
roll release means comprises:
(a) a compressed air powered reversible cylinder normally urging
said idler feed roll frame toward said power driven feed roll, but
actuatable to move said feed roll frame away from said power driven
feed roll;
(b) cam means connected to said punch press crankshaft to actuate
an electrical solenoid valve while said press is in said pressing
portion of said operating cycle;
(c) pilot valve means actuated by said solenoid valve to control
flow of compressed air to said reversible cylinder; and
(d) a compressed air circuit between a source of air under pressure
and said reversible cylinder and controlled by said pilot valve
means to reverse said cylinder when said cam means actuates said
solenoid valve. .Iadd. 4. The self-contained feed roll unit of
claim 1 wherein the length of the stock fed to said power press is
varied by changing the size of at least one of said first drive
member, said idler drive member and said driven member.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 5. The self-contained feed roll unit of claim 1
wherein the length of stock fed to said power press is varied by
changing the size of said idler drive member. .Iaddend..Iadd. 6.
The self-contained feed roll unit of claim 1 wherein the length of
stock fed to said power press is varied by changing the size of
said first drive member. .Iaddend..Iadd. 7. The self-contained feed
roll unit of claim 1 wherein the length of stock fed to said power
press is varied by changing the size of said driven member.
.Iaddend. .Iadd. 8. The self-contained feed roll unit of claim 1
which includes,
means to adjust said idler drive member relative to said first
drive member and said driven member to permit mounting different
sized first drive members, idler drive members and driven members
to thereby vary the length of the stock fed to said power press.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 9. The self-contained feed roll unit of claim 1
which includes,
means mounting said index drive output shaft in fixed spaced
relation to said power driven feed roll. .Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Power punch press feed rolls are well known and commonly employed
to feed punch presses when coils or rolls of continuous strip metal
are used for feeding the dies of such presses. Automatic roll feed
mechanisms are particularly advantageous in high speed automatic
power press operations. In punch press feeds, it is also essential
at times that the stock being fed to the punch press be released
from the feed as the dies of the press contact the stock. Most dies
have piloting arrangements which require that the stock be
relatively free to adjust itself as the dies stamp their
product.
The release of the stock being fed to the punch press from the feed
rolls need be only of short duration to permit the strip locating
pins or piloting pins in the die mechanism to engage the work piece
and accurately locate the same, relative to the die mechanism.
Generally, after the die has performed its function, the feed rolls
should again be caused to grip the work strip to feed the next
segment to the dies.
In addition, the intricate coordination between the feed roll
mechanism and the punch press itself require expert technicians to
adjust and set the feed roll mechanism on a punch press. During
this adjustment, possible die damage could result if the feed
setting is inaccurate.
Many prior feed roll mechanisms for punch presses contained
clutches and brakes, which did not permit positive drive between
the punch press components and the feed roll mechanism. Without
positive drive, the punch press feed roll mechanism would get out
of time with the press. As the speed was varied, clutches wore or
brakes failed causing spoilage of pieces and damage to tooling.
SUMMARY
The present invention is directed to a novel, self-contained feed
roll unit for power punch presses. The unit of the present
invention is designed to be attached to punch presses without
modification of the punch presses and with a minimum of technical
skill required to place the feed roll unit onto the punch press.
The feed roll unit of the present invention requires no
modification to the punch press other than to provide a direct
drive between the punch press crankshaft and the feed roll unit.
Further, the feed roll unit of the present invention is a
self-contained drive mechanism which has its own housing. The
housing of the present invention is bolted onto a punch press and
is ready for operation on the press.
The feed roll unit of the present invention provides positive,
direct drive between the crankshaft of the punch press and the feed
rolls. There is no slippage, clutches, brakes, or other
friction-type mechanisms which can cause loss of timing or costly
repairs.
Further, the feed roll unit of the present invention provides a
novel release means which permits the feed stock to the punch press
to be released from the feed rolls during the pressing portion of
the operating cycle of the punch press.
With the foregoing considerations in mind, it is an object of the
present invention to provide an improved feed roll unit for a punch
press.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a
self-contained feed roll unit for a punch press.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a feed roll
unit having feed roll release means which permit the stock being
fed to the punch press to be released during the pressing portion
of the operating cycle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a feed roll
unit that enables the punch press to run at higher speeds since the
feeding accuracy of this unit is not affected by press speeds.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a feed roll
unit which has a direct, non-friction-type drive between the punch
press crankshaft and the feed rolls.
These and other objects of the present invention will become
apparent as this description proceeds in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the feed roll unit of the
present invention with a portion of the housing removed and showing
a portion of the punch press in phantom view.
FIG. 2 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 1 showing the feed roll
unit of the present invention with the housing removed.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective representation of the working
portions of the feed roll mechanism of the present invention in
semi-schematic form.
FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of the components and circuit for the
feed roll release means of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3,
there is shown a self-contained feed roll unit 10 attached to a
power press 12 shown in phantom outline. A punch press 12 has a
crankshaft 14 which rotates in timed relation to the dies (not
shown) of the punch press so that there is a timed relationship to
the pressing portion of the punch press operating cycle and the
rotational speed of the punch press crankshaft 14.
A drive pully 16 is fixed to the punch press crankshaft 14 and is
of the toothed, non-slip type. An idler pully 18, containing two
pullies which rotate as a unit and which are of the toothed,
non-slip type, is rotatably secured to the feed roll unit in spaced
relation to the power press crankshaft drive pully 16. A non-slip
type toothed belt drivingly connects the pully 16 to the idler
pully 18.
An index drive input pully 22, of the non-slip type, is driven from
idler pully 18 through non-slip drive belt 24. The input pully 22
is non-rotatably fixed to the input shaft of index drive 26. Index
drive 26 is preferably but not necessarily a commercially
available, right angle index drive manufactured by Commercial Can
and Machine Company of Chicago, Ill., or Ferguson Machine Company
of St. Louis, Mo. The index drive 26 receives continuous, uniform,
rotating motion through input shaft 26a to which the input pully 22
is fixed. This continuous, uniform, rotating motion is converted by
the index drive to a non-continuous, step-by-step, incremental
motion that is transmitted by index drive output shaft 26b.
An output sprocket 28 is non-rotatably secured to index drive
output shaft 26b. A double idler sprocket 30 is freely and
rotatably supported on support member 32. Support member 32 is
fixed to the housing of the self-contained feed roll unit 10 and
contains an elongated, slotted hole 32a to receive the shaft of
idler sprocket 30. The slotted hole 32a permits adjustment of the
idler pully in various positions to accommodate various size chains
and pullies to thereby adjust the feed stroke of the feed roll unit
in a manner to be more fully hereinafter explained.
A drive chain 34 drivingly connects the index drive output sprocket
28 to one portion of the double idler sprocket 30. A chain tension
sprocket 36 is supported from the housing of the feed roll unit 10
to tension chain 34 in the proper manner even though the sizes of
idler sprocket 30 may change.
A feed roll drive sprocket 38 is non-rotatably secured to the same
shaft to which the power driven feed roll 40 is secured. A drive
chain 42 drivingly connects the double idler sprocket 30 to the
feed roll drive sprocket 38 to thereby drive the power driven feed
roll.
The power driven feed roll 40 is rotatably supported upon a table
44 which forms a portion of the housing 46 for feed roll drive unit
10. The housing 46 is bolted to the frame of the power press 12 by
bolts 48 (FIG. 2).
An idler feed roll 50 is rotatably supported on a movable frame 52.
The shaft for idler feed roll 50 has trunion mounts 54 that depend
from movable frame 52. Upright members 56 (FIG. 2) slidingly
receive the movable frame 52.
A power cylinder 58 is fixed to the housing of the feed roll unit
10 and the piston 58a of power cylinder 58 is connected to movable
frame 52 so that the extended piston of power cylinder 58 normally
urges the idler feed roll 50 into contact with power driven feed
roll 40 to catch the feed stock therebetween and thereby feed the
feed stock to the dies of the power press. Under certain
conditions, the power of power cylinder 58 can be reversed to
release the idler feed roll 50 from the power driven feed roll 40
and thereby release the stock being fed to the dies of the power
press.
The power cylinder 58 which controls the idler feed roll 50 is,
itself, controlled by a compressed air circuit and valves which
operate directly in response to a cam 60 fixed to the crankshaft 14
of power press 12. The cam 60 is operable to actuate a limit switch
62 (FIGS. 3 and 4) during a certain portion of the rotational cycle
of crankshaft 14.
When the limit switch 62 is actuated, it provides power to a
solenoid switch 64 which actuates a pilot valve 66 (FIG. 4). Pilot
valve 66 is a spool valve which has a spool 66a mechanically
connected to solenoid switch 64. The spool 66a is urged by spring
66b to the position shown in FIG. 4.
A source of compressed air is directed through air supply line 68
to inlet port 70 of pilot valve 66. The air supply line 69 also
provides an air supply to other valves as shall be hereinafter more
fully described.
When the pilot valve 66 is in the non-actuated position shown in
FIG. 4, the spool 66a prevents passage of air from inlet port 70 to
power port 72 in valve 66. When, however, the solenoid 64 actuates
the spool 66a the spool 66a is moved to the right as viewed in FIG.
4, against the force of spring 66b and the inlet port 70 is
permitted to communicate with the power port 72 thereby causing a
flow of air under pressure through the pilot valve 66.
A spool valve 76 having a spool 76a urged to the position shown in
FIG. 4 by spring 76b controls the flow of air from its inlet port
78 to a power port 80 in valve 76. An exhaust port 82 is provided
to exhaust flud from valve 76 under certain circumstances. Valve 76
directly receives air under pressure through lines 68 and, in the
normal course of events, permits fluid under pressure to flow
through inlet port 78 to outlet port 80 and thence through power
line 88 to maintain the piston 58a of power cylinder 58 to the
normally extended position.
When the solenoid 64 actuates the pilot valve 66 to permit flow of
air under pressure through inlet port 70 to outlet port 72 and
thence through pilot line 84, the air under pressure acts on the
cylinder face 86 of spool 76a of valve 76 to thereby urge the valve
spool 76a to the left as viewed in FIG. 4 and to thereby exhaust a
portion of the cylinder 58 which normally maintains piston 58a to
the extended position.
A valve 90 operates to retract piston 58a of cylinder 58 when
solenoid 64 is actuated. The valve 90 has a spool 90a which is
urged to the position shown in FIG. 4 by spring 90b. The valve 90
has an inlet port 92 through which it receives air under pressure
through line 68. A power port 94 is normally closed from the inlet
port 92 by the construction of spool 90a. The valve 90 also has an
exhaust port 96 which is normally in communication with power port
94 so that the portion of the cylinder 58 in front of piston 58a is
normally exhausted.
When air in pilot line 84 acts on the cylinder face 98 of spool
90a, the valve spool 90a is urged to the right as viewed in FIG. 4,
against the force of spring 90b, thereby causing inlet port 92 to
come into communication with power port 94 and cause fluid under
pressure from line 68 to enter behind the piston 58a and retract
the piston 58a.
It can be seen that when solenoid 64 actuates pilot valve 66, air
through pilot line 84 simultaneously actuates valves 76 and 90.
Valve 76 is effectively closed and the space in front of piston 58a
is vented to exhaust through exhaust port 82. At the same time, the
space on the other side of piston 58a is subjected to fluid
pressure through line 100 which connects the power port 94 to the
cylinder 58.
OPERATION
As the crankshaft 14 of punch press 12 rotates during the operating
cycle of the power press, a direct, non-slip drive is formed
through pulley 16, belt 20, idler pulley 18, and belt 24, to the
index drive input pulley 22. The index drive 26 then converts the
continuous, uniform rotary motion into an indexed, non-continuous,
incremental, step-by-step motion to its output sprocket 28. This
step-by-step motion is transmitted from output sprocket 28 to idler
sprocket 30 which controls the speed of power driven feed roll 40
through power feed roll drive sprocket 38.
It may be seen that by placing various combinations of sprockets
28, 30 and 38, of different sizes, the amount of lineal motion
imparted to the feed stock through power driven feed roll 40 may be
varied for any single rotation of crankshaft 14. Thus, the exact
length of feed desired may be controlled by changing the size of
the sprockets. The indexing increment can also be increased or
decreased by the use of various gear trains (not shown) in place of
chains 34 and 42 and sprockets 28, 30 and 38.
When the size of idler sprocket 30 is changed, it is positioned
along the slotted hole 32a of the support 32 so that drive chain 42
is in proper tension. The chain tensioner sprocket 36 is then
adjusted to properly tension drive chain 34 so that a direct drive
is provided between the index drive 26 and the power driven feed
roll 40.
At the same time that the punch press crankshaft 14 rotates, it
actuates limit switch 62, through cam 60, which in turn causes
periodic actuation of solenoid 64. Each time solenoid 64 is
actuated, the piston 58a of power cylinder 58 retracts from its
normally extended position and causes the idler feed roll 50 to be
withdrawn and retracted from power driven feed roll 40.
Accordingly, the stock being fed to the power press is released
from the feed roll for a period of time, as desired, until the cam
passes out from under the limit switch 62. At that point, power is
restored to the power cylinder 58 and the normally extended piston
58a causes the idler feed roll to bear against the power driven
feed roll 40.
It can be seen that the structure of the present invention provides
a self-contained feed roll unit for a power press which may be
readily installed on a punch press and can feed stock to the dies
of the press. Further, there is positive drive to all components of
the feed roll unit of the present invention, and the force on the
feed rolls may be released periodically during the pressing
operation.
It will also be appreciated that the self-contained feed roll unit
of the present invention can be operated without utilizing the feed
roll release means of the present invention if the particular job
does not require the feed stock to be released during the pressing
operation.
According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have
explained the principle, preferred construction, and mode of
operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I
now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to
have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims,
the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically
illustrated and described.
* * * * *