Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G59/00—De-stacking of articles
  • B65G59/06—De-stacking from the bottom of the stack
  • B65G59/067—De-stacking from the bottom of the stack articles being separated substantially perpendicularly to the axis of the stack
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR TOOLS FOR ARTISTIC WORK, e.g. FOR SCULPTURING, GUILLOCHING, CARVING, BRANDING, INLAYING
  • B44B5/00—Machines or apparatus for embossing decorations or marks, e.g. embossing coins
  • B44B5/02—Dies; Accessories
  • B44B5/024—Work piece loading or discharging arrangements

Definitions

• This invention relates to a coining press which comprises an indexable feed plate having a plurality of circumferentially spaced blank-receiving recesses in its periphery, a coining tool arranged at a forming station adjacent to the periphery of the feed plate, and a blank feed unit arranged at a feeding station also adjacent to the periphery of the feed plate and circumferentially spaced from said forming station.
• a blank feeding unit feeds the coin blanks to a dial feed plate, and which indexes the blanks successively to a coin-forming tool arranged adjacent to the periphery of the feed plate.
• the coining press is of the upstroking type, and when the usual press slide is in the "down" or bottom dead centre position, it remains stationary or “dwells” for approximately one third of the press cycle. This dwell period allows the dial feed plate to index through the coin forming station, whereby to remove a minted or coined blank from the press slide and to replace it with a fresh coin blank.
• Coin blanks are usually fed from a bowl-type feeder (mechanical or vibratory) and into a vertical stacking tube which forms a vertical stack of coin blanks .
• a blank feed unit co-operates with the stack of blanks, and usually has a "pusher finger" driven by a swash plate cam arrangement, and which moves from a withdrawn (retracted) position relative to the periphery of the feed plate to an extended position of engagement with the outer periphery of the feed plate, whereby the pusher finger pushes out the lowermost blank in the stack from beneath the stack and into one of a series of blank-receiving recesses circumferentially spaced around the periphery of the feed plate.
• the drive to the pusher finger derives its power input via a direct mechanical linkage or couplin ⁇ between the press and the blank-feeding svstem.
• the swash plate type ot cam mechanism to operate the pusher finger is prone to rapid wear, and particularly at high speeds, and other drive mechanisms conventionally employed e.g a conventional crank mechanism, is less suited to high feed rates.
• a tangible mechanical link between the press and its feed system there is a tangible mechanical link between the press and its feed system.
• the present invention proposes to eliminate a direct mechanical feedback from the operation-of the press to the blank feeding unit, with its attendant disadvantages, and relies upon a means of monitoring the operation of the component parts of the press which provides non-mechanical feedback to control the speed and timing of operation of the blank-feed unit.
• a coining press which comprises: an indexable feed plate having a plurality of circumferentially spaced blank-receiving recesses in its periphery; a coining tool arranged at a forming station adjacent to the periphery of the feed plate; and a blank feed unit arranged at a feeding station also adjacent to the periphery of the feed plate and circumferentially spaced from said forming station, said unit comprising a stacking device for receiving a stack of com-forming blanks, and a feeding device engageable successively with the instantaneously lowermost blank of the stack to feed the latter into an adjacent blank-receiving recess m the periphery of the feed plate, in which: an electrically operable driving device is coupled with said feeding device to operate the latter between a retracted position and an extended position in order to move the lowermost blank into a respective recess in the feed plate, and, a control arrangement is connected to said driving device and is arranged to monitor the operation of the
• the feeding device comprises a feed finger, drive by a crank mechanism having a very short coupling length, which facilitates significant changes in acceleration during the motion profile, such mechanism being driven by an electric motor whose initiation, and speed of operation is controlled by said control arrangement which monitors the operation of the press.
• crank drive mechanism to the feed finger may be configured so as to create, effectively, a "dwell" of the finger, and which allows an increased time for the next blank in the stack to drop into place, prior to being pushed into the next receiving recess in the periphery of the feed plate.
• crank mechanism is therefore advantageously developed specially so as to provide required motion profile, and is driven by an electric motor, whose initiation and speed of operation is effected via said control arrangement.
• control arrangement comprises an encoder arranged to be driven by the press, thereby eliminating the more conventional mechanical link between the press and feed system.
• the electric motor and the encoder not only enable the feed system to keep in step with the press at all operating speeds, but also allows the rate of speed to be varied during each cycle so that the blank-feeding unit operates entirely in synchronism with the operation of the press, but furthermore (providing the overall time for each complete cycle is not changed) it can effect the best conditions for feeding each size of coin blank.
• two separate blank-feeding units are arranged at circumferential spacings illative to the periphery of the feed plate, and this can allow composite coins to be formed from more than one coin blank.
• this provides an increase in flexibility of the coining press, and makes it ideally suited to the feeding of shaped coin blanks, bi- etallic (non-homogeneous) coin blanks, and large diameter (homogeneous) blanks.
• Existing feeder mechanisms have problems in dealing with such blanks, particularly where frequent denomination change-overs are required.
• the system can be configured so as to feed in sequence and at the same frequency as the press operating speed, or at half press speed to feed into alternate dial plate stations.
• the former would then allow the feeding of bi-metallic blanks, comprising a separate "outer”, and a separate “inner”, and the latter, (providing the two feeder unit stations are placed an "odd” number of recessed indexes apart), the feeding of the more difficult shaped or large diameter blanks.
• Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a coining press, having a dial type feed plate, a coin-forming station and first and second blank feeding units arranged at circumferentially spaced stations relative to the outer periphery of the feed plate;
• Figure 2 is a side view corresponding to Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a graph of a motion profile of each blank feeder unit relative to the operating cycle of the press.
• a preferred embodiment of the invention has first and second blank feeding units arranged at circumferentially spaced feeding stations relative to the outer periphery of a dial feed plate. There is also a circumferentially spaced coining station.
• this is a preferred arrangement only, and that the invention contemplates, when required, use of a single blank-feeding unit only at a suitable feeding station.
• a coining press according to the invention is designated generally by reference 10 and comprises a horizontal indexable feed plate 11 i.e. a so-called dial feed plate, and which has a plurality of circumferentially spaced blank-receiving recesses 12 in its periphery.
• a coining tool 13 is arranged at a feeding station 14 adjacent to the periphery of the feed plate 11, and a first blank feed unit 15 and a second blank feeding unit 16 are arranged at respective feeding stations 17 and 18 respectively, circumferentially spaced from each other, and also circumferentially spaced from the forming station 14.
• Each feeding unit 15, 16 comprises a stacking device in the form of a vertical column 19 which receives a vertical stack of blanks 20 from a suitable supply device, which in the illustrated arrangement comprises a known bowl feeder 21.
• Each unit has a feeding device engageable successively with the instantaneous lowermost blank 20 of the stack, to feed the latter into an adjacent blank-receiving recess 12 in the periphery of the feed plate 11.
• the feeding device comprises a linearly movable feed finger 22 which is movable between a retracted position, and an extended position in order to move the lowermost blank 20 of the stack into the respective recess 12 in the feed plate.
• Any suitable mechanical drive mechanism is coupled with the feed finger 22, in order to apply linear reciprocation to it, and in the illustrated embodiment this comprises a specially designed crank mechanism 23 having an extremely short coupling length, which facilitates significant chanqes in acceleration of the feed finger 22 during the motion profile. This is configured so that effectively the finger can "dwell", and allow an increased time for the next blank in the stack to drop into place, prior to being pushed into the next recess 12 in the feed plate 11 upon indexation of the latter.
• An electrically operated driving device is therefore coupled with the blank feed device (feed finger 22) and operates the latter between the retracted position and the extended position in synchronism with the timing and speed of operation of the press. Therefore, an electric motor 24 is coupled with crank mechanism 23, and the initiation of operation of the motor, and its speed of' operation, is controlTed by a non-mechanical type of control arrangement which monitors the operation of the press, whereby to operate the driving device (23, 24) in synchronism with the operation of the press.
• control arrangement comprises an encoder driven by the press, and which initiates commencement, stopping, and controls the speed of operation of the motor 24 in exact correspondence with the operating cycle of the press.
• the embodiment of the invention thereby eliminates the more conventional direct mechanical link between the press and the blank feed system.
• the electric motor and encoder not only enables the feed system to keep in step with the press at all operating speeds, but also allows the motor speed to be varied during each cycle (providing the overall time for each complete cycle is not changed) to effect the best conditions for feeding each size of coin blank.
• the coining tool at the forming station 14 can be of conventional construction, being of an upstrokmg type, and the construction and operation of the coming tool will be well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, and need not be described in detail herein.
• the preferred embodiment has first and second blank feeding units, and this gives flexibility to the operation of the press, making it ideally suited to the feeding of shaped coin blanks, bi-metallic (non-homogenous) coin blanks and large diameter (homogenous) blanks, which can cause nroblems with existing blank feeder mecnanisms, and particularly where frequent denomination change-overs are required.
• the system can be configured so as to feed in sequence and at the same frequency as the operating speed of the press, or at half press speed when it is required to feed into alternate blank-receiving recesses of the feed plate 11.
• the former would then allow the feeding of bi-metallic blanks, comprising a separate "outer” and a separate “inner”, whereas the latter, (providing the feeder unit stations are place an "odd” number of indexes apart) allows feeding of the more difficult shaped or large diameter blanks.
• Figure 3 of the drawings is a motion profile of the feeder mechanism, in relation to the operating cycle of the press .
• the embodiment of the invention therefore provides blank feeder units for a coming press which utilises a specially developed slider crank mechanism driven by an electric motor, and having the following advantages, inter alia, over conventional means of driving them:
• the feeder unit is driven by electrical motors, independent from any mechanical drive from the press.
• the feeder unit comprises a specially developed slider crank mechanism arranged so as to provide a dwell in the motion profile to facilitate coin blank feeding for a constant speed input .
• the operational speed of the feeder unit, provided by the electrical motor, can be further varied to tailor and optimise individual olank feed requirements provided the overall time for one complete cycle is the same as if the unit had a constant speed input .
• the motor is synchronised to the press and dial feed plate via an electrical encoder.
• Two feeder units placed "odd" number of dial plate indexes apart can be tailored and optimised to feed bi-metallic coin blanks (both units operating at press speed), the first feeding the outer, the second feeding the inner, and also to feed the more difficult large diameter blanks and shaped blanks (both units operating at half press speed and hence feeding alternately) comfortably.

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• Press Drives And Press Lines (AREA)
• Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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• 1996
  • 1996-03-16 GB GB9605575A patent/GB2311952B/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1997
  • 1997-03-17 WO PCT/GB1997/000728 patent/WO1997034773A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-03-17 EP EP97908352A patent/EP0827459A2/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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