FR2659578A1 - APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC FEEDING INTO FLANKS OF A PRESS OR ANY OTHER MACHINE. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically feeding sheet metal blanks to any machine such as a press. This device is intended to be attached to the front face (5) of a press (PR) and comprises a carriage (6) which can be driven back and forth and provided with an unstacking system ( 7) of sheets which feeds a waiting support (9) in a coordinated and synchronous manner with the introduction of the sheets into the press (PR) by the carriage (6) which comprises at its end clamps (P) allowing the gripping on the fly of a sheet on the waiting support (9) to introduce it into the press (PR). This device can be fixed in an adjustable manner on a so-called double-acting press.

Description

The present invention essentially relates to an apparatus

  automatic feeding sheet blanks of any machine such as for example a press which may be a so-called "double-effect" press, that is to say a press which serves on the one hand to press the

  sheet metal and on the other hand to deform it.

  It has already been proposed feed devices sheet metal blanks of a press, which devices can be attached to the press and generally comprise means capable of gripping a sheet placed on a holding support and to then introduce this sheet

in the press.

  However, these devices do not serve the press with sufficient reliability and do not allow the press to work at a high rate. Also, the object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing an automatic feeder or feeder in sheet metal blanks of a press, which enables the press to work without stopping the punch, that is to say to work "on the fly", and that at high speeds of the order of twenty to twenty-five rounds per minute, so that the

  press performance is significantly improved.

  For this purpose, the subject of the invention is an apparatus for automatically feeding sheet blanks of a press or any other machine, of the type intended to be fixed on the press and comprising means capable of gripping a sheet placed on a plate. waiting support and to then introduce this sheet into the press, characterized in that said means are constituted by at least one carriage provided with at least one sheet unstacking system which feeds said stand in a coordinated and synchronous manner with the introduction of the sheets

in the press by said carriage.

  It will be specified here that the unstacking system is mounted on the carriage at a location such that, in the retracted position of the carriage, it is located at the right of a stack of sheets, while means for gripping a sheet secured to the carriage are lie in the waiting support, while in the forward position of the carriage or the introduction of a sheet into the press, the system of

  Unstacking is located at the standby bracket.

  According to another characteristic of this apparatus, the carriage is mounted to move reciprocally on a frame to which the holding support is fixed in a mobile and retractable manner during the

recoil of said carriage.

  According to yet another characteristic of the invention, this waiting support is secured to a deformable frame mounted on a support fixed to the aforementioned frame. The aforesaid deformable frame substantially forms an articulated and deformable parallelogram by means of a

  cylinder mounted on the above support.

  According to another characteristic of the apparatus of this invention, the unstacking system comprises suction cups or other similar means integral with a support mounted vertically mobile on a frame and actuable by a jack fixed on said frame itself

  optionally fixed to the carriage.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the carriage is reciprocated in translation movement on a guide rail secured to the frame, by means of an indexer-oscillator mounted on the frame, comprising an arm connected in an articulated manner to trolley, and whose law of motion is

adapted to the cycle of the press.

  It will be further specified here that according to the invention, the gripping means of a sheet on the waiting support are constituted by clamps arranged at one end of the carriage and controlled by a rod or the like operable by means forming cam as the carriage moves relative to

to the frame.

  The aforementioned means forming a cam are constituted, according to a preferred embodiment, by a substantially L-shaped piece pivotally mounted on the carriage, one of whose arms carries a finger, roller or the like engaged in a groove or cam path practiced in an element fixed on the frame, and whose other branch is articulated on one of the ends of

the aforementioned rod.

  According to another characteristic of the apparatus according to the invention, the other end of the rod is hingedly connected to two supports which carry clamping arms opposite each other, and which are rotatably mounted on a intermediate piece mounted

adjustable on the carriage.

  It will be observed that the aforementioned clamp arms are advantageously mounted adjustable on the two supports controlled by the rod so as to allow adjustment of the spacing of the clamp arms according to the

dimensions of the sheets to be grasped.

  According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the length of the aforementioned rod is adjustable by means of a coupling constituted by a sheath hinged to the L-shaped piece and in which is telescopically mounted said rod, by a sleeve mounted on said sheath , and by a nut co-operating with this bushing and the rod and having a threaded orifice of diameter greater than that of the rod and capable of disengaging itself from the rod after unlocking and moving the bushing relative to said sleeve, said rod being threaded at less

level of the fitting.

  The apparatus of this invention is further characterized by the fact that the aforesaid frame is mounted vertically sliding and adjustable on a support

himself fixed on the press.

  It will be observed that the frame is displaceable relative to the aforementioned support by means of a geared motor unit driving a ball screw and comprising

a disc brake.

  The frame can be maintained, in a determined position, against the aforementioned support by means of elastic arms forming levers articulated on the support and each controlled by cams, eccentric or the like

  actuated by jacks mounted articulated on the support.

  This will result in a reliable and accurate positioning of the loading device relative to the press on which it is fixed, so that the introduction of the plates captured by the clamps of the carriage in the press will be performed with excellent reliability. But other advantages and features of the invention will appear more clearly in the

  detailed description that follows and refers to the drawings

  annexed, given by way of example and in which: Figure 1 and a perspective view of an automatic sheet blank loading apparatus according to this invention, and fixed on a press shown very partially; Figure 2 is an elevational view and side of the apparatus in the insertion position of a t 8 in the press, that is to say in the advanced position of the carriage; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the apparatus in the retracted position of the carriage for gripping a sheet on a stack of sheets; Figure 4 is a plan view and from above of the apparatus attached to the press, the carriage being in the retracted position, as in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the carriage; FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the grippers carried by one end of the carriage and shown in the open position and in the closed position; FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of a groove made in a part fixed on the frame of the apparatus. and allowing, during the reciprocating movement of the carriage, the actuation of a rod controlling the clamps; Figure 8 is a sectional view of a fitting for adjusting the length of the rod to adjust the position of the tongs relative to the carriage; Figure 9 is a perspective view of the unstacking system; and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of

  stand-on bracket attached to the device frame.

  Referring in particular to Figures 1 to 4, and according to an exemplary embodiment, a feeding device or automatic loading of sheet blanks according to this invention essentially comprises a frame 1 mounted vertically movable by a plate-shaped portion 2 on a support 3 which is itself fixed by bolting for example, as seen in 4, on the

front face 5 of a press PR.

  FIG. 4 shows elements constituting the base of the press PR, and the same figure shows the successive positions of a blank of the TO to be introduced into the press PR by an opening O provided on the FIG. front face 5 of said press, using the loading apparatus according to this invention The frame 1, as seen in Figures 1 to 4, supports a carriage 6 which in turn supports a system 7 unstacking of plates and means 8 for gripping a sheet metal arranged at one of the ends of the carriage 6 On the frame 1 of the apparatus is movably fixed in the manner of a swing, a holding support 9 which can retract when the carriage 6 recedes, as will be explained in detail later about the operation. As clearly appears in FIGS. 1 to 3, the carriage 6 can be driven by a reciprocating movement of substantially horizontal translation on a guide rail 10 secured to the frame 1, and this thanks to an electromechanical indexer-oscillator of a type known per se which is generally identified at 11 and which is integral with the frame 1 More precisely, this indexer-oscillator 11 is provided with an oscillating arm 12 hingedly connected at one end via a roller or the like 13 to the carriage 2 which can thus move back and forth on the rail 10 It will be observed that the indexer-oscillator 11 has a specific motion law and adapted to the operating cycle of the press, and this thanks to a

  cam (not shown) having a particular profile.

  The unstacking system 7 integral with the carriage 6, comprises, as best seen in FIG. 9, a plurality of suction cups 14 connected to a vacuum and pressure source (not shown) by serpentine-shaped ducts 15, and carried by a support 16 having somewhat the shape of a frame This support 16 is mounted vertically movable on a frame 17 which is itself fixed on the carriage 6 A jack 18a is fixed on the frame 17 and allows actuation vertical support 16 carrying the suction cups 14 relative to said frame secured to the carriage 6 More specifically, and as can be seen in Figures 5 and 9, the frame 17 has cross members 18 T-shaped cross section can be mounted in two rails parallel 19 secured to the carriage 6 (Figure 5) to thereby allow adjustment in the horizontal plane of the unstacking system 7 before its final joining

on the trolley 6.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 5, the means 8 for gripping a sheet on the waiting support 9, which will be described later, consist of clamps P arranged at one end of the carriage 6 and controlled by a rod T actuated by cam means 20 under the effect of the displacement of the

carriage 6 with respect to the frame 1.

  More specifically, the clamps P are constituted by pairs of arms 21 facing each other and secured to two supports 22 which are each rotatably mounted, for example by means of knee pads (not visible in the figures), on a intermediate piece 23

  adjustable mounting at the end of the carriage 6.

  As can be seen in the diagram of FIG. 6, one of the ends of the rod T is hingedly connected at 24 to the supports 22 so that a thrust of the rod T opens the clamps P, whereas a pull on this rod causes the closure

said tongs.

  Returning to Figure 5, we see that some clamp arms 21 have recesses 25 making these arms somewhat elastic to facilitate clamping on

  the TO sheet to be gripped on the waiting support 9.

  It can be seen in FIG. 5 that the cam means 20 consist of a substantially L-shaped part 25 pivotally mounted at 26 on the carriage 6. One of the 27 branches of the L carries a finger or roller 28 to one of its ends, which finger or roller is engaged in a groove forming a cam track 29 which is best seen in Figure 7 and which is formed in a part 30 fixed to the frame 1 by legs or the like 31 clearly visible on the FIG. 5 The other branch 32 of the L-shaped part 25 is articulated, as can be seen at 33, at the end of the rod T opposite to that capable of rotating the supports 22 of the clamps P,

  as previously described.

  In this regard, it will be observed that the arms 21 of the clamps P are mounted laterally adjustable on their respective supports 22 so as to allow the adjustment of the spacing of said arms As clearly shown in Figure 5, there is provided for this purpose a dovetail tenon connection and mortise between the arms 21 and

  the supports 22, as seen in 34.

  As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 8, the length of the rod T is adjustable by means of a connector 35, and this so as to adjust the position of the clamps P with respect to the carriage 6, depending on the

dimension of the sheets to be grasped.

  This connection 35 consists essentially of a sleeve 39 in which is telescopically mounted the rod T, said sleeve constituting the end of the rod which is articulated at 33 on the L-shaped piece 25 pivotally mounted at 26 on the carriage 6. sleeve 36 is slidably mounted on the sleeve 39 and in this sleeve is slidably fitted a nut 37 having a threaded orifice 38 of diameter greater than that of the threaded rod T, as can be seen in FIG. 8. In other words, the rod T is engaged and maintained only on a portion of the thread of the tapped hole 38 of the nut 37 On the sleeve 36 are articulated levers 60 for locking said sleeve on the sleeve 39 A ring 61 slidingly mounted on the sleeve 39 and biased by at least one spring 62 allows the blocking or unlocking of the levers 60, as can be seen in Figure 8 is still seen in 63 a sleeve through by the rod T and held by a support 64 secured to the carriage 6 has been shown in 65 a pin can be struggling in a groove 66 formed on the periphery of the sleeve 39, and we see in 67 a collar belonging to the sleeve 39 and forming limit stop for the bushing 36 An annular piece 68 is provided on the bushing 36 to make in particular a stop for the springs 62

requesting the ring 61.

  Thus, to adjust the rod T is unlocked the levers 60, which allows the recoil to the right of Figure 8 of the sleeve 36 on the sleeve 39 and up to the stop 67 Obviously, the unlocking levers 60 is made after actuating the ring 61, against the force of the springs 62 It follows that the nut 37 is disengaged from the bushing 36 and can therefore be detached from the threaded rod T with which it The rod T is then moved to the desired length, which allows the movement of the set of clamps P with respect to the carriage 6 (FIG. 5), it being understood that the intermediate piece 23 on which the supports of FIG. 22 will be moved accordingly relative to the carriage 6 Once the adjustment is made, it is put the nut 37 in place on the rod T, and the sleeve 36 is brought on this nut by sliding on it, then locks the said sleeve on the sleeve with the levers 60, as seen on the

figure 8.

  The waiting support 9 secured to the frame 1 and better visible in Figure 10 is integral with a deformable frame 40 itself connected to a support 41 fixed by its portion 42 on the frame 1 of the device More specifically, the deformable frame 40 is formed of a plurality of rods constituting substantially a parallelogram articulated and deformable by means of a cylinder 43 mounted

articulated on the support 41.

  Thus, the waiting support 9 can move in the manner of a swing relative to the frame 1, as will be explained later about the operation It will be observed again here that the stand-by support 9 comprises a plurality of horizontal pads 44 on which can rest a sheet TO It has been shown in magnets provided on some of these pads 44 to maintain the sheet, it being understood that some of said pads can be mounted in an adjustable manner on the support 9 also it can be provided at one of the pads 44 a detector 46 of the presence of a sheet Finally, we see at 40 has an arm integral with the deformable frame 40 and can cooperate with one or the other of two limit switch contacts 40 b for

limit the movement of the frame 40.

  Returning to Figures 1 to 4, we see that the frame 1 of the apparatus is movable relative to the support 3 attached to the press PR by a geared motor unit 47 which drives a ball screw 48 and which is provided with a brake With disc 49 it is therefore understood that the frame 1 is mounted adjustably on the support 3 fixed to the press PR, and in this regard, it will be noted that the part or plate 2 belonging to this frame is mounted vertically sliding in rails 2a (FIG. 1) supporting the oscillator-indexer 11, the carriage 6 and its associated elements, and the waiting support 9 is maintained, after adjustment in the vertical direction with respect to FIG. support 3, in a specific position against said support For this purpose, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, elastic arms 50 forming levers are articulated at 51 on the support 3 and are each controlled by integral cams or eccentrics 52 of a tree 53 (f 1) actuated by jacks 54 (FIG. 4) mounted articulated on the support 3 More precisely, and as can be seen clearly in FIG. 4, the body of the jacks 53 is articulated on the support 3 and the rods of these jacks control the rotation of the cams or eccentrics 52 which cooperate with one of the ends of the arms 50, the other end of which can bear on the part or plate 2 of the frame 1, thereby to secure the frame with the support 3 itself fixed on the front face 5 of the

PR press.

  In FIGS. 1 to 4, the drive motor of the indexer oscillator 11 is shown in FIG. 1 which, as mentioned above, controls the reciprocating movement.

  of the carriage 2 and its associated elements.

  But, for a better understanding of the invention, will be described below the operation of the loading device in blanks t 8 in the press PR, which has just been described, and that referring more

  particularly in Figures 2 and 3.

  It will be assumed that at the beginning of the cycle, the various elements of the apparatus are in the position of the

figure 3.

  In this position, a sheet blank TO is already on the waiting support 9 which is in the up position Another side sheet TO is hooked to the suction cups 14 of the unstacking system 7 which is in the raised position after having been looking for the first

sheet TO of a stack G of sheets.

  The cycle start is given by an electrical signal from the PR press, and the sequence

of the following operations occurs.

  The carriage 6, actuated by the indexer

  oscillator 11 advance, as can be seen in Figure 2, while the stand-by support 9 is always in the up position, contrary to what is shown in this figure, o said stand-by support has

  been shown in the low position for clarity.

  The clamps P are closed by the cam means 20 actuating the rod T and the sheet blank resting on the holding support 9 in position

high is seized on the fly.

  The carriage 6 ends its course forward until the introduction of the sheet blank seized by the

P-tongs in the press tool.

  At this stage, an opening of the clamps P always occurs thanks to the cam means 20 which is at the end of the groove 29, that is to say in the extreme left-hand part of FIG. 7. The blank of t 8 will thus be

released in the press.

  Simultaneously, the unstacking system 7 which is located at the right of the stand-by support 9 still in the raised position, will deposit a blank of t 8 on the said

standby support.

  The carriage 6 will move backwards and, simultaneously, the waiting support 9 will move downwards, as shown in FIG. 2, to allow the passage to the carriage 6, which is backward and which thus will not be able to interfere with the sheet blank previously deposited by the system of

  unstacking 7 on said stand.

  The carriage 6 ends its retreat for

  return to the position shown in Figure 3.

  The unstacking system 7 will then look for a new sheet blank on the stack G, while the stand-by support 9 returns to the high position visible in FIG. 3, so that the sequence of the operations

above starts again.

  It will be observed here that the reciprocating speed of the carriage is adjusted with that of the press by action on a frequency converter (not shown) which

  controls the motor M of the indexer-oscillator 11.

  It is important to stress here that the unstacking system 7 associated with the carriage 6 feeds the waiting support 9 in a perfectly coordinated and synchronous manner with the introduction of the TOs in the press

PR by said carriage.

  It is thus possible, thanks to the structure and operation of the automatic sheet loading apparatus according to this invention to obtain press rates of the order of twenty to twenty-five strokes per minute, which is significantly higher than with the systems of

the prior art.

  Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated which has not

been given as an example.

  On the contrary, the invention comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if they are carried out according to its spirit.

Claims (12)

R E V E N D I C A T IO N S   1 Apparatus for automatically feeding sheet blanks of a press or any other machine, of the type intended to be fixed on the press and comprising means capable of gripping a sheet (TO) placed on a holding support (9) and then introducing this sheet into the press (PR), characterized in that said means are constituted by at least one carriage (6) provided with at least one system (7) for unstacking sheets which feeds said support stand (9) in a coordinated and synchronous manner with the introduction of the sheets (TO) into the press (PR) by said carriage.   2 Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the unstacking system (7) is mounted on the carriage (6) at a location such that in the retracted position of the carriage, it is located at the right of a stack (G) of sheet metal while means (8) for gripping a sheet integral with the carriage (6) are located at the level of the waiting support (9), whereas in the forward position of the carriage (6) or of introduction of a sheet in the press (PR), the unstacking system (7) is at the right of the waiting support (9).   3 Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the carriage (6) is mounted to move reciprocally on a frame (1) to which the holding support (9) is fixed movably and   retractable during the retreat of said carriage.   4 Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to   3, characterized in that the holding support (9) is integral with a deformable frame (40) mounted on a support   (41) fixed to the frame (1) of the apparatus.   Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the aforesaid deformable frame (40) substantially forms an articulated and deformable parallelogram by means of a jack (43) mounted on said support (41).   Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to   3, characterized in that the aforementioned unstacking system (7) comprises suction cups or other similar means (14) integral with a support (16) mounted vertically movable on a frame (17) and actuable by a jack (18 a) fixed on said frame itself fixed so   optionally adjustable on the carriage (6).   Apparatus according to one of the claims   preceding, characterized in that the aforementioned carriage (6) is reciprocated in translation movement on a guide rail (10) integral with the frame (1), by means of an indexer-oscillator (11) mounted on the frame (1), comprising an arm (12) hingedly connected to said carriage, and whose movement law is adapted to the cycle of the press.   Apparatus according to one of the claims   previous, characterized in that the gripping means (8) of a sheet on the holding support (9) consist of clamps (P) arranged at one (23) of the ends of the carriage (6) and controlled by a rod or the like (T) operable by cam means (20) under the effect of the carriage movement relative to the frame (1).   Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the cam means (20) are constituted by a substantially L-shaped piece (25) pivotally mounted (26) on the carriage (6), one of which (27) branches carries a finger, roller or the like (28) engaged in a groove or cam path (29) formed in a part (30) fixed to the frame (1), and whose other leg (32) is hinged ( 33) on one of the   ends of the aforementioned rod (T).   Apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the other end of the rod (T) is hingedly connected (24) to two supports (22) which respectively carry clamp arms (21) vis-à-vis , and which are rotatably mounted on a workpiece   intermediate (23) adjustable mounting on the carriage (6).   11 Apparatus according to one of claims 8 to   , characterized in that the aforementioned clamp arms (21) are mounted adjustable on the two supports (22) controlled by the rod (T) so as to allow their gap adjustment.   Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to   11, characterized in that the length of the rod (T) above is adjustable by means of a coupling (35) consisting of an articulated sleeve (39) (33) on the L-piece (25) and in which is telescopically mounted said rod, by a sleeve (36) mounted on said sleeve, and by a nut (37) cooperating with this sleeve and the rod and having a threaded orifice (38) of diameter greater than that of the rod (T) and susceptible to disengage from the rod after unlocking and displacement of the bushing (36) relative to said sheath (39), said rod being threaded at least at the connection (35)   Apparatus according to one of the claims   preceding, characterized in that the aforesaid frame (1) is mounted vertically sliding and adjustable on a   support (3) itself attached to the press (PR).   Apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the aforesaid frame (1) is displaceable relative to the support (3) by means of a geared motor unit (47) driving a ball screw (48) and having a brake with disc (49). Apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the frame (1) is held in a predetermined position against the aforesaid support (3) by means of elastic arms (50) forming articulated levers (51) on the support ( 3) and each controlled by cams, eccentric or the like (52) actuated by   jacks (53) mounted articulated on said support.