US1080793A - Work-feeding mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

L. H. VOLD;

WORKTBEDING MECHANISM. ABPLIOATION FILED-MAY 1, 1913.

1,080,793, Patented' Dem, 1913i.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

coLuMmA PLANOGRAPH cu.,wAsmNG-rnN, D. c,

L. H. VOLD.

WORK PEEDING MBGHANISM. APPLIGATION FILED MAY'l, 1913.

1,080,?93 Patented De@ 9, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM C0.. WASHINGTON, D4 L:4

WTE@ STATES PATENT EFCE.

LABS H. VOLI), OF WESTVILLE, NEVJ JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 WLLIAM SELLERS 8a COM- PANY, INCORPORATED, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

WORK-EEEDING MECHANISl/I.

Application filed May 1, 1913.

To all whom l? may concern Be it known that l, Lans H. VOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVestville, county of Gloucester, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in 1Work-Feeding Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

ln Patent No. 833,811 issued to me October 23, 1906, l have shown and described a punching machine, a work table adapted to travel back and forth through the punching machine, and grippers carried by the worktable and adapted to grip the work and pull it through the machine. In an application filed by me April 16, 1913, Serial No. 761,552 l have shown and described an apparatus for automatically loading the work onto the work table and unloading it therefrom, adapted for use in connect-ion with a punching machine or any other machine to which a loading and unloading apparatus could be of useful application.

The present inventio-n is adapted for use in connection with a work-table such as is set forth in my said patent and application, although capable of being applied to a traveling work-table of any construction.

It relates to the grippers for gripping the work and conveying it through a punching or other machine, and to mechanism associated therewith, and may be said to have the following objects: 1. To supportthe work in a proper plane and yet permit it to move vertically under stress of the punches or other devices operating upon it. 2. To enable the grippers to be engaged quickly by a single motion of a lever. 3. To enable the grippers to be released automatically and si-l multaneously. 4i. To regulate, by ample means, the distance from the front of the work at which the first row of holes will be.

punched by the machine.

rIhe invention consists in the general and specific construction of the grippers and in the construction and arrangement of devices cooperating therewith, whereby the above mentioned objects are attained.

One preferred embodiment of the tion is shown in the accompanying ings, in whichy Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken inven draw- Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patentedec. 9,1913.

Serial No. 764,768.

away, of an apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of one of the front grippers and actuating mechanism, in released position. F ig. 3 is a similar view of a portion of one of the rear grippers. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the grippers in gripping position. is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

o is the machine, shown diagrammatically as a puncl'iino machine, which operates upon the work,

Vlhe work-table comprises rack bars o, movable longitudinally on rollers c, and rollers CZ which directly support and guide the werk. Rollers c and CZ are mounted on supports e. The rack-bars b are engaged by driving gears f, which are actuated from a suitable source o-f power. The rack-bars carry grippers which engage the work either at its front end, or at both ends. By traversing the rack-bars Z) the grippers will travel with them and draw the work through the machine, say in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. After the punching operation, the grippers are released, the work is removed, the rack-bars returned to their original position, and new work placed upon the work-table.

My present invention contemplates the employment of either a set of front grippers only, or both a set of front grippers and a set of rear grippers. Both sets of grippers are similar in construction, although each embodies features of construction absent in the other. l have lettered the front grippers g and the rear grippers z.. rThe front grippers are carried on a carriage comprising a cross-beam z' mounted on carriers j secured to the rack-bars b. rl`he rear grippers are carried on a carriage comprising a cross-beam 7c secured to carriers m mounted on rollers n traveling on the rack-bars and which are therefore readily adjustable so that the grippers carried thereby maybe positioned relatively to the front grippers in accordance with the length of the work. It will be understood, therefore, that the force necessary to carry the work through the iachine proceeds from the front grippers,

the rear grippers cooperating to hold the rear of the work in proper position and alinement.

struction common to both sets `of grippersfeatures of conand will then describe the struction peculiar to each set of grip'pers.

Each gripper consists of a pair of pinching jaws, 0 and p, hinged together near the gripping point. The work is held by inserted hardened steel teeth r, preferably conical points or spuds. r)The lower jaw o is fulcrumed in a stand s, which is supported on the corresponding beam z' or 7s, justable thereon to accommodate the grippers to work of different width or of varying numbers of pieces. The stand s is shown as provided with a flat face abutting against the flat flange of the beam and lugs extending back of the beam, the lower lug abutting against the `back of the said flange of the beam and the upper lug being spaced from said flange, but being held in fixed relation therewith by the screw 2f, which is tightened against the Hangs of the beam after the stand is adjusted to the desired position. The lower jaw 0` takes a solid abutment against the stand s back of the point 23 at which the jaw 0 is hinged, thus holding up the overhanging gripping end ofthe jaw and enabling it to form a good support for the work to which it is clamped. The inner end of the upper jaw p is forked and a block or bearing u is swiveled between the forks. An eye bolt o extends through the bearing u. The lower end of the eye-bolt o is connected by a pin 'w with a projection from a locking hand-lever y. Nuts e on the eye-bolt, on opposite sides of the bearing u, permit adjustment to suit variations in thickness of work, this being necessary because, as will be seen, the locking 'action is limited in stroke.

rlhe hand-lever y is mounted loosely on a short sleeve 10, which is keyed to the shaft 12 and turns in bearings in the stand s. The shaft 12 also turns in fixed bearings 24 attached to the cross beam t or cross beam 7e. The lever y is thus free to swing on the axis of the shaft. The lever cannot, however, swing to the right beyond the position shown in Fig. 4, the lever in this position bearing against a projection 11 on the sleeve 10, this projection acting as a stop to prevent the lever being thrown beyond the position it must occupy to move the upper jaw into gripping position. The shaft itself is prevented from turning' in this direction by the stop 25, against which the levers 19 and 13 (hereinafter described) secured to the shaft, abut when the lever y and shaft 12 are in gripping position. It will be observed that when the lever is brought into this position, the center of the swiveling block u, the center of the pivot in eye bolt 'U and the center of Shaft 12, are brought into practically a straight line, forming in effect a toggle joint, which tends to maintain the parts in gripping position. In the act and adv of punching there is a tendency on the part of the work to spring up. It is desirable, to avoid unnecessary strain on the gripping mechanism, that this tendency 'should have play. The construction described7 in connection with the pivoting of the lower jaw, permits this, as, by reason of the location of swivel point 23 of the lower jaw substantially in line with the centers of the togglejoint construction, a moderate upward movement of the work at the grip point can occ-ur without seriously aecti'ng thegrip on the work.

1t will be'unders'tood that when the work is brought into position between the jaws, each gripper is clamped Vvto the work by a single motion of the lever y, the lever being moved from thep'osition shown inFig. 2 (or, in the case of the rear grippers, Fig. 3) to the position shown in Fig. 4, in which position it bears against 'the stop 11 on 'the sleeve 10 keyedv to the shaft 12 as before described. The shaft cannot be turnedto allow the projection 11 to move 'downward beyond the point shown in Fig. 4, but it ,can be turned in the opposite direction, thus forcing the projection 11 against the lever, unlocking the toggle and releasing the clamping pressure of the jaws upon the work. v

To effect the automatic release of the rear grippers la., the shaft 12 coacting with these gri-ppers and supported in bearings 24 on cross beams z' or 7c, is provided at its/end with a lever 13 (see Fig. 3). A pin 14 is placed on the frame of the punching machine in lthe path of the lever 13,-which pin is so positioned that when the work reaches the point at which -it is desired to yrelease the grippers, the lever 13 strikes the pin 14 and is moved thereby into the position shown in Fig. 3, thereby turning the shaft and moving all the levers g/ sleeved thereon intorposition to release all the grippers, as above described. The rear carriage 7am thereupon ceases to advance, the wor'k v.being otherwise guided for the remainder of its travel. Means are also provided for automatically releasing the front gripper-s g. The front carriage z' j being firmly bolted to the traversing rack-bars b, the distanceY it should move depends upon the length ofthe work to be punched. The releasing stop should therefore be adjustable. Such a stop 16 is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, adjustably secured to a longitudinally extending angle-bar 17. The stop is struck by a block 18 swingingon an arm 19 secured tothe shaft 12. l/Vhen the block 18 swings in the direction in which it is actuated by the stop 1G, it abuts against the lower end of the arm 19 and the block and arm move together on the shafts axis, thereby turning the shaft and releasing the frontgrippers. The stop 16 is set to clear block 18 throughout all the length of punching. When punching is completed, the work is quickly traversed farther into the unloading position, at which point the stop 16 is placed. `When the work is removed and the front grippers returned to be clamped to new work, the inclined rear face of the block strikes the stop and is swung thereby on its pivot so as to clear the stop without etfecting any movement ot' the arm 19. It is not possible, therefore, for any breakage to occur on the reversal of the carriage t y'.

After gripping the front edge of the work it is necessary to set it in the punching machine in the proper line for the :tirst row of holes. It is desirable to accomplish this quickly and conveniently and without the necessity of measuring. This l do by the following simple means: Each of the front grippers is provided with a stop shoulder 20 located directly back of the gripping point (see Fig. l). The work is brought solidly against these shoulders before the grippers are closed. r1`he shoulders on the various front grippers are, of course, in the same line, so that when the work, either one piece or a number of pieces, is clamped, it will be square and true with the carriage t' and parallel with the line of punches. A distance-block 21 is bolted to one of the rockbars in front of the carriage z' j. rl`he distance block 21 is so positioned that if the rack-bars are moved rearwardly until the distance-block contacts with a iixed stationary abutment or projection 22 on the punching machine, the front edges of the plates or other work will be directly in the path of the centers of the row of punches. Therefore, if there be inserted between the abutment 22 and the distance block 21 a spacingblock (as indicated by the double-headed arrow m, Fig. 1) having a width equal to the distance from the edge of the work to the desired center line of the first row of holes, and if the rack-bars b are moved back until the distance-block 21 abuts against the spacing block and the latter abuts against the abutment 22, the work will necessarily be so located that the first row of holes will be punched exactly the right distance from the front edge.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. ln a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, or a gripper comprising a pair of jaws extending in the direction of movement of the carriage and hinged together near their gripping points, the end of the lower jaw opposite the gripping end being hinged to the carriage and abutting against the same, back of its hinged support, thereby limiting the downward movement of the gripping end of the lower jaw and enabling the gripping end of the jaw to properly support the work while permitting said gripping end to rise under stress, and manually actuated means, pivotally supported independently of the hinged support of the lower jaw, to move the upper jaw into and out of gripping relation to the lower jaw including means, cooperating with the hinged support of the lower jaw, permitting the gripping end of the upper jaw, when in gripping position, to rise, under stress, with the gripping end of the lower jaw.

2. 1n a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a gripper comprising a pair of jaws extending in the direction of movement of the carriage and hinged together, a lever on the carriage mounted to 'turn on one transverse axis, one jaw being pivoted on another transverse axis and a member connecting the lever and the other jaw and turnable on transverse axes thereon and adapted, with the lever, to form a toggle joint, thereby, when the lever is turned to bring said axes in line, maintaining the second jaw in gripping position while permitting the gripping ends of both jaws to rise under stress of the work.

8. ln a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a gripper comprising a pair of jaws extending in the direction of movement of the carriage and hinged together near their gripping points, the end of the lower jaw opposite the gripping end being ulcrumed on one transverse axis on the carriage and abutting thereagainst, a lever on the carriage mounted to turn on ano-ther transverse axis, and a member connecting the lever and the end of the upper jaw opposite the gripping end and turnable on transverse axes on said lever and upper jaw and adapted with the lever to form a toggle joint.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a gripper comprising a pair of jaws hinged together near their gripping points, a lever on the carriage mounted to turn on a transverse axis, a block swiveled on the end of one jaw opposite the gripping end, a bolt secured to said block, a pin connecting the bolt with the lever, and a stop fixed relatively to the shaft and limiting the movement of the lever when the same is moved to bring the center of the swiveling block, the axis of the pin and the axis otl the lever into alinement.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a stand transversely adjustable on the carriage, a pair of jaws extending in the direction of movement of the carriage and hinged together, the end of the lower aw opposite the grip- SiO van

ping end hinged to the stand on one transverse axis and abutting against the stand back of its hinged connection therewith to aord asupport for the work, a lever turnable on another axis extending transversely through the stand, and a member connecting the lever and the end of the upper jaw opposite the gripping end and turnable on transverse axes on said lever and jaw and adapted with the lever to form a toggle joint.

`6. In a -machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally `movable ca-rriage, of a stand transversely adjustable -on the carriage, a pair of jaws hinged together, a shaft extending transversely through the stand, a lever loosely sleeved on the shaft, connections between the lever and one of the jaws adapted to be operated by the lever to move the jaw into gripping position, and a stop on the shaft limiting the movement of the lever in one direction and adapted when the shaftv is turned in the opposite direction to retract the 'lever and thereby through said connections release the grip of said jaw.

7 ln a machine ofthe character described, the combination `with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a stand transversely adjustable on the carriage, a pair of jaws hinged together, a shaft extending transversely through the stand, a lever loosely sleeved on the shaft, a bolt connecting the lever and one of said ljaws kand turnable on transverse axes thereon and adapted, with the lever, to form a toggle joint, a-'stop turning with the shaft adapted to engage the lever adjacent to the pivot of the bolt thereon and limit the move ment of the lever after the same has been turned rto bring said axes and the center of the shaft into alinement, and means adapted to turn theshaft and thereby cause the stop to retract the lever and unlock the vtoggle and vthereby release the grip ofthe jaw.

S. ln a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movablelcarriage, of a stand transversely adjustable on the carriage, a shaft extending transversely through the stand, a lever loosely sleeved on the shaft, a pair of jaws hinged together near their gripping points, the end of the lower jaw opposite the gripping end extending under the stand and abutting against the same to aord a support for the work, a block swiveled on the end of the upper jaw opposite the gripping end, a bolt secured to said block, a pin connecting the bolt with the lever, a stop turning with the shaft and adapted to engage the lever adjacent t0 said pin and limit the movement of the lever after the same has been turned to bring the center of the swivelingrblock, the cent-er of the pin and the center of the shaft into alinement, and means to tur-n the shaft and thereby lcause the lstop to retract. the lever and unlock the toggle `and thereby cause the gripping end of the upper aw to recede from the :gripping end of the lower jaw.

v9. ln a machine'of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a plurality of grippers on the carriage, devices to actuate the respective grippers to cause them to grip the work, a shaft carried by the carriage, means turning with the shaft adapted when the shaft is turned in one ydirection to simultaneously actuate said devices to cause the grippers to release the work, a stop stationary relative to the carriage, and an arm on the shaft adapted to be actuated by the `stop to so turn the shaft.

l0. In -a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a gripper comprising a pair of jaws extending in the direction of movement of the carriage and hinged together, a toggle joint connected at one end with one jaw and pivoted at the other end on the carriage, the other aw being pivoted on the carriage on an axis different Vfrom the axis on the carriage on which the last namedend vofthe toggle joint is pivoted, and means to move the toggle into its extended position thereby causing the first jaw to swing into :gripping relation with the other jaw. c

l1. 'ln a machine 'of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage,rof a lower gripping jaw extending in the direction of the movement of the carriage and at its rear end portion pivotally-supported on the carriage, an upper gripping jaw pivoted near its front end to the lower jaw, a transverse shaft on the carriage above the pivotal support of the lower jaw, the rear end portion of the upper jaw extending above the shaft and a toggle joint connection between the shaft and the rear end portion of the upper jaw, the pivot ofthe lower jaw and `the points of connection between the toggle and the shaft and the upper jaw being substantially in line, thereby permitting the gripping ends of the jaws, when in gripping position, to rise under stress without affecting the grip of the jaws upon the work.

12. In `a machine of the Vcharacter described, the combination with a carriage, off a series of grippers each comprising a pair of jaws hinged together, a toggle joint connected with one jaw of'each pair, means including hand operated levers, to move each toggle independently into and out of its extended position, and means independent of said Elevers to simultaneously move all the toggles out of their extended positions thereby opening the ,j aws of all -thegrippers 13. In a machine of the Character described, the combination with a carriage, of a gripper-*comprising a pair of jaws hinged together, a transversely extending shaft moving with the carriage, a toggle joint connected with one jaw, the two members of the toggle pivoted o-n said shaft and jaw respectively, manually operable means to move the toggle into its extended position thereby causing said jaw to swing into gripping relation with the other jaw, and means turning with the shaft adapted to move the toggle out of its extended position thereby moving the first-named jaw out of operative relation with the other jaw.

141-. 1n a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a gripper comprising a pair of jaws hinged together, a transversely extending shaft moving with the carriage, a toggle joint connected with one jaw, the two members of the toggle turning on axes on said shaft and jaw respectively, means to move the toggle into its extended position thereby causing said jaw to swing into gripping relation with the. other jaw, a stop on the shaft adapted to engage the toggle and limit its movement beyond such extended position and adapted when the shaft is turned in the opposite direction to unlock the toggle and retract said aw.

15. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a carriage, of a gripper comprising a pair of jaws hinged together, a transversely extending shaft movable with the carriage, a lever pivoted on the shaft, a member pivotally connected with both the lever and one of the jaws, said lever and member together forming a toggle adapted, by operating the lever, to be moved into its extended position and thereby swing said jaw into gripping relation with the other jaw, and means turning with the shaft adapted to move the toggle and lever into position to swing the first-named jaw out of gripping relation with the other j aw.

16. 1n a machine of the character described, the combination with a carriage, of a gripper comprising a pair of jaws hinged together, a transversely extending shaft movable with the carriage, a lever pivoted on the shaft, a member pivotally connected with both the lever and one o-f the jaws, said lever and member together forming a toggle adapted, by operating the lever, to be moved into its extended position and thereby swing said jaw into gripping relation with the other jaw, a sto-p on the shaftadapted to prevent the movement of the toggle beyond its extended locking position, and means to turn the shaft to cause said stop to unlock the toggle and thereby swing the first named jaw out of gripping relation with the other jaw and retract the lever into its unlocking position.

17. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a gripperfcomprising a pair of jaws hinged together, a transversely extending shaft moving with the carriage, a toggle joint connected with one jaw, the two members of the toggle turning on axes on said shaft and jaw respectively, means to move the toggle into its extended position thereby causing said jaw to swing into gripping relation with the other jaw, a stop stationary relative to the carriage, an arm on the shaft adapted to be actuated by the stop to turn the shaft, and means carried by the shaft adapted, when the shaft is so turned, to unlock the toggle and release said jaw.

18. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudr nally movable carriage, of a transversely extending shaft carried by said carriage, a plurality of stands adjustable transversely Yof said carriage and through which said shaft extends, grippers, one for each stand, each gripper comprising a pair of jaws hinged together, levers, one for each gripper, turning loosely on the shaft, a bolt pivoted on each lever and on one jaw of the corresponding lever and forming with the lever a toggle joint, stops on the shaft, one adapted to engage each lever and limit its movement in one direction and adapted when the shaft is turned in the opposite direction to move the lever and unlock the toggle, a stop stationary relative to the carriage, and an arm on the shaft adapted to be actuated by the last named stop to turn the shaft and thereby cause the first named stops to simultaneously unlock all the togles. g 19. 1n a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a plurality of grippers on the carriage, devices to actuate the respective grippers to cause them to grip the work, a shaft carried by the carriage, means turning with the shaft is turned in one direction to simultaneously actuate said devices to cause the grippers to release the work, a stop stationary relative to the carriage, an arm on lthe shaft, and a block pivoted on and adapted to abut against the arm and engage the stop in the travel of the carriage, thereby causing the arm to be moved to so turn the Shaft.

20. 1n a machine of the character described, the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of a plurality of grippers on the carriage, devices to actuate the respective grippers to cause them to grip the work, a shaft carried by the carriage, means turning with the shaft adapted when the shaft is turned in one direction to simultaneously actuate said devices to cause the grippers to release the work, a stop stationary relative to the carriage, an arm on the shaft adapted when.

to abut against the arm and engage the stop in the travel of the carriage in one di-l rection, thereby causing the arm to be moved to so turn the shaft, said block having aninclined face adapted, in the movement of the carriage in the vopposite direction, to engage the stop and cause said blocl; to turn on its axis and thereby override the stop without imparting movement to the shaft.

2l. In an apparatus of the character described', the combination with a longitudinally movable carriage, of grippers on the carriage adapted to engage and traverse the work, means limiting the forward movement of the work relatively to the grippers, a distance block fixed relative to the car riage, a machine for operating upon the work, and an abutment fixedl relatively to the machine, and adapted to be engaged by ksaid distance block when the carriage is moved forward, thus bringing the forward edge of the work in a predetermined position relatively to the machine, thereby enabling' a spacing block to be inserted loetween said distance block and abutment to determine the distance from the forward edge of the work at which operationsv upon the work shall begin.

in testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, on this 29th day of April, 1913.

Y LABS' H. VOLD. Witnesses:

COLEMAN SELLERS, Jr., GEO. H. BENZORD, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Y Washington, D. C.

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