US2999527A - Automatic restrike die and feed mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Se t. 12, 1961 J. A. KLAVON, JR 2,999,527

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

P 1961 J. A. KLAVON, JR 2,999,527

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 AFG SeptlZ, 195 J. A. KLAVON, JR

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 r 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 p u R n M N V E A m M A y H s 0 J %N ww\ mm M V\\ 5 O O J- wnnamn r fl 1-1 c i ||1| 0%\ 0 WM Q0... Vm w\ wb N% P mmi Sept. 12, 1961 J. A. KLAVON, JR 2,999,527

AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet 5 mall:

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AUTOMATIC RESTRIKE I DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

JOSEPH A. lam/01v JR.

BY W W! M 2,999,527 AUTOMATRC RESTRIKE DIE AND FEED MECHANISM Joseph A. Klavon, in, Jackson, Mich assignor to Kelsey- Hayes Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Detaware Fiied Apr. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 725,752 4 tliairns. (Ci. 153--34) This invention relates to apparatus for forming articles and refers more particularly to a die adapted to restrike and finish form brake shoes.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide a restrike die for finish forming brake shoes which is autopoetic and which provides higher rates of production and greater safety for the operator.

The invention has for another object to provide an automatic feed mechanism for transferring brake shoes in succession to and from the die which is operated automatically in timed relation to the operation of the die.

Other objects and features of the inventionwill become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of apparatus embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the indexing mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a view partly in section taken substantially on the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, with one of the cams removed in the interest of clarity.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of a portion of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is an elevation of a portion of FIG. 2, showing part of the endless chain of the feed mechanism and a fixture mounted on the chain and supporting a brake shoe.

FIG. 10 is a view taken on the line Iii-10 of FIGS. 2 and 9.

FIG. *11 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 1212 of FIG. 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the restrike die is generally indicated at 10 and the feed mechanism is generally indicated at 12. The restrike die 10 includes a head 14 guided for vertical reciprocation and carrying the upper die 16. The head 14 is reciprocated by a suitable source of power such as an electric motor (not shown) which drives a bull gear 18 having a chank connection (not shown) with the ram 20 supporting the head so that continuous rotation of the bull gear will result in up and down movement of the head.

The restrilre die also includes the opposed lower dies 22 and 24 which are supported beneath the upper die for horizontal movement toward and away from each other. These opposed lower dies 22 and 24 are supported for Sliding movement on wear plates 26 respectively mount- Patented Sept. 12, 1961 ed on the base plates 28. The space between the lower dies and beneath the upper die is hereinafter referred to as the forming or restrike station.

The restrike die is particularly adapted to restrike and finish form brake shoes B. The brake shoes illustrated are all of the same construction and comprise a fiat web 30 having a generally circular radially outer edge, and a generally circular rim 32 secured to the radially outer edge of the web and extending generally perpendicular to the web. The web and rim provide the brake shoe with a cross-section of generally T-shape.

' The lower dies 22 and 24 are of the same construction. Each is formed with an upright enlargement 34 spaced outwardly from the inner extremity thereof to provide a recess in which is secured a die block 36 by bolts 30'. Each die block has a circular periphery 37 adapted to fit the web side of the rim of a brake shoe disposed between the lower dies at the forming station. The radius of the circular periphery 37 generally corresponds to the desired radius of curvature of the web side of the rim after restriking, any ditference being the result of spring back of the rim after the restrike. The inner or adjacent surfaces of the die blocks 35 are vertical and parallel to each other and are adapted to grip the web of the brake shoe during the restriking operation. Each base plate 28 has a housing 38 projecting upwardly there-from and formed with a tunnel 4t) in which the outer portion of the associated lower die slides. The outer end portion of each lower die and wear plate is of reduced width to fit within the tunnel, the tunnel guiding the in and out sliding movement of the die. The

tunnel is open at both ends and the upper portion of to form a recess 42 extending into the tunnel. Trunnions 4-6 are formed on the housing extending into the recess and rotatably receive the ends of pivot pin 48. A lever 50 is carried by pin 48 for swinging about the horizontal axis of the pin, and the outer side of the lever has a recess 52. A pivot pin 54 extends across the recess with its opposite ends secured to the lever. The pin 54 is parallel to pin 48 and carries a roller 56 for cooperation with a cam on the upper die described more fully hereinafter. The top of the tunnel has a wear plate 57 slidably engaging the associated lower die.

Each lower die is formed with a central recess or notch at its outer end to provide spaced legs 58. The lower end of the lever 50 extends Within the space between legs 58 and is adapted to engage an abutment bar 6% secured to the lower die by bolts 60' to move the latter inwardly upon downward movement of the upper die, as will appear below.

A return block 62 extends between and is secured to the legs 58 of each lower die and depends therefrom into a central recess 64 at the outer end of the base plate 28. A plurality of springs 66 extend into sockets 68 of the base plate which open into the recess 64, and these springs are compressed between the closed ends of the sockets and the return block, urging the lower die to an outer limiting or retracted position in which the legs 58 engage a stop plate 70 secured to the base plate 28 and housing 38 by bolts 38. The wear plate 2.6 is formed with a recess 72 for clearing the return block 62, and studs 74 carried by the return block extend into the coils of the respective springs to hold them in engagement with the return block.

The upper die 16 has secured thereto by bolts 76' a pair of cams 76 for cooperation with the rollers 56 of the respective levers 50. The cams are identical and have the vertical cam surfaces 78 which terminate at the lower ends in the inclined cam surfaces 80. In the upper limiting position of the reciprocable upper die, the cams 76 are disposed above the rollers 56 so that the levers 50 may yield and permit a normal retraction of the lower dies to their outer limiting positions. The stop plates 70 back up the cams 76 and guide their vertical movement.

The upward projection 34 of each die is formed with a slanted outer wall to which is secured a cam plate 82. A vertical cam plate 84 is secured to the inner side of each housing 38 above the tunnel, and the cam plates .82 and 84 cooperate to provide a recess of decreasing cross-section for receiving a cam 86 carried by the upper die. Each cam 86 is vertically movable relative to the upper die between the guide plates 88 and 90 respectively secured to upper die 16 by bolts 88 and 99, and bolts 92 secured to and projecting upwardly from the cam are freely received in passages in the upper die. The heads 94 of the bolts are free to move in the counterbores 95 of the passages and are limited in their downward movement by the shoulders at the bottom of the counterbores. Compression coil springs 96 encircle the bolts and extend into recesses 98 and 100 in the upper die and cam respectively, yieldably urging the cam downwardly relative to the upper die. Each cam 86 has ribs 102 at opposite sides engageable with flanges 104 of blocks 106 carried by the upper die, limiting downward movement of the cams.

The underside of the upper die is formed with a concave circular surface 107 which is curved to the desired radius of the outer side of the rim of the shoe, and is engageable with the rim of a shoe at the restrike station upon downward movement of the upper die. Any difference between the radius of surface 107 and the outer side of the shoe rim after restriking results from a slight spring back of the rim.

The feed mechanism comprises an endless link chain 110 which extends around idler sprockets 112 and driven sprocket 113 carried by suitable frame structure 114.

A plurality of upstanding fixtures 116 are carried by the chain 110 in equally spaced relation about the entire length of the chain. Each fixture 116 is in the form of a flat plate welded or otherwise secured to a mounting block 113 which has depending laterally spaced legs 120 secured to the links of the chain. The legs are located centrally with respect to the mounting block, and the opposite ends of the mounting block engage the chain to prevent tilting or rocking in the plane of the fixture. Each fixture is provided with two pairs of laterally spaced clips 122 which cooperate with the upper edge of the fixture to provide a recess for receiving the web of the shoe, which has a thickness equal to or slightly greater than that of the fixture. The clips are beveled at their upper ends to permit the webs to be inserted without difficulty. A pair of laterally spaced rods 124 are carried by the frame 114 on opposite sides of the path of travel of the upper course of the chain, being mounted on the frame 114 by the brackets 126. The rods 124 are parallel and provide a guide for holding the fixtures upright and preventing lateral tilting thereof. The opposite ends of the guide formed by the rods are open to permit the fixtures to enter and leave the guide. The chain is adapted to travel in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 and the rods 124 terminate just short of the die mechanism. The die blocks 36 of the lower dies are recessed at 125 to clear these clips.

A pulley 130 is mounted on the shaft of bull gear 18 and drives .a pulley 132 through belt 134. The pulley 132 is associated with an indexing mechanism 136 which is located within the housing 138. The indexing mechaof the plungers.

nism comprises a Geneva pinion 140 which is secured to the shaft 142 of pulley 132 and is provided with a roller 144 at its outer end and a hub 146. The Geneva mechanism also includes a driven member 148 which is a Geneva wheel secured to the shaft 150 and having the radial slots 152 and the intermediate spoke portions 154 formed with concave peripheries. The roller of the Geneva pinion is engageable in the radial slots and the hub is formed to fit the concave peripheries of the spoke portions when the roller is disengaged from a slot and to clear the parts of the spoke portions immediately adjacent the slot when the roller is in engagement with the slot. The shaft 150 is connected by suitable gearing to the shaft 158 which drives the shaft 160 through gearing 162. The shaft 160 is secured to sprocket 113 of the feed mechanism to intermittently advance the latter during the continuousrotation of the bull gear and reciprocation of the upper die. The Geneva mechanism and gearing is such that the intermittent advance of the feed mechanism is equal to the spacing between adjacent fixtures. The timing is such that the feed mechanism will advance the fixtures one position to present a new fixture'at the restrike station between the opposed dies while the upper die is in the upper half of its stroke and the lower dies are retracted. It will be understood that the dies, in their retracted positions, provide sufiicient space at the restrike station to permit the movement of the fixtures relative thereto. 7

Each base plate is provided with a pair of stops 166 mounted thereon in position to engage the abutments 168 carried by the respective lower dies to provide limits of inward movement for the latter. The spacing between the die blocks 36 in the inner limiting positions of the lower dies is slightly less than the thickness of the web of a brake shoe so that the web will be firmly gripped between the die blocks. Moreover, the fixtures support the brake shoes at the restrike station with the rim of the shoe only slightly above the circular peripheries37 of the die blocks 36 so that they may move within the rim of the shoe. The inner edges of these circular surfaces are beveled to facilitate such movement.

The die shoe 24 has a pair of laterally spaced projecting pins extending inwardly from the inner edge thereof. The pin 170 is cylindrical and has a beveled nose, and the inner extremity of the die 22 is formed with a recess for receiving the pin in the inner limiting positions of the lower dies. The pin is adapted to extend through a round hole 172 in the trailing portion of the fixture at the forming station to locate that portion of the fixture both vertically and in the direction of travel of the feed mechanism. The hole 172 is only slightly larger than the pin 170. The other pin 174 is like the first except that it is formed to provide flats on opposite sides and extends through a hole 176 (FIG. 9) in the leading portion of the fixture. The major dimension of pin 174, which extends vertically, is only slightly smaller than the hole 176 in the fixture to locate the leading end of the fixture vertically. A recess is provided in the die 22 to receive pin 174. Both pins cooperate to locate the fixture vertically, and enterthe holes in the fixture after the die blocks 38 enter the rim of the shoe. The tapered noses of the pins aid their entry into the fixture holes and pull down on the fixture to hold the rim of the shoe against die blocks 38.

The die 24 is also provided with plunger-s 180 which extend from the inner extremity thereof toward the die 22 and are adapted to extend into recesses in the die 22 in the inner limiting positions of the dies. Theseplungers are slidable in die 24 and project through verticallyelongated openings 182 (FIG. 9) in a fixture at the forming station. Limit switches 183 are carried by the die 24 and have actuators 184 extending through openings in the die for engagement with the reduced portions 186 In the event that the fixture is not 75 properly positioned at the restrike station with its slot respectively in register with the plungers, the plungers will engage an imperforate portion of the fixture during inward movement of the lower dies, causing the plungers to move relative to the actuators of the limit switches to actuate the latter. These limit switches 183 are placed in the power circuit of the electric motor for driving the bull gear and are adapted to open the circuit when actuated by a misaligned fixture. There is no spring return for the plungers so that the source of the trouble may be more easily determined.

In operation, an operator will be stationed at the left end of the feed mechanism, FIG. 2, and as the chain 110 advances intermittently he will place on successive fixtures a brake shoe B. A fixture carrying a brake shoe is advanced to and positioned at the restrike station between the dies upon each intermittent advance of the chain 110, while the dies are retracted. Downward movement of the upper die results in inward movement of the lower dies through the action of levers 50 engaging abutment bars 60, the levers being actuated by earns 76 carried by the upper die.

If the fixture is not properly located at the restrike station, one or both of the plungers 180 will engage an imperforate portion of the fixture actuating the associated limit switch 183 to shut ofl the power and stop both the die mechanism and feed mechanism. The movement of the dies toward the restrike station will stop immediately. If, however, the fixture is properly positioned at the restrike station, the plungers will enter the holes 132 in the fixture and the lower dies will continue to move toward each other and the die blocks 36 will enter the rim of the shoe. Thereafter the pins 170 and 174 will enter the holes 172 and 176 in the fixture. Both pins cooperate in accurately locating the fixture vertically pulling it downwardly slightly, the flexible chain 110 permitting this, and causing the rim of the shoe to move down against the die blocks 36. The pivotal connection between the fixtures and chain assist the accurate vertical positioning of the fixture. Pin 170 also locates the fixture in accurate position longitudinally of the direction of travel of the chain 110.

The die blocks 36 of the lower dies then engage and grip the web of the shoe, the recesses 125 in the die blocks 36 clearing the clips 122. The web is now firmly gripped and further downward movement of the upper die engages its surface 107 with the rim of the shoe. The adjacent faces of the die blocks 36, together with their surfaces 38 and surface 107 of the upper die, cooperate to form the rim of the shoe to circular shape and to square it with the web.

When the upper die retracts, springs 66 retract the lower dies and the feed chain advances for another cycle. The shoes will then be manually removed from the fixtures at the righthand end of the feed mechanism, FIG. 2, or they may be permitted to drop from the fixtures by gravity.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for finish forming an article such as a brake shoe of T-section composed of a Web and a transverse rim extending along one edge of the web, said ap paratus comprising a support for the shoe, opposed dies on opposite sides of said support movable toward each other along guided paths to grip the web of the shoe on said support and having surfaces engaging the web side of the trim on opposite sides of the web while the web is gripped, a third die movable transversely of said guided paths and toward said support into engagement with the opposite side of the rim and cooperable with said surfaces of said opposed dies to shape the rim and square it with respect to the web, means operated by the move ment of said third die toward said guided paths for moving said opposed dies toward each other into gripping relation with the web prior to the engagement of said third die with the rim, and back-up cams carried by said third die and wedgingly engageable with said opposed dies during the final stage of the movement of said third die toward said paths for urging said opposed dies toward each other into firm gripping engagement with'the web and for backing up said opposed dies during the subsequent engagement of said third die with the rim, means mounting said back-up cams on said third die for reciprocation relative to said third die in the direction of movement of the latter, and resilient means yieldably opposing movement of said back-up cams relative to said third die away from said guided paths.

2. Apparatus for finish forming a brake shoe of T- section composed of a web having a generally arcuate edge and a generally arcuate rim secured to and extending along said edge of the web in generally perpendicular relation thereto, said apparatus comprising a support for the shoe, opposed dies on opposite sides of said support movable along guided paths toward each other to grip the Web of the brake shoe on said support and having arcuate surfaces shaped to have a continuous engagement with the web side of the rim on opposite sides of the web while the web is gripped, a third die movable transversely of said paths and toward said support having an arcuate surface engageable with the opposite side of the rim in response to such movement of said third die, said arcuate surfaces of said dies cooperating to shape the rim of the shoe to finish arcuate form and to square it with the web, and means operated by the movement of said third die toward said guided paths for moving said opposed dies toward each other into gripping relation with the web prior to the engagement of said arcuate surface of said third die with the rim, said means including levers pivoted on fixed axes and angularly movable about their pivots for engaging and moving said opposed dies toward each other during the initial stage of the movement of said third die toward said paths to positions in wtu'ch the arcuate surfaces of said opposed dies engage the web side of the rim, cams carried by said third die for thus angularly moving said levers, and back-up cams carried by said third die and wedgingly engageable with said opposed dies during the final stage of the movement of said third die toward said paths for urging said opposed dies toward each other into firm gripping engagement with the web and for backing up said opposed dies during the subsequent engagement of the arcuate surface of said third die with the rim, means mounting said back-up cams on said third die for reciprocation relative to said third die in the direction of movement of the later, said last-mentioned means being resilient and yieldalbly opposing movement of said back-up cams relative to said third die away from said guided paths.

3. Apparatus for finish forming an article of T-section composed of a web and a transverse flange extending along one edge of the web, said apparatus comprising a support for the article, opposed dies on opposite sides of said support movable toward each other to grip the web of the article on said support and having surfaces engageable with the web side of the flange on opposite sides of the web while the web is gripped, a third die movable transversely of said paths and toward said support and having a surface engageable with the opposite side of the flange in response to such movement of said third die, said surfaces of said dies cooperating to shape the flange of the article and to finish form and square it with the web, means for moving said dies, and locating means for accurately positioning said support relative to said dies, said locating means comprising spaced first and second pins carried by one of said opposed dies and spaced first and second recesses in said support respectively in register with said pins for receiving the latter, said first pin being cylindrical and said first recess being cylindrical and adapted to closely receive with said first pin to hold the support against translation relative thereto, the dimension of said second recess measured on a radius from said first recess substantially exceeding the corresponding dimension of said second pin and the dimension of said second recess measured at right angles to assess? References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gould Jan. 1, 190 1 Baumgarten Nov. 20, 1923 Schenck Jan. 26, 1926 Groehn Dec. 30, 1930 Marshall Q Apr. 9, 1935 Witt Oct. 15,1957

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