US3135397A - Die lifter - Google Patents

Description

A. R. KULL DIE LIFTER June '2, 1964 Filed Jan.'25, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG I INVENTOR. ALBERT R. KULL ATTORNEYS A. R. .KULL

DIE LIFTER June 2, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 25, 1961 FIG l INVENTOR.

ALBERT R. KULL owmmmk womw ATTORNEYS A. R. KULL DIE LIFTER June 2, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 25, 1961 FIG 4 INVENTOR.

ALBERT R. KULL ATTORNEYS June 2, 1-964 A. R. KULL 3,135,397

DIE LIFTER.

Filed Jan. 25, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG 6 INVEN TOR. H6 9 ALBERT R. KULL ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,135,397 DIE LIFTER Albert R. Kull, Beachwood, Ohio, assignor to The Ajax Manufacturing Company, Euclid, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 84,886 1 Claim. (Cl. 214-1) This invention relates as indicated to a novel die litter, and more particularly to a device and to forging machines utilizing the same whereby heavy dies may more readily be installed and removed.

In forging presses, the dies employed therein may be very large and heavy so that a serious problem is encountered in properly positioning the dies for installation therein. The working space is constricted, making manipulation of such heavy dies difficult, particularly inasmuch as they must be precisely located for attachment to the supporting bolsters and much time may be wasted in setting up a forging press for performance of a new forging operation. Furthermore, manual placement of the dies may be unduly strenuous and even somewhat hazardous to the operating personnel. In usual practice, the dies may be transported to the machine on an appropriate buggy or the like and the lower die then jockeyed from the buggy onto the forging press anvil where it is secured. The upper die is then shifted into position on such lower die and the press ram brought down so that such upper die may be bolted to the upper bolster by means of suitable clamping members. When the ram is thus in lowered position, however, the working space available is even more constricted and considerable difiiculty may be encountered in getting the die into proper position. Frequently, at least two men may be required thus to man-handle the upper die which in the case of a large forging press may weigh as much as 1500 pounds, for example.

It is accordingly a principal object of this invention to provide a forging press having mounted thereon a device whereby the dies and especially the upper die may be easily and quickly brought into proper position for installation and which may likewise be employed to facilitate removal of the same from the press.

Another object is to provide a die lifter adapted to support a heavy die for movement from conveying means such as a buggy or dolly into the press while supporting the same in a manner facilitating proper positioning thereof for attachment to the ram bolster or anvil.

Other objects include providing such means which will much expedite installation and removal of the dies with greater safety and will require fewer workmen for the purpose.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a forging press in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2--2 of FIG. 1 illustrating the bolsters and dies and their relative positions when the ram is in its down position;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of such forging press illustrating the die lifter on a somewhat enlarged scale;

Patented June 2, 1964 FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front elevation of such die lifter;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal plan view taken substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail view of the arm mechanism on such die lifter;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view of an alternative embodiment of the distal end of such arm showing a magnet optionally mounted therebeneath for lifting bottom dies;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an attachment for such distal end; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the attachment shown in FIG. 8.

Referring now to said annexed drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, it Will be seen that the present invention constitutes a forging press 1 having die handling and elevating mechanism attached directly to the frame thereof, such forging press including a frame 2 in the form of an extremely large casting having four upstanding columns 3, 4, 5 and 6 at the corners thereof. The base of the frame 2 is bolted directly to the floor 7 as shown at 8. The four columns provide an opening 9 at the front of the machine into which the work is inserted. The base or anvil 10 includes a wedge 11 on which is mounted a bolster for the lower die as hereinafter described. On the head of the frame 2, a drive motor 12 is mounted to rotate drive shaft 13 through a plurality of drive belts 14 entrained about flywheel 15. A pinion gear on drive shaft 13 rotates bull gear 16 to drive crankshaft 17. A vertically reciprocable ram 18, driven by pitman 19 on such crankshaft 17, rides up and down in guides provided in the columns 3 through 6 of frame 2. Secured to the lower end of ram 18 as shown at 20 will be the upper bolster and die which will come down upon the work positioned upon the lower die on the anvil to forge the same. The forging press illustrated is a 1300 ton Ajax Press, manufactured and sold by The Ajax Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio. It will, of course, be understood that the principles of the present invention will apply to any similar machine of the type indicated wherein extremely heavy dies must be placed in cramped or hard-to-get-at quarters.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the clamped position of the upper die 21 mounted on bolster 22 which is in turn mounted on the end 20 of reciprocating ram 18. The bottom die 23 is mounted on bottom bolster 24 which is mounted on anvil 10. Clamping members 25 and 26 may be employed to hold the dies 21 and 23 respectivelyin the upper and lower bolsters 22 and 24. Bolts 27 and 28 of considerable length are employed to hold the clamping members 25 and 26 in place. Kicker bars 29 and 30 and die plates 31 and 32 may be employed in connection with such dies. Also, it will be understood that several dies may be positioned in the bolsters such as conventional buster, finish, and blocker dies.

It can readily be seen that the heads of the bolts 27 and 28 will only be an inch or so apart when the ram is in its full down position as indicated and such bolt 27 will be extremely difficult to place into position. If, however, the ram is raised, the task of holding and positioning the die 21 with respect to the bolster 22 and adjusting the same to align the openings with the bolt holes will be extremely difiEicult and arduous. Moreover, the size of the bolsters 22 and 24 which are similarly secured in the machine likewise makes the installation and removal of these an arduous task.

Since the ram 18 in the machine shown may have approximately a 10 inch stroke, it can readily be seen that the upper bolster 22 and top die 21 can more easily be .9 installed after installation of the lower bolster 24 and bottom die 23 if the ram is in its uppermost position. Accordingly, the forging machine improvement of the present invention comprises means properly to hold such heavy dies and bolsters so that they may readily be attached to the ram in its uppermost position spaced from the lower bolster and die. It will, of course, be understood that the bolsters and dies of FIG. 2 are for rectangular dies and that circular or other dies may equally well be provided.

Referring now to the press illustrated in FIG. 1 which shows the bolsters and dies removed, the improvement of the present invention comprises the die lifter generally shown at 46 preferably mounted on the forging press frame for functioning in the manner explained below. Such die lifter is mounted directly on the face of the column 3 of the frame 2 and as seen more clearly in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, such die lifter includes a hydraulic piston-cylinder assembly 41, the blind end of which is fastened at 42 to a mounting bracket 43 which is bolted directly to the face of the machine frame column 3 as shown at 4. Piston rod 45 extends directly downwardly from the assembly 41 and is threaded as at 46 to a larger diameter vertically reciprocable rod 47 confined for vertical reciprocation in bronze bushings 48 and 49 in mounting brackets 50 and 51, respectively. Such mounting brackets are bolted directly to the face of frame column 3 at shown at 52 and 53 in the same manner as bracket 43 holding the blind end of piston-cylinder assembly 41.

An arm member 55 having welded thereto a vertically extending collar 56 is pinned through such collar rod 47 as shown at 57 within the limits provided by the brackets 50 and 51. Such arm 55 includes a reinforcing web 53 welded between the arm 55 and the collar 56 to provide rigidity.

Now referring more particularly to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the distal end of the arm 55 is provided with a circular tip 60 having a central vertical aperture therethrough for pivot pin 61. Arm extension 62 is provided with a split or U-shape proximal end having a top portion 63 and a bottom portion 64 straddling the tip 60 of the arm 55. Aligned apertures in the top and bottom portions 63 and 64 accommodate the pivot pin 61 and radial bearings 65 and 66 are provided at the top and the bottom of the pivot pin and thrust bearing 67 is provided in the top of extension 62.

As seen perhaps more clearly in FIG. 5, the distal end of arm member so is provided with two upstanding ears 70 and 71. A pin 72 extends through such ears 70 and "ii and through ear 73 on arm extension 74 positioned therebetween. Tubular arm extension 74 is provided with a transverse aperture 75 whereby a locking pin 76 may be inserted through such extension to hold die lifting fixture 77 therein, the latter being shown more clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Now referring to FIG. 6, the arm portion 62 has two blocks 80 and 81 welded to the bottom thereof with a rod 32 extending therebetween. Such rod extends through an aperture 84 in block 81 to abut against web member 85 welded to the bottom proximal end of arm extension 74. A compression spring 86 has one end received in recess 87 in block 80 and the other end abutting against plate 88 held by nut 89 threaded on rod 82. The end 90 ofthe rod 32 is also threaded to receive nuts 91 providing a stop adjustment for the longitudinal position of the rod with respect to the block 80. Adjustment of the nut 89 provides for an adjustment of the spring pressure provided by spring 85. It can now be seen that the overall arm is articulated about both a vertical axis (pivot 61) and a horizontal axis (pivot 72) giving such arm the desired flexibility of movement.

Since the arm extension 74 is pivoted to the arm extension 62 at 72, the spring 86 will tend to move the rod' 82 to the right through aperture 84 abutting against web 4 85, tending to pivot arm extension 74 upwardly or in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 72 as viewed in FIG. 6. Normally, the weight of the die on fixture 77 will pivot the arm 74 in a clockwise direction against the pressure of spring 86 until the web 85 abuts against block 81. The pressure of spring 86 can be adjusted so that mere manual hand pressure in addition to the pressure of spring 86 is all that is required to pivot the die, fixture 77, and arm 74 about the pivot 72 to raise the die slightly manually to position it against the ram and align the bolt holes and clamp holes.

FIG. 7 illustrates an optional tip for arm extension 74 wherein the tubular arm 93 is provided with a solid end portion 94 having an aperture 95 therein to accommodate a bronze bearing 96 having a top horizontally extending flange 97. Such bronze bearing 96 will, of course, be revoluble within the aperture 95 and a die fixture may readily be inserted therethrough to provide a support for the die rotatable about a vertically extending axis. The

.can readily be supported on the seats 104 and 105. The

particular shape of the die handling fixture will, of course, widely vary depending upon the shape of the die employed. As shown in FIG. 7, an electromagnet M may be clamped or bolted to the underside of the fixture or arm, such magnet being of a strength sufiicient to support a die or bolster beneath the fixture. This form of the lifting device would, of course, be especially helpful when positioning the lower die or bolster. Also, the magnet may be employed more firmly to hold a die or bolster on the top of the arm or fixture. In FIG. 7, it will, of'course, be understood that the arm extension 93 can readily be inverted to place the magnet on top.

A fixture to hold the die may be in the form of onehalf of the forging to be produced which then is mounted on the end of the arm. Such fixture may easily be obtained by sawing a forging horizontally in half.

The length of the arm 55 from the rod 47 to the pivot 61 places the fixture 77 approximately in the center between the ram and anvil of the machine. Since the rod 45 and the piston atached thereto within cylinder 41, as well as the rod 47, may easily rotate about its vertical axis in bronze bushings 48 and 49, the entire device may then pivot from the full line position shown in FIG. 5 to the phantom line position shown at 106. The arm joint provided by a pivot pin 61 permits the arm section 62, 73 both to be inserted into the machine as shown in full lines and to lie against the side of frame 2 when not in use. In such phantom line position, the

. fixture will be out of the way during the operation of the machine.

Convenient operation of the piston-cylinder assembly 41 may be obtained by use of air pressure supplied through line 110. A control valve 111 provided with a handle control 112 may be employed to control the pressure supplied through line 113 to air-over-oil hydraulic cylinder 114 which may be bolted directly to the face of column 3 as shown at 115. Hydraulic line 116 then connects cylinder 114 with the blind or lower end of piston-cylinder 41. Flow control valves 117 and 118 may be provided in lines 113 and 116 respectively to control the rate of ascent and descent of the lifter. With such a control mechanism, 80 pounds of air pressure, for example, will lift a 1,000 pound load. The valve 111 will include three positions; one admitting air to the system to raise the lifter; one holding the lifter by locking the fluid in the system; and one exhausting air to permit the lifter to move downwardly of its own Weight. The piston-cylinder assembly 41 may preferably have a five inch bore and a 20 inch stroke when the height of the window or opening 9 in the machine frame between the bottom of the anvil bolster and the top of the ram bolster or the bottom 20 of the ram 18 is approximately 20 inches, and it can readily be seen that the piston-cylinder assembly 41 can lift the fixture 77 and the die thereon through the entire height of the opening. 1

With the die lifter illustrated, the lower die may be installed before or after the upper die, as desired, using the lifter also. The dies will be slid oif of the dolly onto the fixture at the end of the arm and then swung into the press mouth. Such dies may readily be manipulated once on the fixture and may even be raised somewhat manually with the assistance of the spring 86. The die will then be attached by clamps or bolts when the ram is in its up position, there being quite sufiicient clearance then and once the die is swung in place and secured the arm will be lowered and then swung to the dotted line position 106 shown in FIG. 5.

It will thus be seen that an improved forging press and die lifter have been provided facilitating the installation and replacement of the dies and die bolsters in a safe and expeditious manner.

Other modes of applying the, principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in the following claim or the equivalent of such be employed.

I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

A die lifting attachment for vertical forging machines comprising a vertically disposed piston-cylinder assembly adapted to be mounted on the frame of such machine and having a piston rod extending vertically therefrom, a verr 6' tically extending pivot rod secured to said piston rod for reciprocation and coaxial rotation therewith, vertically spaced aligned bearing means for said pivot rod adapted to be mounted on the frame of such machine, a generally horizontal arm secured to said pivot rod between said bear ing means for reciprocation and rotation therewith, a die lifting fixture on the end of said arm, said arm including three articulated sections, the two innermost sections being articulated for relative movement about a vertical axis, thrust bearing means joining said two innermost sections at such vertical axis, the two outermost sections being articulated for relative movement about a horizontal axis, spring pressure means acting on the outermost of said sections tending upwardly to pivot said fixture to facilitate the manual lifting of a die held thereby, means mounting said fixture on the outermost of said sections for inversion, control means for said piston-cylinder assembly having an air-over-oilcylinder, manually controlled air valve means for operating said air-over-oil cylinder thereby to operate said piston-cylinder assembly whereby said pivot rod and thus said arm can be raised or lowered or held in desired elevated position, and a magnet included in said fixture, whereby such die can be supported above such magnet or suspended therebeneath when said fixture is inverted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 613,741 Vaughn Nov. 8, 1898 1,819,842 Moore Aug. 18, 1931 2,381,656 Eksergian Aug. 7, 1945 2,545,799 Snow Mar. 20, 1951 2,874,853 Dammert Feb. 24, 1959 2,925,016 Walter Feb. 16, 1960 2,940,611 Burch June 14, 1960

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