US3456323A

US3456323A - Positioning device

Info

Publication number: US3456323A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert H Huyvaert; Arthur A Steinbrunner
Original assignee: Bendix Corp
Current assignee: Bendix Corp
Priority date: 1966-12-12
Filing date: 1966-12-12
Publication date: 1969-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 1986-07-22
Also published as: DE1627158A1; FR1563726A; SE327682B; GB1179720A

Description

July 22, 1969 HuYvAER-r ET AL 3,456,323

POSITIONING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 12, 1966 IN WIN/0R3 ROBERT H. HUYVA E2 T A2 THUE A. 5 TE I NBEUNNE 2 ENT July 22, 1969 H, UY ET AL 3,456,323

POSITIONING DEVICE Filed Dec. 12, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 22, 1 969 R. H. HUYVAERT ET AL POSITIONING DEVICE Filed Dec. 12, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 LEAD OFF DIE I. l1\"I0RS EOBEET H. HUYVAEET A2 77 912 A. STEINBE UNNEE AGENT United States Patent U.S. Cl. 29-200 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pressurized fluid operated piston having rollers attached thereto which are adapted to be urged into engagement with a longitudinally extending curved edge of a sheet metal strip to forcibly position the sheet metal strip relative to a die adapted to perform a stamping operation thereon.

The present invention is particularly adapted for use in positioning the serpentine slit sheet metal relative to stamping dies performing forming operations thereon set forth in Patent No. 3,388,582 issued June 18, 1968, in the name of Alfred Wesstrom et a1. (common assignee).

It is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning device for accurately and positively positioning a continuous strip of irregularly shaped metal relative to a stamping die as the strip of metal passes therethrough.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a positioning device for accurately and positively actuating a workpiece to a predetermined position relative to apparatus performing a work operation thereon.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 represents a schematic view of a portion of a press embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 represents an enlarged front view of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 represents a top view of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 represents a side view of the present invention; and

FIGURE 5 represents a side view of a feed roller mechanism of FIGURE 1.

Referring to FIGURE 1, numeral 20 designates a bed of conventional stamping press. A plurality of consecutive dies including lead off die 22 are arranged on bed 20 to receive and progressively stamp circular blanks or the like from a continuous strip of sheet metal 24 supplied from a roll, not shown. The sheet metal 24 is provided with longitudinal sepentine side portions 26 and 28, the radius of curvature of which is substantially equivalent to that of circular blanks 30 shown in dashed outline which may be stamped therefrom in fiat form or upset to a. desired form and then severed, as desired. Reference is made to said Patent No. 3,388,582 for further details of such stamping operation.

The continuous strip of metal 24 is advanced through the press by conventional feed roller mechanism which includes upper and lower rollers, 32 and 34, respectively, suitably arranged at each end of bed 20 and rotatably driven by suitable power means, not shown. The lower rollers '34 are mounted for rotation in suitable bearing means, not shown, supported by bed 20. Each upper roller 34 is mounted for movement away from the as sociated lower roller 32 to thereby release the strip of metal 24 passing therebetween as will be described hereinafter. The apparatus for actuating the upper rollers 34 may take various conventional arrangements and is shown schematically as including a lever 36 provided with suit- 3,456,323 Patented July 22, 1969 ice able bearing means 38 at one end thereof to which the roller 34 is mounted for rotation. The opposite end of lever 36 is pivotally connected to an arm 40 which, in turn, is connected to a piston 42 slidably carried in a cylinder 44. The cylinder 44 is pivotally connected at one end to a fixed support 46 and is provided with

fluid transmitting conduits

48 and 50 connected thereto on opposite sides of piston 42 and

ports

52 and 54, respectively, conventional flow controlling valve mechanism generally indicated by 56. The valve mechanism 56 is provided with a supply port 58 connected via conduit 60 to receive pressurized fluid from the outlet of a suitable source 62 and a return port 64 connected via conduit 66 to the relatively low pressure inlet to the source 62. The lever 36 is pivotally mounted to fixed support 68 carried by bed 20. Only one feed roller mechanism is shown in FIGURE 5; however, it will be understood that the two feed roller mechanisms at opposite ends of the press bed are identical in structure and operation.

It is essential that the continuous strip of metal 24 be accurately positioned relative to the dies performing stamping operations therein. The center of curvature of convex portions 70 of strip 24 must be accurately located so as to be collinear with the center of the associated die engageable therewith. To this end, the present invention provides oppositely disposed positioning devices 72 and 74 adjacent strip 24 and operative to forcibly engage the adjacent convex portions 70 and urge the strip 24 longitudinally to the proper position relative to lead off die 22.

Each positioning device includes a base 76 mounted on lead off die 22 and secured in position relative thereto by a key 78 preferably located with its longitudinal axis at a right angle to longitudinal axis AA of strip 24 and passing through central axis B of lead off die 22. A plurality of bolts 80 extend through suitable openings in base 76 into threaded engagement with die 22 to thereby fixedly secure base 76 in position relative to die 22 when tightened. An inverted U-shaped support 82 is fixedly secured to base 76 by any suitable means such as welds. A groove 86 in the base of U-shaped support 82 is adapted to receive a support arm 88 fixedly secured in position on support 82 by any suitable means such as welds 90. Side brackets 92 abut support arm 88 and support 82 are fixedly secured thereto by suitable fastening means such as welds 94. A groove 96 formed in base 76 is adapted to receive a chambered block 98 Which is secured in position therein by bolts 100 which extend through base 76 into threaded engagement with block 98. The block 98 defines a circular chamber 102 closed at one end by a cap 104 which is fixedly secured to block 98 by a plurality of bolts 106 extending therethrough into threaded engagement with block 98. An O-ring 108 suitably secured between cap 104 and block 98 serves as a seal against fluid leakage. A piston 110 slidably carried in chamber 102 is attached to a stern 112 having a threaded end which extends through piston 110 into threaded engagement with a lock nut 114 thereby uniting piston 110 and stem 112. The stem 112 extends through an opening 116 in one end of block 98 which opening 116 is provided with a sleeve bearing 118 and a suitable fluid pressure seal generally indicated by 120 secured in opening 116 by suitable means such as a snap ring 122.

Fluid ports

124 and 126 in block 98 communicate with chamber 102 on opposite sides of piston 110.

Conduits

128 and 130 connect

ports

124 and 126, respectively, to conduits 48 and 50.

A shaft 132 extends through an opening 134 in support arm 88 and is fixedly secured in position therein by a set screw 136 threadedly engaged with arm 88.

Vertically extending

support arms

138 and 140 are mounted for pivotal movement on opposite ends of shaft 132 and are each provided with an associated opening 142 adapted to receive the outer race of a bearing 144, the inner race of which bearing 144 is mounted on shaft 132. A snap ring 146 suitably secured in each of the openings 142 holds bearing 144 in position in opening 142.

The free ends of

support arms

138 and 140 are fixedly secured in spaced apart relationship to a U-shaped member 148 by any suitable fastening means such as welds 150. Side brackets 152 are fixedly secured to

arms

138, 140 and member 148 by suitable fastening means such as welds 154. The opening in the U-shaped member 148 permits member 148 to swing from the position shown in FIGURE 4 toward fixed block 98 without engaging the latter as will be described hereinafter. A member 156 having recesses 158 and 160 formed in opposite end portions thereof is secured to U-shaped member 148 by a plurality of bolts 162, only one of which is visible in FIGURE 4, which extend therethrongh into threaded engagement with U-shaped member 148. A locating pin 164 suitably secured to member 156 is received by an opening 166 in member 148 thereby aiding in fixing the relative positions of

members

148 and 156. Like U-shaped member 148, member 156 is provided with a cut out portion to permit swinging movement of member 156 toward block 98. The lower surface of member 156 is beveled as at 168 to permit member 156 to clear base 76.

Rollers

176 and 172 carried in recesses 158 and 160, respectively are mounted for rotation on an associated bearing 174 which, in turn, is carried by a pin 176 supported at opposite ends in openings 178 and 180 in

members

148 and 156, respectively. The axes of rotation of

rollers

170 and 172 as defined by associated pins 176 are parallel and equally spaced from the longitudinal axis of the key 78. A bearing plate 182 suitably secured to member 156 by fastening means such as screw 184 is engaged by the end of stem 112.

An adjustable stop member 186 threadedly engaged with a bracket 188 is adapted to engage arm 140 thereby limiting the arcuate movement of arm 140 and thus attached arm 138 and

members

148 and 156 as well as

rollers

170 and 172. The bracket 188 is fixedly secured to support arm 88 by suitable fastening means such as bolts 190. A lock nut 191 threadedly engaged with stop member 186 serves to fix the position thereof.

Openings

192 and 194 in arm 138 and arm 88, respectively are adapted to receive a pin, not shown, to thereby hold

arms

138 and 140 in a retracted position whereby rollers are out of engagement with convex portions 70 of metal strip 24.

The valve mechanism 56 which controls pressnrizations of

pistons

110 and 42 is connected to one end of an arm 196, the opposite end of which is provided with a slot 198 adapted to receive a pin 200 mounted eccentrically on a shaft 202. The shaft 202 is mounted for rotation on press supports generally indicated by 284 and is adapted to rotate in synchronism with the ram, not shown, of the press in a conventional manner. The movement of valve mechanism 56 is therefore coordinated with the up and down movement of the press ram as will be described hereinafter.

Operation It will be assumed that the metal strip 24 is being advanced in its direction of feed by

rollers

32 and 34 which frictionally engage the metal strip 24 to urge the same longitudinally. The strip 24 is guided laterally through the dies by conventional oppositely disposed guides generally indicated by 286 which are mounted on the dies in spaced apart relationship and engage the convex portions of the strip 24 to position the strip 24 laterally with respect to the center of the dies.

As the metal strip 24 passes between positioning devices 72 and 74, the associated

rollers

170 and 172 thereof ride against the respective edges 28, 26 of strip 24 and follow the outline thereof causing the support arms 138 and 146) and attached

rollers

170 and 172 to swing accordingly away from and toward lead off die 22 depending upon the rise and fall, respectively, in contour of the serpentine edge. The stop member 186 is engaged by arm as the concave portion of strip 24 passes between positioning devices 72 and 74 thereby limiting the swinging movement of rollers 179 and 172 toward lead off die 22.

As the shaft 262 rotates with the ram of the press starting its downward stroke the metal strip 24 is positioned approximately as shown in FIGURE 1 and the pin 200 of shaft 202 slides along slot 198 into engagement with the upper end thereof whereupon arm 196 is displaced causing movement of valve mechanism 56 accordingly. The valve mechanism 56 establishes communication between ports 58 and 52 as well as

ports

54 and 64. The resulting flow of pressurized fluid to conduit 48 passes to cylinders 44 of the feed roller mechanisms where the pistons 42 are pressurized causing levers 36 to pivot thereby displacing upper rollers 32 away from strip 24 to release the latter. The opposing sides of pistons 42 are vented to relatively low drain pressure via passage 50 leading to port 54 of valve mechanism 56.

Simultaneously with pressurization of piston 42, pressurized fluid passes from conduit 48 via conduits 128 to pistons 110 pressurizing the same thereby urging associated stems 112 against respective bearing plates 182. Assuming an over travel condition of the metal strip 24 as indicated by the dashed outline of the convex portions 70 adjacent positioning devices 72 and 74, the rollers bear against the adjacent convex portions 70 whereas the rollers 172 are out of engagement with the convex portions 70. The force derived from piston 110 and imposed against bearing plate 182 is applied via roller 170 against the respective edge of convex portion 70 with the result that the metal strip 24 is forcibly urged longitudinally to the position shown in solid outline in FIGURE 1 whereby both

rollers

170 and 172 contact the convex portion 70 thereby centering the convex portions 70 relative to center B of the lead ofi die 22 under the influence of substantially equal and opposite forces in both longitudinal and transverse directions.

The positioning of the metal strip 24 in the abovementioned manner is accomplished during the downward stroke of the ram of the press, not shown. The

rollers

170 and 172 continue to press against adjacent convex portion 70 holding the same centered with respect to lead off die 22 as the downward stroke of the ram is completed thereby performing the desired stamping operation on strip 24. As the ram of the press begins its upward stroke, the shaft 202 has rotated accordingly causing pin 200 to move into engagement with the lower end of slot 198 thereby displacing arm 196 downwardly to actuate valve mechanism 56. The valve mechanism 56 moves accordingly to communicate port 58 with port 54 and port 52 with port 64. The resulting flow of pressure fluid through passage 50 to cylinders 44 in combination with the venting of cylinders 44 on the opposite sides of pistons 42 to drain fluid pressure via passage 50 results in pistons 44 moving to their retracted positions as shown in FIGURE 5 whereby levers 36 urge upper rollers 32 into engagement with strip 24. The strip 24 advances accordingly thereby displacing the convex portions 70 in order to consecutive dies for the desired stamping operation. As succeeding convex portions 70 move between positioning devices 72 and 74 into position relative to lead off die 22, the abovementioned positioning sequence performed by positioning devices 72 and 74 is repeated. It will be understood that proper positioning of convex portions 70 relative to lead off die 22 results in corresponding control over the location of convex portions 70 relative to the dies subsequent to lead olf die 22.

In the event that it is desired to utilize a strip of metal similar to strip 24 but having a straight longitudinal edge and an opposite serpentine longitudinal edge, it will be understood that only one of the positioning devices 72 or 74 will be required. For instance, assuming the edge of strip 24 adjacent to positioning device 74 to be straight instead of serpentine, the positioning device 74 may be placed in retracted position by manually urging

arms

138 and 140 counterclockwise as viewed in FIGURE 4 to align

openings

192 and 194 in

arms

138 and 88, respectively, whereupon a pin, not shown, may be inserted therein to hold the

arms

138 and 140 in the retracted position. Suitable shut off valve means, not shown, may be provided in

conduits

128 and 130 to prevent flow of pressurized fluid from

conduits

48 and 50 to chamber 102 of the disabled positioning device.

Various changes and modifications may be made by those persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of applicants invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. Positioning apparatus for use in positioning a continous strip of metal having at least one longitudinal serpentine edge relative to the dies of a ram operated stamping press provided with feed mechanism for urging the strip of sheet metal longitudinally across the dies, said positioning apparatus comprising:

means engageable with the serpentine edge of the strip of metal and freely movable toward and away from the longitudinal axis of the strip of metal in response to the alternating concave and convex portions of the serpentine edge;

force producing means operatively connected to said means for actuating the same against the longitudinal serpentine edge of the strip of metal; and

control means operatively connected to the ram of the press, the feed mechanism and said force producing means for actuating said feed mechanism out of engagement with the strip of metal and energizing said force producing means at a predetermined position of the ram;

said first named means being operable in response to said force producing means to forcibly urge the strip of metal longitudinally to thereby establish equal and opposite longitudinally directed forces thereagainst and a corresponding predetermined position of the curved edge adjacent said first named means relative to a die performing a stamping operation thereon.

2. Positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means engageable with the serpentine edge of the metal strip includes:

a pair of spaced apart roller members rotatable in a plane substantially parallel to the strip of metal and adapted to roll along the serpentine edge of the strip of metal;

movable support means connected to support said pair of rollers in fixed spaced apart relationship and responsive to said force producing means to thereby urge said pair of rollers against the curved edge of the metal strip and actuate the strip of metal longitudinally in one direction or the other depending upon the relative degree of engagement of one of said roller members with respect to the other with the curved edge of the metal strip.

3. Positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means engageable with the serpentine edge of the metal strip includes:

a pair of roller members mounted for rotation in fixed spaced apart relationship and adapted to roll along the serpentine edge of the strip of metal;

support means connected to support said roller members in fixed spaced apart relationship and mounted for pivotal movement on a fixed support whereby said roller members are freely supported for pivotal movement about a fixed axis; and

fixed stop means engageable with said support means for limiting the pivotal movement thereof and thus said roller members toward the longitudinal axis of the strip of metal as said concave portions move past said roller members.

4. Positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said force producing means includes;

a source of fluid under pressure;

conduit means connecting said fluid pressure responsive means to said fluid pressure source;

valve means operatively connected to said conduit means and actuated by the ram of the stamping press for controlling fluid flow through said conduit means in response to the movement of the ram; and

force transmitting means operatively connecting said fluid pressure responsive means and said support means.

5. Positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the strip of metal is provided with longitudinal serpentine edges on both extremities thereof and said positioning apparatus further includes:

a pair of said means engageable with the serpentine edge of the strip of metal oppositely disposed and engageable with their respective serpentine edge;

a pair of said force producing means operatively connected to said pair of means engageable with the serpentine edges of the strip of metal;

said control means being operatively connected to said pair of force producing means for energizing the same simultaneously.

6. Positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 3 and further including:

means engageable with said support means and said fixed support for securing said support means in fixed position out of engagement with said serpentine edge.

7. Positioning apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said first named means is engageable with the convex portion of the serpentine edge to forcibly urge the same in position so that the axis of curvature of the convex portion is collinear with the center of the die associated therewith.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,579,657 4/1926 Perrault 22691 X 2,500,204 3/1950 Ronay 29--200 3,060,991 10/1962 Chausson 29-208 3,126,044 3/1964 Riso 72-428 3,259,964 7/1966 Engel 29-200 3,388,582 6/1968 Wesstrom et al. 72335 THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.