US3698527A

US3698527A - Press guard and parts monitor

Info

Publication number: US3698527A
Application number: US106679A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nicholas W Wiggers
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-01-15
Filing date: 1971-01-15
Publication date: 1972-10-17
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-17

Abstract

A plurality of feelers are pivotally mounted on an elongated support pipe. A contact member is positioned adjacent the feelers, extending between support rods which are positioned on either side of the feelers and which are also secured to the elongated support pipe. The control member and the feelers are part of a low voltage circuit which is completed when the feelers are pushed into the contact member. The low voltage circuit can be used to shut down a press or to monitor the passage of parts. The angle of the support rods with respect to the vertical can be varied to thereby vary the distance between the contact member and the feelers. The elongated support pipe is itself secured to a main support pipe by yokes which can be adjusted to allow one to move the feelers either closer to or farther from the press. A handle is secured to the main support rod to allow one to pivot the contact member into the feelers and then lift them up and out of the way completely. In an alternative embodiment, the feelers are fixed at one end to the elongated support pipe, but have spring sections which allow them to be pivoted. The contact member comprises a bracket having apertures therein through which the feelers extend. Movement of the feelers causes them to engage the contact member through which they extend and thereby shut down the press or monitor parts.

Description

[22] Filed:

i United States Patent Wlggers 1541 PRESS GUARD AND PARTS MONITOR Nicholas W. Wiggers, 745 Lincoln, Apt. 5, Holland, Mich. 49423 Jan. 15, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 106,679

[72] Inventor:

[52] U.S. Cl ..l92/l29 A, 192/130, 192/134,

100/53, 200/6141 [51] Int. Cl ..H0lh 3/16, F16p 7/00 [58] Field of Search ..l92/l29 A, 130-134, 192/137; 76/613-615; ZOO/61.41; 100/53 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,315,048 4/1967 Brummund ..200/61.4l 1,580,782 4/1926 Gross ..200/61.41 X 3,047,688 7/1962 Small ..200/61.41 3,077,967 2/1963 Woodward et al. ..l92/130 3,180,950 4/1965 Jacobsen ..200/61.4l 3,207,870 9/1965 Herrera et a1. ..200/61.41 3,213,225 10/1965 Torres ..200/61.41

Primary Examiner-Allan D. l-lerrmann Attorney-Price, Heneveld, Huizenga & Cooper [57] ABSTRACT A plurality of feelers are pivotally mounted on an 50 llj I r 1 ll 20 ll elongated support pipe. A contact member is positioned adjacent the feelers, extending between support rods which are positioned on either side of the feelers and which are also secured to the elongated support pipe. The control member and the feelers are part of a low voltage circuit which is completed when the feelers are pushed into the contact member. The low voltage circuit can be used to shut down a press or to monitor the passage of parts. The angle of the support rods with respect to the vertical can be varied to thereby vary the distance between the contact member and the feelers. The elongated support pipe is itself secured to a main support pipe by yokes which can be adjusted to allow one to move the feelers either closer to or farther from the press. A handle is secured to the main support rod to allow one to pivot the contact member into the feelers and then lift them up and out of the way completely.

In an alternative embodiment, the feelers are fixed at one end to the elongated support pipe, but have spring sections which allow them to be pivoted. The contact membercomprises a bracket having apertures therein through which the feelers extend. Movement of the feelers causes them to engage the contact member through which they extend and thereby shut down the press or monitor parts.

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2 or 2 HO HO "0 I32 30 QQQ .ewee'ea s X3- us kg us I J IN VENTOR ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to safety devices and parts monitors for presses. More particularly, it comprises a press guard which can be interposed between a worker and a press to prevent the worker from being injured by the press. The related parts -monitor is interposed between the press and a parts bin to indicate the passage of a part from the press.

Most prior art press guards are screen-type guards. Such guards allow absolutely no access to the press area, thereby preventing injuries. In order to obtain any access to the press area, the screen must be removed. Usually, a special switch is provided which turns off the machine when the screen is removed. Unfortunately, there are many circumstances in which it is desirable to obtain at least partial access to the press area without removing the press guard. Consequently, the screentype guards are a nuisance since they must constantly be removed before access can be obtained. Accordingly, many workmen simply remove the screens and risk injury in order to maintain ready access to the press area.

Photoelectric devices have also been used as press guards. These devices shut off a machine when a beam of light is broken. Thus, one is protected from injury and yet has free access to the press area at all times. A workman can merely reach past the photoelectric guard into the press area to do whatever work must be done. He does so with the confidence that the press will be shut off since he has broken the safety beam of light. Unfortunately, such photoelectric presses suffer the drawback of great expense.

It is believed that pivotally mounted feeler elements have never been used as press guards. However, they have been used as parts monitors. Such devices comprise feeler elements which are forced into contact with an electric sensing member by a passing part. However, once they contact the sensor they will go no farther. Thus, such devices can only be used in detecting parts of certain sizes. If the parts are too large, they will not pass the feeler elements and will jam up the machine.

This drawback may well explain the fact that such feeler devices have apparently never been used as press guards. Because they will allow thepassage of only certain size objects, they are similar to the screen-type guards described above and allow little or no access to the press area. They might allow sufficient access to a person having small hands and forearms, but they would not allow even partial access for a larger man. Further, there is no way for completelymoving such feeler devices out of the way to allow complete access. Finally, the. parts monitors which have been made of such feeler devices have been so complicated that they appear to be quite uneconomical to construct.

Thus, existing equipment which is used for press guards and parts monitors is either very expensive or very inflexible. It is an object of the present invention to provide a press guard and a parts monitor which is both economical in construction and which is flexible in use so as to be adaptable to many different operating situations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises an elongated support having a plurality of feelers depending downwardly therefrom. Contact means are positioned in proximity to the feelers for shutting down a press when contacted by the feelers. Means are provided for allowing the feelers to be moved into contact with the contact member and for maintaining them in a normal position out of contact with the contact member unless they are physically moved by an operator. Means are also provided for varying the distance between the contact member and the feelers such that the press guard is adaptable to different sized operators and to different types of operations. This apparatus can also be used as a parts monitor by operably connecting the contact member to a parts counter.

In another aspect of this invention, means are provided for moving the contact member into engagement with the feelers and then out of the way of the press working area whereby the feelers are completely moved out of the way of the operator. This allows total access to the work area when desired.

In yet another aspect of this invention, the feelers, when used as parts monitors, are provided with flexible portions at a point below the feelers point of contact with the contact member. This allows the passage of parts which would be too large to pass if the feelers were not flexible below its point of contact with the contact member. Thus, this increases the flexibility of use of the invention as a parts monitor by increasing the variety of parts sizes with which it can be used.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be seen and understood by reference to the specification and appended drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of the invention; FIG. 2 is a section taken along plane llll of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a section taken along plane Ill-Ill of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a section taken along plate ll-Il of FIG. I with the guard in raised position;

FIG. 5 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of the invention; I

FIG. 6 is a section taken along plane V-V of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a section taken along plane VII-VII of FIG. 5.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the preferred embodiment, the press guard assembly 1 comprises a guard section 2 and a parts monitor section 3 (FIG. 1). In the guard section 2, a plurality of feelers 10 depend downwardly from an elongated support pipe 20. A contact wire 30 is positioned in proximity with feelers l0 and is operably connected to the press such that when contacted by a feeler It), the press shuts down. The feelers 10 are secured to rings 11 which provide a means whereby feelers 10 can be pivoted into engagement with contact wire 30. The distance through which feelers 10 must be pivoted before contacting contact wire 30 can be varied by changing the angular position of the slide rods 31 (FIG. 3) between. which contact wire 30 is stretched (FIG. I).

A pair of yokes 40 secure support pipe 20 to a main support pipe 50. The relative positions of the yokes 40 with respect to support pipe 20 and main support pipe 50 can be varied whereby the entire set of feelers can be moved toward or away from the press work area as is indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 2. Additionally, a handle 60 (FIG. 1) is secured to main support pipe 50 wherebycontact wire 30 can be pivoted into engagement with feelers 10 and the entire set of feelers 10 can thereby be pivoted upwardly and out of the way to allow complete access to the press work area (FIG. 4).

The parts monitor section 3 is identical in construction to the press guard section 2 except that its contact wire 30a is on the opposite side of its feelers 10a from the contact wire 30. The guard 2 shuts down the press when a worker moves his hand into the press while the monitor 3 counts parts as they move out of the press.

Feelers 10 are electrical conductive metal rods. They are welded to rings 11 which also are conductive (FIGS. 1 and 2). Rings 11 comprise small sections of pipe, approximately 2 inches wide. They are slipped over the end of support pipe such that they are free to slide and rotate thereon. However, the rings 11 are spaced fairly close together such that sliding along the length of support pipe 20 is limited. This prevents a worker from being able to slide adjacent feelers 10 laterally a sufficient distance to allow the passage of a hand and arm there between.

Support pipe 20 is a conductive metal pipe which is narrower in diameter than rings 11 (FIG. 2). This allows rings 11 to rotate freely. Pipe 20 is secured to main support pipe 50 by a yoke 40 at either end thereof (FIG. 1). Yoke 40 is also conductive as is pipe 50 such that an electric current can be completed through main support pipe 50, yoke 40, support pipe 20, ring 11, feeler 10 and contact wire when feeler 10 comes into engagement with contact wire 30.

Yoke 40 comprises a bottom collar 41 which slips over the end of support pipe 20 and a top collar 42 which slips over the end of support pipe 50 (FIGS. 1, 2, and 3). A post 43 extends between bottom collar 41 and top collar 42. A set screw 44 in bottom collar 41 and a set screw 45 in top collar 42 fix each yoke 40 against rotation with respect to either main support pipe 50 or support pipe 20.

However, by loosening set

screws

44 and 45, the

collars

41 and 42 do rotate on support pipe 20 and main support pipe 50 respectively. This allows one to pivot support pipe 20 either toward the front of or toward the rear of main support pipe 50 while maintaining slide rods 31 at a fixed angle to the vertical, as is indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 2. The length of post 43 is approximately 6 inches, and accordingly one can vary the distance of the hanging feelers 10 from the press work area by as much as about 12 inches (FIG. 2). Thus, if a larger die is in position on the press, the feelers 10 can be moved outwardly away from the work area and for smaller dies, can be moved closer thereto.

Contact wire 30 extends between a pair of slides 32 which are slidably mounted on slide rods 31 (FIGS. 1, 2, and 3). The slide rods 31 extend downwardly from a slide rod collar 34 which slips over the end of support rod 20 (FIGS. 2 and 3). A set screw extends through slide rod collar 34 whereby it can be fixed against rotation with respect to support pipe 20. Slides 32 also in clude a set screw 33 whereby they can be moved upwardly or downwardly along the length of side rod 31 as is indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 2.

Set screw 35 of slide rod collar 34 can be loosened to allow one to change the angular position of slide rod 31 with respect to the vertical (FIG. 3). In this manner, contact wire 30 can be moved either closer to or farther from feelers 10. Thus, the guard 2 can be adjusted to allow lesser or greater access to the work area. Accordingly, feelers 10 would have to be pivoted a lesser or greater distance before they would contact contact wire 30.

Main support pipe 50 is rotatably mounted at its ends in bushings 51 (FIG. 1). Bushings 51 are secured to mounting brackets 52 which in turn can be secured to a press. Operably secured to main support pipe 50 is a handle 60 whereby support pipe 50 can be rotated. It includes a handle collar 61 slipped over the end of main support pipe 50 and held in place by means of a set screw in collar 61. By pivoting handle 60 outwardly, the entire guard assembly 2 can be raised (FIG. 4). The left-hand bushing 51 includes a collar portion 53 with a set screw 54 therein which is normally loose, but which can be tightened down to fix the entire guard 2 in a raised position.

The parts monitor section 3 is identical in construction to press guard section 2 (FIG. 1). Thus, a plurality of feelers 10a are secured to rings 11a which are rotatably mounted on support pipe 20. Similarly, slide rods 31a depend downwardly from support pipe 20 and a contact wire 30a extends between slides 32a which are slidably mounted on slide rods 31a. The only difference is that wire 30a is positioned on the side of feelers 10a away from the press while feelers 10 are positioned on the side of wire 30 towards the press.

In operation, a person who attempts to thrust his hand beyond press guard 2 and into the work area of the press will force one or more feelers 10 to pivot into engagement with contact wire 30. This completes a circuit through main support 50, yoke40, support 20, ring 11, feeler 10, and contact wire 30 which activates a press stop. Thus, the press is stopped automatically.

On many occasions, the operator will want to purposely insert his hand into the press work area. He can do so with the assurance that the press will stop. If the operator is large and has a large hand and forearm, he can loosen the set screws 35 in the collars 34 of slide rods 31 and can increase the angle between slide rods 31 and true vertical (FIG. 3). Since feelers 10 hand freely, they hang vertically and thus, the distance through which feelers 10 must be rotated is increased by increasing the angle of slide rods 31 to the vertical. The same result can be achieved by loosening the set screws 44 in the bottom collars 41 of yokes 40 and then rotating support rod 20. Since the set screws 35 remain tightened, the angular displacement between slide rods 31 and feelers 10 will be increased. As a result of such an adjustment, it becomes easier for a man with a larger hand to slip his hand past the feelers 10 and into the work area, while still automatically stopping the press. By making the angle smaller, a smaller man can still allow himself limited access but can increase his margin of safety.

If complete and easy access to the work area is desired, the worker need merely grasp pivot handle 60 and rotate main support rod 50 forwardly. This causes contact wire 30 to pivot into engagement with feelers 10, thereby shutting down the press. Further rotation causes contact wire 30 to actually support the feelers as it carries them upwardly and out of the way of the work area (FIG. 4). Once the handle 60 has been raised, the feelers 10 can be maintained in a raised position by tightening down normally loose set screw 54 and thereby prohibiting main support 50 from further rotation. It should be noted that the feeler rods 10a of parts monitor 3 will still hang vertically downwardly, since contact wire a is disposed in front of feelers 10a. If an operational situation arises where this would be undesirable, then the parts monitor 3 can be mounted on a separate support pipe 20 and separate main support pipe 50. Indeed, this will prove necessary in a number of instances in which the parts chute is disposed on a different side of the press from the operator position.

If a very large die is used on the press, it may be necessary to move the feelers 10 away from the die. This can be accomplished by loosening the

set screws

44 and 45 of yoke and rotating yoke 40 forwardly. This is shown in phantom in FIG. 2 where yoke 40 is rotated to the right side of main support 50. The set screws are then again tightened down and support pipe 20 is thereby held out in front of support pipe 50. Of course, this does increase the distance between the bottom of feelers 10 and the top of the work surface. In order to compensate for the increased ease with which access can be had to the work area, an adjustment can be made in the angular displacement of slide rods 31. They can be moved more closely to the vertical such that feelers 10 do not have as far to go before contacting contact wire 30. r

This ability to adjust the angular displacement between the-contact wire 30 and the feelers 10 is also valuable to the operation of parts monitor 3. The distance between contact wire 30a and feelers 10a can be increased in the same manner as is the distance between contact wire 30 and feelers 10. Accordingly, parts monitor 3 can be adjusted to accommodate the passage of either larger or smaller parts. Where the parts are small, the angular displacement of guide rods 31a to the vertical will be decreased. Where the parts are larger, the angular displacement of guide rods 31a to the vertical will be increased.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENT The fundamental concepts set forth above are also utilized in the alternative embodiment 5 which is shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. The alternative embodiment 5 also includes a press guard 6 and a parts monitor 7. Since the construction and operation of embodiments l and 5 are so similar, alternative embodiment 5 will be described by setting forth its differences from embodiment 1.

The feelers 110 used in press guard 6 are secured to support pipe 20, but are fixed against rotation at that point. Each feeler rod 110 extends downwardly through a hole in a U-shaped pan 111 and a flanged top 112 on each feeler rod 110 prevents the feeler rod 110 from falling out of pan 111 (FIG. 6). The sides of pan 111 are then wrapped up around support pipe 20 and are bolted in place by means of bolts 113.

Thus, the feelers are not pivotally mounted directly at support pipe 20. Rather, each feeler rod 110 includes a spring section 114 near the top thereof which provides a means whereby the feelers 110 can pivot.

Another distinction between alternative embodiment 5 and press guard assembly 1 is that contact wire 30 is replaced by a contact bracket 130 (FIG. 5). Contact bracket 130 is a metal bracket having a base 131 and a bracing leg 132 (FIG. 7). There are a plurality of elongated slots 133 in base 131. It is through these slots 133 that feelers 110 extend (FIG. 7). Contact bracket 130 is electrically connected to the press in the same manner as is contact wire 30 such that when a feeler 110 is forced into engagement with base 131 of contact bracket 130, the press is shut down.

Contact bracket 130 is mounted to and extends between a pair of slides 134 (FIG. 4). These slides include set screws 135 whereby slides 134 are fixedly secured to the slide rods 31 which have heretofore been described. In this embodiment, however, the sensitivity of the feelers 110 is not varied by changing the angular displacement of slide rods 31. Rather, it is altered by changing the vertical position of contact bracket 130. Thus, by sliding contact bracket 130 downwardly, the distance which feelers 110 must pivot about spring section 114 before contacting contact bracket 130 is decreased. Conversely, if contact bracket 130 is slid upwardly more closely to spring sections 114, the feelers 110 will pivot farther before contacting contact bracket 130.

The feelers 110a of parts monitor 7 are very similar to the feelers 110 of press guard 6 (FIG. 5). They are secured to a pan 111a which in turn is secured to support pipe 20 by bolts 113a (FIG. 5). A contact bracket 130a is mounted in a similar manner as contact bracket 130 and is intended to operate in a similar manner.

However, there is one significant difference between the feelers 110 and the feelers 110a. The feelers 110a have a second spring section which is positioned below contact bracket a. Spring sections 115 are sufficiently stiff that as a part contacts feelers 110a, it causes feelers 110a to pivot about spring section 114 first and thereby make contact with contact bracket 103a. However, the ends of feelers 110a are then free to flex about springs 115. This allows larger parts to pass freely beyond the feelers 110a and prevents the machine from becoming jammed.

Under some circumstances, it might be desirable to place similar second spring sections on the feelers 110 at a point below contact bracket 130. This would allow an operator greater accessibility to the punch press work area without requiring him to lift the assembly by means of handle 60.

CONCLUSION Thus, it can be seen that both embodiments of this invention comprise a press guard and a parts monitor which are of simple and economic construction, but which allow a great deal of flexibility in use. The guard can be adjusted to allow operators of different physical sizes to have at least partial access to the work area without the necessity of actually lifting the press guard out of the way. Similarly, the parts monitors can be adjusted to allow the passage of larger or smaller parts. If complete access to the work area is desired, the assembly can be pivotally raised. No special shut-off switch is required since in raising the assembly, the contact member is brought into contact with the feelers to thereby shut down the machine.

It will be understood that these objects and advantages can be achieved by making various modifications of the preferred and alternative embodiments set forth above. Indeed, many changes and alterations can be made thereof without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of this invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

I. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of feelers depending downwardly from said support; contact means positioned in proximity to said feelers for shutting down a press or for monitoring a part when contacted by said feelers; means for allowing said feelers to be moved into contact with said contact member and for biasing said feelers to a normal position which is out of contact with said contact means; means for varying the distance between said contact means and said feelers whereby the sensitivity of said apparatus can be varied; means for moving said contact means into engagement with said feelers and for carrying said feelers out of the way of the guard area to thereby provide complete access thereto.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which: said means for allowing said feelers to be moved comprises means for allowing said feelers to be pivoted into contact with said contact member; said means for varying the distance between said contact means and said feelers comprising means for varying the angle through which said feelers must be pivoted before they contact said contact means; said means for moving saidcontact means into engagement with said feelers comprising means for pivoting said contact means into engagement with said feelers whereby it carries said feelers out of the way of the guarded area to provide complete access thereto.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said contact means comprises a wire mounted on a pair of spaced rods depending downwardly from said support; said meansfor varying said angle comprising means for varying the angular relationship of said rods with respect to the plane of said feelers when in their normal position.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said contact means comprises an elongated member having a plurality of slots therein with each of said feelers extending through one of said slots.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said means for allowing said feelers to pivot comprises said feelers being rods which are rigidly secured to said support and which have a flexible section which allows them to pivot.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which said feelers have a first flexible section located above said contact means and a second flexible section located below said contact means whereby said feelers can be pivoted about said first flexible section and into engagement with said contact means and can be pivoted about said second flexible section subsequent to contact with said contact means.

7. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: a main elongated support; a second elongated support; connecting means rigidly securing said second support to said main elongated support; a plurality of feelers depending downwardly from said second support; contact means positioned in proximity to said feelers for shutting down a press or for monitoring a part when contacted by said feelers; means for allowing said feelers to be pivoted into contact with said contact member and for biasing said feelers to a normal position which is out of contact with said contact means; means for varying the angle through which said feelers must be pivoted before they contact said contact means to thereby provide a means for adjusting the sensitivity of said apparatus; means for adjusting the rotational angular relationship between said connecting means and said elongated support and between said connecting means and said main support whereby said elongated support can be positioned to the front or to the rear of said main support.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 in which a handle is secured to said main support for rotating said main support whereby said contact means is pivoted into engagement with said feelers and carries said feelers out of the way of the guarded area to provide complete access thereto.

9. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of rings rotatably mounted on said support in closely adjacent fashion; a feeler rod rigidly secured to and depending downwardly from each of said rings and hanging generally vertically due to the force of gravity; a pair of support rods fixed to said elongated support on either side of said plurality of said rings and extending downwardly from said elongated support; a contact wire stretched between said support rods; said support rods being disposed at an angle to the vertical whereby said feeler rods are normally spaced from and out of engagement with said contact wire; means for changing the angle of said support rods with respect to the vertical whereby the distance which said feeler rods must be pivoted before engaging said contact wire can be varied.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 which comprises a main elongated support to which said elongated support is secured: means being provided for rigidly securing said elongated support to said main support; means being provided for adjusting the rotational angular relationship between said connecting means and said elongated support and between said connecting means and said main support whereby said elongated support can be positioned to the front or to the rear of said main support.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 in which a handle is secured to said main support for rotating said main support whereby said contact means is pivoted into engagement with said feelers and carries said feelers out of the way of the guarded area to provide complete access thereto.

12. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of feeler rods rigidly secured to said elongated support in closely adjacent fashion and depending downwardly from said elongated support, said feeler rods including a flexible section whereby that portion of each said feeler rod which is below said flexible section can be pivoted about said flexible section; an elongated contact member supported below said elongatedsupport member and having a plurality of holes therein; each of said feeler rods extending through one of said holes; said contact member being positioned below said flexible sections of said feeler rods.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 in which a pair of slide rods are secured to said elongated support and depend downwardly therefrom at either side of said plurality of feeler rods; said contact being mounted on said slide rods; means being provided for changing the elevation at which said contact member is supported whereby the distance which said feeler rods must be pivoted before engaging said contact member can be varied.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 in which said feeler rods include two flexible sections, spaced apart. along the length of said rod; said control member being positioned between said spaced flexible sections whereby said feeler rod can be pivoted about the upper flexible section into engagement with said contact member and can then be pivoted further about the lower flexible section.

The apparatus of claim 14 which comprises a main elongated support to which said elongated support is secured: means being provided for rigidly securing said elongated support to said main support; means being provided for adjusting the rotational angular rela- I tionship between said connecting means and said elongated support and between said connecting means and said main support whereby said elongated support can be positioned to the front or to the rear of said main support.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 in which a handle is secured to said main support for rotating said main support whereby said contact means is pivoted into engagement with said feelers and carries said feelers out of the way of the guarded area to provide complete access thereto.

17. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of feelers depending downwardly from said support; a pair of spaced rods depending downwardly from said support; a wire mounted on said rods for shutting down a press or for monitoring a part when contacted by said feelers; means for allowing said feelers to be pivoted into contact with said wire and for biasing said feelers to a normal position which is out of contact with said wire; means for varying the angular relationship of said rods with respect to the plane of said feelers when in their normal position to thereby provide a means for adjusting the sensitivity of said apparatus.

18. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of feelers depending downwardly from said support; an elongated contact member having a plurality of slots therein positioned in proximity to said feelers for shutting down a press or for monitoring a part when contacted by said feelers; each of said feelers extending through one of said slots; means for allowing said feelers to be pivoted into contact with said elongated contact member and for biasing said feelers to a normal position which is out of contact with said elongated contact member; means for varying the angle through which said feelers must be pivoted before they contact said elongated contact member to thereby provide a means for adjusting the sensitivity of said apparatus.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 in which said means for varying said angle through which said feelers must be moved comprises means for changing the vertical position of said elongated contact member with respect to said feelers.

20. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of feeler rods depending downwardly from said support; contact means positioned in proximity to said feeler rods for shutting down a press or for monitoring a part when contacted by said feeler rods; said rods being rigidly secured to said support and having a first flexible section located above said contact means and a second flexible section located below said contact means whereby said feelers can be pivoted about said first flexible section and into engagement with said contact means and can be pivoted about said second flexible section subsequent to contact with said contact means; means for varying the angle through which said feelers must be pivoted before they contact said contact means to thereby provide a means for adjusting the sensitivity of said apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of feelers depending downwardly from said support; contact means positioned in proximity to said feelers for shutting down a press or for monitoring a part when contacted by said feelers; means for allowing said feelers to be moved into contact with said contact member and for biasing said feelers to a normal position which is out of contact with said contact means; means for varying the distance between said contact means and said feelers whereby the sensitivity of said apparatus can be varied; means for moving said contact means into engagement with said feelers and for carrying said feelers out of the way of the guard area to thereby provide complete access thereto.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which: said means for allowing said feelers to be moved comprises means for allowing said feelers to be pivoted into contact with said contact member; said means for varying the distance between said contact means and said feelers comprising means for varying the angle through which said feelers must be pivoted before they contact said contact means; said means for moving said contact means into engagement with said feelers comprising means for pivoting said contact means into engagement with said feelers whereby it carries said feelers out of the way of the guarded area to provide complete access thereTo.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said contact means comprises a wire mounted on a pair of spaced rods depending downwardly from said support; said means for varying said angle comprising means for varying the angular relationship of said rods with respect to the plane of said feelers when in their normal position.

12. An apparatus for use as a press guard or a parts monitor comprising: an elongated support; a plurality of feeler rods rigidly secured to said elongated support in closely adjacent fashion and depending downwardly from said elongated support, said feeler rods including a flexible section whereby that portion of each said feeler rod which is below said flexible section can be pivoted about said flexible section; an elongated contact member supported below said elongated support member and having a plurality of holes therein; each of said feeler rods extending through one of said holes; said contact member being positioned below said flexible sections of said feeler rods.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 in which said feeler rods include two flexible sections, spaced apart along the length of said rod; said control member being positioned between said spaced flexible sections whereby said feeler rod can be pivoted about the upper flexible section into engagement with said contact member and can then be pivoted further about the lower flexible section.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 which comprises a main elongated support to which said elongated support is secured: means being provided for rigidly securing said elongated support to said main support; means being provided for adjusting the rotational angular relationship between said connecting means and said elongated support and between said connecting means and said main support whereby said elongated support can be positioned to the front or to the rear of said main support.