Patent ID: 6378353
Filing Date: 2002-04-30
Classification: B21F

Abstract:
A hydromechanical drive for a metal part forming machine, said hydromechanical drive comprising:(a) a source of rotary drive motion; (b) an elongated drive shaft attached to said source of rotary drive motion and adapted to be moved in a selected one of opposite rotational directions about a rotational axis defined by said drive shaft in response to said rotary drive motion of said source thereof; and (c) a motion conversion mechanism coupled with said drive shaft and being movable between expanded and retracted positions along said drive shaft in response to said rotational movement of said drive shaft, said motion conversion mechanism having a first coupler element stationarily disposed at a fixed location offset from one side of said drive shaft and a second coupler element movably disposed at another location offset from another side of said drive shaft angularly displaced from said one side thereof for connecting with an external mechanism such that movement of said motion conversion mechanism between said expanded and retracted positions along said drive shaft in response to rotation of said drive shaft about said rotational axis causes movement of said second coupler element toward and away from said another side of said drive shaft and movement of the remainder of said motion conversion mechanism, except for said fixed first coupler element, and movement of said source of rotary drive motion, said drive shaft and the external mechanism connected to said second coupler element therewith along a generally linear reciprocatory path extending in a generally orthogonal relationship to said rotational axis of said drive shaft.