Abstract:
A detachable punch mold includes a mold base, a punch detachably attached to the mold base, and a pair of latch members attached to the mold base. Each latch member has a head movable between a first position to prevent the punch from moving away from the mold base along a first direction and a second position to release the punch.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a detachable punch mold. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , a typical punch mold, according to the prior art, includes a cylindrical main body and a punch integrally protruding from a top portion of the cylindrical main body. The punch is used to cut holes or form indentations in sheet metal. The punch is prone to wear and tear. However, the conventional punch mold is integrally formed and not detachable. Once the punch wears out or breaks, the whole punch mold has to be discarded, which is wasteful. Furthermore, the typical integrally formed punch mold is not easily fabricated. 
         [0005]    What is needed, therefore, is a detachable punch mold that overcomes the above-described shortcomings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an embodiment of a detachable punch mold according to the present disclosure. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of a latch member in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is an assembled view of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  illustrates a typical punch mold according to related art. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one. 
         [0011]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of a detachable punch mold includes a mold base  10 , a punch  20 , and a pair of latch members  30 . A flange of the punch  20  can be used to cut sheet metal. 
         [0012]    The mold base  10  has a cylindrical shape. A mounting groove  121  is defined in a top portion of the mold base  10 . The mounting groove  121  has a narrower portion  1211  and a wider portion  1213 . A pair of cylindrical cavities  123  is defined in the mold base  10  at the bottom of the mounting groove  121 . 
         [0013]    The punch  20  includes a cylindrical support  22 , a head  24  extending from a top of the cylindrical support  22 , and a mounting block  261  extending from a base of the cylindrical support  22 . The mounting block  261  includes a neck portion  2611  and an engaging portion  2613  wider than the neck portion  2611 . A width of the neck portion  2611  is substantially equal to that of the narrow portion  1211  of the mounting groove  121  of the mold base  10 . A width of the engaging portion  2613  is substantially equal to that of the wide portion  1213  of mounting groove  121  of the mold base  10 . A length of a rectangular base of the mounting block  261  is less than a diameter of the mold base  10 . 
         [0014]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the latch member  30  includes a cylindrical shell  32  with a cavity  33  defined therein, a metallic ball  34  mounted at a top portion of the shell  32 , a spring  36  mounted in the cavity  33  of the shell  32 , and a height-adjustable screw  38  mounted at a base portion of the shell  32 . The spring  36  is located between the metallic ball  34  and the height-adjustable screw  38 . A diameter of a top entrance of the cavity  33  of the shell  32  is less than that of the metallic ball  34 . A diameter of a bottom entrance of the cavity  33  of the shell  32  is not less than the diameter of the metallic ball  34 . Thus, the metallic ball  34  can enter or exit from the cavity  33  through the bottom entrance of the shell  32 , but cannot enter or exit through the top entrance of the shell  32 . The metallic ball  34  can move downwards after being depressed. The spring  36  can biases the metallic ball  34  back to its natural position. Since a height of the screw  38  is adjustable, a bias force of the spring  36  is adjustable. 
         [0015]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , in assembly, the pair of latch members  30  are mounted in the cavities  123  of the mold base  10 . A top surface of the shell  32  of each of the latch members  30  locates at a same horizontal plane as the bottom surface of the mounting groove  121  of the mold base  10 . The metallic balls  34  of the latch members  30  protrude upwardly from the bottom surface of the mounting groove  121 . One of the metallic balls  34  is depressed for allowing the mounting block  261  of the punch  20  sliding into the mounting groove  121  of the mold base  10 . After the mounting block  261  of the punch  20  is slid into the mounting groove  121  along a horizontal direction, the neck portion  2611  of the mounting block  261  is engaged in the narrower portion  1211  of the mounting groove  121 , the engaging portion  2613  is engaged in the wider portion  1213  of the mounting groove  121 , and the engaging portion  2613  of the punch  20  is sandwiched between the metallic balls  34  of the latch members  30 . Thus, the punch  20  is secured to the mold base  10 . The bottom surface of the cylindrical support  22  of the punch  20  abuts the mold base  10 . 
         [0016]    If the edges of the punch  20  becomes abraded, the metallic ball  34  can be depressed, and the punch  20  can then be slid away from the mounting groove  121  of the mold base  10 . Therefore, it is easy to install and replace a punch. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment, the appearance and function of the punch mold of the present disclosure is unchanged relative to the conventional punch mold. Furthermore, the punch mold of the present disclosure is made of detachable parts. Each of the parts can be easily formed, and each of the parts can be used in other molds. The punch mold can be widely used in currently used equipment and provide cost-savings. 
         [0018]    While the present disclosure has been illustrated by the description of preferred embodiments thereof, and while the preferred embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such details. Additional advantages and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific details and illustrative examples shown and described.