Abstract:
Workpiece transfer support apparatus has a housing having a chamber therein for the removable accommodation of a support body which may be equipped with a workpiece engaging and supporting member. That portion of the support body which is accommodated in the chamber is engaged by and urged into a seating position with seating surfaces within the chamber. A locking bolt is movable into and out of engagement with the support member when the latter is within the chamber and acts on such support member to maintain it in snug engagement with the seating surfaces. A safety latch is provided to avoid inadvertent removal of the support body from the chamber of the housing.

Description:
This invention relates to workpiece transfer support apparatus of the kind especially adapted for use in supporting a workpiece during transfer through successive stations at each of which the workpiece is subjected to a cutting or forming operation. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In automated workpiece forming operations it is conventional to transfer a workpiece from one end of a press or a line of presses, for example, to successive stations at each of which a different operation is performed on the workpiece. Transfer of a workpiece conventionally is achieved by lifting the workpiece, advancing the workpiece from one station to another, and lowering the workpiece following its transfer to the next successive station. During these operations the workpiece is engaged by movable tooling or fingers which support the workpiece during its transfer from one station to another. 
     Workpieces of the kind referred to vary in size and shape from one production run to another. Accordingly, the workpiece supporting tooling must be capable of assuming a wide variety of different positions so as to be able to support workpieces of greatly differing sizes and shapes. 
     When it becomes necessary to condition the press line to accommodate workpieces different from those involved in an earlier production run, it not only is necessary to change the cutting or forming dies, but also the workpiece supporting tooling to accommodate the different workpieces. In tooling supports in use heretofore it has been necessary to make the necessary adjustments while the tooling supports remain mounted on the transfer apparatus. This has resulted in time consuming, laborious adjustments having to be made and frequently required the person making the adjustments to assume awkward, uncomfortable positions. The tediousness of the changeover operation in many instances caused imperfect adjustments to be made, thereby resulting in the necessity of having to cycle the transfer apparatus repeatedly so that proper adjustments could be made. 
     A principal object of the invention is to provide tooling transfer support apparatus which overcomes the disadvantages of that previously in use. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Apparatus constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention has a mounting base or housing adapted to be mounted on a transfer rail of machinery for transferring a workpiece from one station to another. The base or housing has walls defining a chamber having at one end an opening through which a body portion of a tooling support may pass freely. One end of the support body is provided with means for coupling the body to a tooling support arm assembly, whereas that end of the body, when in the chamber, occupies a position in which it seats securely on that end of the chamber opposite the open end and on a seating surface which spans the distance between the open end and the closed end of the chamber. 
     A locking bolt bears against that part of the tooling support body which occupies the chamber and is operable to seat the body on the seating surface within the chamber and on that wall of the housing which is opposite the open end of the latter. The locking bolt urges the tool support in the direction of its seating surfaces within the chamber so that the locked position of the tool support within the chamber always is the same in all three axes of possible motion. 
     A spring latch is provided as a safeguard to ensure fail-safe retention of the tooling support within the chamber. The spring latch also ensures that the tooling support body is properly positioned within the chamber prior to tightening the locking bolt. 
     The provision of a tooling support which is separable from its mounting base or housing makes possible the preassembly of the several parts of the tooling support arm following which the assembled parts can be fitted into the housing, thereby greatly facilitating the changeover from one set of tooling to another. 
    
    
     THE DRAWINGS 
     A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a base within which is accommodated a tooling support body; 
     FIG. 2 is an isometric, exploded view of the parts shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but taken from a different position; 
     FIG. 4 is an end elevational view; 
     FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view through one portion of the housing and illustrating the tooling support body within the housing ; and 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view through another portion of the housing and illustrating the latching mechanism. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Tooling support apparatus constructed in accordance with the disclosed embodiment is designated generally by the reference character  1  and comprises a base or housing  2  and a tooling support body  3  a portion of which is movable into and out of the housing  2 . 
     The housing  2  comprises parallel side walls  4  and  5 , a rear wall  6 , a top wall  7  and a bottom wall  8 . The side walls  4  and  5  have flanges  9  and  10 , respectively, which rest upon the bottom wall  8  and mount bolts  11  by means of which the housing  2  may be secured to a movable transfer rail  12  of transfer apparatus of the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,466, for example, so that the housing  2  and whatever is supported thereby partakes of the movement of the transfer rail. The walls of the housing form a chamber  13  open at one end and closed at its opposite end by the rear wall  6 . 
     The tooling support  3  has a body  14  at one end thereof, the body having side walls  15 , 16 , a bottom wall  17 , and a top wall  18 . The body  14  also has a rear wall  19  provided with a notch  20  for a purpose presently to be explained. 
     At the forward end of the body  14  is secured a forwardly extending, radially compressible and expansible coupling sleeve  21  having axially extending slots  22  therein. The sleeve  21  is encircled by a clamp collar  23  having two opposed parts  24  and  25  which are movable toward and away from one another in response to the rotation of adjusting screws  26 . 
     A transversely inclined clearance surface  27  is provided on the body  14  at the juncture of the sides  15 ,  18 , and  19 . The surface  27  extends forwardly from the rear wall  27  and merges with a surface  28  which not only is inclined transversely of the body, but also longitudinally thereof so that the surface  28  slopes upwardly and rearwardly of the body  14 . 
     The upper wall  18  of the body  14  is provided with a transversely extending recess  29  for a purpose presently to be explained. 
     The body  14  of the tooling support  3  is movable into and out of the chamber  13 , and at its innermost position, the end wall  19  of the body  14  bears against and seats on the end wall  6  of the housing  2 . Although the cross-sectional configurations of the chamber and the support generally correspond to one another, the cross-sectional area of the support is less than that of the chamber thereby providing a gap between the body and the side and top walls  4  and  7 , respectively, of the chamber. See FIG.  5 . 
     Locking means  30  is provided for securing the body member  14  snugly within the chamber  13 . The locking means comprises a boss  31  extending from the upper wall  7  and having a threaded bore  32  therethrough. Threadedly accommodated in the bore  32  is a locking bolt  33  having a blunt end  34  adapted to seat on the inclined surface  28  of the body  14 . The threads of the bolt and bore preferably are self-locking. A crank  35  projects outwardly from a collar  36  which is clamped by a clamping screw  37  to the bolt  33 . Rotation of the bolt  33  in one direction causes the blunt end  34  to bear upon the inclined surface  28 , whereas rotation of the bolt in the opposite direction disengages the end  34  from the body  14  to enable the latter to be moved into and out of the chamber. 
     As is shown clearly in FIG. 5 the longitudinal axis of the locking bolt  33  extends at an angle less than 90° to the longitudinal axis of the body  14 , but substantially normal to the inclined surface  28 . Thus, when the end  34  of the locking bolt bears upon the inclined surface  28 , the body  14  will be urged simultaneously toward a seating surface  38  formed by the junctures of the bottom wall  8  and the side wall  5 , and a seating surface  39  formed by the juncture of the walls  6  and  8  of the housing chamber. The inclination of the longitudinal axis of the locking screw  33  relative to the longitudinal axis of the body  14  is along a path that is diagonally toward the seating surfaces  38  and  39  so that the body constantly is urged toward and into engagement with the seating surfaces. As a consequence, whenever the support  3  is secured in the chamber, the position of the support will be the same in all three axes of possible motion. 
     To guard against inadvertent withdrawal of the tooling support  3  from the chamber  13 , cooperable latch means  40  is provided for releasably securing the body  14  within the chamber in the event proper adjustment of the locking means  30  is overlooked. The latch means comprises a finger  41  fitted into a recess  42  formed in the walls  6  and  7  for rocking movements about a pivot axis  43 . A spring  44  constantly urges the finger  41  to rock counterclockwise, as viewed in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  6  toward a latching position. The forward end of the latch finger  41  is provided with a downwardly extending tongue  45  which passes through a slot  46  in the top wall  7  for accommodation in the recess  29  of the body  14 . The forward surface of the tongue  45  is so shaped as to enable the tongue to be cammed clockwise as the body  14  moves into the chamber. When the body  14  is seated in the chamber  13  the spring  44  maintains the latching tongue  45  in the groove  29 . 
     As mentioned earlier the tooling support apparatus  1  is adapted for use with any one of a plurality of different kinds of workpiece transfer supports. One suitable support is disclosed in application Ser. No. 09/045,378 filed Mar. 19, 1998, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. If that support is used, or if any other support terminating in a sleeve at one end is used, such sleeve may be fitted into the cylindrical sleeve  21  and the clamp collar  23  manipulated to clamp the one sleeve within the other. 
     If the workpiece transfer support utilized has electrical workpiece sensing apparatus, the support member  14  may be provided with an electrical cord  47  terminating at one end in a plug  48  and at the other end in a coupling (not shown) having pins (not shown) adapted for movable accommodation in a socket  49  (FIG. 4) adapted for connection to a source of electrical energy via a supply cord  50  which enters the chamber  13  via an opening in the rear wall  6 . The notch  20  is provided to accommodate the socket. Various kinds of electrical couplings and fittings  51  and  52  of conventional construction may be provided on supports  53  and  54 , respectively, carried by the housing  2 . 
     Since whatever workpiece support may be used is removable from the support member  14  simply by relieving the clamping force provided by the clamp  23  or by removing the support  3  from the housing  2 , the latter may be located at any selected position along the rail  12  and the components supporting the workpiece transfer apparatus may be coupled to and uncoupled from the housing  2  extremely rapidly. If multiple, interchangeable workpiece support arms are provided, as is recommended, such support arms can be preadjusted during a production run of one kind of workpiece and prior to their being assembled with the housing  2 , thereby enabling changeovers of workpiece supports to be effected rapidly. 
     The disclosed embodiment is representative of the presently preferred form of the invention, but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.