Auxiliary die conveyor for a pressing or punching machine

An auxiliary die conveyor includes a metal support jointed to a bolster and a die carrier including a pair of side plates, the carrier further including a hanging means in its upper tail section, the support metal including a depression adapted to interlock with the hanging means in such a manner as to allow the carrier to rotate in the depression while a lower part of the carrier comes into abutment with the support metal, thereby preventing the carrier from lowering below the level of the bolster.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an auxiliary die conveyor adapted for 
attachment to a pressing or punching machine. More particularly, the 
present invention relates to an auxiliary die conveyor detachably 
connected to a pressing or punching machine so as to provide an extended 
conveying surface flush with the bolster of the machine when a die is 
mounted on or dismounted out of, the bolster, wherein when the machine is 
put into operation, the auxiliary die conveyor is detached so as to allow 
a working space around the machine. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The conventional auxiliary die conveyor is hinged to the bolster or bed of 
a pressing or punching machine, and when the machine is in regular 
operation, the conveyor is folded at the side of the machine so as to 
provide a working space. Nevertheless, the folded conveyor tends to become 
an obstacle for the operators. It often happens that the operators stumble 
and become injured by the horny projections provided by the folded 
conveyor. 
The present invention is directed toward solving the inconvenience with 
respect to the known foldable auxiliary die conveyor, and has for its 
object to provide an improved auxiliary die conveyor detachably connected 
to the machine so as to remove the conveyor when the machine is put into 
operation. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved auxiliary 
die conveyor which makes it possible to employ a single conveyor from 
machine to machine, thereby eliminating the necessity of providing plural 
conveyors correspondingly to the number of machines. This saves the costs 
very much. 
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more 
apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the 
accompanying drawings. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to one advantageous aspect of the present invention, an auxiliary 
die conveyor includes a metal support jointed to a bolster and a die 
carrier including a pair of side plates, the carrier further including a 
hanging means in its upper tail section, the metal support including a 
depression adapted to interlock with the hanging means in such a manner as 
to allow the carrier to rotate in the depression while the lower part of 
the carrier comes into abutment with the metal support, thereby preventing 
the carrier from lowering below the level of the bolster. 
According to another advantageous aspect of the invention an auxiliary die 
conveyor includes a first metal support and a second metal support wherein 
the first metal support is jointed to the end face of a bolster while the 
second metal support is jointed to the end face of the machine bed, and a 
die carrier including a pair of side plates and a support bar, wherein the 
side plates include a hanging means adapted to be received in a depression 
produced in the first metal support so as to allow the carrier as a whole 
to rotate in the depression and wherein the support bar is adapted to rest 
on the second metal support, thereby preventing the carrier from lowering 
below the level of the bolster.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1 reference numeral 2 designates a pressing machine and 
reference numeral 1 designates a pair of dies. An auxiliary die conveyor 4 
is connected to a bolster 3 in the manner described below, so as to 
provide an extended conveying surface flush with the top surface of the 
bolster 3. The die 1 is initially mounted on the auxiliary die conveyor 4, 
and is transported onto the bolster. Then the dies 1 are respectively 
secured to the bolster 3 and a ram 7 by means of hydraulic clamps 6. The 
auxiliary die conveyor 4 hereinafter referred to merely as the conveyor, 
is constructed so as to be detachable to the bolster. 
Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the conveyor 4 includes a metal support 8 and a 
carrier 11, wherein the metal support is secured to the bolster 3. The 
carrier 11 includes a pair of side plates 18 with rollers 20 interposed 
therebetween. In addition, the carrier 11 includes rods 25 and 26 
transversed through the side plates wherein the rod 25 is located in the 
upper tail section of the side plates while the rod 26 is located in the 
lower tail section thereof, adequately spaced from the rod 25. The metal 
support 8 is U-shaped as shown in FIG. 4, and has a depression or slot 13 
in its top surface. In the illustrated embodiment two slots are provided. 
These slots 13 are adapted to receive the rod 25 when the carrier is hung 
on the metal support. In addition, the metal support 8 is provided with an 
abutment metal 14 on its lower front so as to allow the rod 26 of the 
carrier 11 to come into abutment therewith when the carrier is mounted on 
the metal support in the above-mentioned manner. The abutment metal 14 is 
jointed to the metal support 8 by means of bolts 16 with a cushion 15 
interposed therebetween. 
The carrier 11 is provided with a stop unit 19 for preventing the die on 
the conveyor 4 from slipping off. The stop unit 19 includes a pawl 21 
biased by a spring 22 whereby the pawl is normally raised up above the 
peripheral surfaces of the rollers 20 as shown in FIG. 2. When the pawl 21 
is to be lowered, a handle 23 is used to rotate the same on a pivot 32, 
thereby causing the pawl to sink below the die conveying level 31 as shown 
by imaginary lines in FIG. 2. 
In this way the carrier is hung on the metal support 8 in which the carrier 
is rotatable with respect to the rigid metal support. However, the lower 
part of the carrier is placed into abutment with the metal support through 
the abutment metal, thereby ensuring that the carrier is held on the metal 
support with its top surface flush with the die conveying surface. 
Referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, a modified version of the metal support and the 
carrier 11 will be now explained: 
The U-shaped metal support 8 has slots 28 more deeply cut than the slot 13 
in the first embodiment. The carrier 11 has an end plate 29 which has 
outwardly extended projections 30 adapted to fit in the slots 28 of the 
metal support 8. The metal support 8 includes an adjustable bolt 33 with a 
lock nut 34 for adjusting the height of the carrier 11 with respect to the 
surface of the bolster 3, as best shown in FIG. 5. The bolt 33 supports 
the end plate 29. 
Referring to FIGS. 8 to 11, a further modified version of the embodiment 
will be explained: 
The metal support 8 is box-shaped with a front wall 37 and side walls 35, 
wherein the front wall is provided with a slot 36. The metal support 8 is 
jointed through a cushion 38 to the bolster 3 with the front wall 37 being 
faced to the carrier 11. Each side plate 18 of the carrier 11 is provided 
with a main flange portion 41 and a subordinate flange portion 42. The 
main flange portions 41 are provided with outwardly extended rotating pins 
40. The carrier 11 is supported on the metal support 8, wherein the main 
flange portions 41 are received in the slot 36 with the subordinate flange 
portions 42 being placed in abutment with the front wall 37 of the metal 
support. At this stage the pins 40 are engaged to behind the front wall 
37, thereby securing the carrier 11 to the metal support 8. The pin 40 has 
a flat portion 44 which allows the pin 40 to keep plane-to-plane contact 
with the back of the front wall 37, as shown in FIG. 11. The pin 40 can be 
provided with a cutaway portion 45 in which a pin 46 erected on the side 
plate 18 is engaged, whereby the rotation of the pin 40 is limited to a 
certain angular range. The rotatable pins 40 allow the carrier to be 
smoothly mounted on or dismounted from, the metal support 8. 
As shown in FIG. 12, the main flange portion 41 of each side plate 18 can 
be provided with a roller 47 so as to enable the carrier 11 to smoothly 
fit in the slot 36. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the 
portion of the pin 40 between the side plates 18 can be made thick and 
provided with a flat cutaway portion at which the carrier 11 rests on the 
bottom of the slot 36. As a third alternative, as shown in FIG. 15 the 
side plates 18 can be bars with a support 49 pivotally connected at 50 
thereto. The opposite end of the bar 18 includes an adjustable screw 51 
adapted to engage with a receiver 37, which is jointed to the side of the 
bed 52 of the machine by means of a bolt 53. This type of the carrier can 
be further modified as shown in FIG. 16. In the illustrated embodiment the 
side bars 18 and the support 49 are rigidly connected by means of rods 54. 
Referring now to FIGS. 17 to 20, various modifications of the stop unit 19 
will be explained: 
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18 the pawl 21 is supported 
on a coil spring 55 wherein the pawl is normally raised up sufficiently to 
stop the die from falling off the carrier 11. The pawl 21 is lowered 
through a pivot 32 by means of the handle 23 so as to keep the die free 
from the pawl. 
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 19 the pawl 21 is vertically 
supported a coil spring 55 so as to allow the pawl to vertically rise and 
lower. A cam device 56 is provided so as to guide the handle 23 whereby 
the vertical pawl 21 is lowered. FIG. 20 shows a further modified 
embodiment in which the pawl 21 has a weight 57 at its tail portion 
whereby the same is raised above the level of the bolster. 
According to the present invention the die carrier is readily jointed to 
the metal support, that is, the bolster, and when the machine is put into 
operation, it can be easily detached therefrom. Accordingly, the working 
space accrues around the machine, otherwise the auxiliary die conveyor is 
likely to be an obstacle for the operators. Another advantage is that a 
single conveyor can be applied to plural machines, and the provision of a 
single unit is sufficient to cover several machines. This saves the costs 
of die conveyors. A further advantage is that the die conveyor has no 
hinged portion, which makes it possible that the die conveyor is robust as 
well as simplified in construction.