CLAMP DEVICE FOR SHAPED BODIES

Abstract: There is disclosed a clamp device for clamping a workpiece, e.g. a ceramic shaped body (W) with a surface curvature. Support members (63) are mounted on the base frame (10) to support the workpiece thereon, and are adapted to swing about predetermined rotational axes (61). First clamp members (43) are mounted on a base frame and adapted to swing about predetermined rotational axes (41). Second clamp members (53) are mounted on a sub-frame (20), which is movable relative to the base frame, and are adapted to swing about predetermined rotational axes (51). The second clamp members can be moved toward the first clamp members to clamp a workpiece therebetween.

Description: The present invention relates to a clamp device used to clamp a ceramic or the like workpiece when it is cut into a plurality of product pieces. Conventionally, in order to cut a ceramic or the like workpiece into two or more product pieces with the length of the product, the workpiece is supported on stationary clamp members, and is then urged downwardly by movable clamp members against the stationary clamp members. The workpiece so clamped in a fixed position is subsequently cut by rotating grinder wheels into a plurality of pieces each having a product length. The above-mentioned conventional clamp device suffers from disadvantages that, since the clamp members assume a fixed position relative to the workpiece, an undesirable clearance tends to be formed between the workpiece and the clamp members due to the surface curvature of the workpiece resulting from the deformation during the baking step. An adjustment has to be carried out for each workpiece to compensate for or minimize the clearance, e.g. by applying viscous tapes or the like spacer elements, requiring time-consuming and troublesome manual operations. Moreover, even an adjustment as above cannot completely eliminate formation of the clearance and cannot effectively avoid serious problems that, when the cutting is effected by grinder wheels with the tips of the grinder wheel being disengaged from the workpiece after completion of the cutting, the material on the cut end surface of each product piece is excessively removed as a result of the clearance. The excessive removal of the material often results in formation of undesirable play and a hairline-like cutting tool feed pattern on the cut end surface. A clamping vice is known from GB-A-2171035, which has two pairs of clamping jaws, one of which pairs is carried by a movable jaw carrier. The jaws are each pivotally mounted. EP-A-0254145 discloses a transport mechanism using a roller system for a vacuum deposit apparatus. The roller system consists of a plurality of pairs of rollers, the two rollers of each pair being on opposite sides of a workpiece and each having a vertical rotational axis. It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, by providing a novel clamp device which makes it possible to realize products without an end play or feed patterns on the end surface even when the workpiece has a surface curvature. The present invention is set out in claim 1. In the arrangement of the present invention, the clamp members and the support members are arranged to swing about the respective rotational axes, so as to definitely realize the mutual relationship as to their relative positions. Thus, the workpiece can be clamped in good conformity with its surface curvature, and maintained in a stably clamped state without formation of undesirable clearance between the workpiece and the clamp members. This makes it readily possible to effectively achieve a higher productivity and an improved product quality. The clamp members and the support members may each comprise two integrally arranged resilient shoe elements to prevent slip movement of the workpiece at its contact points with the respective members and thereby to more stably and reliably clamp the workpiece. Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively front view and top plan view, diagrammatically showing a basic embodiment of the clamp device according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the clamp device similar to Fig. 2, but showing the workpiece in its clamped state; and Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively front view and top plan view, showing an advanced embodiment of the clamp device according to the present invention. The present invention will now be explained in further detail, by referring to some preferred embodiments shown in the attached drawings. A first embodiment of the clamp device according to the present invention is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and includes a stationary base frame 10 and a movable sub-frame 20 mounted on the base frame 10. The sub-frame 20 is associated with an actuator assembly 30 which is adapted to move the sub-frame 20 relative to the base frame 10. The actuator assembly 30 may include a parallel motion link mechanism 31 which is actuated, for example, by a suitable hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (not shown). The base frame 10 is provided with two rotational shafts 41, 42 which are in parallel with each other. These shafts 41, 42 serve to rotatably support a pair of clamp members 43, 44, respectively, so that the clamp members 43, 44 are adapted to swing about the respective axes. The sub-frame 20, in turn, is provided with two rotational shafts 51, 52 which are in parallel with each other and also with the shafts 41, 42 for the clamp members 43, 44 on the base frame 10. These shafts 51, 52 serve to rotatably support another pair of clamp members 53, 54, respectively, so that the clamp members 53, 54 are adapted to swing about the respective axes. By operating the actuator assembly 30, the clamp members 53, 54 on the sub-frame 20 can be moved toward and away from the clamp members 43, 44 on the base frame 10. This makes it possible to clamp a workpiece W between the clamp members 43, 44 and the clamp members 53, 54, and release the workpiece W therefrom. Moreover, the base frame 10 is provided with two rotational shafts 61, 62 extending perpendicularly to the rotational shafts 41, 42, 51, 52 of the clamp members 43, 44, 53, 54. These shafts 61, 62 serve to rotatably support a pair of support members 63, 64, respectively, so that the support members 63, 64 are adapted to swing about the respective axes to support the workpiece W thereon. Advantageously, the clamp members 43, 44, 53, 54 and the support members 63, 64 are of basically the same structure. Taking the clamp member 43 for example, it may include a main body 43a, and a pair of shoe elements 43b, 43c of a suitable resilient material integrated into a replaceable unit which is detachably secured to the main body 43a. The clamp device as described above is used in the following manner to clamp a workpiece W, which may be a ceramic shaped body already subjected to uneven thermal shrinkage as a result of heat treatment or the like, to have an unintended surface curvature in its longitudinal direction. As particularly shown in Fig. 1, the workpiece W is placed on the support members 63, 64 which are then caused to swing about their respective rotational shafts 61, 62 in conformity with the curvature of the workpiece W. The actuator assembly 30 is subsequently operated so that the sub-frame 20 is moved toward the base frame 10. By this, the clamp members 53, 54 on the sub-frame 20 are moved toward the clamp members 43, 44 on the base frame 10 to clamp the workpiece W therebetween, as shown in Fig. 3. On this occasion, the clamp members 43, 44, 53, 54 are caused to swing about their respective rotational shafts 41, 42, 51, 52 to assume their optimum angular positions relative to the workpiece W in conformity with its curvature. Thus, the workpiece W can be stably clamped in a reliable and facilitated manner, effectively preventing undesirable clearances from being formed between the clamp members 43, 44, 53, 54 and the workpiece W. Moreover, the workpiece W clamped in position as above is prevented from undergoing slips relative to the clamp members 43, 44, 53, 54 and the support members 63, 64, particularly when these members are provided with resilient shoes which are to be resiliently engaged with the workpiece W. It has to be noted here that the surface curvature of the workpiece W is shown in Fig. 3 in an exaggerated fashion. Necessary machining operations can be stably carried out with respect to the workpiece W clamped in position. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, three grinder wheels (not shown) may be applied to the workpiece W along respectively predetermined cutting lines A₁, A₂, A₃ across the workpiece W to cut it into two product pieces. These product pieces can be released from the clamp device by moving the sub-frame 20 away from the base frame 10. In this connection, the sub-frame 20 may be divided into two sections which can be actuated independently of the other such that one product piece alone can be released while another product piece is still in a clamped state. A practical second embodiment of the clamp device according to the present invention is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Elements which are the same or equivalent to those already shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, for the sake of simplicity and to avoid an overlapping description. The clamp device of this embodiment is essentially the same in its arrangement as the previous one, except that it is adapted to clamp a pair of workpieces W at the same time, with each sub-frame 20 being divided into two sections 20a, 20b which can be actuated independently of the other. This means that the actuator assembly 30 has to be arranged for each sub-frame section 20a, 20b. Each actuator assembly 30 is shown as including a hydraulic cylinder 32. The clamp device of the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5 has been compared with a conventional device to carry out the cutting operation with respect to the clamped workpiece and ascertain the difference in the amount of cut end play and the depth of the cutting tool feed pattern on the cut end, the result of which is shown in the following table. It will be readily appreciated from the above table that the conventional clamp device does not always permit the amount of cut end play and the depth of the cutting tool feed pattern to be accommodated within the control value. On the other hand, the present invention makes it possible to minimize the deviation of the amount of cut end play and the depth of the cutting tool feed pattern since the workpiece can be stably clamped by the clamp members adapted to swing about their respective rotational axes in conformity with the surface curvature of the workpiece, without forming undesirable clearances between the workpiece and the clamp members. The present invention thus provides an improved clamp device which is capable of clamping the workpiece without being adversely affected by the surface curvature of the workpiece, and serves to realize an improved productivity and a higher product quality, i.e. minimized cut end play or cutting tool feed pattern depth.

Claims: A workpiece clamp device for a cutting apparatus, comprising a stationary base frame (10); a movable sub-frame (20) mounted on, and arranged to be moved relative to, said base frame (10); a plurality of first clamp members (43,44) mounted on said base frame (10) and arranged to swing about respective first rotational axes which are in parallel with each other; a plurality of second clamp members (53,54) mounted on said sub-frame (20) and spaced from the first clamp members (43,44) and arranged to swing about respective second rotational axes which are in parallel with each other and also with said first rotational axes; said sub-frame (20) being movable relative to said base frame (10) such that said second clamp members (53,54) are moved toward said first clamp members (43,44) to clamp a workpiece (W) therebetween, and away from said first clamp members (43,44) to release said workpiece (W); characterised in that a plurality of support members (63,64) are mounted on said base frame (10) to support said workpiece (W) in a position to be clamped between said first and second clamp members (43, 44, 53, 54), and arranged to swing about respective third rotational axes extending perpendicularly to said first and second rotational axes. The clamp device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality of first rotational shafts (41,42) on said base frame (10) for defining said first rotational axes, and a plurality of second rotational shafts (51,52) on said sub-frame (20) for defining said second rotational axes. The clamp device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first rotational shafts (41,42) are arranged opposite to the respective second rotational shafts (51,52) and aligned therewith in a direction in which said sub-frame (2) is movable relative to said base frame (10). The clamp device according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said sub-frame (20) is movable relative to said base frame (10), in a horizontal direction, maintaining said first and second rotational shafts (41, 42, 51, 52) with their axes vertical. The clamp device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said first and second clamp members (43,44,53,54) each comprises at least one vertical clamp surface. The clamp device as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein said support members (63,64) each comprises an upper horizontal support surface. The clamp device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said first and second clamp members (43,44,53,54) each comprises a main body and at least one shoe element detachably secured to said main body. The clamp device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said first and second clamp members (43,44,53,54) each comprises a pair of shoe elements forming a unit which is detachably secured to said main body. The clamp device as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein each shoe element is composed of a resilient material. The clamp device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said sub-frame (20) is divided into a plurality of sections each corresponding to a second clamp member, each section of the sub-frame (20) being associated with an individual actuator means for moving said section relative to said base frame independently of the movement of another one of said sub-frame sections.

Inventors: TAKEUCHI, TSUNEZO, YOSHIKAWA, AKIRA
Applicants: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B28D7
IPC codes: B25B5, B28D7