Inching drive system for a mechanical punch press

Abstract: The invention relate to a mechanical press of the type having a bed (17), a slide (19), and drive means (14) that converts rotary-oscillatory motion to a linear reciprocating motion of said slide along a defined operating path toward and away from said bed, said drive means having a rotating member (12). The press is caracterized by: a drive motor assembly (16) selectively engaging said rotating member (12) for causing incremental rotation of said rotation member (12) and an engagement mechanism (18) connected to said drive motor assembly (16) causing said selective engagement of said drive motor assembly with said rotating member.

Description: The present invention relates to a mechanical press and, more particularly, to a motor driven barring or inching system for incrementally driving the slide toward or away from the bed during tooling setup. The typical mechanical press comprises a frame having a crown and bed mounted at opposite ends and a slide supported within the frame for motion toward and away from the bed. The bed is mounted to a platform on the floor of the shop. The crown portion is mounted within one or more uprights to create a vertically spaced separation between the crown and bed. The crown contains the drive assembly for the slide, which generally comprises a crankshaft having a plurality of eccentrics thereon and connecting rods connected to the eccentrics of the crankshaft at their upper ends and to the slide at their lower ends. The slide is mounted within the uprights for vertical reciprocating motion and is adapted to have the upper half of the die set mounted to it with the other half mounted to the bolster, which is connected to the bed. A flywheel and clutch assembly are usually mounted at one end of the crankshaft. The flywheel is connected by a belt to the output pulley of a main drive motor so that when the motor is energized, the massive flywheel continuously rotates. When the clutch is energized, the rotary motion of the flywheel is transmitted to the crankshaft which causes the connecting rods to undergo rotary-oscillatory motion. This motion is transmitted to the slide assembly by means of a wrist pin, for example, so that the rotary-oscillatory motion is converted to straight reciprocating motion. The connecting rods are connected directly to the slide or connected by means of pistons which in turn are slidably received within cylinders connected to the crown. During tooling setup, it is desirable to set the slide to a particular stroke position. The prior art includes at least two methods for accomplishing this task. The first method is to insert a lever, such as a long metal bar, into bores within the flywheel and lift or pull down the bar, to manually rotate the flywheel thereby causing the slide to move up or down. This method is awkward and inefficient. Two operators are required to set the slide to the desired stroke position. One operator is required to lift the bar and turn the flywheel while the other operator watches and informs the first operator when the slide reaches the desired stroke position. The view of the motion of the slide for the first operator is limited, making it difficult for the operator to determine the position of the slide. A second method for adjusting the slide to a particular stroke position is to intermittently engage the clutch, while the flywheel is spinning, thereby incrementally moving the slide along until it reaches the desired stroke position. This method is problematic because of the difficulty in moving the slide by small increments and because the frequent engagement and disengagement of the clutch causes the associated clutch and brake pads to overheat, wear excessively, and warp. The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the above-described prior art mechanical press barring systems by providing a mechanical press comprising the features of claim 1. US-A-3 797 623 discloses a mechanical press comprising a drive motor assembly selectively engaging a rotating member, and an engagement mechanism connected to the drive motor assembly, whereby the drive motor assembly comprises a gear for engaging said rotating member. The said document, however, does not disclose the further features of claim 1. Therefore, the said mechanical press has certain drawbacks as outlined above. Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the invention in one form thereof with the inching drive system engaging the flywheel; Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the invention with the inching drive system disengaged from the flywheel; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the invention with the inching drive system engaging the flywheel; Fig. 4 is a top view of the inching drive system; and Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of a mechanical press incorporating the invention. Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, in one form thereof, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner. Inching drive system 10 of the present invention is incorporated into mechanical press 11 (Fig. 5) which, with the exception of inching drive system 10, is conventional in design and construction. In a preferred embodiment, mechanical press 11 consists primarily of frame 13 with crown 15 and bed 17 at opposite ends. Slide 19 is supported within frame 13 and reciprocates toward and away from bed 17. Crown 13 contains or supports the drive assembly 14 for slide 19 which includes flywheel 12, a clutch assembly and crankshaft 8. Crown 13 also includes conventional devices, such as connecting rods (not shown), for converting the rotary-oscillatory motion of the rotating members into a straight reciprocating motion of slide 19, as is known in the art. Referring to Fig. 1, inching drive system 10 consists of two primary mechanisms: drive motor assembly 16 and engagement mechanism 18. Drive motor assembly 16, which mounts to engagement mechanism 18, selectively engages and rotates a rotatable member such as flywheel 12. In a preferred embodiment, flywheel 12 is the rotational member that is rotated by drive system 10. Gear teeth 20 are disposed about the very large circumference of flywheel 12 to facilitate engagement and rotation by inching drive system 10. Engagement mechanism 18 controls the selective engagement of drive motor assembly 16 with flywheel 12 for inching slide 19 into position for tool setup operations. During tooling setup, flywheel 12 is rotated by inching drive system 10 at a low speed causing slide 19 to inch toward a desired stroke position. In a preferred form, drive motor assembly 16 comprises hydraulic motor 24 with hydraulic fluid ports 30 to allow hydraulic fluid to flow into and out of hydraulic motor 24. Hydraulic motor 24 may be of conventional design, such as a Model RE-18-07-04 hydraulic motor available from White Hydraulics Inc. A gear 22 is connected to and caused to rotate by hydraulic motor 24. A drive control means 28 is fluidly connected to hydraulic fluid ports 30 to control the flow of hydraulic fluid through hydraulic fluid ports 30 into hydraulic motor 24. Such drive control may be accomplished by manual or computer controlled valves, solenoids, or manifolds that are able to control hydraulic fluid flow. In a preferred embodiment, drive control means 28 may comprise a three position solenoid valve to control forward, reverse, and stop/brake operations of hydraulic motor 24. Hydraulic motor 24 and gear 22 rotate in a forward or reverse direction by the introduction of hydraulic fluid into hydraulic motor 24. During tooling setup operations, gear 22 engages gear teeth 20 of flywheel 12. A slow rotation of gear 22, while engaged to gear teeth 20, causes flywheel 12 to slowly rotate, which in turns causes slide 19 to slowly move into position for tooling setup. Because the circumference of flywheel 12 is much larger than the circumference of gear 22, inching drive 16 is capable of rotating flywheel 12 very slowly and at relatively high torque. By way of example, flywheel 12 may have a circumference of 40 inches and 249 teeth on gear 20 whereas gear 22 may have a circumference of 6 inches and have 36 teeth thereon. Selective engagement of flywheel 12 by gear 22 is controlled by engagement mechanism 18. Engagement mechanism 18 allows drive motor assembly 16 to move or slide rectilinearly toward or away from flywheel 12 to respectively engage or disengage. Engagement mechanism 18 comprises a slider mount assembly 26 having sliding block 32 and slider mount 34. Slider mount 34 has sides that extend vertically upward and inward to secure and confine the horizontally extending sides of sliding block 32 and to prevent vertical or rotational movement of sliding block 32 but permit forward and reverse rectilinear sliding movement. A hydraulic cylinder 36 is mounted on slider mount 34 having an internally disposed piston and externally mounted fluid ports 40. An engagement control means 38 is fluidly connected to hydraulic cylinder 36 through fluid ports 40, while a push rod 46, having ends 45 and 47 is connected to the piston and slider mount 34, respectively. Engagement control 38 controls the introduction of hydraulic fluid into hydraulic cylinder 36 through fluid ports 40. In one embodiment, engagement control device 38 may comprise a two position solenoid valve. Other alternative mechanisms for controlling hydraulic fluid supplied to hydraulic cylinder 36 may include manual or computer controlled valves, pumps, manifolds, or other mechanisms for controlling and supplying hydraulic fluid. While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.

Claims: A mechanical press of the type having a bed (17), a slide (19), and drive means (14) that converts rotary-oscillatory motion to a linear reciprocating motion of said slide along a defined operating path toward and away from said bed, said drive means having a rotating member (12), a drive motor assembly (16) selectively engaging said rotating member (12) for causing incremental rotation of said rotating member (12); and an engagement mechanism (18) connected to said drive motor assembly (16) causing said selective engagement of said drive motor assembly (16) with said rotating member (12); wherein said drive motor assembly (16) comprises a gear (22) having a plurality of teeth for engaging said rotating member (12); a drive motor (24) connected to said gear (22) to cause said gear (22) to slowly rotate; and drive control means (28) controlling said drive motor (24) to cause said drive motor (24) to rotate said gear (22); characterized by the following features : said rotating member (12) comprises a flywheel having gear teeth (20) disposed about its circumference, and said drive motor assembly (16) includes a driven gear (22) that is engagable with the gear teeth of said flywheel; said driven gear (22) has a much smaller circumference than the circumference of said flywheel; said drive motor (24) is a hydraulic drive motor capable of slowly rotating said gear (22) and rotation of said drive motor (24) is influenced by flow of hydraulic fluid within said hydraulic drive motor; said drive control means (28) is a three position solenoid valve; said engagement mechanism (18) comprises: a slider mount assembly (26) slidably securing said drive motor assembly (16) to said press; an engagement cylinder (36) connected to said slider mount assembly (26) to cause said drive motor assembly (16) to slide in a forward and reverse direction; and engagement control means (38) controlling said engagement cylinder (36) to cause said sliding motion; said cylinder (36) is a hydraulic cylinder and said engagement control means (38) is a two position solenoid valve.

Inventors: BOHMAN KURT A, BREWER W CRAIG, BOHMAN, KURT A., BREWER, W. CRAIG
Applicants: MINSTER MACHINE CO, THE MINSTER MACHINE COMPANY
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B30B15
IPC codes: B30B15