Patent Publication Number: US-2022226908-A1

Title: Device for safely gripping tool-holders

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Italian application 102021000000791 filed Jan. 18, 2021, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a device for safely gripping tool-holders. More in particular, the present invention relates to a device which allows operators to easily and safely grip and move motorised or non-motorised tool-holders, destined above all for fitting onto CNC single spindle or multi-spindle lathes, transfer machines, milling centres of any kind and, in general, machine tools which perform machining by chip removal. 
     BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART 
     As is known, during the mechanical machining performed using numerical control lathes and the other machine tools indicated above, there is a need to frequently replace the various modules functional to the pieces being machined. In order to carry cut these operations, operators must carry out repeated interventions to remove a tool-holder from the machine and install a replacement suitable for the next specific machining operation on the various semi-finished products. These are manual movements that are sometimes repeated many times during working hours; given that the tool-holder bodies sometimes weigh a considerable amount, more than 10 kilograms, it is difficult for the operator to grip them, also due to the fact that these pieces are soiled with lubricants, coolants and greasy materials. As a result, the tool-holder may slip out of the operator&#39;s grasp, as its surface is smooth and has no grip. Dropping such an object can cause serious injury to the operator and can damage the object itself which tends to leak coolant onto the floor. All this leads to situations that require long and costly clean-up activities, regardless of the possible injury to operators. 
     SUMMARY 
     In order to overcome these drawbacks, recesses or shaped niches have been made on at least two opposite faces of some types of tool-holders, so as to form grips which facilitate gripping by the operator; however, this solution has not proved to be decisive, since the depth of the walls of the tool-holders which the niches are to made on is limited by the presence of Allen screws for fixing the components of the body; this prevents an adequate extension in depth of the niches, with the result that the operator, working moreover with protective gloves, does not benefit sufficiently from the grips thus created. 
     The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks complained of above. 
     More in particular, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a tool-holder comprising a device which allows operators to easily grip and move the tool-holder in conditions of total safety, destined especially for mounting on CNC single spindle or multi-spindle lathes, transfer machines, milling centres of any kind and, in general, machine tools which perform machining by chip removal. 
     A further and consequent purpose of the invention is to provide a device as defined above, suitable to prevent the accidental fall of the tool-holders, not only guaranteeing the safety of the operators involved, but also obviating the consequences connected to the deterioration of the tool-holders themselves and the possible leakage of operating liquids from them. 
     A further but no less important purpose of the invention is to provide a device for safely gripping and moving tool-holder bodies, suitable to be made and developed on the bodies themselves in a position such as not to interfere with the fixing Allen screws of the components. 
     A further purpose of the invention is to is to provide a device for gripping and moving tool-holders, suitable to ensure a high level of resistance and reliability over time, in addition such as to be easily and economically made. 
     These and other purposes are achieved by the gripping and movement device of the present invention according to the main claim. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The construction and functional characteristics of the device of the present invention will be more clearly comprehensible from the detailed description below in which reference is made to the appended drawings/which show a preferred embodiment and some non-limiting embodiment variants, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows schematically in an axonometric view, a tool-holder incorporating the gripping device according to the invention; 
         FIGS. 2 to 6  schematically represent as many variants with regard to the configuration of the gripping device incorporated in the tool-holder; 
         FIG. 7  schematically represents a first alternative embodiment of the gripping device of the invention, combined with a tool operable with a horizontal sliding movement with respect to the tool-holder; 
         FIG. 8  schematically represents a second alternative embodiment of the gripping device of the invention, combined with a tool operable with a horizontal and vertical sliding movement with respect to the tool-holder; 
         FIG. 9  schematically represents a third alternative embodiment of the gripping device of the invention, combined with a tool forming a gripping handle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , the gripping device according to the invention is made on the body  10  of a tool-holder, typically in the shape of a substantially regular quadrangular prism of any size. The gripping device consists of a plurality of grooves or recesses of constant depth, realized by moulding or by other suitable mechanical processing on at least a part of one of the two opposite lateral faces of the body  10 ; the recesses extend, for example, parallel to each other, defining a quadrangular, polygonal or other shape impression  10 ′ which gives rise to a set of multiple grooves extending horizontally, globally denoted by reference numeral  12  in the same  FIG. 1  in which they are superposed and equidistant. Overall, the grooves  12  alternating with the recesses preferably protrude from the body  10  or are inserted therein by a constant amount and, by way of example, between 0.5 and 3.0 mm. 
     Globally, it may be envisaged that the grooves extend flush with the faces of the body  10  or that, as said, they are at least partially recessed in the faces. The arrangement of the grooves  12  can obviously be different from that illustrated in  FIG. 1  arid also comprise one or more zones, preferably of limited extension and indicated by reference numeral  14  in  FIG. 2 , in which the grooves extend in a vertical direction, or with a diagonal pattern  14 ′ as in  FIG. 3 . The grooves in the various configurations have the function of guaranteeing a suitable grip of the body  10 , avoiding the danger that the same can slide between the fingers of the operator moving it; for this purpose, further possible configurations can be provided, such as, for example, that detectable from the impression  10 ′ of  FIG. 4  in which the grooves cross each other  15  to form a multiplicity of small pointed prominences and an overall surface roughness that is suitable to grip the body  10  in any condition. The impression  10 ′ of the body  10  according to  FIG. 5  may advantageously comprise, in addition to the crossed grooves  15  or of another form, also a group of small recesses  16  preferably with a circular layout, preferably aligned with each other horizontally, made on the body so as to divide the impression  10 ′ bearing the crossed grooves into two parts. A further possible configuration of the gripping device according to the invention, made on at least one face of the body  10 , is illustrated in  FIG. 6 ; this embodiment envisages, for example, that, on the impression  10 ′, the horizontal grooves similar to those in  FIG. 1  are alternated with a smooth bottom depression  18 , placed centrally and likewise extending horizontally, usable, if necessary, for holding in one or more fingers of the operator&#39;s hand. 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  refer to an alternative embodiment of the gripping device of the invention, which provides for the use of a support tool particularly useful for gripping and moving the body  10  in the event that it is located adjacent to another identical or similar body either on one side or on the opposite side. In such a situation, the space existing between the various bodies is limited, so that the difficulty of handling the body  10 , either to install it or to remove it from the machine tool, is significantly increased.  FIG. 7  shows the solution according to which the body  10  is gripped with the help of two opposite shaped supports  20 , having a tendentially inverted “U” shape profile, wherein the opposite vertical arms have different extensions, the outer face of the vertical arm  22  with the greater extension being provided with horizontal grooves  22 ′ suitable to engage with the grooves  12  present on the impressions  10 ′ of the bodies  10  by means of horizontal sliding, shown by the arrows. After positioning the bodies  10  on the machine tool, the supports  20  according to the solution of  FIG. 7  can be easily removed by a sliding movement opposite to the previous one. It may advantageously be envisaged that the supports  20  of  FIG. 7  are magnetised, in order to better adhere to the body  10  once the grooves  12  and  12 ′ are coupled together. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates the solution according to which the shaped supports  20  can slide both vertically and horizontally with respect to the body  10 . In this case, different areas are made on two opposite faces of the body  10 , in which the grooves are alternated with each other and diversified. In particular, each face of the body  10  comprises two lateral zones  23  and  25 , extending in a vertical direction, along which both horizontal and vertical intersecting grooves are made; centrally with respect to the zones  23 ,  25 , spaced distanced therefrom, a more extensive zone  27  being formed, on which only horizontal grooves are made. In parallel, the shaped supports  20  comprise three zones suitably spaced apart from each other, the lateral ones being denoted as  23 ′ and  25 ′ and the central one as  27 ′. Along the lateral zones  23 ′ and  25 ′ both horizontal and vertical intersecting each other grooves are made, while the central zone  27 ′ comprises only horizontal grooves. Since the body  10  has to be gripped and lifted in difficult conditions, i.e. when it is adjacent to other similar bodies both on one side and on the opposite side, the shaped supports  20  are led to slide first from above in a vertical direction, in the direction indicated by the arrows, so as to couple starting from their front part  23 ′ with the area  23  of the body  10 ; both of which are provided with both horizontal and vertical grooves. 
     Continuing the sliding, this time horizontally, the supports  20  meet the horizontal grooves of the central zone  27  of the body  10  and temporarily couple with them starting from the grooves of the zone  25 ′ of the supports  20 . Further horizontal sliding brings the zones  23 ′ and  25 ′ of the supports  20  to couple with the grooves of the zones  23  and  25  of the body  10 , while the central zone  27 ′ automatically comes to be connected with the horizontal grooves  27  defining the handle for lifting the body  10 . The operation is facilitated by the fact that both the lateral zones  23  and  25  of the body  10  and the corresponding zones  23 ′ and  25 ′ of the supports  20  comprise both horizontal and vertical intersecting grooves, which allow the supports  20  to be moved in the two directions so as to grip the body  10  starting from above and to lift/lower it. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an alternative embodiment of the gripping device according to the invention, which is particularly useful when it comes to handling and moving bodies  10  of significant weight. According to this embodiment, the horizontal grooves  12  of the impressions  10 ′ are combined with a bridge element  24 , in which the two opposite vertical branches  26  are partly provided on the inner faces with horizontal grooves  30  complementary to those of the impressions. The bridge element  24  defines an inverted “U” shaped support, wherein the upper horizontal branch  28  connecting the opposite vertical branches  26  acts as a handle to move the body  10 . In order to prevent the vertical branches  26  from splaying open, causing the detachment of the body  10  from the bridge element  24 , advantageously each of the branches comprises a pawl  32 , made above the grooves  30  and provided with a head having a larger diameter than the shank; the pawls  32  are designed to fit into a shaped seat  34  of the dovetail type, formed on the body  10  above the opposite impressions  10 ′ bearing the grooves  12 . 
     Insertion is carried out by manual sliding in the direction indicated by the arrow in  FIG. 9 . In this way, the bridge element  24  remains stable and the vertical branches  26  do not move away from the body  10 , which can thus be safely handled and moved. At the end of the required operation, the element  24  is easily separated from the body  10  by means of an extraction movement in the opposite direction to that of the arrow. 
     As may be seen from the above, the advantages which the invention achieves are evident. 
     In all the proposed embodiments, which can be combined with each other if necessary, the device according to the invention allows operators to easily and safely grip and move the bodies  10  of the tool-holders, avoiding the danger that they may fall to the ground with the relevant consequences described above. 
     Despite the invention having been described above with particular reference to one of its preferred embodiments, given solely by way of a non-limiting example, numerous modifications and variants will appear evident to a person skilled in the art in the light of the above description. The present invention therefore sets out to embrace all the modifications and variants which fall within the sphere and scope of the following claims.