Abstract:
A bench-top workpiece holder comprising: a bench clamp for attaching the workpiece holder to a bench top; and an articulated arm assembly supported on a post extending vertically upwardly from the clamp, the arm assembly mounting a workpiece clamp assembly for selectively pivotable movement about three substantially parallel vertical axes and for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis.

Description:
[0001]    This invention relates to bench-top work holders and, more specifically, to an articulated bench top workpiece manipulator that can support a workpiece or component and position it in any desired manner to enable, for example, the application of braze-paste in a brazing process and can also be used for welding, soldering, gluing, grinding, etc. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    It has proven difficult to support certain relatively small turbine components, for example, a stage one inner shroud tile, in order to apply braze-paste to the tile without either damaging the tile or the newly-applied braze paste or dropping it. Repeated holding or manipulating of the component can create strain in the operator&#39;s arms, hands and shoulders, and thereby increase the probability of accidentally damaging the component or of causing repetitive strain injuries to the operator. While certain bench-top devices for holding a workpiece exist, the inventor is not aware of any that have all of the required pivot axes to permit the desired degree of positioning and manipulation of the workpiece for the operations of interest. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    A bench-top manipulator is provided in an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment that incorporates a workpiece clamp and that can be positioned via pivoting movement of a pair of support arms about multiple vertical axes, with the clamp itself also rotatable about a horizontal axis. In the exemplary embodiment, the manipulator includes a bench clamp by which the device can be securely fixed to a work bench or the like. A fixed post extends vertically upwardly from one end of the bench clamp and serves to support a first horizontal swing arm that is mounted for adjustable vertical movement along the post as well as for pivoting motion about the post. A second swing arm is pivotally secured to the first swing arm for pivotal movement about a second axis parallel to the post, and at the remote end of the second swing arm, there is mounted a clamp block assembly that is able to pivot about a third vertical axis and to also rotate about a horizontal axis. The workpiece clamp includes a clamping screw for securely holding the workpiece within the clamp block. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, in one exemplary embodiment, there is provided a bench-top workpiece holder comprising: a bench clamp for attaching the workpiece holder to a bench top; and an articulated arm assembly supported on a post extending vertically upwardly from the clamp, the arm assembly mounting a workpiece clamp assembly for selectively pivotable movement about three substantially parallel vertical axes and for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis. 
         [0005]    In another aspect, there is provided a bench-top workpiece holder comprising: a bench clamp comprising a pair of vertically spaced, substantially parallel plates and a clamp screw for attaching the workpiece holder to a bench top; and an articulated arm assembly supported on a post extending vertically upwardly from the bench clamp, the articulated arm assembly comprising a first swing arm pivotably mounted on the post and vertically adjustable along the height of the post, a second swing arm pivotably mounted to a remote end of the first swing arm and a workpiece clamp assembly selectively pivotable about three substantially parallel vertical axes and rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis; wherein the workpiece clamp assembly comprises a block pivotably secured to a remote end of the second swing arm, and a forked clamp member supported on the block for rotation about the horizontal axis. 
         [0006]    The invention will now be described in detail in connection with the drawings identified below. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a side elevation of an exemplary bench top manipulator in accordance with the invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the bench top manipulator shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of the workpiece clamp block assembly illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the bench-mounted workpiece manipulator  10  comprises a bench clamp  12  that includes a first relatively longer flat plate  14  and a second relatively shorter flat plate  16 . The plates  14  and  16  are parallel and are joined at one end by a spacer block  18  via screws  20 . It will be appreciated that the thickness of the block  18  will correspond generally to the thickness of a bench top, recognizing that the block  18  may be replaced by blocks of other thicknesses, depending on the thickness of the bench top. A screw clamp  22  extends through the second plate  16  and serves to fixedly secure the bench top manipulator to the bench. 
         [0011]    A post  24  extends upwardly from an end of the plate  14  remote from the spacer block  18 . The post  24  is secured in a base  25  by any suitable arrangement, and may have length of about twelve inches and serves to support a first horizontal swing arm  26  that is slidably and pivotally mounted on the post. Note that the arm  26  is provided with a sleeve or bushing  28  that telescopes over the post, with a set or locking screw  30  (or other suitable clamping device) fixing the arm at a desired angle relative to the plate  14 . Thus, the post  24  serves as a first pivot axis for adjustably positioning the workpiece holder described further herein. In addition, an optional locking sleeve  32 , also provided with a set or locking screw  34 , may be employed, if desired, to reinforce the holding force supplied by the set screw  30  with respect to the vertical location of the bushing  28 . 
         [0012]    At the end of swing arm  26  remote from the post  24 , a bushing  36  is fixed to the arm  26  and serves to mount a second horizontal swing arm  38 . More specifically, a threaded shank  40  extends through bushing  36  and a bushing or sleeve  42  fixed at one end of the arm  38 . The sleeve  42  (and thus the swing arm  38 ) is secured to the bushing  36  via washer or spacer  44  and a wing type lock nut  46 . With this arrangement, the second swing arm  38  is able to pivot about the shank  40  which serves as a second vertical pivot axis. 
         [0013]    The remote end of the second swing arm  38  mounts a clamp block assembly  48 . With reference now also to  FIG. 3 , the clamp block assembly includes a block  50  that is pivotally secured to the second swing arm  38  by means of a third bushing  52  and a threaded shank  54  ( FIG. 1 ) that extends through the block  50  and bushing  52 , secured by wing nut  56  in substantially the same manner as described above in connection with bushing  36  and sleeve  42 . Thus, shank  54  serves as a third vertical pivot axis. The block  50  mounts a workpiece clamp assembly  58 . The assembly  58  includes a forked clamp member  60  that is rotatably secured to the block  50  by means of a threaded shank  62 , thus permitting the clamp  60  to rotate about a horizontal axis, perpendicular to the shank  54 . The clamp  60  can be locked in the desired rotational position by means of a set or locking screw  64  that extends horizontally through the block  50  as best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
         [0014]    The clamp  60  includes a pair of arms  66 ,  68  defining a workpiece or component holding recess  70 , with the arm  68  provided with a workpiece support block  72 . Opposed to the block  72 , there is a screw clamp  76  that includes a threaded shank  78  extending through the clamp arm  66 , with a clamp block  80  attached at the free end of the shank  78 . An enlarged head  82  facilitates rotation of the shank  78  such that the workpiece or component is securely clamped between the block  80  and the support  72 . 
         [0015]    With this arrangement, the articulated work bench manipulator provides for adjustable pivoting action of swing arms  26 ,  38  and clamp block assembly  48  about no fewer than three vertical axes defined by post  24 , shank  40 , and shank  54 , while at the same time, the workpiece clamp assembly  58  is also free to rotate about a horizontal axis defined by shank  62  thus providing multiple degrees of freedom for accurately positioning a component or workpiece held between the clamp block  80  and workpiece support block  72  as already indicated, the swing arms and hence the workpiece clamp block assembly  48  are also adjustable vertically along the post  24 . 
         [0016]    It will be appreciated that the dimensions of the various components may be varied depending on specific applications, workpiece sizes and the like. Other suitable pivot mechanisms for the swing arms  26 ,  38  and workpiece clamp block  50  and clamp assembly  58  could also be utilized in place of sleeve  28  and threaded shanks  40 ,  54  and  62 . 
         [0017]    While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.