Tool changing – Including machine tool or component – Reciprocating tool machine tool
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-13
2003-12-02
Wellington, A. L. (Department: 3722)
Tool changing
Including machine tool or component
Reciprocating tool machine tool
C072S446000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06656099
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY
The present invention relates to a bending press for bending a sheet material, partitioned tools for use in the bending press and methods and apparatus for exchanging the tools used in bending press.
BACKGROUND OF TECHNOLOGY
Press brakes for bending sheet materials are provided with upper and lower tables opposed to each other that are supported by side frames, where the upper table or the lower table is made free to move upwards or downwards. The lower part of the upper table is provided with an upper tool holder for removably holding the upper tool, and the upper part of the lower table is provided with a lower tool holder for removably holding the lower tool, which cooperates with the upper tool. A bending process is then performed by inserting a sheet work material in between the upper tool mounted on the upper tool holder of the upper table and the lower tool mounted on the lower tool holder of the lower table.
Conventionally, the exchange of the upper and lower tools by dismounting and mounting the upper and lower tools of the upper and lower tables were carried out manually. The upper and lower tools includes divided tools divided into a plurality of elements and long tools, but the upper and lower tools are in general are heavy, and the dismounting and mounting in exchanging the upper and lower tools onto the table was a burdensome work.
Thus techniques to exchange the upper and lower tools by dismounting and mounting the tools relative to the upper and lower tables automatically have been developed. Related prior art references are JP55-45288, JP57-37408 and JPU63-21932. Also prior art references related to the tool of the present invention includes for example JP2771064 and the like.
Now in performing a bending process on a work by a press brake, there are cases where, for example, tools of different lengths are mounted separately at a plurality of locations on the tool holders if the upper and lower tables, and the bending process is performed on a workpiece successively by the each processing station. The prior art references, however, all apply only to the case where there is only a single tool mounting location for the upper and lower tables and not for the case with a plurality of processing stations, and therefore the exchange of tools for the upper and lower tables with plural number of processing stations are still made manually.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was made in view of the heretofore-aforementioned problems. That is, the first press brake is a press brake where the upper table provided with the upper tool holder and the lower table provided with the lower tool holder face each other in the vertical direction, and one of them is freely movable upwards and downwards. In the rear of the upper table, there are provided an exchange upper tool support for removably supporting a plurality of divided upper tools and an upper tool exchange device to exchange the divided upper tool between the exchange upper tool support and the upper table. In the rear of the lower table there are provided an exchange lower tool support for removably supporting a plurality of divided lower tools and a lower tool exchange device to exchange the divided lower tool between the lower table and the exchange lower tool support.
The second press brake is structured so that each upper and lower exchange tool supports are made to move upwards and downwards freely so that by providing a tool support which may move upwards and downwards freely to the upper and lower tool exchange device, the upper and lower divided tools may be supported freely.
The 3
rd
press brake is a press brake where the upper table provided with an upper tool holder and the lower table provided with a lower tool face each other downwards and upwards and where either the upper table or the lower table is made free to move upwards and downwards and where the left-right direction upper guide provided in the rear part of the upper table is made to protrude largely from the aides of the upper table in the left and right directions, and in order to exchange a plural number of divided upper tools on the upper table, an exchange upper tool support part which supports and allows attachment and detachment of a plural number of divided upper tools to provided on the protruded aide part at a position which may be changed freely, and in order to exchange the divided upper tools between the exchange upper tool support part and the upper table, an upper tool exchange device free to move in the left-right directions is provided on the upper guide part, and the lower guide part which is provided in the rear of the lower table and is made to protrude largely from the lower table aides in the left-right directions and in order to exchange a plural number of divided lower tools on the lower table, an exchange lower tool support part is provided on the protruded side part at a position which may be changed freely, and in order to exchange the divided lower tools between the exchange lower tool support and the lower table, a lower tool exchange device free to move in the left-right directions Is provided on the lower guide part.
In the 4
th
press brake, in the rear of the part of the upper guide protruding from the sides of the press brake described above, an upper tool housing section is furnished which houses a plurality of exchange upper tool support parts which support a plurality of divided upper tools which may be freely attached or detached and a tool support exchange device made free to move forward and backward to exchange the exchange upper tool support between the housing and the protruded part of the upper guide.
The 5
th
press brake is provided with a rotating part to turn round the front and rear sides of the exchange upper tool support part of the tool support exchange device in the press brake described above.
In the 6
th
press brake, below the protruded aide part of the of the lower guide part in the press brake described above, a lower tool housing is provided which houses a plurality of exchange lower tool supports which support plurality of divided lower tools which may be attached or detached freely, the lower tool housing being made free to move back and forth and to thrust the exchange lower support positioned below the lower guide part on the protruded side part upwards, an exchange lower tool support lift is provided.
The 7
th
press brake is equipped with a temporary work holding device that may hold the work and a bending robot that supplies the work in between the upper and lower tools.
The divided tool of the present invention is arranged so that, in the divided tool freely exchangeable by mounting and dismounting from the tool holder of the press brake, the divided tool is provided with a shank part which may be engaged and disengaged from the mounting groove of the tool holder and, together with a work processing part to process the work and a concave engage part to which a lock piece, provided on the wall of the mounting groove and made free to appear or disappear. may be engaged freely is provided on the shank part and an engagement piece which may be made to turn up or hidden freely is provided on the shank part on the engage groove of the wall of the mounting groove and also an insertion hole for the tool hold to hold the divided tool and also to turn up and hide the engagement piece are provided near the shank part.
The first tool exchange device of the present invention is structured so that, in the tool exchange device for exchanging the divided tools between the tool holder device provided on the bending press and the exchange tool support which supports a plurality of divided tools free to attach and detach, on one side of the ends of the divided tool, a hook support with an abutted protuberance which may be abutted freely and a hook part with a curved point which may be abutted free to move in the long direction of the hook support and also to the other sides in front or rear of the divided tool, and are provided so that the divided tool may be h
Akami Ichio
Kondo Toshiyuki
Ogawa Takahiro
Sato Masa-aki
Umemoto Goujyu
Amada Company Limited
Blank Rome LLP
Cadugan Erica E
Wellington A. L.
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