Presses – Reciprocating press construction – Opposed platens both actuated
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-18
2001-01-09
Gerrity, Stephen F. (Department: 3721)
Presses
Reciprocating press construction
Opposed platens both actuated
C072S407000, C072S452500, C074S593000, C100S282000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06170392
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanical press and, in particular, a drive rod that is split at one or more places along its length and coupled together to form a rigid drive rod for motivating a slide or bed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mechanical presses, for example, stamping presses and drawing presses, include a frame having a crown and a bed and a slide supported within the frame for motion toward and away from the bed. Such presses are widely used for stamping and drawing operations and vary substantially in size and available tonnage depending upon the attended use.
In the container art, the press workpiece or cup is usually formed of steel strip coated with a particular plastic layer. Various types of plastic are utilized to coat the steel. By carefully drawing and stamping the steel strip, containers with an interior plastic coating are created. These plastic liners are attached to the steel so that product contained within the formed can, e.g., liquid, does not touch the steel or metal.
In double action presses, a second slide replaces the bed and reciprocates in opposed relationship to the first slide. Traditional double action presses have slides driven by a plurality of crankshafts having various connecting arrangements connected to the slides. Typically, mechanical presses are fully assembled within the manufacturer's factory. For shipping purposes, the press is subsequently partially disassembled or “un-stacked.” Normally, un-stacking entails removing the crown, upper slide, and drive rod from the base and crankshaft.
One form of current mechanical presses contains a continuous drive rod shaft attached between a crankshaft and an upper slide. The drive rod transfers rotational motion from the crankshaft to reciprocal motion which drives an upper slide upward and downward. To insure necessary tolerances and provide adequate strength, traditional drive rods are formed as a continuous drive rod shaft. Drive rod guide housings are installed around the upper and lower portions of the drive rod to assist in guiding the drive rod.
One problem with the continuous drive rod shaft design is that assembly and disassembly of the drive rod from a mechanical press requires the entire shaft to be handled. For example, when assembling a traditional press, the entire drive rod must be inserting through both the upper and lower guide housings at the same time. A continuous drive rod shaft is heavy and cumbersome making maneuvering of the drive rod difficult. Consequently, assembling and servicing of the press is complicated as a result of having to handle the entire shaft.
Yet another problem with current continuous drive rod shaft design is that the upper and lower guide housings are required to be perfectly in line with one another. Consequently, assembly of the press demands accurate alignment of the upper and lower guide housings.
Another problem with the current design is that replacement of a drive rod guide housing requires the entire drive rod to be removed. Removing the entire drive rod is further complicated by the fact that the upper slide or ram must be removed first. Therefore, if service or maintenance of the drive rod guide is required, both the entire drive rod and the upper slide must be removed. In addition, since current drive rods are composed of a single, continuous shaft, the entire drive rod shaft must be handled when removing the drive rod. Consequently, service or maintenance of the drive rod guide housing or the drive rod, itself, can be intricate and costly due to these limitations.
A further problem with the current continuous drive rod shaft design is that the entire drive rod must also be removed when the press is “un-stacked” for shipping purposes. Since the drive rod is a continuous shaft, the entire drive rod must be removed when “un-stacking” the press. As a result, there is an associated cost included within the cost of manufacturing, shipping, and reassembly of the mechanical press.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a drive rod is divided into at least two segments which are coupled together to form a single length drive rod. A split, locating collar is provided for removing the drive rod from the press without removing the slide from the press.
The invention, in one form thereof, is a drive rod for a mechanical press. The drive rod includes at least a first and a second drive rod segment. Coupling means are used for joining the first drive segment to the second drive segment. In a further embodiment, the first and second drive segments include a coupling end. A first and a second flange are located on the coupling end of the first drive rod segment and the second drive rod segment, respectively. Clamping means are used for clamping the first flange to the second flange.
The invention in another form thereof, is a mechanical press with a drive rod. The drive rod has two ends and is composed of at least a first and a second drive rod segment. Coupling means joins the first drive rod segment to the second drive rod segment. A crankshaft is connected to one end of the drive rod. A drive mechanism rotates the crankshaft. In a further embodiment, the mechanical press includes a first slide and slide attachment means for removably attaching the other end of the drive rod to the first slide. In yet a further embodiment, the slide attachment means comprises the first slide with a drive rod aperture. The other end of the drive rod is disposed within the drive rod aperture. A split locating collar is annularly disposed along the drive rod below the slide. The split collar contains a plurality of split collar apertures and contains split collar fastening means for removably clamping the split collar to or about the drive rod. In some embodiments, the split collar is not required to be clamped onto the drive rod.
The invention, in another form thereof, is a mechanical press comprising a drive rod having two ends. A slide attachment means removably attaches a first slide to one end of the drive rod. A crankshaft is connected to the other end of the drive rod. A drive mechanism is used to rotate the crankshaft. In a further embodiment, a second slide is disposed in opposed relationship to the other slide. The first slide comprises an upper slide and the second slide comprises a lower slide.
The invention in yet another form thereof, is a mechanical press including an upper slide and a lower slide disposed in opposed relationship to each other. The upper slide contains a drive rod aperture. There is a drive rod having two ends composed of an upper drive rod segment and a lower drive rod segment. The upper and lower drive segments contain a coupling end. A first and a second flange are located on the coupling end of the first drive rod segment and the second drive rod segment, respectively. The first and second flange contain a plurality of flange apertures. A plurality of flange bolts are inserted through the first and second flange apertures for securing the first and second drive rod segments together. The other said end of the drive rod is disposed within the drive rod aperture. A split locating collar is annularly disposed along the drive rod below the slide. The split collar contains a plurality of split collar apertures and contains split collar fastening means for removably attaching the split collar about the drive rod. A split collar is disposed between the other end of the drive rod and the upper slide. The split collar contains a plurality of split collar apertures. A plurality of split collar bolts are disposed within the split collar aperture for removably connecting the split collar about the drive rod. A crankshaft is connected to the other end of the drive rod.
An advantage of the present invention is that the new drive rod can be assembled into a mechanical press more easily than conventional drive rods. Since the drive rod is split at one or more places along its length, only one segment or portion of the drive rod needs to be handled at a time
Burns Bradley A.
Watercutter Brian A.
Gerrity Stephen F.
Knuth Randall J.
The Minster Machine Company
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