Work holders – Holder mounted for movement – With plural means for changing holder positions
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-02
2001-10-23
Hail, III, Joseph J. (Department: 3723)
Work holders
Holder mounted for movement
With plural means for changing holder positions
C269S073000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06305678
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for manipulating the position and orientation of a workpiece for welding. More particularly, this invention relates to a welder positioner which allows a user to raise, lower, move side to side and rotate a large piece of metal to a desired location and orientation to assist in the construction and manufacturing of any number of large metal devices, mechanisms or apparatus.
In the manufacturing process, workers are often times required to move large metal pieces which are to be welded together to fabricate the item being manufactured. As a result, numerous devices have been developed for manipulating the location and orientation of these workpieces to assist in the manufacturing process. One such device, and the simplest, is merely a table or platform which can be raised and lowered, thus raising and lowering the workpiece resting on the table. Many of these devices incorporate hydraulic cylinders because of their ability to easily move heavy objects.
Numerous modifications have been made to the simple raising and lowering table design to provide the user with more freedom in changing the orientation of the workpiece. Some of the changes include making the tabletop surface rotatable, thus permitting the user to not only raise and lower the workpiece but to rotate the workpiece in a horizontal manner. Another modification to the raising and lowering platform design is to provide a way for the tabletop to move from a generally horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation, thus providing the user with even more freedom to change the orientation of the workpiece. While these devices certainly present an advance in the art over simply laying items to be joined side by side on the ground, these devices provide only a limited number of movements and hence a limited number of positions in which to orient the workpiece or workpieces.
Therefore, there is a need for a workpiece positioner which can easily and efficiently move large workpieces through a virtually infinite number of locations and orientations, including up, down, left, right, to and fro and clockwise and counterclockwise rotation in any location. The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art and fills these and other needs.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to overcome the above-stated problems and limitations, and to achieve the noted objects, there is provided a welder positioner having a generally vertical and upright support column with a top end, a generally horizontal boom that is pivotally coupled with the top end of the support column, an arm member pivotally coupled to and rotatable about a second end of the boom, and a shaft extending outwardly from the arm member and rotatable 360° about its longitudinal axis upon which a workpiece may be coupled.
In general, a user of the positioner can move a workpiece through a large generally vertical arc by way of a boom cylinder which is coupled with the column in the boom. By extending the length of the boom cylinder, the boom pivots about its connection to the column and the second end of the boom travels through a large and generally vertical arc. Additionally, the user can independently move the workpiece through a smaller generally vertical arc by way of an arm member cylinder which couples the boom with the arm member. By extending the length of the arm member cylinder, the arm member pivots about its connection to the second end of the boom and travels through a smaller generally vertical arc.
Further, a user of the positioner may also move the workpiece through a large and generally horizontal arc by way of the column resting on a large turntable. As a result, the user may rotate the positioner about the longitudinal axis of the generally vertical column. Further still, the user has even more freedom of moving the workpiece by providing a motor coupled with the shaft extending from the arm member. By activating the motor, the user may rotate the workpiece about the longitudinal axis of the shaft to position the workpiece in the desired orientation.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention over the prior art will become apparent from the detailed description of the drawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.
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Hammersmith Dennis L.
Ware Brett
Hail III Joseph J.
Hammersmith Mfg. & Sales, Inc.
Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Wilson Lee
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