Work holders – With fluid means – Cylinder-piston means in series with additional positioning...
Patent
1999-05-04
2000-09-05
Scherbel, David A.
Work holders
With fluid means
Cylinder-piston means in series with additional positioning...
269289R, B23Q 308
Patent
active
061130877
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention concerns apparatus for holding workpieces typically but not exclusively to permit one workpiece to be joined to another as by welding or riveting. The invention is not limited to joining techniques such as mentioned but is equally applicable to bonding by adhesive or joining by screwing or hemming.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Where two workpiece parts are to be joined together by the above techniques it is usually necessary to overlay one workpiece over the other and to temporarily secure the two workpieces together to allow the joining technique to be performed. This is most simply performed by gripping the two workpiece parts between pairs of jaws. The latter can be urged together so as to grip the workpiece parts using a cam drive and mechanical linkage, typically with an overcentre action so that the clamping action has little tendency to reverse until a positive force is applied to release the overcentre action. However in automated assembly, remotely controllable power operated jaws are required and hitherto it has been commonplace to mount a power unit such as a motor, or piston and cylinder drive means, close to or forming part of the support structure for the jaws and to convey power such as electricity or compressed air or hydraulic fluid to the power unit as appropriate, from a remote source. Appropriate switches or valves control the flow of energy to operate the power unit.
The latter may operate positively so that drive is transmitted to clamp and unclamp the jaws, but single acting drive units may be used with a spring return. Thus for example the power unit may be operated so as to close the jaws against a spring which normally holds them open.
Pneumatic cylinders which are the most popular form of power unit for such devices, but these tend to be bulky and the combination of upright support, power unit, and laterally extending jaws becomes a significant entity which can interfere with access to the workpiece parts by joining tools such as welding guns, riveting guns and the like.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to reduce the size of a workpiece support as aforesaid so as to increase the access to workpieces clamped between the jaws.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tool plate on which a number of such workpiece holders are mounted together with a tool plate support onto which the tool plate assembly can be mounted and from which the tool plate assembly can be demounted, readily and easily.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a workpiece clamping means comprises an upstanding support pillar, two relatively movable workpiece engaging jaws extending from and carried by the support, relative movement between the jaws permitting workpiece parts to be gripped therebetween and thrust drive means remote from the support, with thrust transmitting means between the drive means and one of the jaws to effect relative movement between it and the other.
The thrust transmitting means may act on both jaws so that both are driven into engagement, but more conveniently only one of the jaws is movable by the thrust transmitting means and the other jaw is held stationary.
The drive transmitting means may comprise rigid thrust transmitting members such as rods or a flexible sheathed cable or a combination of such devices.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention workpiece clamping means comprises an upstanding support, a first workpiece engaging jaw extending from and fixed relative to the support, a second workpiece clamping jaw pivotally mounted relative to the support and therefore also the first jaw, whereby relative movement between the jaws can clamp workpiece parts therebetween, and thrust drive means remote from the support with thrust transmitting means between the drive means and the movable jaw to effect relative movement between it and the fixed jaw.
The drive means typically comprises an air cylinder.
The thrust transmitting means may comprise a sheathed cable, a sheathed rod or an exposed
REFERENCES:
patent: 2241794 (1941-05-01), Stull
Scherbel David A.
Shanley Daniel G.
Unova U.K. Limited
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