Patent Application
20120263518
The disclosure relates to a clamping apparatus and, more particularly, to a shaft mounted in a housing so that it is displaceable perpendicular to its axis of rotation in a guide element, connected to the drive mechanism, to implement a rotational and translational movement to the clamp actuating element.
DE 10 2004 007 465 A1 illustrates a clamping apparatus. It discloses a shaft that is mounted in a housing element. The shaft can be rotated about an axis of rotation (pivot axis). The shaft, on the one hand, is connected to a drive mechanism disposed in the housing element and, on the other hand, is connected to an actuating element (in particular a clamping tool with clamping arm) in a torsion-proof manner. In particular, with reference to
The clamping apparatuses are used, for example, in automobile manufacture to firmly clamp parts to be welded together.
It is the object of the disclosure to improve a clamping apparatus of the above type.
The object is achieved by a clamping apparatus that comprises a shaft mounted in a housing element. The shaft is rotated about an axis of rotation. One end of the shaft is connected to a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is disposed in the housing element. The other end of the shaft is connected to an actuating element in a torsion-proof manner. The shaft implements a rotational and translational movement to the actuating element. The shaft is mounted so that it can be displaced perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The shaft is positioned in a guide element that is connected to the drive mechanism. The guide element is rotatably mounted in the housing element.
According to the disclosure, the shaft, which implements a rotational and translational movement of the actuating element, is mounted so that it can be displaced perpendicular to the axis of rotation in a guide element. The guide element is connected to the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is rotatably mounted in the housing element.
Further, according to the disclosure, rotary or rotational movement of the shaft can be superposed with a displacement or translational movement. This additional degree of freedom has an advantage that it is possible to initially bring, for example, the clamping arm to the workpiece or towards the workpiece with a simple pivoting movement. The translational movement carries out or concludes the clamping process.
This increased technical effort has the advantage that the actuating element can be placed parallel onto the workpiece. The result is that edge imprints, which increasingly occur during purely rotative movement of the actuating element, can be avoided. This aspect takes into account the requirement to provide as little excess material as possible at the parts to be welded. The result is that clamping points are increasingly positioned on surfaces that are subsequently visible. It follows that imprints of the actuating element cannot specifically remain at these points.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The clamping apparatus according to the invention including its advantageous further developments according to the dependent patent claims will be explained in detail hereinafter with reference to the diagrammatic representation of two exemplary embodiments.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The clamping apparatus shown in
In all embodiments of the clamping apparatus according to the disclosure, the shaft 2, which implements a rotational and a translational movement of the actuating element 4, is mounted so that it can be displaced perpendicularly to the axis of rotation in a guide element. The guide element is connected to the drive mechanism 3. The guide mechanism 3 is mounted rotatably in the housing element 1.
According to the disclosure, as already explained, and is also apparent from the figures, it is possible to pivot the actuating element or the clamping arm and to move it in a translational manner. Specifically, in particular, it moves towards the end of the clamping movement. Conversely, during the release initially a displacement movement and finally the pivoting movement takes place. This takes place, in particular, in order to avoid scratches or imprints on the workpiece during firm clamping.
The displacement movement typically covers a range of a few millimeters whereas the pivoting range is at least 90°, preferably up to at least 150°. As is apparent from the figures, the axis of rotation always moves together with the shaft 2 (parallel displacement).
In order to be able to simply mount the clamping apparatus, the housing element 1 is formed from two housing shells, 19, 20 as seen in
The guide element 5 has a through opening for the shaft 2 (see
According to the two exemplary embodiments shown in the figures, the drive mechanism 3 is connected to the actuating element 4. A lever arm 7, oriented perpendicular to the axis of rotation, is disposed on the shaft 2. A guide member 8 is disposed on the lever arm 7. The guide member 8 faces away from the shaft. A guide track 9 is disposed on the housing element 1 or on the housing shells 19, 20 to receive the guide member 8. The track 9 includes a first radially variable and a second radially constant guide region 10, 11 in relation to the axis of rotation, as seen in
As a comparison shows, in the embodiment shown in the figures, some of the aforesaid components are present in duplicate. These were not mentioned explicitly in the description merely for the sake of clarity. This also applies to the following description.
It is further provided that the guide element 5 is provided with a lever arm 12 oriented perpendicular to the axis of rotation. In addition, a lug 13 is disposed between the lever arm 7 on the shaft side and the lever arm 12 on the guide element side. The lug 13 is connected on the shaft side, at one end of the lever arm 7. On the other end it is connected to the lever arm 12, on the guide element side, in an articulated manner. In addition, the guide member 8 is disposed on one side and the tab 13 is disposed on another side of the lever arm 7 of the shaft 2.
The guide element 5 is provided with a gear wheel or at least with one gear wheel section 14 surrounding the guide element. The gear wheel section 14 is connected to the lever arm 12 in a torsionally rigid manner. The gear wheel section 14 is mounted together with the lever arm 12 so that it can be rotated on the guide element 5. Furthermore, an axis of rotation of the gear wheel section 14 is configured to run parallel to the axis of rotation of the shaft 2.
As is deduced from the figures, the guide element 5 is in principle, formed from two circular segments that extend depthwise. The shaft 2 is located between the two segments. The structural cohesion is obtained through the lever arm 12 and the gear wheel section 14. Each has a correspondingly large circular through opening. The shaft 2 is displaceable between the two circular-segment-shaped parts of the guide element 5 (parallel to the axis of rotation). The exact position will be determined by the guide member 8, running in the guide track 9, and the lug 13 connected both to the lever arm 7 and to the lever arm 12.
The gear wheel section 14 or the gear wheel is configured to cooperate with a tooth segment 15 to transmit a torque to the shaft 2. The tooth segment 15 is rotatably mounted in the housing element 1. The tooth segment 15 is preferably configured in a triangular or slice-of-cake shape. The tooth segment 15 is connected at its pointed end (apex), via a rotary joint 22, to the housing element 1 or the housing shells 19, 20.
A pivot lever 16 is disposed in the housing element 1. The pivot lever 16 can be pivoted about a pivot axis 17. The pivot axis 17 is located parallel to the axis of rotation. A lug 18 is arranged in an articulated manner on a region of the pivot lever 16 remote from the pivot axis. The lug 18 is connected, with its end remote from the pivot lever in an articulated manner, to the tooth segment 15. The lug 18, connected to the pivot lever 16, is disposed in an articulated manner on the tooth segment 15 at a distance from the rotary joint 22 of the tooth segment 15.
In order to be able to transmit an (adjusting) force to the pivot lever 16, the pivot axis 17 is either connected to a hand lever (accessible from outside) (not shown) or the pivot lever 16 is provided with a slit-shaped engagement region 23. In the exemplary embodiment according to
With reference to
Alternatively to the two exemplary embodiments with gear wheels or rotary spindles shown in
The functioning of the two exemplary embodiments will be briefly explained.
The starting point for the first exemplary embodiment is
The second exemplary embodiment shown in
The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
