Long stroke slide assemblies

Abstract

A slide assembly for use on a forming turret in a machine line that forms articles, such as cans, comprises a fixed rail, a slide block configured to slide in the rail, and an adaptor that is mounted to the rail. The slide assembly is configured to provide at least a 4.0 inch or more stroke that is stable and minimizes shaking or other movement. The slide assembly is designed such that ends of at least one of the adaptor and rail remain rigid during the stroke operation.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, appended claims, and the accompanying exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, which are briefly described below.

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a plurality of long stroke ram assemblies installed on a shaft according to an embodiment of the invention in which both push rams and knock-out rams are shown.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a machine line with a can forming machine that utilizes a ram assembly according to an embodiment showing an infeed turret, a forming/process turret and a discharge or secondary turret.

FIG. 3 is a top, perspective view of a push ram assembly.

FIG. 4 is a bottom, perspective view of the push ram assembly of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top, perspective view of a knock-out ram assembly.

FIG. 6 is a bottom, perspective view of the knock-out ram assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cam support and a cam on which ram assembly may be utilized.

FIG. 8 is a profile view of a cam follower.

FIG. 9 is a view of a plurality of ram assemblies installed on a shaft.

Claims

1. A processing turret, comprising: a processing element to process an article;a cam;a cam support; anda slide assembly for moving an article and/or the processing element in the processing turret, the slide assembly including a rail and an adaptor,wherein the assembly is configured to provide approximately a 4.0 inch stroke or more to move the article and/or processing element, andwherein ends of at least one of the adaptor and rail remain rigid during the stroke operation.

2. The processing turret according to claim 1, wherein one end of the adaptor includes a cam follower to follow the cam, and an opposite end of the adaptor includes a mounting device.

3. The processing turret according to claim 2, wherein the cam follower includes a crowned profile to follow the cam.

4. The processing turret according to claim 1, wherein the slide assembly includes a slide block.

5. The processing turret according to claim 4, wherein the slide block includes rolling elements, and wherein during a stroke of the ram assembly, a force imparted onto the ram assembly by the stroke is centered on the rolling elements.

6. The processing turret according to claim 4, wherein the rail slides in the slide block.

7. The processing turret according to claim 4, wherein the slide block is fixed.

8. The processing turret according to claim 2, wherein the mounting device includes a knockout-tooling device.

9. The processing turret according to claim 2, wherein the mounting device includes a push-plate.

10. The processing turret according to claim 1, wherein the article is a bottle or can and the processing element is a bottle or can processing element.

11. The processing turret according to claim 1, wherein the assembly provides approximately a 4.6 inch or more stroke.

12. A machine line for processing an article, comprising: at least one forming turret for processing an article; anda slide assembly to move the article and/or a processing element on the forming turret, the slide assembly comprising: a fixed rail;a slide block configured to slide in the rail; andan adaptor mounted to the rail,wherein the assembly is configured to provide at least an approximately 4.0 inch or more stroke while moving the article and/or the processing element.

13. The machine line according to claim 12, wherein one end of the adaptor includes a cam follower, and an opposite end of the adaptor includes a mounting device.

14. The machine line according to claim 12, wherein the cam follower includes a crowned profile to follow the cam.

15. The machine line according to claim 12, wherein the slide block includes rolling elements, and wherein during a stroke of the ram assembly, a force imparted onto the ram assembly by the stroke is centered on the rolling elements.

16. The machine line according to claim 12, wherein the slide block is fixed.

17. The machine line according to claim 13, wherein the mounting device includes a knockout-tooling device.

18. The machine line according to claim 13, wherein the mounting device includes a push-plate.

19. The machine line according to claim 12, wherein the article is a bottle or can and the forming turret is a bottle or can forming turret.

20. The machine line according to claim 12, wherein the assembly provides approximately a 4.6 inch or more stroke.

21. An apparatus for a slide assembly, comprising: a rail; andan adaptor mounted to the rail,wherein the assembly is configured to provide at least an approximately 4.0 inch or more stroke to move a can in a can processing machine, andwherein ends of at least one of the adaptor and rail remain rigid during the stroke operation.

22. A method for a utilizing a ram assembly in an article forming apparatus comprising the steps of: performing a forming operation on the article in a forming head; andperforming at least an approximately 4.0 inch or more stroke with the ram assembly while maintaining proper alignment of the article with the forming head.