BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to punch and die equipment, and more particularly to a multiple punch and die assembly that is adapted to be installed in a punch press.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A common multipunch often includes as many as ten or more separate punches, each with a corresponding aligned die and often with a stripper located proximate the bottom end of the punch for stripping the work from the punch when the punch is withdrawn. Punches, dies and strippers must be removed at regular intervals for sharpening or replacement. Up to the present this has been a time consuming operation because each time the dies or strippers are removed for cleaning, sharpening, adjustment or replacement, several separate setscrews or fasteners must be individually removed to withdraw the dies or strippers from the punch assembly. See, for example, in Patent EU 396827, FIG. 8. Performing this operation increases the downtime of the punch press. In addition, the multiple fasteners that are required add to the manufacturing cost of the assembly. The applicant of the present application has marketed an axial clamp consisting of eight separate metal shoes that are forced outwardly from the center against the dies to hold them in place, but this product is too expensive and is not suitable for certain applications. Moreover, the retention force cannot be varied to suit the conditions of use and is not uniformly applied over the surface of each die.
OBJECTS
It is therefore one object of the invention to find a way to simplify and streamline the mounting and demounting of dies and strippers from a punch or die assembly.
Another object is to reduce the time required for changing dies or strippers while at the same time reducing the number of parts required in a die or stripper clamping system.
Another object is to provide a means for applying pressure for effectively retaining the dies or strippers in place without scoring or otherwise damaging their surfaces.
Yet another object is to find a way to secure the dies or strippers of a multipunch assembly with a single fastener and a single retainer member to hold all of the dies or strippers in place.
Still another object is to hold dies or strippers in place on a multipunch assembly by applying pressure while including a provision for insuring that the parts will separate easily when pressure is removed.
Another object is to be able to remove the dies or strippers without removing the clamping mechanism itself.
A still further object is to be able to vary the retention force holding the dies or strippers in place to suit the circumstances of use.
The foregoing features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, especially when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals in the several views refer to corresponding parts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a punch assembly showing the upper and lower multipunch body members and a sheet metal workpiece.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lower multipunch body member with pockets on an upwardly facing surface holding ten dies.
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of FIG. 2 taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of the body member of FIGS. 2-4 with the dies removed.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the push plate from above.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the push plate from below.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the die or stripper retainer as seen from below.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the die or stripper retainer as seen from above.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the die or stripper retainer.
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of a die.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of the invention similar to FIGS. 2-5 but with a pair of fasteners holding a die retainer in place of a single fastener.
FIG. 13 is a slightly enlarged view similar to FIG. 2 showing pockets of different size dies and including eight outboard die pockets that do not interact with the die retainer.
FIG. 14 is a partial vertical sectional view taken on line 14-14 of FIG. 1 to show a stripper held in place on a multipunch body member by a retainer and push plate secured to the body member.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a stripper of FIG. 14 in engagement with the retainer of FIG. 14 as seen from above.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the modified form of push plate of FIG. 12 held in place by means of a pair of screw fasteners instead of a single screw fastener.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a die or stripper retainer without recesses in the peripheral sidewall to show how dies contact the sidewall along axial lines or strips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a multiple punch and die assembly (multipunch) now available commercially, the dies and strippers require a significant amount of time for removal and replacement. According to the present invention, the dies or strippers are held within multiple pockets in a multipunch body member by means of a retaining member formed from a rigid or flexible material located in a central recess that is concentrically positioned in the middle of a circle of surrounding dies or strippers. The retaining member is preferably held in place by a push plate that can be secured to the multipunch body member by a fastener or tightening element, e.g., a screw fastener for pressing the push plate and retainer into engagement with the dies or strippers to hold them in their respective pockets in the multipunch body member. By threading the push plate to the body member, the push plate itself can serve as the tightener.
This description is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description of this invention. In the description, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “downwardly”, “upwardly”, etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms such as “connected”, “connecting”, “damped”, “clamping”, “attached”, “attaching”, “join” and “joining” are used interchangeably and refer to one structure or surface being secured to another structure or surface or integrally fabricated in one piece, unless expressively described otherwise.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Refer now particularly to FIGS. 1-3 which show a lower multipunch body member 10 consisting of a top component 10a that functions as a die holder and a bottom component 10b secured to a supporting framework 13 as, for example, by means of cap screws 12 below an upper portion 8 of a multipunch and die assembly 6 of any suitable known construction such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,376,215, EP 2,498,929, 8,413,561, EP 2,079,565, WO 2008048377 and WO 2011059516.
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface 14 of the punch assembly body member 10 is provided in this case with ten pockets 16, each of which comprises a partial cylinder with a centrally facing opening between spaced apart axial edges 18 (FIG. 5), each of which communicates with a central recess 20 that holds a circular ring-shaped retainer member 22 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The retainer is, in turn, held in place by a push plate 24 that is pressed into the recess 20 by means of a tightening element such as a screw fastener 26 that is threaded into a hole 28 in the body member 10a.
It will be noted in FIG. 5 that the dies have been removed so that the configuration of the pockets 16 and recess 20 in the retaining member can be clearly seen. It will be seen that the centrally facing openings between the edges 18 of partitions 19 between the pockets allow communication between the pockets 16 and the central recess 20 which holds the retainer 22. The pockets are arranged in a ring which can be of any shape; oval, square, circular, etc. and the retainer 22 which is shown by way of example as a circular ring can be correspondingly shaped as oval, square, triangular, circular, etc. Thus, the term ring herein is not intended to necessarily refer to a circle.
FIG. 3 shows how a peripheral flange 24a on the push plate 24 pushes straight down on the die retainer 22. Below that is a tapered portion 24b, which is inclined to create an outward force on the die retainer 22 as the push plate 24 is forced downwardly by the screw fastener or other tightener. Thus when the fastener 26 is tightened, the downward pressure of the tightening disk or push plate 24 against the die retainer 22 will cause a peripheral surface of the retainer extending therearound to engage all of the dies and thereby hold the dies in place within the pockets 16. In the embodiment shown, each die 23 has a relief near its upper surface which defines an optional shoulder 23a. The retainer 22 is also provided with a circumferentially extending flange or lip 22a which engages the shoulder 23a of the die to hold it in place more effectively. Alternatively a lip can be spaced downwardly somewhat from the top edge of the retainer 22. If the lip 22a on the retainer member is located somewhat higher, e.g., 0.060 in. than a relief start point of each die, there will be sufficient allowance to enable the dies to be shimmed in an upward direction when the top of the die ground off to resharpen the die opening. The lip 22a of the retainer member 22 and corresponding grooves in the dies or strippers are optional since for some applications the tools can be held in place simply by mechanical engagement and/or friction between the retaining member and the die. Both the peripheral surface of the retainer member and the engaged surfaces of the dies or strippers would each have a cylindrical wall as shown in FIG. 17 that is straight axially with no ledge or groove therein.
The retainer member 22 can be formed from either rigid or flexible material such as rubber or plastic, e.g., polyurethane resin. It can be seen that when the screw fastener 26 is tightened by the tightening disk or push plate 24, the top surface of the retainer member 22 will be pressed downwardly when formed from a flexible material and will be deformed as it is compressed so that its peripheral surface expands laterally into tight engagement with the dies or strippers as the sidewall of the retainer moves outwardly perpendicular to the line of force. Friction between the retainer and the die then holds the die in place during each punching operation. It should also be noted that the applied pressure is radial and thus perpendicular to the line of force to which the die or stripper is subjected when a punching operation is being performed.
Following operation, all of the dies can be removed at once by loosening the center screw fastener 26 or other tightener to eliminate the applied pressure on the push plate, the retaining member and the dies. This makes it possible for the dies to be removed and replaced easily and quickly using a single fastener. By using a torque wrench, an operator can also vary the frictional engagement between the retainer 22 and the dies to suit the particular conditions of use. If desired, a compression spring such as a wave spring 30 can be placed between the retaining member and the multipunch body member to raise the push plate 24 and thus facilitate removal of the push plate 24. In a typical situation, the dies are usually pushed up from the bottom by hand to remove them.
FIGS. 8 and 9 show a preferred form in which the periphery of the retaining member 24 is provided with a plurality of outwardly opening partial recesses or scallops 22b, each shaped to custom fit around the inward aspect of one of the dies. The outwardly facing recesses 22b each define a tool engaging surface. This enables the unitary peripheral surface of the retainer to achieve optimum frictional contact with all of the dies. FIG. 3 shows how the outwardly extending lip 22a is provided to extend over, i.e., overlap, a shoulder 23a of each of the dies to hold each die more securely in place. The retaining member 22 also preferably provided with locating pins 22c which fit into corresponding holes in the punch body member to assure accurate alignment with the dies.
When the retaining member 22 is formed from a rigid material, such as steel, radial mechanical contact between the metal alone is usually not enough to hold each die securely in place. A rigid retaining member therefore employs the lips 22a on the retainer and a relief on each die or stripper to hold down the dies or strippers vertically.
Refer now to FIG. 12 which shows a push plate 24 that has a pair of diametrically opposed openings for fasteners, such as cap screws 25 instead of a single centrally located fastener 26. The fasteners 25 are also shown in FIG. 16.
In preparing for operation, as the tightener applies pressure to the pliable ring 22, it expands laterally exerting an outward force that acts to secure all of the dies in place simultaneously while also acting in combination with the shoulder 23a to provide additional support for holding the dies securely in their pockets. If the retaining member is formed from metal, the lip 22a will hold the dies in place without exerting any outward radial force.
Although recesses 22b are preferred, the recesses in the retainer are optional. When no recesses are used, the outer surface of the retaining member 22 can then be cylindrical in shape as shown in FIG. 17 so as to contact the dies along a vertical line in the case of a rigid retainer or a strip 70 in the case of a flexible retainer, in which case as the fastener 26 is tightened, a progressively greater area of the retaining member will be brought into contact with the centrally facing surface of each die thereby allowing a greater retention force to be provided as the circumstances of use require.
Refer now to FIG. 13 which shows how the dies can be of different sizes. In this case, the multipunch body member 10a is provided with large pockets 50 as well as small pockets 52 for dies (not shown), each held in place by the retainer 22 which has both large recesses 22b and small recesses 22b. The recesses 22b can be of any shape and of various sizes to fit both the large and small diameter dies contiguous with the die retainer 22. In this case the multipunch body member 10a is provided with additional pockets 54 near an outside edge which do not interact with the retainer 22. The outer dies can be held in place in any conventional well-known manner as by setscrews (not shown).
Refer now to FIGS. 14 and 15 which illustrate how the invention is used to hold punch strippers in a multipunch upper body member 8. In this case, the multipunch body member 8 has a lower end surface 15 facing downwardly that includes a circle of pockets 16 (only one of which is shown) arranged concentrically around a central axis in a manner similar to the pockets described above for each holding a stripper 60. Each of the strippers 60 is mounted concentrically over the lower end of one of the punches 62 in the usual way and each punch is mounted within a bore 64 for axial sliding movement in a well-known manner through the center of the stripper 60. The stripper 60 can include a locating pin 60a of a suitable known construction which fits within a slot 17 that extends radially outward from the pocket 16. In this case, the inner aspect of each of the strippers 60 projects centrally as shown at 61 where it is in contact with the retaining member 22. The retaining member is provided with a circumferentially extending lip or flange 22a which projects into a groove 60a that extends circumferentially around the stripper 60. With the lip 22a projecting into each groove 60a, the strippers are all held securely within the pockets 16. During use, the operator places each of the strippers 60 into one of the circumferentially arranged pockets 16, aligned concentrically with punch 62. The retaining member is positioned with the lip 22a extending into each of the grooves 60a of all of the strippers 60. The fastener 26 is then tightened, causing the push plate 24 to press upwardly on the retaining member 22 so as to hold the strippers in place as described above in connection with the dies. When the retaining member 22 is formed from a flexible material such as polyurethane plastic, the axial pressure of the push plate will compress the retainer member thereby forcing its peripheral sidewall surface 22b within each recess 22b firmly into the contact with the adjacent wall portion of the stripper 60 so as to hold it securely in place through frictional engagement in addition to the stabilizing force of the lip 22a.
It is important to point out that the invention eliminates the need to completely remove the push plate or retaining member 22. Once the screw fastener 26 is merely loosened and the pressure is relieved, the dies can be slipped out of their pockets thus saving both time and effort as well as allowing the push plate and retainer 22 to remain attached to the body member 10.
This invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment and operating procedures, can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.
Patent Application
20150020663
