Patent Application
20180200777
The present specification relates generally to transfer press assemblies and, more particularly, to a split idle station assembly for a transfer press assembly that has improved user ergonomics.
Transfer presses are generally used in metal-stamping operations and in particular for deep-drawn metal forming operations. Such a press typically includes numerous sequentially-arranged stations each of which receives and transfers a metal blank as it is being successively formed into its desired shape along numerous die stations.
Typically, the transfer press includes one or more idle stations situated between the successive punch-and-die stations as a way to provide locating and positioning functions for the part being formed. Because the parts being formed may be of different sizes or shapes, it is beneficial to provide the idle stations with the ability to accurately support, position and locate the parts, regardless of such size or shape. One conventional way to achieve this is to have the part-holding portion of the idle stations be of divided construction so that they can be split laterally (i.e., sideways) along the part-forming and transferring direction. During such splitting, an operator unhooks a hinged, spring loaded handle from a retainer and pulls one half of the part-holding portion of the idle station toward him or her, while the other half moves in an opposing direction via cable or related linkage.
Unfortunately, while the handle is deployed in this manner, it projects significantly into the assembly or work area floor space. At such times, the operator must lower the handle to his or her feet and then hinge it partially away from the work area. Such a handle—even when hinged away as far as possible from the feet—forms a tripping hazard. Furthermore, the deployed handle forms an ergonomic burden to the operator to pick up and re-insert once the idle station part moving activity is complete.
In one embodiment, a split idle station for a transfer press is disclosed. The station includes a track assembly, first and second base assemblies slidably connected to the track assembly and a drive assembly that moves at least one of the first base assembly and the second base assembly relative to one another along the track assembly. The drive assembly includes a coupling mechanism and a handle cooperative that together cause selective movement between the base assemblies. The handle has a retractable construction such that it substantially fits within the dimensions defined by the track assembly. As such, the handle does not extend substantially beyond one or both of an elongate dimension and a lateral dimension defined by the track assembly when the handle is either stowed when the base assemblies are in their support configuration or deployed when the base assemblies are in their split configuration. Such handle construction avoids having to have the handle be left out as a tripping hazard in portions of a manufacturing environment that is adjacent the transfer station.
In another embodiment, a transfer press assembly is disclosed. The transfer press assembly includes a first work station, a second work station, a transfer feed assembly that transfers a work piece from the first work station to the second work station and a split idle station assembly disposed between the first work station and the second work station, the split idle station assembly including a track assembly, first and second base assemblies slidably connected to the track assembly and a drive assembly that moves at least one of the first base assembly and the second base assembly relative to one another along the track assembly. The drive assembly includes a coupling mechanism and a handle cooperative that together cause selective movement between the base assemblies along the track assembly, where the handle has a retractable construction such that it substantially fits within the dimensions defined by the track assembly.
In yet another embodiment, a method of operating on a work piece in a transfer press assembly is disclosed. The method includes moving the work piece to a split idle station from the work station, moving the handle along a substantially elongate dimension of the track assembly and selectively moving the work piece on the idle station. The idle station includes a track assembly, a pair of base assemblies slidably connected to the track assembly, and a drive assembly that moves at least one of the first base assembly and the second base assembly relative to one another along the track assembly to define one of a support configuration and a split configuration. In one form, the drive assembly includes a coupling mechanism and a selectively lockable handle, while in another, the handle may be directly coupled to the base assemblies without the drive assembly acting as an intermediary. The handle has retractable construction such that when in a locked condition, any of its inward or outward movement substantially prevents the handle from retracting, which in turn causes a change from one of the support configuration and the split configuration to the other of the support configuration and the split configuration. Likewise, when the handle is in an unlocked condition, any of its inward or outward movement corresponds to the handle extending or retracting such that the movement does not substantially result in the station changing from one of the support configuration and the split configuration to the other of the support configuration and the split configuration during such extending or retracting. Moreover, the retractable construction permits the handle to move from a deployed position to a stowed position while the station remains in its split configuration, the stowed position configured such that the handle does not substantially extend beyond at least one of the elongate dimension and a lateral dimension defined by the track assembly.
These and additional features provided by the embodiments described herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings.
The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:
Embodiments disclosed herein include a handle used in a transfer press assembly to eliminate tripping hazards associated with its use in a split idle station, to reduce interference with the part-forming process of the transfer press and related die-forming stations, and to reduce ergonomic strain associated with the use of the handle in the split idle station. In one particular form, the handle is retractable to remain in an ergonomic neutral position (i.e., neither raised nor lowered) when pulling out or pushing it in as part of changing the idle station from a support configuration to a split configuration of vice versa. In a more particular form, a 90° (i.e., quarter rotation) twist of the handle, followed by a pushing half of the shaft inside the other half, retracts the handle away from the working area and back into the track assembly to eliminate any tripping hazard, as well as reduces the ergonomic burden of the operator having to bend over to retrieve the handle.
Referring first to
A split idle station assembly 32 is sized and located between the two work stations 28 and 30 within the transfer region 26 to receive a work piece between working operations. Additionally, while only two work stations 28 and 30 and one split idle station assembly 32 are shown for illustrative purposes, it will be appreciated that any number of work stations 28 and 30 and split idle station assemblies 32 can be employed, and that all such variants are within the scope of the present disclosure. The feed transfer assembly 12 is used to transfer the work pieces from one work station 28 to the split idle station assembly 32 and then to the second work station 30, and so on. Two or more types of transfer motion may be used by the transfer feed bars 14 and 16. In some embodiments, the transfer motion of the transfer feed bars 14 and 16 may include a lateral engagement motion in the direction of arrow 38, into and away from the transfer region 26. Within the present context, the axial feed direction 22 and the lateral engagement motion 38 correspond to the X and Y axes respectively of a conventional Cartesian coordinate system as shown. It will be appreciated that such labels are arbitrary and a matter of descriptive convenience, and as such may vary depending on the context. For example, within the larger transfer press assembly 10, the axial dimension may correspond to the direction of flow of the work piece, whereas within individual components such as the track assembly 66 as shown in
This transfer motion of the transfer feed bars 14 and 16 and the fingers 24 engage the work pieces for a transfer operation. Movement of the feed bars 14 and 16 may be controlled using a feed control system 50. In one form, the feed control system 50 may include a computer 52 having logic for controlling operation of various transfer motors 54 and 56 for the transfer, indexing and lifting motions associated with moving the work pieces. In one form, the computer 52 may be used to control operation of the presses 34 and 36 as well as the motors 54, 56. Automated operation may take place through control logic, program code or a related algorithm in the form of computer-executable (i.e., machine-readable) instructions that can be performed, run or otherwise conducted on the computer 52. Such computer-executable instructions may be written in any programming language, including machine language that may be directly executed by a processor as discussed below, assembly language, object-oriented programming (OOP) language, scripting languages, microcode or the like that may be compiled or assembled and stored in memory as discussed below. Alternatively, the machine readable instructions may be written in a hardware description language (HDL), such as logic implemented via either a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) configuration or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), as well as their equivalents. As such, the system and methods described herein may be implemented in any conventional computer programming language, as pre-programmed hardware elements, or as a combination of hardware and software components.
In one form, the computer 52 may be configured to include one or more of an input and output (I/O), a processing unit (often referred to as a central processing unit (CPU) or more generally as a processor) and memory the last of which can temporarily or permanently store such a code, program or algorithm such that the instructions contained in the code are operated upon by the processing unit based on input data received by I/O such that output data generated by the code and the processing unit can be conveyed to another program or a user via I/O. It will be appreciated that instead of a single CPU, the processing unit may be in the form of numerous distributed microprocessors or related processing means, and that either variant is deemed to be within the scope of the present disclosure as long as they are capable of executing the machine-readable versions of the control logic, program code or related algorithm. In one form, a data-containing portion of the memory—also associated with volatile working memory—is referred to as random access memory (RAM), while an instruction-containing portion of the memory—also associated with permanent or non-volatile memory—is referred to as read only memory (ROM). Thus, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer-executable instructions that embody the calculations discussed elsewhere in this disclosure can be placed within an appropriate location (such as the aforementioned memory) within computer 52 in order to achieve the objectives set forth in the present invention. In one form, the computer 52 may include additional chipsets (not shown) for peripheral functions. A data bus or related set of wires and associated circuitry forms a suitable data communication path that can act as a local interface or related interconnect for the I/O, processing unit and memory, as well as any peripheral equipment in such a way as to permit the computer 52 to communicate with the transfer press assembly 10 and its associated assemblies, components or related functional modules. Details associated with the operation of the transfer press assembly 10 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,925,363 that is owned by the assignee of the present disclosure and the details of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Referring next to
The split idle station assembly 32 is presently illustrated with particularity in its split configuration, where the first base assembly 60 spaced apart from the second base assembly 62 along the length (i.e., elongate, axial) dimension of the rail 68 of the track assembly 66. The base assemblies 60, 62 include a track support (not shown) that rides along the rail 68 horizontally or side-to-side (i.e., substantially transverse to the feed direction 22 shown in
The first base assembly 60 and the second base assembly 62 are connected to a drive assembly 100. The drive assembly 100 may be used to move the first base assembly 60 and the second base assembly 62 toward and away from each other between the split configuration and the support configuration (the latter not shown). In one form, the drive assembly 100 includes a coupling mechanism 102 that has a pulley 104 located at a first base assembly side 106 of the rail 68 and a pulley 108 located at a second base assembly side 110 of the rail 68. A continuous belt or cable 112 may be trained around the pulleys 104 and 108. The cable 112 may include a first leg 114 and a second leg 116. The first leg 114 may be connected to a cable connect arm 118 of the first base assembly 60 and the second leg 116 may be connected to a cable connect arm 120 of the second base assembly 62.
Referring next to
The handle 122 can be used to slide the second base assembly 62 along the rail 68. Because the second base assembly 62 is connected to the second leg 116 of the cable 112, the cable 112 moves about the pulleys 104 and 108. When moving the first base assembly 60 and the second base assembly 62 toward each other to the support configuration, the operator typically grasps the handle 122 and pushes the second base assembly 62 toward the first base assembly 60. Such movement of the second base assembly 62 causes the second leg 116 to move in the direction of arrow 124 due to the connection between a cable connect arm 120 of the second base assembly 62 and the second leg 116. Such movement of the second base assembly 62 also causes simultaneous movement of the first leg 114 in the direction of arrow 126, opposite the direction of arrow 124. Such movement of the first leg 114 causes the first base assembly 60 to move toward the second base assembly 62 due to the connection between the first leg 114 and a cable connect arm 118 of the first base assembly 60. Thus, the combination of the track assembly 66 along with the coupling mechanism 102 promotes sympathetic movement between the base assemblies 60, 62 to allow positioning of the first and second base assemblies 60, 62 apart from each other and near respective lateral sides 106 and 110 of the split idle station assembly 32. Such positioning of the first base assembly 60 near the side 106 and the second base assembly 62 near side 110 can allow for greater reach-in access by an operator or other personnel during a split configuration.
Referring next to
As shown with particularity in
The locked condition associated with the pin 224A being secured within the locking section 223B may remain at least until the operator applies a sufficient force to overcome any bias, such as that associated with the spring mentioned above. The tubular receiver of the first portion 223 has an inner diameter that is larger than the outer diameter of the adjacent second portion 224 so that it is sized to receive at least the second portion 224 in a nesting fashion within its tubular cavity. When the handle 222 is in the locked position, the various telescopic portions 223, 224 and 225 cannot translate relative to one another. Thus, when an operator pulls on the T-shaped end of the handle 222, the entire handle 222 moves laterally rightward relative to the remainder of the split idle station assembly 32 along the elongate dimension 66E, such action has the effect of pulling the second base assembly 62 away from the first base assembly 60 so that the split idle station assembly 32 is in its split (i.e., out or deployed) position. After that, the operator can rotationally turn the handle 222 a quarter turn T (i.e., 90°) and then telescopically slide the handle 222 back into itself along the elongate dimension of the various portions 223, 224 and 225 so that the handle 222 retracts out of the way of laterally-adjacent floor space or other work area while still leaving the idle station 32 in its split position to permit the operator to proceed with normal part-forming process operations on the work piece. Thus, once the work is complete, the operator may pull the handle 222 back out to its fully extended position, and perform an opposing turn T to lock the various portions 223, 224 and 225 of the handle 222 into place in order to push the extended handle 222 and the first and second base assemblies 60, 62 of the split idle station 32 back into the transfer press assembly 10 for subsequent forming operations. Depending on the precise construction of a slotted locking section 223B that extends away from the main groove 223A (for example, whether or not it includes a laterally-spaced projection that extends a small amount along the elongate direction of the main groove 223A), the force applied by the operator to overcome the spring bias may include not just rotational movement of the handle 222, but slight translational movement as well to further promote locking integrity. This locked condition construction creates a fail-safe device so the split idle station assembly 32 cannot be pushed in without the handle being returned 90° and fully extended, thereby ensuring that the split idle station assembly 32 is completely engaged for when the transfer press assembly 10 is in a running condition.
Referring next to
It is noted that the terms “substantially” and “about” may be utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. These terms are also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.
While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. For example, the system and methods using the system may be implemented in one or both of software and hardware, and that all variations on the embodiments of such system and method as discussed herein will be understood to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the order of steps associated with such methods may be changed, while various features of the system may be combined, added, removed, reordered, modified or the like, and still be within the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.
