US2623773A - Mechanism for handling sheets of material - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 30, 1952 J. MELZER MECHANISM FOR HANDLING SHEETS OF MATERIAL Filed July 7, 1947 70 SOURCE OF 1 VACUUM INVENTOR ATTO Patented Dec. 30, 1952 MECHANISM FOR HANDLING SHEETS OF MATERIAL Julius Melzer, Bellaire, N. Y., assignor to Ameri can Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 7, 1947, Serial No. 759,325

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a mechanism for handling sheets of material such as tin plate or other thin sheets of fibrous or nonfibrous material and has particular reference to sheet gripper devices which are movable into different sheet engaging positions in accordance with the surface dimensions of a sheet to be moved.

An object of the invention is the provision in a mechanism for handling sheets of material, of shiftable gripper devices wherein the gripper devices may be shifted in accordance with the area or surface dimensions of different sheets to be moved so that the gripper devices will engage sheets of different sizes in the same relative position to facilitate moving of the sheets.

Another object is the provision of such a mechanism wherein the gripper devices may be locked in an adjusted position for engaging a plurality of sheets of the same size, individually, and in a, predetermined place on their surfaces and may be rapidly changed to another position for engaging sheets of a difierent size in the same or a different relative position, to facilitate moving of the sheets.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a mechanism embodying the instant invention, with parts broken away and parts shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan section of a gripper device used in the mechanism, the view being taken substantially along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are enlarged schematic plan views showing the gripper device in different positions in accordance with the size of the sheet to be moved to facilitate moving of the sheet; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of assembled portions of the cup gripper support and its actuating rod, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section.

As a preferred embodiment of the invention the drawings illustrate a, sheet handling mechanism of the type used in a strip feed press such as the press disclosed in United States Patent 1,443,761 issued January 30, 1923 to H. Schoendelen on a Safety Device for Punch Presses and the like, although the invention is equally well adapted to other machines and other types of sheet handling devices. In such a strip feed press, sheet metal strips A (Fig. 3) from which container parts or other articles are to be formed,

- 2 are lifted individually from the top of a stack of such strips contained in a stationary magazine II and are then fed endwise into the press for the forming operation.

Lifting of the strips A from the magazine, preferably is eifected by a plurality of vacuum or suction cups l2 which are preferably made of rubber or other suitable material. l'here usually are three of these suction cups arranged in a straight line, when used in a strip feed press, and they are moved in unison toward and away from the stack of strips in the magazine II. when in a lowered position the cups engage against the top surface or the upper strip along its longitudinal center line or center of gravity so that the strip will be balanced during the lifting operation. In some cases, electro-magnets or permanent magnets may be used instead of suction cups.

The suction cups l2 are moved toward and away from the stack of strips by a plurality of hollow actuating rods l4 carried in pairs of spaced bearings 15 formed on brackets 16 secured to a frame H, which may be the main frame of the punch press to which the mechanism is attached. The upper end of the rod leads to any suitable source of vacuum.

Intermediate the bearings IS the rods 14 carry collars it which are connected to the lower ends of actuating links 19. The upper ends of the links are connected to any suitable source of reciprocating motion for lowering the suction cups l2 in aligned unison into engagement with a strip A and 101 raising them and the gripped strip as hereinbefore mentioned.

In the instant mechanism, provision is made for shifting the suction cups [2 in a plane parallel with the plan surface of the strip to be lifted so that the same cups may be used for strips of different widths and lengths without changing the spacing of the cup supports. For this purpose the suction cups l2 are secured by a hollow nut 21 (Fig. 1) to a hollow suction head 22 carried on the lower end of a hollow stem 23 which depends from and which is formed integrally with a cup support member or element 24 carried on the lower end of the actuating rods [4. The stem 23 is located in an eccentric position relative to the actuating rod M.

The lower ends of the actuating rods 14 extend down into a blind bore 26 formed in the cup support member 24 and terminate adjacent a vacuum channel 21 which communicates with the hollow stem 23 (Figs. 1 and 6). The lower ends of the rods are formed with vacuum grooves 28 which insure a continuous open vacuum passageway from the eccentrically disposed suction cups 12 to the source of vacuum even though the end of the rod engages against the blind end of the bore 26.

The cup support member 24 is locked in posi tion on the lower ends of the actuating rods M by a locking stud 3| (Figs. 1 and 2) which is disposed at right angles to the rods I4 and which is located in an aperture 32 formed in the support member partially across the blind bore 26 The locking stud is formed with a locking groove 33 which corresponds substantially to the outer curvature of the rod. Oneend of thefstud, is threaded and extends beyond the support member 24 and carries a locking nut 34 which may be tightened or loosened on the stud by a wrench;

or other suitable tool.

When the nut 34 is tightened it draws the locking stud 3i tightly againstthe actuating rod ..di in th ll lski gro ve 3 a d u holds the supportmember securely in place on the end of the rod. With such a 'constru'ction of support member for the eocentrically disposed suction cup l2, themember may be readily rotated on the actuating rod 14 by a mere loosening of the loclgnut 34 and thus the eccentrically mounted suction cup mlay be shifted with the member through a working arc of 180 degrees into a plurality ofangular positions relative to the rod and the plane of the top surfaces of the strips A in the magazine of the press. v V V Thus the suction cup maybe shifted into a position corresponding to the widthof a strip so that the cup may always bev located on the longitudinal centerline or center of gravity of the strip no matter what the width of the strip may be so long as it is within the 180 degrees range of movement of thecup. Fora narrow strip the cup may be shifted into a, position such as that shown in Fig. 3. Fora wider strip thecup may be located as in Fig. 4 and for a still wider strip as en e a numb r. of difil r n ths o Strips maybe accommodated by making the eccentricity of the suction cup sufficient to cover the range f. str to bew rk s p n t s,d r .d to r ul te. th lo at nni the cups, qrl i e ly Qit e ri s. ns ad pii ns emdy a gxplaflined bove, i so m beefiwhslbvfi me shiftin of, er un. up o t mbe -wait su h an adi m tof .thew s p t m m 2 is k d os t on on. the actuating 504s M by a tightening of the lock nut 34 as hereinbefore x a d-.4 a

Itis thought thatthe invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent thatvarious changes rnaybe made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

In a mechanism forhandlingsheetsof material such as tinlplate the combination of an actuating member movable longitudinally toward and from a sheet to be handled and having a cylindrical portion at the lower end thereof, said actuating member being formed with a longitudinal passage extending from said end adjacent the cylindrical portion toward the opposite end of the. member and having communication with ,asource ofvacuum, the end of said member adjacent said cylindrical portion being formed with closely spaced transverse grooves radiating fromtheend of said passage to the cylindrical surface of said end portion, a gripper support having a blind bore formed therein substantially complementary to said cylindrical portion of the actuating member receiving said cylindrical r q o t nne r ete 5 ib 'fibs ii he eby a dw mrt m y. 2 ..9i teqe w 1 a at m r .3413 il". 33 4% 199 94 ve theret a hollow. st mserr d f maid u and n ed ic enui to a d bl nd bor and a tuat n membe ,aivaq um, s mm ne o an a a y disposed relative to t eh werexiemity of said stem. said r per. a. net ansr verse channel formed thereinand extending from said hollow stem to the lower end, of said blind bore for establishing, communication between said vacuum cup and, said, source of vacuum, said transverse grooves maintaining, constant, communication between said transverse channel, and the, passage in'saidactuating member in any selected arcuate position ofwsaid gripper relative c to said actuating member for engaging andholding a sheet when said cup is moved by said actuating member.

JULIUS MELZER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patentz V UNITEQ STATES PATENTS Number Name ,9 Date 1,109,079 Marten et a1 Sept. 1,1914 1,621,546 Kluge et al Man-22,1927 1,915,258 Broadmeyer June 20, 1933 2,081,958 Root June 1, 19.37 2,123,549 Williams July 12, 1938 2,284,429 Jirousek May 26,1942 2,284,430 Jirousek May 26, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 7 Date;

91,403 Sweden Feb. 28, 1935

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