GB2114091A

GB2114091A - Article positioning apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2114091A
Application number: GB08136540A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas George Clarke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-12-03
Filing date: 1981-12-03
Publication date: 1983-08-17
Also published as: GB2114091B

Abstract

Article positioning apparatus comprises two housings 10, 11 mounted one upon the other with the upper housing 11 overlapping the lower housing 10, the upper housing 11 containing pistons and cylinders for operating clamping means vertically and horizontally and the lower housing 11 containing pressure control switches 13, 14, 5 operated by solenoids 18, 19, 20 for controlling supply of fluid to the cylinders, the exhausts being variable by hand adjustable valves in the upper housing; the lower housing 10 also enclosing electronic circuitry 21 having switches 24, 26 for effecting the vertical and horizontal movements by hand or automatically. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Article positioning apparatus This invention relates to article positioning apparatus and its main object is to simplify the mechanical construction of such an apparatus for collecting articles from one position and moving them to another required position with a high degree of accuracy. The most common use of such apparatus is intended to be for moving a series of partly manufactured articles one at a time from one position to another position where a further operation is to be carried out thereon.

According to the present invention the apparatus comprises two housings, one fixed upon the other, the lower housing containing fluid pressure supply means and electronic means for automatic control of said supply means adapted to provide fluid pressure to supply ducts, said upper housing containing horizontal guide members fixed therein and a first double acting piston and cylinder device supplied with fluid from a first pair of said ducts, a bearing block mounted on said piston and slidable on said guide members, vertical slide members slidable in bearings in said block, a second double acting piston and cylinder device supplied from a second pair of said ducts for moving said slide members vertically, a carrier block mounted on said vertical siide members, article clamping means mounted on said carrier block, and a third piston and cylinder device mounted on said carrier block and supplied with fluid from another of said ducts.

By means of this apparatus the clamping means can be opened and closed at required moments and moved horizontally and vertically to collect an article for one position and locate it at another selected position with accuracy.

The invention will be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings wherein:~ Figure 1 is an elevational view of an apparatus made in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a view thereof in the direction of the arrow 2 on Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view in the same direction as Figure 1 showing the upper housing; Fig. 4 is a view in the direction of the arrow 4 on Figure 3; Figure 5 is a sectional view on the plane 5-5 on Figure 3; and Figure 6 is a sectional view of the clamping means.

The apparatus comprises basically two housings 10, 1 The lower housing 10 has a fluid pressure inlet 12 connected to pneumatic switches 13, 14, 15 which are operated by solenoids 18, 19, 20 to supply and exhaust fluid e.g. air as required. The exhausts from the switches are controlled by five hand adjustable valves 1 6.

The housing 10 also encloses electronic circuitry 21 for controlling the circuitry. The circuitry 21 includes two switches at 24 for effecting vertical and horizontal movements of the clamping means and two switches at 26 one for setting for manual operation and the other for switching from manual operation to automatic operation and vice versa.

The housing 10 has an upper horizontal flat plate 27 on which the upper housing 11 is seated for which purpose the upper housing has a bottom flat plate 28 which is bolted as at 30 to the plate 27. The upper housing 11 overlaps the lower housing by a distance sufficient to allow for the required horizontal movements of the article clamping means shown at 31 and having clamping jaws 32.

In this example a support 34 fixed to the housing 10 carries a receiver 35 for receiving articles-36 from a chute 37 and carries a spindle 40 on to which the articles 36 are to be placed and removed.

Fixed within the upper housing 11 are two mounting blocks 42, 43 one (42) at the free end of the housing and the other (43) within the housing between its ends. The block 43 carries a double acting cylinder 48 on the side remote from the clamping means. On the other side of the block 43 there are two fixed horizontal guide rods 44, 45 mounted at their ends in the blocks 42, 43. The cylinder contains a piston connected to a piston rod 49 located between the rods 44, 45 in the same vertical plane. The free end of the piston rod is fixed to a horizontally movable bearing block 50. The piston rod has a threaded end 51 screwed into a thimble 52 located in a bore in ti(e block 50 and positioned endwise by a flange 54 and a flange 53 on a screw 55, the screw being engageable with an adjustable stop 56. The block 43 also carries an adjustable stop 57.

The block 53 houses bearings 60 for two vertically slidable rods 61, 62 which the block contains two shock absorbers 63, 64 with projecting abutments 65, 66. The upper ends of the rods 61, 62 carry a bar 67 on which an adjustable stop 68 is mounted to limit the downward movement of the rods.

A carrier b!ock 69 is fixed to the lower ends of the rods 61,62.

Two cylinder blocks 70, 71 are provided having cylinders 73, 74 containing pistons the piston rods of which are shown at 75,76.

The cylinder block 71 is fixed in the block 53.

The cylinder block 70 has its lower end 78 (Figure 6) threaded and this is screwed into a tapped bore on the carrier block 69 so as to move vertically with it.

The cylinder 74 is double acting and has inlet/outlet ports at 80, 81. The piston in the cylinder is moved downwardly by pneumatic pressure and urged upwardly by a spring-but this also may be pneumatically double acting if desired.

The ports of the cylinders 48, 73, 74 are connected by flexible tubes to the pneumatic switches 1 3, 14, 1 5 and the speed of advance and retraction is controlled by the valves 16.

Fixed to the carrier block 69 and projecting downwardly from it is the clamping means 31 of generally known construction which includes elastically made clamping jaws 32 and a vertically movable sleeve 86 which moves the clamping jaws together as it descends. The sleeve 86 is connected by a pin 87 and thimble 88 to the piston rod 75.

By appropriate control through the pneumatic switches 13, 14, 15 the clamping means 31 can be moved over the pick-up position 35, moved downward, clamping jaws caused to grip an article 36, raised, moved laterally to the depositing position 40, moved down to place the article over the pin 40, the jaws opened and raised and the operation repeated.

Claims (Filed on 3.12.1982) 1. Article positioning apparatus comprising two housings, one fixed upon the other, the lower housing containing fluid pressure supply means and electronic means for automatic control of said supply means adapted to provide fluid pressure to supply ducts, said upper housing containing horizontal guide members fixed therein and a first double acting piston and cylinder device supplied with fluid from a first pair of said ducts, a bearing block mounted on said piston and slidable on said guide members, vertical slide members slidable in bearings in said block, a second double acting piston and cylinder device supplied from a second pair of said ducts for moving said slide members vertically, a carrier block mounted on said vertical slide members, article clamping means mounted on said carrier block, and a third piston and cylinder device mounted on said carrier block and supplied with fluid from another of said ducts.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower housing (10) has a fluid pressure inlet (12) connected to pneumatic switches (13, 14, 1 5) operated by solenoids (18, 19, 20) to supply and exhaust air, the exhausts being controlled by hand adjustable valves in the upper housing; said lower housing also containing electronic circuitry (21) including two switches (24) for effecting vertical and horizontal movements of the clamping means and two further switches (26) one for setting for manual operation and the other for switching from manual operation to automatic operation.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the lower housing has a flat top plate (27) and the upper housing has a flat bottom plate (28) bolted to the top plate (27), the upper housing overlapping the bottom housing sufficiently to allow for the horizontal movements of the clamping means.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3, wherein two mounting blocks (42, 43) are fixed within the upper housing, one block (43) carrying a double acting cylinder (48) on the side remote from the clamping means; two fixed horizontal guide rods (44, 45) mounted in the blocks (42, 43); a piston in the cylinder fixed to a horizontally movable bearing block (50); a piston rod on the piston which rod is fixed to a bearing block (50) which houses bearings (60) for two vertically slidable rods (61,62); a carrier block (69) fixed to the slidable rods (61, 62); cylinder blocks 70, 71, one fixed to said block (53) and the other is fixed to a support block (69) which carries said clamping means; said cylinder blocks having cylinders connected by flexible tubes to the said pneumatic switches (13,14,15).

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. generally known construction which includes elastically made clamping jaws 32 and a vertically movable sleeve 86 which moves the clamping jaws together as it descends. The sleeve 86 is connected by a pin 87 and thimble 88 to the piston rod 75. By appropriate control through the pneumatic switches 13, 14, 15 the clamping means 31 can be moved over the pick-up position 35, moved downward, clamping jaws caused to grip an article 36, raised, moved laterally to the depositing position 40, moved down to place the article over the pin 40, the jaws opened and raised and the operation repeated. Claims (Filed on 3.12.1982)

1. Article positioning apparatus comprising two housings, one fixed upon the other, the lower housing containing fluid pressure supply means and electronic means for automatic control of said supply means adapted to provide fluid pressure to supply ducts, said upper housing containing horizontal guide members fixed therein and a first double acting piston and cylinder device supplied with fluid from a first pair of said ducts, a bearing block mounted on said piston and slidable on said guide members, vertical slide members slidable in bearings in said block, a second double acting piston and cylinder device supplied from a second pair of said ducts for moving said slide members vertically, a carrier block mounted on said vertical slide members, article clamping means mounted on said carrier block, and a third piston and cylinder device mounted on said carrier block and supplied with fluid from another of said ducts.