US3164050A - Multiple hole punch - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 5, 1965 H. H. ALI-DIS MULTIPLE HOLE PUNCH Filed June 27. 1961 INVENTOR. Harold H. Alldis BY A florneys United States Patent ()fitice 3,154,50 Patented Jan. 5, 1965 3,164,050 MULTIPLE HOLE PUNCH Harold H. Alldis, 3066 Stelling Drive, Palo Alto, Calif. Filed June 27, 1961 Ser. No. 120,026 1 Claim. (Cl. 83-387) This invention relates to a multiple hole punch and more particularly to a punch for punching at least two holes simultaneously and which is provided with a holddown mechanism for holding down the material being punched.

There is a need for a multiple hole punch which can be utilized for punching accurately spaced and aligned holes. Heretofore, such a precision punch has not been available.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multiple hole punch which will make it possible to punch at least two holes simultaneously with accurate spacing and alignment of the holes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple hole punch of the above character which makes it possible to consistently duplicate punched holes from one or more punches.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple hole punch of the above character in which a unique hold; down mechanism is incorporated in the punch and is utilized for holding the material fiat while it is being punched.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple hole punch of the above character with a hold-down mechanism which applies even pressure to the material being punched to thereby remove any tendency of the material to curl or crawl while the holes are being punched.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple hole punch with a hold-down mechanism of the above character which can be economically manufactured.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment is set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings:

' FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a multiple hole punch incorporating my invention.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the multiple hole punch shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the punch shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

In general, my multiple hole punch consists of a base with a plurality of punches mounted on the base. Each of the punches. includes a vertically reciprocable die. A common operating shaftjoins the punches and serves to raise and lower the vertically reciprocable dies as the shaft is rotated. A handle is mounted on the shaft for rotation of the shaft. Hold-down means is mounted on the dies and is reciprocable with the dies and serves to hold the material to be punched in place as the dies are lowered. This hold-down means includes a hold-down bar and means for securing the hold-down bar to the reciprocable dies. The attachment means includes spring means permitting relative movement between the bar and the dies to accommodate material of difierent thicknesses and also to ensure that the material is firmly held in place during the punching operation.

As is shown in the drawing, my multiple hole punch consists of a rectangular base board 11 of suitable material such as plywood covered with Formica. A groove 12 is cut into the top surface on one edge of the base board 11 and receives a base plate 13 of the punch assembly 14. The base plate 13 is formed of a suitable material such as cast aluminum. A plurality of punch heads 16 are mounted on the base plate 13 and are aligned and accurately spaced on the base plate. Any desired number of punch heads can be utilized. For example, as shown in the drawing, three punch heads can be utilized.

Each of the punch heads consists of a punch housing 17 which is provided with a foot portion 17a which is secured to the base 13 by suitable means such as a screw 18. The punch housing is provided with a shoulder 17b and a portion 170. The portion 170 is parallel to and spaced from the base plate 13 to form a recess 19. A common shaft 20 extends between the punch heads 16 and is rotatably mounted in the punch heads. A gear groove or keyway 21 is cut along the entire length of the shaft 20. This gear groove 21 drives a tooth 22 provided on a reciprocable male die 23 which is mounted for vertical movement within the punch housing. This arrangement provides cooperative means for driving the male dies as hereinafter described. Spring means in the form of a spring 24 is provided in each housing 17 for yieldably retaining the male punch die 23 in an uppermost position as shown in FIGURE 2. The male punch die 23 is provided with a shoulder 26 which is adapted to engage the upper portion of the punch housing 17 to limit the upward travel of the punch die. In addition upward tnavel is limited by the tooth 22 binding in the groove 21 as shown in FIGURE 4. A handle 28 is mounted on the shaft 20 adjacent the intermediate punch 16 and is provided for the purpose of rotating the shaft to thereby cause lowering of the male punch dies 23 and to urge the same into holes 31 provided in the base 13 and which serve as female dies. Upon release of the handle 28, the dies are moved upwardly out of the holes or dies 31 by the springs 24 pro vided in the punches.

Hold-down means is mounted on the dies and is reciprocable with the male dies to hold the material while it is being punched. The hold-down means consists of an angle bar 36 which lies in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the base plate 13. The bar 36 is provided with one leg 36a which extends toward the rear of the board and lies in a plane parallel to the base plate 13 and another leg 361; which is perpendicular to the leg 36a and extends vertically from the base plate 13 and the base board 11. It will be noted that the portion 36a of the bar 36 underlies the punch head as shown particularly in FIGURE 4 and is adapted to limit the upward travel of the hold-down assembly as well as limiting the upward travel of the male punches 23. However, it is apparent that if desired the bar 36 can be provided with cut outs below the punch head so that the bar will not engage the punch heads. .In this way the bar 36 will not limit the upward travel. Attaching means is provided for securing the bar to the reciprocable male dies 23 and consists of at least two support members 37 which are se- "cured to the bar by suitable means such as screws 38. A

vertically extending rod 39 is slidably mounted in each of the support members 37 and is connected to a horizontally extending link 41 by suitable means such as a screw 42. The links 41 are secured to the vertically reciprocable male dies 23 by suitable means such as cap screws. 43 which extend through the link 41 and are threaded into the exposed cylindrical portion of the male punch dies 23.

A pin 46 is mounted in the lower extremity of each of the rods 39 and extends forwardly out through a slot 51 provided in each of the support members 37. The slot 51, as can be seen particularly from FIGURE 1, is an elongate slot and extends vertically of the member 37. A spring 52 is mounted within each of the members 37 and has its lower end engaging the member 37 and its upper end engaging the lower end of the rod 39. A notch 56 is provided in the hold-down bar 36 to accommodate the handle 56 as it is pushed downwardly.

and spacing of the heads.

Operation and use of my multiple hole punch may now be brieflly described as follows. Let it be assumed that the punch is in the position shown in FIGURE 1. The material to be punched is then placed on the base boardv 11 and slid intothe grooves 19 of the punches 16 so that: it abuts the shoulders 17!) provided on the punch heads.v As soon as the sheet of material has been properly positioned, the sheet can be held by one hand and the handle- 28 grasped by the other hand and moved forwardly andv downwardly to cause rotation of the shaft 20 for the three punch heads 16. T he cut-out h accommodates the handle 28 as the dies or punches are pushed downwardly. As the male punch dies 23 are lowered by rotation of the shaft 20, the rods 39 are also lowered to permit the members 37 and the hold-down bar 35 carried thereby to drop downwardly so that the bar 36 comes into engagement with the material to be punched. Continued downward movement of the male punch dies and the rotation of the shaft 20 continues to move the rods 39 downwardly. The springs 52 and the slots 51 permit relative movement between the hold-down bar 56 and the punch dies 23. The spring 52, however, causes application of a uniform pressure over the entire length of the sheet of material so that the sheet of material is held securely with even pressure to thereby remove any tendency of the sheet of material to curl or crawl while the holes are being punched by the male punch dies travelling through After the holes have been punched, the handle is released and the handle 28, the shaft 20 and the male punch dies are carried upwardly by the springs 24 within the punch heads. During the initial raising of the male punch 'dies, the hold-down barfid will remain in engagement with the sheet of material because the pins 46 are not in engagernent with the upper ends of the slots. However, continued upward travel of the male dies continues to lift the pins 46 until they come into engagement with the upper ends of the slots 51 to lift the members 37 and the hold-down bar supported thereby from the sheet of material. This movement continues until the leg 36a of the hold-down bar engages the lower portion of the punch heads to limit the upward travel of the male punch dies. Therefore, it can be seen that as soon as the handle 28 has been released, the sheet of material can be re moved and anothersheet punched in a manner similar to that hereinbefore described. 7

It will be noted that my punch is constructed in such a manner that it can perform rugged heavy duty operations such as the punching of heavy art board, Mylar," light metal plates, unexposed film, photosensitive mate rials, overlays or masking materials. The punch heads .are accurately spaced and aligned on the plate 13 to make it possible to obtain dependable duplication of punched holes where two or more punches are utilized in a plant -or single location.

. My multiple hole punch is constructed in such a manner that it can be economically manufactured. It is also manufactured in such a manner that parts can be replaced while still retaining the same accurate alignment The hold-down mechanism which is carried by the punches makes it possible to apply uniform pressure to the material while it is being punched to thereby remove any tendency of the material to curl or crawl while the holes are'being punched.

Although I have shown the hold-down means to be attached to only two of the punch heads, it is readily apparent that, if desired, the hold-down bar can be attached to additional punch heads.

I claim:

In a multiple hole punch for punching holes in sheets of material, a base, said base having a relatively large upwardly facing work supporting surface which is planar throughout its entire area, a plurality of spaced punch heads mounted on said base adjacent one margin of the base, each of the punch heads having a vertically reciprocable male die, a common operating shaft connecting said punch heads, one of the punch heads being located at each end of the common operating shaft, a handle affixed to said shaft for rotation of the shaft, cooperative means carried by the shaft and vertically reciprocable male dies whereby as the shaft is rotated back and forth by the handle afixed thereto, the vertical reciprocable male dies are raised and lowered, female dies mounted on the base adjacent the punch heads and adapted to receive the male dies as they are lowered, and hold-down means mounted on the male dies and reciprocable with the male dies, said hold-down means comprising a single unitary elongate L-shaped hold-down member extending between all of the punch heads and being connected at least two of the vertically reciprocable male dies so that the male dies and the hold-down member are movable in unison, the L-shaped hold-down member having one leg with a planar lower surface lying in a plane parallel to the planar upwardly facing work surface of the base and having a portion thereof underlying said male dies, said leg of the L-shaped hold-down member being provided with holes in alignment with the male dies to permit the male dies to pass therethrough, said hold-down member being positioned on the male dies so that as the male dies are moved downwardly by operation of the handle afiixed to said shaft, the hold-down member is first moved into engagement with the sheet of material to be punched to grasp and hold the sheet before the male dies are moved into contact therewith and to apply an even pressure to the sheet of material as the male dies are being advanced therethrough into the female dies to thereby remove any tendency of the sheet of material to curl or crawl while the holes are being punched by the male dies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 385,056 Jensen June 26, 1888 802,253 Andresen Oct. 17, 1905 1,633,196 Siarkowski June 21, 1927 2,408,330 Miller Sept. 24, 1946 2,660,245 Marsh Nov. 24, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,743 Great Britain 1905

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