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US 2004/0163515 A1Published application
Trim press article handling apparatus
OwnerJere F. Irwininventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article handling apparatus for a trim press includes a die and a cooperating punch configured to sever articles from a web, a treadle configured to move relative to the die, and a drive wheel assembly configured to move the web and the articles. The drive wheel assembly includes a pair of roller feed assemblies. Each of the roller feed assemblies include a knock-lever mechanism having a lever arm and a follower wheel, the lever arm being configured to contact the die as the treadle is moved towards the die. The the follower wheel is configured to retract from the respective drive wheel in response to contact of the lever arm with the die.
Claims32
A trim press article handling apparatus, comprising:
- a frame;
- a punch carried by the frame;
- a die carried by the frame and cooperating in relative movement with the punch to sever articles from a web;
- a treadle carried for movement relative to the die, the treadle including a web guide member, a primary guide strip spaced from the guide member slightly greater than a thickness of the web, a secondary guide strip spaced from the guide member at least four thicknesses of the web and spaced apart from the primary guide strip, and an article detector carried by at least one of the primary guide strip and the secondary guide strip and operative to detect position of an article in the web by detecting the position of a protuberance in the web as the protuberance is conveyed between the primary guide strip and the secondary guide strip;
- control circuitry communicating with the article detector and a drive motor operative to move the treadle, the control circuitry configured to receive an input signal from the article detector indicative of the position of a web-supported article relative to the punch and the die, and operative to control operation of the drive motor to synchronize movement of the web-supported article via controlled motion of the treadle;
- and
- a drive wheel assembly for moving a web and articles, the drive wheel assembly comprising a pair of roller feed assemblies provided on opposed edges of a web,
- wherein each of the roller feed assemblies comprises a knock lever mechanism having a lever arm and a follower wheel, the knock lever mechanism carried by the treadle, the lever arm configured to contact the die as the treadle is moved towards a stationary platen carrying the die, and the follower wheel configured to retract from the respective drive wheel in response to contact of the lever arm with the die.
5 more elements
A trim press article handling apparatus, comprising:
- a frame;
- a punch carried by the frame;
- a die carried by the frame and cooperating in relative movement with the punch to sever articles from a web;
- a treadle configured to move relative to the die;
- a drive wheel assembly for moving the web and the articles, the drive wheel assembly comprising a pair of roller feed assemblies provided on opposed edges of the web;
- and
- wherein each of the roller feed assemblies includes a knock lever mechanism having a lever arm and a follower wheel, the knock lever mechanism carried by the treadle, the lever arm configured to contact the die as the treadle is moved towards a stationary platen carrying the die, and the follower wheel configured to retract from the respective drive wheel in response to contact of the lever arm with the die.
4 more elements
A trim press article handling apparatus, comprising:
- a punch and a die carried by a frame, the die cooperating with the punch to sever articles from a web of thermoformable material;
- a treadle carried for movement relative to the die, the treadle including a web guide member, a primary guide strip disposed adjacent the web guide member, a secondary guide strip spaced from the guide member, and an article detector to detect a position of an article in the web;
- control circuitry communicating with the article detector, and a drive motor operative to move the treadle;
- and
- a drive wheel assembly for moving the web and the articles, the drive wheel assembly comprising a pair of roller feed assemblies provided on opposed edges of the web, wherein each of the roller feed assemblies comprises a knock lever mechanism having a lever arm and a follower wheel, the knock lever mechanism carried by the treadle, the lever arm configured to contact the die as the treadle is moved towards a stationary platen carrying the die, and the follower wheel configured to retract from the respective drive wheel in response to contact of the lever arm with the die.
2 more elements
An article handling apparatus for a trim press, comprising:
- a die and a cooperating punch configured to sever articles from a web;
- a treadle configured for movement relative to the die;
- and
- a drive wheel assembly configured to move the web and the articles, the drive wheel assembly having a pair of roller feed assemblies, each of the roller feed assemblies include a knock-lever mechanism having a lever arm and a follower wheel, the lever arm configured to contact the die as the treadle is moved towards the die, and the follower wheel configured to retract from the respective drive wheel in response to contact of the lever arm with the die.
1 more element
A trim press article handling apparatus, comprising:
- a punch and a die carried by a frame, the die cooperating with the punch to sever articles from a web of thermoformable material;
- a treadle configured to move relative to the die, the treadle including a web guide member, a primary guide strip disposed adjacent the web guide member, a secondary guide strip spaced from the guide member, and an article detector to detect a position of an article in the web;
- control circuitry communicating with the article detector;
- and
- a drive wheel assembly for moving a web and articles, the drive wheel assembly comprising a pair of roller feed assemblies, each of the roller feed assemblies includes a knock lever mechanism having a lever arm and a follower wheel, wherein a gap is formed between the follower wheel and the respective drive wheel in response to contact of the lever arm with the die to release the web carried therebetween and to enable lateral centering of the articles carried in the web.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.