Systems and methods for a hydraulic tool
OwnerConnor Galarneau, Alex Groteluescheninventors
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Abstract
A knockout punch tool includes a housing, a working head with a cutting die, a hydraulic circuit with an actuator to move the cutting die, a pump providing pressurized fluid, a pressure sensor, a fluid reservoir, and a controller. The controller monitors pressure during knockout operations, determines completion when pressure exceeds a first threshold indicating cutting has started then drops below a second threshold, determines when pressure derivative is at or near zero, verifies the derivative remains near zero for a preset time, and automatically initiates a hydraulic dump sequence to release pressurized fluid back to the reservoir, retracting the cutting die to home position.
Claims20
A knockout punch tool, comprising:
- a housing;
- a working head coupled to the housing and including a cutting die to perform a knockout operation on a workpiece;
- a hydraulic circuit including a hydraulic actuator to move the cutting die;
- a pump providing pressurized hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic circuit;
- a pressure sensor to measure pressure within the hydraulic circuit;
- a fluid reservoir;
- and
- a controller to:
- monitor pressure measurements from the pressure sensor during the knockout operation,
- determine that the knockout operation is complete when:
- the pressure measurements from the pressure sensor exceed a first threshold indicating a cutting operation has started;
- and
- the pressure measurements from the pressure sensor subsequently drop below a second threshold lower than the first threshold;
- determine when a pressure derivative based on the measured pressure is at or near zero;
- verify that the pressure derivative remains at or near zero for a preset amount of time;
- and
- automatically initiate a hydraulic dump sequence to release pressurized hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic circuit back to the fluid reservoir to retract the cutting die to a home position.
The knockout punch tool of claim 1, wherein the preset amount of time is in a range of about 50 milliseconds to about 250 milliseconds.
The knockout punch tool of claim 3, wherein the controller decrements the buffer counter at a higher rate than it increments the buffer counter.
The knockout punch tool of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:
- store a maximum cut pressure corresponding to a maximum pressure measured from initiation of the knockout operation until determination that the knockout operation is complete;
- and
- store a maximum cycle pressure corresponding to a maximum pressure measured during an operational cycle.
The knockout punch tool of claim 1, further comprising:
- a trigger coupled to the housing;
- and
- the controller to initiate the knockout operation in response to actuation of the trigger.
The knockout punch tool of claim 1, wherein the first threshold serves as a cut start threshold that distinguishes between initial system pressurization and higher pressures developed when the cutting die encounters resistance from the workpiece.
A method of operating a knockout punch tool having a cutting die, a hydraulic circuit, and a pressure sensor, the method comprising:
- initiating a knockout operation by activating a pump to provide pressurized hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic circuit to move the cutting die;
- monitoring pressure measurements from the pressure sensor during the knockout operation;
- determining that a cutting operation has started when the pressure measurements exceed a first threshold;
- determining that a workpiece has been cut when the pressure measurements subsequently drop below a second threshold that is lower than the first threshold;
- monitoring a pressure derivative after determining that the workpiece has been cut;
- determining when the pressure derivative is at or near zero;
- verifying that the pressure derivative remains at or near zero for a preset amount of time using a buffer counter;
- and
- automatically initiating a hydraulic dump sequence to release pressurized hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic circuit back to a fluid reservoir to retract the cutting die to a home position after the verification is complete.
The method of claim 8, wherein the preset amount of time is in a range of about 50 milliseconds to about 250 milliseconds.
The method of claim 8, wherein the buffer counter increments when the pressure derivative is at or near zero and decrements when the pressure derivative moves outside a zero range.
The method of claim 10, wherein the buffer counter decrements at a higher rate than it increments.
The method of claim 8, further comprising:
- storing a maximum cut pressure corresponding to a maximum pressure measured from initiation of the knockout operation until determination that the knockout operation is complete.
The method of claim 12, further comprising:
- storing a maximum cycle pressure corresponding to a maximum pressure measured during an operational cycle.
The method of claim 8, wherein the first threshold serves as a cut start threshold that distinguishes between initial system pressurization and higher pressures developed when the cutting die encounters resistance from the workpiece.
A knockout punch tool, comprising:
- a housing;
- a working head coupled to the housing and including a cutting die;
- a hydraulic actuator to move the cutting die during a knockout operation;
- a hydraulic circuit in fluid communication with the hydraulic actuator;
- a pressure sensor in communication with the hydraulic circuit;
- a controller configured to receive pressure measurements from the pressure sensor and determine completion of the knockout operation based on the pressure measurements;
- and
- an automatic blade retraction mechanism controlled by the controller and configured to automatically retract the cutting die to a home position upon determination that the knockout operation is complete, the controller causing the automatic blade retraction mechanism to initiate a hydraulic dump sequence that releases pressurized hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic circuit back to a fluid reservoir.
The knockout punch tool of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to determine completion of the knockout operation by:
- detecting when pressure measurements exceed a first threshold indicating a cutting operation has started and subsequently drop below a second threshold.
The knockout punch tool of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to monitor a pressure derivative after the pressure measurements drop below the second threshold and determine when the pressure derivative is at or near zero.
The knockout punch tool of claim 17, wherein the controller is configured to verify that the pressure derivative remains at or near zero for a preset amount of time before initiating the hydraulic dump sequence.
The knockout punch tool of claim 18, wherein the controller implements a buffer counter that increments when the pressure derivative is at or near zero and decrements when the pressure derivative moves outside a zero range.
The knockout punch tool of claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to store a maximum cut pressure corresponding to a maximum pressure measured from initiation of the knockout operation until determination that the knockout operation is complete.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.