High speed stock feeder for punch presses and the like

A duplex pneumatic feeder for intermittently advancing stock into the work station of a punch press or the like:

• comprising
• a main frame;
• a pair of alternately acting feed slides reciprocally carried by said main frame;
• stock gripping means carried by each of said feed slides;
• gripper fluid motor means carried by each of said feed slides for respectively actuating said stock gripping means;
• a pair of main fluid motor means for respectively actuating said feed slides and each including a piston and a piston rod;
• valve means for controlling the operation of said main and gripper fluid motor means;
• feed slide guide means carried by said main frame and cooperating with said feed slides so as to constrain the motion of the latter to rectilinear movement on said frame, said guide means being arranged to permit the axes of the rectilinear paths of movement of said feed slides to be laterally shifted relative to the axis of said feeder;
• and
• coupling means disposed between the outer end of the piston rod of each main fluid motor means and its respectively associated feed slide for permitting said lateral shifting of the said path of movement of each of said feed slides relative to the axis of its associated piston rod.

In a pneumatically operated stock feeder for intermittently advancing stock into the work station of a punch press or the like and having a frame;

• feed slide means reciprocally mounted on said frame;
• stock gripping means carried by said feed slide means;
• gripper fluid motor means for actuating said stock gripping means;
• main fluid motor means for actuating said feed slide means;
• and primary valve means adapted to supply and exhaust pressure fluid to and from each of said fluid motor means so that said feed slide means may partake of a succession of feed strokes:
• the improvement comprising
• auxiliary valve means associated with said feed slide means for controlling only the release of said stock gripping means;
• and means for operating said auxiliary valve means to one operative condition thereof just after completion of a feed stroke of said feed slide means whereby said stock may be released by said stock gripping means, said auxiliary valve means being adapted to be moved to its other operative condition under the control of said primary valve means when the latter initiates the supply of pressure fluid to said gripper motor means prior to each feed stroke of said feed slide means.

A duplex feeder for intermittently advancing stock into the work station of a punch press or the like having a reciprocating ram:

• comprising
• a main frame;
• said main frame including a generally rectangular U-shaped frame unit having a main body portion, an end block portion, and an intermediate portion interconnecting said main body portion and said end block portion;
• a pair of alternately acting feed slides carried by said intermediate frame portion for reciprocation in feed and non-feed directions;
• stock gripping means carried by each of said feed slides;
• a gripper fluid motor carried by each of said feed slides for respectively actuating said stock gripping means;
• a pair of main double acting fluid motors carried by said main body portion for respectively actuating said feed slides;
• fluid conduit means adapted to continuously supply pressure fluid to one end of both of said main fluid motors so as to cause said main fluid motors to continuously bias said feed slides for movement in a stock feed direction;
• a rotary control valve means;
• said rotary valve means including a valve block and a rotatable valve member, said valve members being capable in predetermined successive discrete angular positions thereof of supplying and exhausting pressure fluid to and from said gripper fluid motors and to and from the other ends of said double acting main fluid motors;
• a control member adapted to be shifted between first and second operative positions by the movement of the ram of said punch press;
• and
• a stepper mechanism actuated by the shifting of said control member for rotatably indexing said rotatable valve member to, and stopping said valve member at, said successive predetermined discrete angular positions of said rotatable valve member whereby said feed slides may alternately partake of a rapid succession of feed strokes.

In a pneumatically operated stock feeder for intermittently advancing stock into the work station of a punch press or the like and having

• a frame;
• feed slide means reciprocally mounted on said frame;
• guide means for maintaining straight line reciprocating movement of said feed slide means;
• main fluid motor means for reciprocally actuating said feed slide means;
• stock gripping means carried by said feed slide means;
• gripper fluid motor means for actuating said stock gripping means;
• and
• valve means for controlling the operation of said main and gripper fluid motor means so that said feed slide means may partake of a succession of feed strokes:
• the improvement comprising
• said frame including a main block portion, an end block portion and an intermedicate plate like portion interconnecting the lower regions of said main and end block frame portions, said feed slide means being mounted for reciprocation on the upper surface of said plate like frame portion;
• said guide means comprising a rail bar means which extends between said main and end block portions of said frame and which overlies said feed slide means, the bottom of said rail means and the top of said feed slide means being fomed with a cooperating longitudinal groove and projection arrangement whereby said feed slide means is constrained to rectilinear movement on said plate like intermediate portion of said frame.