Press-feed units

A combination of two press-feed units of similar basic construction and pneumatically interconnected to provide a duplex-operating arrangement:

• each said unit comprising a body for fixing adjacent a press, a transport section reciprocable relative to the body, a pneumatic piston and cylinder assembly for reciprocating the transport section, a feed stock clamp on said transport section, a transport feed valve operable to feed the cylinder of said piston and cylinder assembly, a fixed stock clamp mounted on the body, said stock clamps operating alternately under the common control of two respective pilot control signals one of which commonly operates said transport feed valve, an externally accessible pilot signal connection at which said one pilot control signal is available, and a pilot pressure pipe interconnecting the respective signal connections of the two units;
• one of said units further comprising a control valve operable in dependence on press ram position, said control valve providing said two pilot control signals at said one unit with said one pilot control signal transferred to the other of the two units through said pilot pressure pipe whereby said other unit operates as a slave unit.

A combination of two press-feed units of similar basic construction and pneumatically interconnected to provide a double-acting arrangement with the units operating out of phase:

• each unit comprising a body for fixing adjacent a press, a pneumatically-operated secondary control valve, a transport section reciprocable relative to the body, a pneumatic piston and cylinder assembly for reciprocating the transport section, a feed stock clamp on said transport section, a transport feed valve operable to feed the cylinder of said assembly, said feed stock clamp operating under the control of at least one pilot control signal from said control valve and which also operates said transport feed valve;
• one of said units further comprising a double-acting primary control valve operable in dependence on press ram position, said primary control valve having two alternatively energised outputs one of which supplies a control signal for the secondary control valve of said one unit;
• and a pilot pressure pipe which externally interconnects the other of said primary control valve outputs with the secondary control valve of the other of said units, whereby said primary control valve alternately controls the secondary control valves of the two units.