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US 4,660,406 AGranted
Die manipulator
AssigneeMWA Company
InventorsClyde J. Rugh, John L. King, Jr., Francis M. Tuttle, William E. Jones
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMWA Company
InventorsClyde J. Rugh, John L. King, Jr., Francis M. Tuttle, William E. Jones
Estimating the term…
An apparatus for manipulating the upper and lower dies of a die set comprising a gantry having a fixture mounted on a main frame for up and down movement, and a sub-frame mounted on the fixture for 180.degree. of rotation. Clamping units are mounted on the sub-frame for clamping the upper die to the sub-frame when the fixture is in a lower position at a work-transfer station. The die set is transported on a cart to the work-transfer station where the upper die is clamped to the sub-frame. The fixture is raised to elevate the upper die to an upper position. The cart is moved away from the work-transfer station carrying only the lower die with it. The upper die is inverted, lowered onto a second cart and it, too, is then moved away from the work-transfer station. Both dies now face upwardly for convenient inspection, cleaning and/or repair. The transporter cart table on which the die set is supported can be rotated to any desired angle such as 90.degree., so that after the upper die has been removed, the lower die may be turned to a position suitable for inspection, cleaning and/or repair.
Apparatus for manipulating the upper and lower dies of a die set for maintenance procedures, comprising means providing a work-transfer station, a main frame adjacent said work-transfer station, a fixture, means mounting said fixture on said main frame for up and down movement away from and toward said work-transfer station, a sub-frame, means mounting said sub-frame on said fixture for rotation about a horizontal axis, clamping means on said sub-frame to clamp the upper die of a die set at said work-transfer station when said fixture is in a lower position, means for raising said fixture to pick up and elevate said upper die to an upper position and for rotating said sub-frame to turn said upper die, a cart for supporting and advancing the die set to said work-transfer station for pick up of the upper die and for withdrawal of the lower die after pick up of the upper die, and means for lowering said fixture back to said lower position to return said upper die to said work-transfer station in turned position, said sub-frame having a pair of laterally spaced frame members, said clamping means comprising a plurality of clamp bars extending between said frame members and connected thereto for sliding movement lengthwise thereof, means for securing said clamp bars to said frame members in adjusted positions along the length thereof, and clamping elements on said clamp bars for engaging and clamping the upper die.
Apparatus for manipulating the upper and lower dies of a die set for maintenance procedures, comprising means providing a work-transfer station, a main frame adjacent said work-transfer station, a fixture, means mounting said fixture on said main frame for up and down movement away from and toward said work-transfer station, a sub-frame, means mounting said sub-frame on said fixture for rotation about a horizontal axis, clamping means on said sub-frame to clamp the upper die of a die set at said work-transfer station when said fixture is in a lower position, means for raising said fixture to pick up and elevate said upper die to an upper position and for rotating said sub-frame to turn said upper die, a cart for supporting and advancing the die set to said work-transfer station for pick up of the upper die and for withdrawal of the lower die after pick up of the upper die, and means for lowering said fixture back to said lower position to return said upper die to said work-transfer station in turned position, a table mounted on said cart for rotation about a horizontal axis and adapted to support said die set thereon with the upper die resting on the lower die, clamping means on said table for clamping the lower die thereto, and means operative after raising of said fixture and moving of said cart away from said work-transfer station for rotating said table about said horizontal axis to turn the lower die clamped thereto.
A cart for transporting a die set consisting of upper and lower dies to a work-transfer station where the upper die may be removed, a table mounted on said cart for rotation about a horizontal axis and adapted to support said die set thereon with the upper die resting on the lower die in a manner such that the upper die can be removed at said work-transfer station, means on said table for clamping the lower die thereto, and means connected to said table for rotating said table about said horizontal axis after the upper die has been removed to turn the lower die to a position suitable for inspection and cleaning.
Apparatus for manipulating the upper and lower dies of a die set for maintenance procedures, comprising means providing a working-transfer station, a main frame adjacent said work-transfer station, a fixture, means mounting said fixture on said main frame for up and down movement away from and toward said work-transfer station, a sub-frame, means mounting said sub-frame on said fixture for rotation about a horizontal axis, clamping means on said sub-frame to clamp the upper die of a die set at said work-transfer station when said fixture is in a lower position, means for raising said fixture to pick up and elevate said upper die to an upper position and for rotating said sub-frame to turn said upper die, support means having a table for supporting the die set at said work-transfer station for pick-up of the upper die, clamping means for clamping the lower die to said table, means mounting said table for rotation about a horizontal axis, and means for rotating said table after pick-up of said upper die to turn the lower die clamped thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.