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US 4,680,955 AGranted
Die exchange device
AssigneeAmada Company, Limited
InventorKatsuyoshi Sakamoto
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to a device for replacing upper and lower dies in a bending processing machine, such as, for example a press brake. According to the invention, long upper and lower dies used in a bending processing machine are comprised of freely dividable sections that can be taken apart and recombined for convenient storage in an adjacent die exchange device. In the die exchange device, die holders are formed on the insides of a number of link members which are pivotably linked in a loop.
Claims6
A die exchange device comprising:
- a frame having first and second side plates disposed in said frame, each of said side plates having an inside surface;
- a first annular guide rail mounted on the inside surface of said first side plate;
- a second annular guide rail mounted on the inside surface of said second side plates and spaced a distance apart from first annular guide rail;
- a first number of link members supported on said first annular guide rail and pivotally linked to one another to form a ring along said first annular guide rail, said first number of link members having an inner side with respect to said first annular guide rail;
- a second number of link members supported on said second annular guide rail and pivotally linked to one another to form a ring along said second annular guide rail, said second number of link members having an inner side with respect to said second annular guide rail;
- a rack attached to each of said first and second number of link members;
- a first pinion member supported on said first side plate adapted to engage said racks on said first number of link members;
- a second pinion member supported on said second side plate adapted to engage said racks on said second number of link members;
- means supported on said frame for rotating said first and second pinion members to drive said first and second link members around said first and second guide rails, respectively;
- and
- a number of die holders, each having a length substantially equal to the distance between said first and second annular guide rails, each of said die holders being mounted on the inner side of one of said first link members with respect to said first annular guide rail and on the inner side of one of said second link members with respect to said second annular guide rail.
8 more elements
An endless support device comprising:
- a ring-shaped guide rail at least part of which is in the shape of a circular arc, said arc being disposed in a vertical plane, and said guide rail having inner and outer surfaces;
- a number of link members mutually pivotably linked in a loop so that they are free to slide along the the said guide rail;
- a suitable number of the link members having inside rollers which contact the inner guide rail surface and outer rollers which contact the outer guide rail surface mounted at their two ends so that they are free to roll, such that the distance between the axles of the inner rollers is less than the distance between the axles of the outer rollers;
- wherein, if .theta. is the angle subtended by imaginary lines extending between the center of the circular arc section of the guide rail through the center of two adjacent inner rollers, the acute angle subtended by one of said imaginary lines and a third imaginary line joining the center of the inner roller through which said one of said imaginary lines passes and the center of the outer roller which is closest to the inner roller through which said one of said imaginary lines passes, is about .theta./4.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.