US 5,400,259 A · Work clamp protection system and a method for use

Abstract

A system is provided for identifying no-punch zones corresponding to positions of work clamps on a carriage holding a workpiece to be positioned for tools of a punch press. The system provides a method for storing geometric information with respect to the clamp as well as specifications for the tools on a holder, such as a turret, of the punch press. The edge of each of the clamps is sensed and stored in a control unit which can, therefore, determine boundaries of each of the clamps based on the stored geometric configuration information of the clamp. No-punch zones of the clamps may be determined based on the geometry of the particular tool of the turret and the geometry and the positions of the clamps. As a result, the punch press may be inhibited from operating within the no-punch zones or, in the alternative, the clamp or clamps may be repositioned from the no-punch zone of the clamp for subsequent operation of the punch press. A default setting is further provided for positioning the clamp in a default position upon activation of a flag indicating an occurrence of an event which may effect the no-punch zones.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A method for identifying no-punch zones corresponding to positions of a plurality of repositionable work clamps on a carriage holding a workpiece to be positioned for a punch press having various interchangeable tools, such as punches and the like, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing geometric configuration information relating to each of the plurality of clamps;
(b) storing specifications for each of the plurality of tools wherein the specifications include position and dimension information with respect to the tools;
(c) sensing a portion of one of the plurality of repositonable clamps;
(d) storing coordinates associated with the sensed clamp;
(e) determining boundaries of the clamp based on the sensed portion of the clamp and the stored geometric configuration information of the clamp;
(f) repeating steps (c), (d) and (e) for each of the plurality of repositionable clamps;
(g) determining the no-punch zones of the repositionable clamps based on the stored information of at least one of the tools in relation to the determined boundaries of the clamps;
and
(h) determining if a clamp movement would place the no-punch zone of the clamp in a position where the clamp may be impinged by one of the plurality of tools.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Work clamp protection system and a method for use

Life of this patent

Work clamp protection system and a method for use

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18