US 5,467,864 AGranted

Dual purpose apparatus to manipulate workpieces

AssigneeCarl Strutz & Co., Inc.

InventorsGary W. McCoy, John M. Zwigart, Mark R. Tweedy

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Abstract

Workpieces are manipulated between the receiving position and the discharge position by supporting gripper arms on a platform mounted on a pivot shaft. The pivot shaft pivots between a position where a workpiece is gripped by gripper arms to a pivotal discharge position where the workpiece is released by the gripper arms. The pivot shaft is moved horizontally by a threaded adjusting screw toward and away from a vacuum chuck in a silk-screen printing machine to compensate for changes to the length of the workpiece to be carried by the vacuum chuck. This allows conveyors to remain at fixed elevations and merely change the site at which the workpieces are picked up in the case of a loading mechanism from a feed conveyor and the site where workpieces are deposited on a conveyor for an unloading operation. The pivot shaft carries pivot arms that in turn pivotally support swing arms that can be selective locked to prevent pivotal movement between the pivot arms and unlocked so that as the pivot arms pivots the swing arms rotate relative to the pivot arms.

An apparatus to selectively orientate workpieces undergoing manipulation, the apparatus including the combination of:

means for delivering a workpiece in a plane at a first orientation to a workpiece receiving site;
gripper means including at least one displacable gripper for supporting a workpiece at the workpiece receiving site;
pivot means including a pivot shaft coupled to at least one pivot arm for pivoting said gripper means between the workpiece receiving site and a workpiece transfer site;
gripper positioning means supported by said pivot arm for interconnecting said gripper means with said pivot arm;
means selectively operable for pivoting said gripper means at a predetermined fixed relation with said pivot arm while said pivot arm and said gripper means pivot between said workpiece receiving site and said workpiece transfer site for establishing one selective orientation of the workpiece;
means selectively operable for rotatably positioning said gripper means relative to said pivot arm while said pivot arm and said gripper means pivot between said workpiece receiving site and said workpiece transfer site for establishing a second selective orientation of the workpiece;
means for moving the displacable gripper into a workpiece gripping position at the workpiece receiving site and for moving the displacable gripper into a workpiece release position at the workpiece transfer site;
means for conveying the workpiece in a second orientation at the workpiece transfer site in a plane along a path of travel;
and
means to position said pivot means to a preselected position between and relative to each of said means for delivering and said means for conveying by moving said pivot means toward or away from said means for delivering, said pivot means being moved to position said gripper relative to the workpiece on said means for delivering to compensate for varying length workpieces and for selectively establishing said workpiece receiving site, said pivot means being positioned to prevent damaging impact of the work piece with said means for conveying and means for delivering and without changing the distance between the plane of said means for delivering and the plane of said means for conveying.

7 more elements

Abstract

Claims14