Electric clamp

A clamp comprising:

• a housing;
• an electric motor attached to the housing and having a motor shaft;
• a motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the motor shaft;
• a ball nut gear rotationally driven by the motor gear;
• a ball nut coupled to and rotationally driven by the ball nut gear;
• a ball screw mounted within and translationally driven by the ball nut as the ball nut is rotated relative to the ball screw;
• a stop collar adjustably mounted on the ball screw to limit translational movement of the ball screw;
• an output shaft and a linkage linking the ball screw to the output shaft;
• and
• a clamp arm attached to the output shaft.

A clamp comprising:

• a housing;
• an electric motor attached to the housing and having a motor shaft;
• a thumb wheel rigidly attached to the motor shaft, the thumb wheel being accessible from outside of the housing for manually rotating the motor shaft;
• a motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the motor shaft;
• a ball nut gear rotationally driven by the motor gear;
• a ball nut coupled to and rotationally driven by the ball nut gear;
• a ball screw mounted within and translationally driven by the ball nut as the ball nut is rotated relative to the ball screw;
• a linkage linking the ball screw to an output shaft;
• and
• a clamp arm attached to the output shaft.

An apparatus comprising:

• a first motor having a first motor shaft;
• a second motor having a second motor shaft;
• a threaded rod that is linearly moveable relative to the first and second motor shafts between retracted and extended positions;
• a drive member having internal threads that engage the rod when rotated, causing the rod to move between the retracted and extended positions when the drive member is rotated relative to the threaded rod;
• a coupling mechanism coupling each of the first and second motor shafts and the drive member in tandem for selectively rotating the drive member;
• an output shaft and a linkage linking the rod to an output shaft, wherein the output shaft has a mounting point for a movable element;
• a control circuit for controlling the motor;
• and
• a housing entirely enclosing the first and second motors, the rod, the drive member, the coupling mechanism, and the control circuit.

An electric clamp comprising:

• a housing;
• a first motor mounted in the housing and having a first motor shaft;
• a first motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the first motor shaft;
• a ball nut gear rotationally driven by the first motor gear;
• a second motor mounted in the housing and having a second motor shaft;
• a second motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the second motor shaft, the second motor gear being rotationally coupled to the ball nut gear;
• a ball nut coupled to and rotationally driven by the ball nut gear;
• a ball screw mounted within and translationally driven by the ball nut as the ball nut is rotated relative to the ball screw;
• a stop collar adjustably mounted on the ball screw for selectively limiting translational movement of the ball screw;
• an output shaft and a linkage linking the ball screw to the output shaft;
• and
• a clamp arm mounted to the output shaft.

An electric clamp comprising:

• a housing;
• a first motor mounted in the housing and having a first motor shaft;
• a first motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the first motor shaft;
• a ball nut gear rotationally driven by the first motor gear;
• a second motor mounted in the housing and having a second motor shaft;
• a second motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the second motor shaft, the second motor gear being rotationally coupled to the ball nut gear;
• a ball nut coupled to and rotationally driven by the ball nut gear;
• a ball screw mounted within and translationally driven by the ball nut as the ball nut is rotated relative to the ball screw;
• an output shaft and a linkage linking the ball screw to the output shaft;
• a clamp arm mounted to the output shaft;
• and
• an encoder attached to the first motor shaft that provides a signal indicating the amount of rotational movement of the first motor shaft from an initial position to determine a current position of the clamp arm.

An electric clamp comprising:

• a housing;
• a first motor mounted in the housing and having a first motor shaft;
• a first motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the first motor shaft;
• a ball nut gear rotationally driven by the first motor gear;
• a second motor mounted in the housing and having a second motor shaft;
• a brake attached to the second motor shaft;
• a second motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the second motor shaft, the second motor gear being rotationally coupled to the ball nut gear;
• a ball nut coupled to and rotationally driven by the hub;
• a ball screw mounted within and translationally driven by the ball nut as the ball nut is rotated relative to the ball screw;
• an output shaft and a linkage linking the ball screw to the output shaft;
• and
• a clamp arm mounted to the output shaft.

An electric clamp comprising:

• a housing;
• a first motor mounted in the housing and having a first motor shaft;
• a first motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the first motor shaft;
• a ball nut gear rotationally driven by the first motor gear;
• a second motor mounted in the housing and having a second motor shaft;
• a thumb wheel rigidly attached to the second motor shaft for manually rotating the second motor shaft;
• a second motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the second motor shaft, the second motor gear being rotationally coupled to the ball nut gear;
• a ball nut coupled to and rotationally driven by the hub;
• a ball screw mounted within and translationally driven by the ball nut as the ball nut is rotated relative to the ball screw;
• an output shaft and a linkage linking the ball screw to the output shaft;
• and
• a clamp arm mounted to the output shaft.

An apparatus comprising:

• a housing;
• an electric motor attached to and disposed within the housing and having a motor shaft;
• a motor gear attached to and rotationally driven by the motor shaft;
• a ball nut gear coupled to and rotationally driven by the motor gear;
• a ball nut coupled to and rotationally driven by the ball nut gear;
• a ball screw mounted within and translationally driven by the ball nut as the ball nut is rotated relative to the ball screw, wherein the ball screw is entirely enclosed within the housing;
• an output shaft and a linkage linking the ball screw to an output shaft;
• a movable element coupled to the output shaft and at least partially extending outside the housing;
• a control circuit within the housing for controlling the motor;
• and
• an external control interface coupled for communication to said control circuit that communicates command and status information between said control circuit and a remote central controller.