Chain cutter
AssigneeVindee Industries, Inc.
InventorsRobert E. McCarthy, John L. Verre, Douglas A. Bakker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A compact chain cutting apparatus for automatically shearing and opening a chain link of a selected thickness in one operation is disclosed. The apparatus includes a housing, a first shearing member, a second shearing member, and an electro-hydraulic actuator system. The first shearing member is mounted to the housing. The second shearing member is pivotally mounted to the housing for movement to exert, in cooperation with the first shearing member, shearing and bending forces upon the chain link. The electro-hydraulic actuator system cooperates with the second shearing member to move automatically the second shearing member to shear and to bend the chain link, thereby defining an opening in the chain link greater than the thickness of the link.
Claims29
An apparatus for automatically shearing and bending a chain link, the chain link having a selected thickness, the apparatus comprising:
- a first shearing member, the first shearing member having a shearing surface defining a shearing plane and terminating in a first shearing edge, the first shearing member including a jaw, the jaw having a primary bearing surface to exert shearing and bending forces upon the chain link, the jaw defining an opening, the opening configured to accommodate the thickness of the chain link;
- a second shearing member, the second shearing member having a shearing surface disposed substantially parallel to the shearing plane and terminating in a second shearing edge, the second shearing member including a primary bearing surface to exert shearing and bending forces upon the chain link, the second shearing member arranged with the first shearing member for relative shearing action along the shearing plane between the shearing edges and the primary bearing surfaces;
- and
- an electro-hydraulic actuator system cooperating with the second shearing member, the actuator system selectively operable to move automatically the second shearing member relative to the first shearing member such that the primary bearing surface and the second shearing edge of the second shearing member move toward and beyond the primary bearing surface and the first shearing edge of the first shearing member to shear the chain link along the shearing plane, thereby defining a pair of severed ends in the chain link, and to bend the severed ends apart, thereby defining an opening between the severed ends of the chain link greater than the thickness of the chain link;
- wherein the first and second shearing members comprise S-7 tool steel which has been hardened to greater than 59 Rc.
An apparatus for automatically shearing and bending a chain link, the chain link including a selected thickness, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a first shearing member mounted to the housing;
- a second shearing member pivotally mounted to the housing for movement to exert, in cooperation with the first shearing member, shearing and bending forces upon the chain link;
- and
- an electro-hydraulic actuator system cooperating with the second shearing member to move automatically the second shearing member to shear and to bend the chain link, thereby defining an opening in the chain link greater than the thickness of the link;
- wherein the first and second shearing members comprise S-7 tool steel which has been hardened to greater than 59 Rc.
An apparatus for automatically shearing and bending a chain link, the chain link including a selected thickness, the apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
- a first shearing member mounted to the housing;
- a second shearing member, the second shearing member pivotally mounted to the housing, the second shearing member arranged with the first shearing member for relative shearing action between the first and second shearing members;
- and
- an electro-hydraulic actuator system cooperating with the second shearing member, the actuator system selectively operable to move automatically the second shearing member relative to the first shearing member to shear the chain link and to bend the chain link to define an opening in the chain link greater than the thickness of the chain link, the actuator system requiring no manual actuation force input, the actuator system including a hydraulic cylinder, a pump, and a motor, the hydraulic cylinder mounted to the second shearing member for movement thereof, the pump fluidly connected to the hydraulic cylinder for driving the hydraulic cylinder, the motor operatively connected to the pump for selectively driving the pump, and the actuator system including a switch for selectively operating the motor, the switch being biased to an off position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.