Bayer work piece clamping system

• US 20070262507A1
• Filed: 04/14/2007
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jack Bayer, Scott Bayer
• Original Assignee: Jack Bayer, Scott Bayer
• Inventors: Bayer, Scott, Bayer, Jack
• Granted Patent: US 8,002,254 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 269/305
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 1/0018 comprising hydraulic means
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 3/102 for fixing elements in slots
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 3/103 Constructional elements used for constructing work holders
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 269/90 Supporting structure having work holder receiving apertures or projections

Abstract

This patent pertains to a work piece clamping system with manual or powered clamping. Work piece locations of all three axis can be determined from the device. Various clamping devices can be included in the system. Single or multiple work pieces of various sizes and shapes can be clamped.

Claims

1. A base for guiding various clamps and guiding and accurately locating various locators or combinations there of and various clamps and locaters for locating and indicating work piece locations in all three axis using manual or power clamping, comprising of;

a base provided with accurately located projections that engage one of many accurately located slots of the various locators;

linear spacing of projections and slots are sufficiently large to enable sufficient related part slot size to achieve desired clamping forces;

a base constructed with a large channel located below the clamps and locaters where flexible air or hydraulic lines and actuators for power actuation of clamps are located;

and various locaters, gauges, spacers, clamps or combinations there of with means for locating work pieces in three axis;

and all locating components being marked with dimensions enabling determination of work piece location from zero reference location in each axis;

and telescoping T-slot covers exclude foreign matter from the channel;

and bases mounted to machine tool pallets with means for decoupling the air supply with means of retaining compressed air for clamping parts;

2. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

a large channel is partially covered by two bars fastened to the base housing and a wear resistant rail is fastened to the top of each bar forming a T-slot to guide the clamps and locators, and bolt heads that fasten the wear rails are located on the bottom side of the bars;

projections or keys are accurately located and aligned in the wear rails and used for accurately locating the locators and the spacing between the keys in the wear rails is determined by the spacing and number of engagement slots in the locator so that a continuous and consistent incremental positioning of the locators is possible;

the length of the keys in the wear rails is restricted to provide an un-obstructed slide path for the clamps that do not engage the keys.

3. The improvement of claim 2 and wherein;

the location of each key located on the wear rail is marked with its location from a zero reference point and the zero reference point can be located on either or both ends of the base and the dimension marked accordingly.

4. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

the locator and wedge clamp are combined and the locator portion of this combination is positioned along the wear rails in increments that exceed the maximum practical travel of a wedge clamp so the wedge clamp location with respect to the locator is adjustable to remedy this condition;

and the locator is provided with accurately located slots and when one of these slots engages a set of aligned keys located on the wear rails, the locator is located at one of many incremental locations along the wear rails;

and the locater work piece location surface may be flat, round or any other shape.

5. The improvement of claim 4 and wherein;

the distance from the work piece flat location to the slot/key engagement is marked on the side of the locator and the distance from the locator location surface to a zero reference point is determined by adding the ascending distances as marked for the engaged wear rail key and locator slot and if the locator is rotated to the opposite direction, the distance may be determined by subtraction if the same zero reference point is used and if the zero reference point on the other end of the base is used, addition of ascending values is used.

6. The improvement of claim 4 and wherein;

the intersection of two plane surfaces that comprises the angled surface locator is marked as zero on one or both sides of the locator housing and the distance from this location to each key is marked;

the center of a round or hex work piece from zero reference can be determined by multiplying the diameter or across flat dimension in inches of the work pieces by 0.57735 and adding to the location of the angled surface intersection from zero reference.

7. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

a shaped bar ( GUAGE) is incrementally pined and bolted to the locator and the shaped bar contains multiple holes incrementally spaced and is used to incrementally locate and fasten it along an axis perpendicular to the T-slot;

the shaped bar is provided with either a physical work piece stop or an alignment surface used to locate the work piece in an axis perpendicular to the T-slot;

the shaped bar is marked with its incremental distances from the work piece stop or alignment surface to the center of the T-slot;

the shaped bar incremental distances are marked on both sides to enable it to be rotated so that it can extend to either side of the guide slot.

8. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

work piece spacers may be fastened to either end of the locater, clamp or locator/clamp combination and they are located against the wear rails;

the spacer used with the wedge clamp is provided with extensions that extend into slots provided in the wedge.

the clamp and locator spacers are relieved in the center to prevent interference with the keys located in the wear rails;

the clamp and locator spacers are marked with their dimension above the wear rails.

9. The improvement of claim 4 and wherein;

the clamping wedge is located by a wedge housing that is adjustable in the locator housing and the wedge housing may be located by an adjustment threaded rod located in the locator housing and the wedge housing and locator housing are clamped to each other and the wear rails by one or more bolts.

10. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

a wedge clamp is configured and used for work piece clamping only and a clamp housing is provided to support a clamping wedge and slide along the wear rails without interference from the keys located in the wear rails.

11. The improvement of claim 10 and wherein;

a structure can be fastened to the wedge housing and used to clamp the work piece against and the clamp and structure is allowed to slide along the wear rails to adjust to the work piece location then the clamp structure and work piece is then secured to the wear rails when the clamping force is applied.

12. The improvement of claim 4 and wherein;

a flexible band is attached to the wedge clamp and extends past the wedge to prevent, the downward clamping force from acting against the work piece.

13. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

an actuator is configured to fit within the base channel and used to apply force against the wedge to cause power clamping;

compressed air or hydraulic fluid is transferred to and from the actuator through flexible tubes that because of their extra length they automatically compensate for length variations caused by repositioning the clamps;

the actuator is provided with means to amplify the force imposed by available hydraulic or pneumatic pressure acting against a piston, as necessary to create sufficient clamping force.

15. The improvement of claim 4 and wherein;

the clamping wedge is provided with spring detends used to secure work pieces before and after clamping.

16. The improvement of claim 4 and wherein;

the clamping wedge is caused to clamp by rotation of a threaded rod into a threaded nut located in the base channel and if power clamping is used, a hand knob may be used to secure work pieces before and after power clamping.

17. The improvement of claim 4 and wherein;

a locator may be used apart from the clamp and provided with a variety of work piece location surfaces.

the locator may be configured to locate round, hex, or flat work pieces and blank locators may be specially shaped to locate irregular work pieces and locating surfaces may be located at either or both ends of the locator.

18. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

a clamp is configured to contact a portion of the top of the work piece and clamp it against spacers then the clamp retracts away from the work piece when in the unclamped mode and the clamp is combined with a locator, and guided and located by the wear rails;

the clamp motion and clamping force is achieved by air or hydraulic force acting against a piston;

the piston is reduced in diameter at its top and extends thru and is guided and sealed by a clamp housing;

a rail is fastened to the top of the piston and is used to guide a bar that slides perpendicular to the centerline of the piston;

when the piston moves down the bar is caused to slide over the work piece and then down to clamp the work piece;

a rectangular bar is fastened to the bottom side of the piston and is extended into the channel where it is guided at its extremes to resist torque caused by off center clamping force and air or hydraulic tubes located in the channel convey pressure through the rectangular bar to the top of the piston;

the distance from the work piece flat location to the slot/key engagement is marked on the side of the slide down housing and the distance from the slide down location surface to a zero reference point is determined by adding the ascending distances as marked for the engaged wear rail key and slide down cover slot and if rotated to the opposite direction, the distance may be calculated by subtraction if the same zero reference point is used and if the zero reference point on the other end of the base is used, addition of ascending values is used;

work piece location in the second and third axis is accomplished by shaped bars and spacers;

a slide down clamp can be used for work piece location and or clamping only and the slide down clamp can slide along the wear rails without interference from the keys located in the wear rails.

19. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

compressed air can be coupled and de-coupled to a pallet clamping system from a compressed air source and the compressed air is used to clean the coupling surface before mating and any air leakage resulting from imperfect mating can be detected by a pressure drop and a check valve is used to prevent air escapement from the pallet when the compressed air supply is de-coupled;

compressed air is stored in the pallet or base and used to enable limited clamping and unclamping when the compressed air source is removed;

a three way valve is used to transfer compressed air to a clamp or clamps for clamping and vents this air to atmosphere for un-clamping.

20. The improvement of claim 1 and wherein;

flexible T-slot covers spring into openings provided by the wear rails and they consist of an inner section and an outer section that slides over the inner section and the covers are provided in multiple lengths so they can cover the shortest to the longest distance needed.

14. The improvement of claim 24 and wherein;

the actuator uses a lever to increase the force applied by the piston.