Slider assembly

Abstract

The present invention relates to a slider tool (100) having a slider bed (2) and a slider (3) movably mounted thereon by sliding plates (G1, G2) on a double-tail guide, and providing an asymmetric concept of double-tail connection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an improved slider assembly, specifically a quill slider and a wedge driver slider. Specifically, the present invention relates to a quill slider for fastening to an upper part and a hold-down device in a tool made of several parts, specifically in a slider unit, the quill slider comprising at least one quill.

[0002] Sheet metal parts for the automotive industry are becoming increasingly complex, and thus the construction of tools often reaches the limits of what is possible. Where possible, the manufactured parts must be completed at the end of the forming and punching operations. Thus, several functions of the active parts at different angular positions must cooperate and be coordinated with each other within the tool. The increased part of such functions is taken over by the latest sliders having drivers installed above or below.

[0003] The present invention can also be applied to a wedge driver having a slider element receiving part, a movable slider element, and a drive element, a sliding surface being provided between the slider element and the drive element, and guide means having a sliding surface of the slider element and a sliding surface of the slider element receiving part being provided between the slider element and the slider element receiving part.

[0004] Also, a wedge driver, also referred to as a slider, generally serves to deflect the pressure in punching or forming tools, whereby, specifically, the inclined or back portion regions of the body can be machined. Typically, the slider element receiving portion is connected to a part of the press tool for the punching or forming operation by the wedge driver. The wedge driver is referred to as an upper slider when its slider element receiving portion is fastened to the upper part of the press tool connected to the movable press plunger. The term lower slider is used when its slider element receiving portion is connected to the lower press tool fastened to the rigid press table. Regardless of the part to which the slider element receiving portion of the wedge driver is connected, the slider element receiving portion can usually move the movable slider element back and forth and has a linear guide that is firmly connected to the slider element receiving portion itself. The drive element is usually firmly connected to a part of the press tool as a rigid element to which the slider element receiving portion is not fastened. The drive element usually has tapered wedges that serve as drive elements for the movable slider element. However, the use of the wedge slider is also restricted, especially when the driver cannot be placed within the tool due to space limitations.

[0005] In this regard, quill sliders have been used in several cases so far. Quill sliders are known in most different applications and designs. The quill serves to receive and move a machining tool, for example a punching tool, and moves in the longitudinal direction, i.e., the axial direction. This movement is caused by the quill driver. The quill usually extends into the quill receiving portion to avoid its unintended deflection. The quill driver and the quill receiving portion are usually permanently fitted to the tool or a part thereof.

[0006] The quill slider is known, for example, from WO 2007 / 006161 (A1). In this specification, means are disclosed that include a movable die part having a slider, an ejector, and a quill slider arranged at an angle to each other, and a support plate for supporting the quill slider that is received at a right angle by the support plate and supported on a support surface arranged on the quill slider. The slider and the quill slider are actuated by a two-way hydraulic cylinder.

[0007] DE 101 53 721 (C5) discloses a tool for a cylinder crankcase made of at least two tool parts. This tool has several sliders for releasing the cavity and the bore. The tool comprises a cylindrical quill for creating the cylinder bore. The quill can be part of the slider, i.e., in the shape of a quill slider. The quill extends through the tool from the wall on the cylinder head side to the wall on the crankshaft side.

[0008] Another quill slider is known from DE 10 2006 016 078 (A1). DE 23 14 08 (A1) discloses an additional device for a universal tool milling machine for a slice die, a stamp, and an electrode for electrical discharge machining. The additional device consists of a casting housing in which a work carriage having pivoting means for receiving the tool in a prism guide moves up and down. Alternatively, a quill in the shape of a piston rod performs a stroke movement and a rotatable tool receptacle is provided at the lower quill end, having a long cylindrical bore. The quill has grooves incorporated (coaxially) over its entire length to avoid axial rotational movement and is guided by a wedge fixed to the housing. In this device, a drive cylinder for fastening the piston rod in the quill is provided on the upper cover. Below that, bearing points for receiving the shaft project.

[0009] In the prior art, the further development of the slider element has been emphasized, whereby a guide for the movable slider element is created that enables better running accuracy, which optimally converts the working press force into punching or forming movements, compensates for side boosts, and also results in a uniform force distribution.

[0010] In the prior art, a solution is known in which the movable slider element has a certain double-tail connection, and the slider element receiving part is formed as a corresponding mating part such that the sides of the slider element formed as a double-tail can engage with the corresponding slider element receiving part and can guide itself and be held therein in a centering manner. In this case, great value is placed on the arrangement of the symmetric configuration. The surfaces of the slider element and the slider element receiving part, each provided by the double-tail shape, are supported symmetrically to each other, and due to the surfaces forming an angle with each other, the double-tail shape can receive forces directed in different directions.

[0011] Specifically, the prior art particularly teaches a specific symmetric arrangement as having advantages regarding symmetric force distribution and other characteristics, as well as smooth running. For this purpose, sliding plates are proposed on two sides of the slider element or the slider element receiving part, which are arranged symmetrically to achieve the above-mentioned purposes. Thus, for example, European Patent No. 2197660 (B1) provides a solution, but it has been found to be disadvantageous specifically with regard to the safety of installation.

[0012] This symmetric double-tail solution provides a sliding surface for supporting the sliding plate, which is formed to engage with a corresponding receiving part on the slider bed formed as a double-tail, whereby the sliding plate is arranged symmetrically and in an L-shape. Thus, the sliding plate positioned between them by the symmetric double-tail on the slider and the corresponding symmetric-shaped receiving parts of the slider bed and the slider body is also arranged symmetrically to them.

[0013] "Symmetry" in the sense of the present invention is defined accordingly. The geometric shapes and surfaces related to and involved in the cooperation of the slider and the corresponding receiving part on the slider bed with its contour are considered.

[0014] However, due to the asymmetric installation situation, the high precision requirements of complex tools, and the inevitable manufacturing tolerances, there are high requirements for accurate and precise installation. Often, the tool is used as intended in an asymmetric installation situation, so reverse or incorrect installation can lead to serious consequences. However, with the solutions known in the prior art, since installation with a 180° rotation with respect to the target situation is possible, it can cause significant (in some cases immediate) damage to the tool and the machined part during operation.

[0015] Since installing by rotating the generally symmetrically arranged guides and slide bearings by 180° can lead to the aforementioned problems, this problem can specifically occur in the case of a symmetric double-tail guide. For example, if the hole punch attached to the slider is eccentric, the tool may collide when the tool is rotated by 180°.

[0016] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a slider that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages, enables good running characteristics and a desired force distribution on the one hand, improves the safety of installation on the other hand, and avoids incorrect installation.

[0017] This object is achieved by the combination of features according to claim 1.

[0018] The basic concept of the present invention is, in contrast to the prior art, an asymmetric arrangement of a double-tail connection that is not symmetric, specifically regarding the operating connection between the slider and the slider bed. In particular, in this definition with respect to the tool center (in the case of a wedge driver tool) or the slider center (in the case of a quill slider), an asymmetric arrangement of the double-tail connection is realized, thereby obtaining an overall non-symmetric double-tail connection and the arrangement of the slide bearing plate that may be arranged thereon.

[0019] For this purpose, the following means regarding the double-tail connection between the slider and the corresponding slider bed are proposed. - A symmetry plane passing through the holding section formed as a double-tail is offset with respect to the axis of symmetry passing through the tool center, or the shape of the double-tail on the slider or its outer contour is made asymmetric (for example, one side is enlarged or shaped differently compared to the opposite side and compared to the symmetric double-tail shape).

[0020] - One of the two bearing surfaces formed for the sliding plate on the double-tail of the slider is lower or higher than the other bearing surface facing diametrically in terms of the position when viewed in the height direction. As a result, therefore, the sliding plate is also offset and arranged at other relative positions in the height direction.

[0021] - The two bearing surfaces on the double-tail for supporting the above-mentioned sliding plate can also be formed at different approach angles.

[0022] In this regard, the above-mentioned features that can lead to an asymmetric arrangement or shape exclusively refer to the features contributing to the double-tail connection, specifically, the outer contour for supporting the sliding plate and the dimensions related to symmetry.

[0023] A particularly preferred solution is, on the one hand, to achieve the advantages of good guiding characteristics and optimal force distribution, and on the other hand, to achieve a clear mounting position of the slider on the slider bed, where the deviation between the two planes (the tool plane and the symmetry plane of the double-tail connection) is close to each other but offset adjacent to each other.

[0024] For this purpose, the present invention provides a slider tool having a slider bed and a slider movably mounted thereon by a sliding plate on a dovetail guide, the slider having a slider body and a slider holder formed thereon, there being a first plane of symmetry S1 of the slider body and / or the slider bed extending through the center of the slider and / or the slider tool, the slider having a holding section formed as a dovetail with respect to a second plane of symmetry S2, the first plane of symmetry S1 not coinciding with the second plane of symmetry S2, so that the sliding plate provided on the sliding surface of the holding section formed as a dovetail is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the first plane of symmetry.

[0025] According to the concept of the present invention, therefore, the arrangement of the sliding plate and thus the position of the holding section formed as a dovetail are not arranged at the tool center and thus in the plane of symmetry of the slider tool or the slider bed, but are offset in the lateral or transverse direction. Thus, the sliding plate can remain embodied as an identical part, but the holding section formed as a dovetail is formed eccentrically on the slider. This precludes the assembly being accidentally rotated by 180°.

[0026] In a further design of the present invention, it is specified that the slider is mounted on a driver on the side of the slider opposite the dovetail guide. Thus, the present invention can be realized by a conventional wedge driver consisting of a slider bed, a slider, and a driver.

[0027] There is a further advantage when the slider (specifically, when realized as a quill slider) is mounted axially movably within at least one guide bush along a central central slider axis X. Advantageously, two guide bushes are provided axially in series one after the other.

[0028] In a further design according to the invention, it is defined that the sliding plate is formed in an L-shape and that the legs of the sliding plate forming the L-shape project into respective recesses on the slider bed. Particularly advantageously, the sliding plate on the slider is arranged at an angle to two symmetry planes. In this way, the sliding surface also extends obliquely to the symmetry plane.

[0029] More advantageously, a groove for the holding means is provided in the slider bed, the holding means projects from a holding section formed as a double tail, and engagement with the groove or guide groove is achieved. According to the concept of the invention, the guide groove is centered and symmetric with respect to the tool center with respect to the lateral tool edge, while the holding means is offset on the double tail with respect to the symmetry plane of the double tail projection, specifically offset in a direction transverse to the symmetry plane.

[0030] For the same reason, the mounting of the slider on the slider bed can only be achieved at the intended position. When the slider is rotated by 180°, a collision occurs during assembly due to the geometric conditions between the position of the holding means and the guide groove. This also prevents incorrect assembly.

[0031] Furthermore, it is preferable that the center and specifically the central slider axis X extends within a second symmetry plane S2.

[0032] The symmetry plane is understood in the sense of the invention to be a plane with respect to which the respective positions of the relevant parts of the slider tool are symmetric. For example, looking at the guide groove of the slider bed, even if the slider bed does not have complete symmetry in all details, its shape and position are symmetric with respect to the first symmetry plane of the slider bed. Instead of the symmetry plane, this can correspondingly alternatively also be the part center in the concept according to the invention.

[0033] In this case, according to the present invention, the center of the holding section formed as a double tail, and the tool center or the slider center are separate.

[0034] Therefore, when the second symmetry plane S2 is offset by a distance y obliquely with respect to the first symmetry plane S1 with respect to the slider axis X or the slider center, here, it is only a relatively small deviation (for example, 1 to 5% of the tool width).

[0035] In a further design of the present invention, removable blocking means are provided at the tool-side end of the guide groove, and the removable blocking means are defined to prevent complete disassembly of the slider along the double-tail guide as long as the blocking means are in their blocking position.

[0036] Even more preferred features are as follows. - The slider has a rounded, rectangular, or polygonal cross-section. - At least one guide bush has a rounded, rectangular, or polygonal cross-section.

[0037] Other advantageous improvements of the present invention are characterized in the dependent claims and / or will be explained in more detail below together with the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0038]

Figure 1

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Figure 3

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Figure 8

Figure 9

[0039] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9, in which the same reference numerals refer to the same structural and / or functional features.

[0040] In FIG. 1, an exemplary representation of the slider tool 100 is formed as a quill slider. The slider tool 100 has a slider bed 2 and a slider 3 movably mounted thereon by sliding plates 50, 51 on a double-tail guide.

[0041] The slider 3 has a slider body 30 (on the end side where a machining tool can be attached) and a slider holder 31 formed thereon for mounting the slider 3 on the slider bed 2.

[0042] The slider body 30 has a central axis X and a first symmetry plane S1 that coincides with the symmetry plane of the slider bed 2 and thus characterizes a common symmetry plane and thus the center of the slider tool.

[0043] On the other hand, the slider holder 31 forms a holding section 32 formed as a double tail symmetrically formed with respect to the second symmetry plane S2. However, (as can be clearly recognized in FIGS. 6 to 8), the first symmetry plane S1 and the second symmetry plane S2 do not coincide, are offset by a distance y and are adjacent to each other, whereby the sliding plates 50, 51 provided on the sliding surfaces of the holding section 32 formed as a double tail are arranged asymmetrically with respect to the first symmetry axis S1 as intended. In the case of the rotated assembly, since these have to be offset from each other by the said distance y, the slider cannot come into further contact with the driver (in the case of the wedge slider) or be guided within the guide bush 40 (in the case of the quill slider 100).

[0044] In the embodiment according to FIGS. 3 and 4 in which the wedge driver tool 100 is shown, the slider 3 is mounted on the driver 60 on the side of the slider 2 opposite the double tail guide.

[0045] It can be recognized that with the quill slider 100, the slider 3 is axially movably mounted within two guide bushes 40 along the central central slider axis X, and the guide bushes surround the slider annularly.

[0046] In either embodiment, the sliding plates 50, 51 are formed in an L-shape, and the (short) legs 50a, 51a forming the L-shape project into the respective recesses (concavities) of the slider bed 2.

[0047] In FIGS. 5 and 7, a central guide groove 22 for the holding means 33 is provided in the slider bed 2, and it can be clearly recognized that the holding means 33 projects from the holding section 32 formed as a double tail and engages with the guide groove 22. The holding means 33 can be a screw having a screw head.

[0048] On the other hand, in FIGS. 6 and 7, it can be clearly recognized that the center and specifically the central slider axis X extend within the first symmetry plane S1, and the second symmetry plane S2 is offset by a distance y obliquely with respect to the slider axis X or the slider center with respect to the first symmetry plane S1.

[0049] In FIG. 5, at the tool side end of the guide groove 22, a removable blocking means 24 is provided, and as long as the blocking means 24 is in its blocking position (shown in FIG. 5), it can be further recognized that this blocking means prevents the complete disassembly of the slider 3 (from the mounting position to the removal position) along the dovetail guide.

[0050] In this exemplary embodiment, the slider 3 and the guide bush 40 of the quill slider have a circular cross-section such that the center of the circle also determines the center of the slider 3 and the position of the symmetry plane S2.

[0051] FIG. 8 shows the details of FIG. 7 and illustrates how the symmetry plane S2 of the dovetail guide and the positions of the sliding plates 50, 51 are offset by a distance y from the symmetry plane S1 of the slider bed and the slider body.

[0052] FIG. 9 shows an alternative exemplary embodiment of an asymmetric dovetail connection in which the angles A and B are different, whereby the bearing surfaces 60, 61 of the sliding plates 50, 51 have different approach angles.

[0053] FIG. 8 suggests a further possible embodiment having a height direction H, in which the bearing surfaces 60, 61 of the sliding plates 50, 51 can have the same approach angle, but their relative positions with respect to each other are offset in the height direction H. From this, respective asymmetric solutions can also be obtained.

[0054] According to the present invention, the shown solution is advantageous in that the two sliding plates 50, 51 are formed as identical parts despite the asymmetric geometry of the dovetail, and no different components are required.

[0055] In its implementation, the present invention is not limited to the above-described preferred exemplary embodiments. Rather, numerous variations are conceivable that utilize the illustrated solutions even in forms of fundamentally different embodiments.

Claims

**Claim 1** A slider tool (100), comprising a slider bed (2) and a slider (3) movably mounted thereon by sliding plates (50, 51) on a dovetail guide, wherein the slider has a slider body (30) and a slider holder (31) formed thereon, and there is a first plane of symmetry (S1) of the slider body (3) and / or the slider bed (2) extending through the center of the slider (3) and / or the slider tool (100), the slider holder (31) has a holding section (32) formed as a dovetail and symmetric with respect to a second plane of symmetry (S2), and the first plane of symmetry (S1) does not coincide with the second plane of symmetry (S2), so that the sliding plates (50, 51) are provided on the sliding surfaces of the holding section (32) formed as a dovetail, and the sliding plates are arranged asymmetrically with respect to the first plane of symmetry (S1). A slider tool (100). **Claim 2** A slider tool (100), comprising a slider bed (2) and a slider (3) movably mounted thereon by sliding plates (50, 51) on a dovetail guide, wherein the slider has a slider body (30) and a slider holder (31) formed thereon, and the slider holder (31) has an asymmetrically shaped holding section (32) formed as a dovetail, and the holding section engages with a correspondingly shaped receiving section on the slider bed. A slider tool (100). **Claim 3** The slider tool (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the slider (3) is mounted on a driver (60) on the side surface of the slider bed (2) on the opposite side of the dovetail guide. **Claim 4** The slider tool (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the slider (3) is movably mounted axially within at least one guide bush (40) along a central center slider axis (X). **Claim 5** The sliding plates (50, 51) are formed in an L shape, and the legs (50a, 51a) of the sliding plates forming the L shape project into respective recesses on the slider bed (2). The slider tool (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that.

6. A guide groove (22) for the holding means (33) is provided in the slider bed (2), the holding means (33) projects from the holding section (32) formed as a double tail, and engages with the guide groove (22). The slider tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that.

7. The center, in particular, the central slider axis (X) extends within the first plane of symmetry (S1). The slider tool (100) according to any one of claims 1 and 4 to 6, characterized in that.

8. The second plane of symmetry (S2) is offset by a distance y obliquely with respect to the slider axis (X) or the slider center with respect to the first plane of symmetry (S1). The slider tool (100) according to claim 1 and any one of the preceding claims 3 to 7, characterized in that.

9. Removable blocking means (24) are provided at the tool-side end of the guide groove (22), and the removable blocking means (24) prevents complete disassembly of the slider (3) along the double-tail guide as long as the blocking means (24) is in its blocking position. The slider tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims 6 to 8, characterized in that.

10. The slider (3) has a rounded, rectangular, or polygonal cross-section. The slider tool (100) according to any one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that.

11. The at least one guide bush (40) has a rounded, rectangular, or polygonal cross-section. The slider tool (100) according to any one of claims 4 to 10, characterized in that.

12. Due to the asymmetric design, assembly of the slider (3) rotated 180° relative to the intended assembly is prevented. The slider tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that.

13. The slider tool (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding plates (50, 51) on the slider (3) are arranged at different angles with respect to the slider axis X.

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