Clamping Device

Abstract

A clamping device for fixing a workpiece during processing, which is applicable to a processing machine and has an automatic clamping or automatic opening technique. [Solution] The clamping device of the present invention mainly comprises a track 11 installed inside a base 1, the track having two clamping assemblies 3 that move relative to each other to clamp or separate the workpieces. The clamping assembly includes a clamp block 31 for gripping a workpiece, a clamp base 32 connected to the clamp block, and an actuator 33, the actuator being connected to the output shaft end 22 of a power mechanism 2 and inserted into a predetermined inclined guide groove of the clamp base, the clamp base being driven by the power mechanism to displace within the track of the base, and the clamp blocks opening to clamp or separate the workpieces relative to each other.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of clamping jaws for processing machines, and more particularly to a clamping device applicable to vice processing machines. [Background technology]

[0002] In the past, mechanical clamping methods were often used to secure the workpiece during machining processes. For example, a vice is a mechanical device that secures the workpiece during machining tasks and can be used as a manual component or a machining device. Vises have a wide range of applications, including common manual vises and powered vises that are installed within machining tools. The power sources for powered vises include pneumatic and hydraulic, and they are primarily used in machining tasks that require strict resistance and high precision.

[0003] Commercially available vise technologies are described in prior patent documents, such as the "Vise Structure" in Patent Document 1, the "Pneumatic High-Speed ​​Switching Lock Vise" in Patent Document 2, and the pneumatic sandwich clamping vise. However, while all of the above vise technologies can achieve the effect of clamping a workpiece, they cannot achieve an automatic opening function. Therefore, solving the problem of how to simultaneously provide an automatic clamping and automatic opening function in a mechanism has become a research direction that the present inventor and related manufacturers in this industry are eager to improve. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Taiwan Registered Utility Model No. 644793 [Patent Document 2] Taiwan Registered Utility Model No. 653481 [Patent Document 3] Taiwan Registered Utility Model No. 650129 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, the inventors of the present invention believed that the above drawbacks could be improved, and after extensive research, they came up with the present invention, which effectively improves the above issues through rational design.

[0006] The present invention was developed through extensive research by the inventor in light of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a clamping device that can be applied to vise processing machines and has automatic clamping or automatic opening technology. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the clamping device according to the present invention employs the following measures. The clamping device according to the present invention mainly comprises a track mounted inside a base, the track having two clamping assemblies that clamp or separate relative to each other. The clamping assembly includes a clamp block for gripping a workpiece, a clamp base connected to the clamp block, and an actuator. The actuator is connected to the output shaft end of a power mechanism and is inserted into a predetermined inclined guide groove in the clamp base. The clamp base is provided with first and second guide grooves at both ends, each with a different inclination direction. The actuator can be inserted into the first or second guide groove. The actuator has upper and lower outer inclined surfaces on its outer side and upper and lower inner inclined surfaces on its inner side. These inclined surfaces correspond to the first or second guide groove, which have different inclination directions, creating a counterbalancing effect. The first guide groove has a first inclined surface facing the upper outer inclined surface and a first lateral inclined surface facing the lower inner inclined surface, and the second guide groove has a second inclined surface facing the lower outer inclined surface and a second lateral inclined surface facing the upper inner inclined surface. In this way, the power mechanism drives the clamp base so as to be displaced within the track of the base, and the clamp blocks relatively clamp the workpiece or open to separate them.

[0008] At least the following points will become clear from the description and drawings to be described later. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is an exploded view of a clamping device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is an exploded view showing a portion of a clamping device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a vise machining device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a first cross-sectional view of an automatic clamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a second cross-sectional view of an automatic clamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (1) showing an automatic opening according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (2) showing the automatic opening of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a plurality of clamping devices according to the present invention are used; [Figure 9] 1 is an exploded view of a safety lock according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Below, we will explain embodiments of the clamping device of the present invention with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the components, materials, etc. described below can be modified in various ways within the scope of the present invention.

[0011] First, Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a clamping device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a portion of the clamping device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an external perspective view of a vise machining device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The clamping device (A) according to the present invention includes the following components.

[0013] The base (1) has a track (11) installed inside the upper end, and an operating space (12) formed inside the lower end of the base (1), with a through-hole (13), two channels (14), and a mounting hole (15) provided corresponding to the wall of the operating space (12). The through-hole (13) is connected to the track (11), and the two channels (14) are connected to an external power supply facility.

[0014] The power mechanism 2 includes a piston fixing seat 21 mounted in the working space 12 of the base 1. The piston fixing seat 21 has an output shaft end 22, the through-hole 13 is formed therethrough, and is located at the track 11. A plurality of elastic members 23 are provided on the end surface of the piston fixing seat 21, and one end of each elastic member 23 abuts against the base 1.

[0015] Two clamping assemblies (3) are attached to the tracks (11) of the base (1) to correspond to each other and are relatively displaceable within the tracks (11). Each clamping assembly (3) includes a clamp block (31), a clamp base (32) connected to the clamp block (31), and an actuating portion (33). The actuating portions (33) of the two clamping assemblies (3) are connected to a shaft (30), which is mounted to correspond to the output shaft end (22) of the piston fixing seat (21) and is located in the track (11). Each actuating portion (33) has an upper outer inclined surface (331) and a lower outer inclined surface (332) on the outer side corresponding to the shaft (30), and a lower inner inclined surface (333) on the inner side corresponding to the shaft (30). The clamp base (32) is movably fitted within the track (11), and a first guide groove (321) and a second guide groove (322) are provided at both ends of the clamp base (32), respectively, for fitting the operating part (33). The first guide groove (321) is provided with a first inclined surface (3211) (with the same inclination and direction) relative to the upper outer inclined surface (331) and a first side inclined surface (3212) (with the same inclination and direction) relative to the lower inner inclined surface (333). The second guide groove (322) is provided with a second inclined surface (3221) (with the same inclination and direction) relative to the lower outer inclined surface (332) and a second side inclined surface (3222) relative to the lower inner inclined surface (333). Furthermore, the relative mounting manner of the two clamping bases (32) and two actuating parts (33) corresponding to the clamping assembly members (3) varies depending on the number of workpieces to be grasped or clamping device sets, and the two corresponding clamping bases (32) contact each other so that the same first guide groove (321) or the same second guide groove (322) corresponds to the actuating part (33), or the clamping bases (32) of the two clamping assembly members (3) contact each other so that the first guide groove (321) and the second guide groove (322) respectively correspond to the actuating part (33) (details will be described later).

[0016] The safety lock (4) is fitted into the mounting hole (15) of the base (1) and inserted into the operating space (12). A stopper (41) is installed at the front end of the safety lock (4), and corresponds to the piston fixing seat (21), serving as a safety measure to limit the displacement range of the piston fixing seat (21).

[0017] As shown in Figures 1 to 7, the clamping device of the present invention can be applied to a vice equipment. Below, we will give examples of vice equipment to specifically explain the range of practical application of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the piston fixing seat (21) of the power mechanism (2) is attached to the operating space (12) of the base (1), and the output shaft end (22) passing through the through hole (13) locks the shaft (30), and the two operating parts (33) of the shaft (30) respectively correspond to the track (11) locations. In addition, two clamp bases 32 are attached to the track 11, and the two clamp bases 32 have the same corresponding first guide groove 321 or the same second guide groove 322, and two actuating parts 33 are fitted into the same first guide groove 321 or the same second guide groove 322, respectively. Next, the clamp bases 32 are coupled to the corresponding clamp block 31, and the coupling manner is engagement or locking by concave-convex design, or integral molding, so that the clamp block 31 and the clamp bases 32 are operated to displace together.

[0019] 4 to 7, when power is input from an external power supply facility via the channel 14 and the piston fixing seat 21 of the power mechanism 2 is displaced, the clamp base 32 operates to clamp or release the workpiece. Depending on the type of workpiece to be gripped, either the first guide groove 321 or the second guide groove 322 of the clamp base 32 is selected and installed. The following describes the state in which the two clamping assembly members (3) automatically clamp the clamp blocks (31) inward, or the clamp blocks (31) automatically open outward to grab the workpiece.

[0020] In the automatic clamping embodiment (see Figures 4 and 5), two clamp bases (32) are assembled in the track (11) of the base (1) so that the same first guide grooves (321) correspond to each other, and the actuating parts at both ends of the actuating part (33) are respectively inserted into the corresponding first guide grooves (321) of the clamp bases (32), and before the piston fixing seat (21) operates, the lower inner inclined surface (333) of the actuating part (33) comes into contact with the corresponding first side inclined surface (3212). When gas is introduced into the operating space (12) from an external power supply equipment (not shown) through the channel (14) of the base (1), and the piston fixing seat (21) is pushed to compress and raise the elastic member (23), the shaft (30) at the end of the output shaft rises, and the two operating parts (33) follow suit and rise so as to be displaced, and their upper outer inclined surfaces (331) come into contact with the first inclined surface (3211), and the upper outer inclined surface (331) abuts against the lower end of the first inclined surface (3211) along the slope of the first inclined surface (3211), so that the two clamp bases (32) are displaced along the track (11) in directions separating them from each other, thereby forming a released state. Next, when automatic clamping is performed, the supply of gas from the external power supply is stopped, and the piston retaining seat 21 recovers due to the elastic force of the elastic member 23 and moves downward at high speed. At this time, the shaft 30 of the output shaft end 22 descends, displacing the operating part 33. The lower inner inclined surface 333 contacts the first side inclined surface 3212. The lower inner inclined surface 333 moves from the upper end of the first side inclined surface 3212 along the slope of the first side inclined surface 3212, and the two clamp bases 32 move toward each other along the track, thereby forming an automatic clamping state. However, after automatic clamping, gas can be introduced from the external power supply into the operating space 12 of the piston retaining seat 21 through another channel 14 of the base 1 to supplement and strengthen the clamping force.

[0021] In the automatic opening embodiment (see Figures 6 and 7), the two clamp bases (32) are assembled in the track (11) of the base (1) so that the same second guide grooves (322) correspond to each other (the two clamp bases (32) that automatically clamp are rotated 180°), and the actuating parts (33) at both ends of the shaft (30) are inserted into the corresponding second guide grooves (322) of the clamp bases (32), and before the piston fixing seat (21) operates, the lower outer inclined surface (332) of the actuating part (33) comes into contact with the corresponding second inclined surface (3221). When gas is introduced into the operating space (12) from the external power equipment through the channel (14) of the base (1), and the piston fixing seat (21) is pushed, compressing and raising the elastic member (23), the shaft (30) at the end of the output shaft rises, and the operating part (33) rises so as to be displaced, and the lower outer inclined surface (332) comes into contact with the second inclined surface (3221), and the lower outer inclined surface (332) abuts against the lower end of the second inclined surface (3221) along the slope of the second inclined surface (3221), so that the two clamp bases (32) are displaced in directions approaching each other along the track (11), and a clamping state is formed. Next, when automatic opening is performed, the supply of gas from the external power equipment through the channel 14 is stopped. The piston retaining seat 21 recovers due to the elastic force of the elastic member 23 and moves downward at high speed. Naturally, the gas supply may be assisted by another channel 14. In this case, the shaft 30 at the end of the output shaft descends, displacing the operating part 33. The lower outer inclined surface 332 moves from the upper end of the second inclined surface 3221 along the inclination of the second inclined surface 3221. The two clamp bases 32 are displaced along the track 11 in directions away from each other, thereby achieving the automatic opening state. However, after automatic opening, gas can be introduced from the external power equipment into the operating space 12 of the piston retaining seat 21 through another channel 14 of the base 1 to supplement and strengthen the clamping force.

[0022] In the above embodiment, a workpiece is gripped by a set of clamping devices (A). As shown in Figures 1 and 3, a number of bolts (17) are further installed at the bottom of the base (1), and these bolts (17) can be coupled to the positioning platform (5) in a corresponding manner and used (see Figure 8).

[0023] However, in another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, when the shape of the workpiece is large and it is necessary to grip the workpiece with multiple sets of clamping devices (A), two corresponding clamping devices (A) are attached to the positioning platform (5), and the clamp bases (32) of the two clamping assembly members (3) in each clamping device (A) are locked to the same clamp block (31), and the first guide groove (321) and the second guide groove (322) of the two clamping bases (32) contact the operating parts (33) respectively, and the clamp blocks (31) of the two corresponding clamping devices (A) automatically clamp inward, or the two clamp blocks (31) automatically open outward to grip the workpiece. As shown in Figure 8, when the piston fixing seat (21) descends, the two clamp blocks (31) face inward to clamp the workpiece. When the positions of the two clamp devices (A) are interchanged for operation, when the piston fixing seat (21) descends, the two clamp blocks (31) face outward and grip the workpiece (not shown).

[0024] However, regardless of the operation mode, when the external power supply equipment pushes the piston fixing seat (21) to displace upward, in order to prevent the piston fixing seat (21) from being pushed upward excessively, the safety lock (4) is rotated during the operation process, and the safety lock (4) can limit the stroke of the piston fixing seat (21) to be displaced upward, corresponding to the stroke, and is a solid safety measure that ensures that the piston fixing seat (21) is clamped to an appropriate position. As shown in FIG. 9, the safety lock (4) is provided with a position limiting groove (42), and a positioning member (16) is locked to the base (1) at a position corresponding to the safety lock (4), and the positioning member (16) is fitted into the position limiting groove (42) so as to be positioned therein, and the position limiting groove (42) provides a rotation range for the safety lock.

[0025] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design modifications and the like are also included within the scope of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1 base 11 Tracks 12 Working Space 13 Through hole 14 channels 15 Mounting holes 16 Positioning member 17 volts 2 Power mechanism 21 Piston fixing seat 22 Output shaft end 23 Elastic member 3 Clamping assembly member 31 Clamp block 32 Clamp base 321 First guide groove 3211 First diagonal surface 3212 1st side slope 322 Second guide groove 3221 Second oblique surface 3222 2nd side slope 33 Operating unit 331 Upper outer slope 332 Lower outer slope 333 Lower inner slope 334 Upper inner slope 4 Safety Lock 41 Stopper 42 Position limiting groove 5 Positioning Platform A clamping device 30 shaft

Claims

1. A clamping device installed in a processing machine, a base having a track installed inside an upper end thereof and an operating space provided inside a lower end thereof, with a through hole and two channels provided corresponding to the wall of the operating space, the through hole communicating with the track, and the two channels connected to an external power supply; a power mechanism including a piston fixing seat mounted in the working space of the base, the piston fixing seat having an output shaft end, the through hole extending therethrough and positioned at the track, a plurality of elastic members provided on an end surface of the piston fixing seat, one end of each elastic member abutting against the base; two clamping assemblies respectively mounted on the tracks of the base and relatively displaceable within the tracks, each clamping assembly including a clamp block, a clamp base coupled to the clamp block, and an actuating portion, the actuating portions of the two clamping assemblies being respectively coupled to shafts, the shafts being mounted to correspond to the output shaft ends of the piston fixing seats and being located at positions in the tracks, and each actuating portion being provided with an upper outer inclined surface and a lower outer inclined surface on the outside corresponding to the shaft, the clamp base is movably fitted within the track, and both ends of the clamp base are respectively provided with a first guide groove and a second guide groove for fitting the operating part therein, the first guide groove is provided with a first inclined surface relative to the upper outer inclined surface and a first side inclined surface relative to the lower inner inclined surface, and the second guide groove is provided with a second inclined surface relative to the lower outer inclined surface and a second side inclined surface relative to the upper inner inclined surface. Clamping device.

2. The clamping device according to claim 1 , wherein the clamp bases of the two clamping assemblies contact each other such that the same first guide groove or the same second guide groove corresponds to the operating portion.

3. 2. The clamp device according to claim 1, wherein the clamp bases of the two clamping assembly members are locked to the same clamp block, and the clamp bases of the two clamping assembly members contact each other such that the first guide groove and the second guide groove correspond to the operating portion, respectively.

4. 2. The clamping device according to claim 1, wherein a mounting hole is provided on a wall surface of the working space, a safety lock is installed in the mounting hole, the safety lock is fitted into a location in the working space, and a stopper is installed at a front end of the safety lock, corresponding to the piston fixing seat, for limiting the displacement range of the piston fixing seat.

5. 5. The clamping device according to claim 4, wherein the safety lock is provided with a position limiting groove, a positioning member is locked on the base at a location corresponding to the safety lock, the positioning member is fitted into the position limiting groove so as to be positioned in the position limiting groove, and the position limiting groove provides a rotation range for the safety lock.

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