CAM SLIDER AND PUNCH APPARATUS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is related to, and claims the benefit of priority from, United States Provisional Application Serial No. 61 /267691 , filed 8 December 2009, and United States Provisional Application Serial No. 61 /315207, filed 18 March 2010, the disclosures of which applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of die tools and to cam sliders used in such die tools. More specifically, this disclosure relates to a cam slider for performing a working, cutting and/or forming operation, such as a punching operation, in a die tool apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Cam sliders are generally known and used in die tools in metalworking, such as in a die tool in a stamping press. Typically, the cam slider has additional attachments, devices, components, and the like. For example, some cam sliders have devices for performing a punching process or some other process.

One example of a cam slider apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,231 ,907, which describes an assembly comprising an upper die having an actuating cam with an inclined actuating surface, and a lower die having a passive cam with an inclined passive surface. The lower die is coupled to a stationary guide stand and base plate. When activated, the upper die descends towards the lower die on which the sample of material (e.g., metal sheet, etc.) sits. As the first or upper die progresses toward the second or lower die, the inclined face of the actuating cam contacts the inclined passive face of the passive cam, urging the passive cam to move along a guide stand in the direction of a blank or sample. A work tool (such as a punch, for instance) disposed on the passive cam thereby stamps (shapes, contours, etc.) the blank or sample of material according to predetermined specifications and the shape of the upper and lower dies.

A drawback of the foregoing apparatus is the limited utility of the assembly occasioned by the work envelope defined by the configuration of the assembly. More specifically, the configuration of the cam slider apparatus of U.S. Patent No. 5,231 ,907 limits its capability to perform operations on a wide variety of blanks, material samples, etc., where the die tool is unable to reach the blank, material sample, etc.

One known construction for overcoming this limitation is to have a cam slider unit having the punch or other work tool mounted on a relatively long "nose" mount, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The cam slider 1 according to this construction includes, among other components, a cam slide 5, a lower cam 10 defining a cam driver, an upper cam 15 defining a cam holder, a cam slide guide 20, and an elongated "nose" portion 25 coupled to the cam slide 5 and having a mounting face 26 for mounting a punch device 30 or other work tool on the end. Upper cam 15 includes cam slide guide 20, and both are movably mounted on the cam slide 5, while cam slide 5 is movably engageable with lower cam 10. The "nose" portion 25 enables the punch feature to process (punch) a material sample (e.g., metal panel, etc.) as required by predetermined specifications and/or as desired.

The operation of the conventional, known cam slider unit of FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown in FIGS. 3A-3D. As depicted, the assembly comprising the upper cam 15, cam slide guide 20, and cam slide 5 with the elongated "nose" portion 25 and punch device 30 descends downward towards the lower cam 10 (FIG. 3A) until the underside, inclined surface of the cam slide 5 contacts the top inclined surface of the lower cam 10 (FIG. 3B). As the upper cam 15 continues to descend, co-acting inclined (i.e., cam) surfaces of each of the cam slide 5 and upper cam 15, and co-acting inclined (i.e., cam) surfaces of the cam slide 5 and lower cam 10 work to drive the cam slide 5 and "nose" portion 25 progressively in the direction D towards a material sample (e.g., panel, metal sheet, etc.(not shown)) to be processed (e.g., punched, etc.), as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D.

The drawbacks or issues with the foregoing cam slider design are at least two-fold. First, the relatively long mount face of the elongated "nose" portion 25 creates an overhang which makes the cam slide unstable and creates accuracy and/or precision issues when the work tool (i.e., punch device) performs the punching process on the blank being formed (e.g., the intended location of the passage to be created on the blank (e.g., metal panel, etc.) will be off the intended target location as well as any tolerances, etc.). Generally, as the length of the elongated "nose" portion 25 is increased, the accuracy and/or precision of the punch will further diminish. Accordingly, manufacturing efficiency will diminish and/or manufacturing costs will increase (e.g., wasted materials due to inaccurate/imprecise punching, etc.). Second, the long "nose" design will not accommodate a variety of material samples (e.g., metal panel, etc.) having particular dimensions (e.g., length, width, etc.) or irregular shapes (contours). For example, some shapes and sizes of material samples (e.g., metal panel, etc.) may hinder the stamping and/or punching process (e.g., the cam driver may not be able to extend due to interference from the material sample M (e.g., panel, etc.), as best shown in FIG. 1 .

There thus remains a significant and continuing need to provide an improved cam slider with greater flexibility and the ability to accommodate various material samples having larger dimensions without hindering work tool timing, accuracy and/or precision which improves manufacturing efficiency and reduces manufacturing costs.

SUMMARY

According to the present invention, there is provided a cam slider and punch apparatus comprising: a lower cam; an extension member comprising a main body portion having a length extending along a longitudinal axis between opposite first and second ends, the extension member being movably mountable on the lower cam proximate the first end, and terminating proximate the second end in a mounting face for supporting a work tool; and an upper cam having a length extending along a longitudinal axis between opposite first and second ends, the upper cam being movably mounted on the extension member. The lower cam, upper cam and extension member comprise co-acting inclined surfaces whereby movement of the extension member is effected by relative movement between the upper cam and the lower cam. The upper cam includes at least first and second guides movably mounted on the extension member proximate at least the first and second ends of the extension member, the at least first and second guides being disposed proximate at least the first and second ends of the upper cam. The at least first and second guides are disposed in planes that are each oriented non-perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of the extension member.

In one form of the invention, an angle defined by the intersection between the plane of the mounting face and the longitudinal axis of the extension member is 90 degrees or less.

Per one feature of the invention, the extension member may comprise a separate cam slide and a mount, the cam slide including the main body portion of the extension member, and the mount including the mounting face for supporting a work tool, and wherein further the mount is disposed on the cam slide proximate the second end of the main body portion.

According to one embodiment, the mounting face is disposed in a plane that is oriented perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of the extension member, and the angle defined by the intersection between the plane of the mounting face and the longitudinal axis of the extension member 90 degrees. Further to this embodiment, the longitudinal axis of the upper cam and the longitudinal axis of the extension member may be non-parallel. Also per this embodiment, the lower cam defines a sliding face the plane of which may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the plane of the mounting face.

In another embodiment, the mounting face is disposed in a plane that is oriented non-perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of the extension member, and the angle defined by the intersection between the plane of the mounting face and the longitudinal axis of the extension member is less than 90 degrees. Per this embodiment, the longitudinal axis of the upper cam and the longitudinal axis of the extension member may be substantially parallel. Also per this embodiment, the lower cam defines a sliding face the plane of which may be disposed so as to be oriented non-perpendicular relative to the plane of the mounting face. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood with reference to the written description and drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional cam slider unit known in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the conventional cam slider unit of FIG. 1 ;

FIGS. 3A-3D are a progression of side views of the conventional cam slider unit of FIG. 1 in operation, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a cam slider unit, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is perspective view of the cam slider unit of FIG. 4, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the cam slider unit of FIG. 4, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 7A-7D are a progression of side views of the cam slider unit of FIG. 4 in operation, according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 8A-8D depict each of the conventional cam slider unit of FIG. 1 and various inventive cam slider units, including the exemplary cam slider unit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a side view of a cam slider unit according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, wherein extension member has been lengthened as compared to the embodiment of FIG. 4; and FIG. 10 is a side view of a further alternative embodiment of a cam slider of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, where like numerals indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, the present invention will be seen to most generally comprise a cam slider and punch apparatus 100, comprising: a lower cam 110; an extension member 120 comprising a main body portion 121 having a length extending along a longitudinal axis X between opposite first 122 and second 123 ends, the extension member being movably on the lower cam 110 proximate the first end 122, and terminating proximate the second end 123 in a mounting face 141 for supporting a work tool 145; and an upper cam 150 having a length extending along a longitudinal axis Z between opposite first 151 and second 152 ends, the upper cam 150 including at least first 153 and second 154 guides movably mounted on the extension member 120 proximate the first 122 and second 123 ends of the extension member 120 and the first 151 and second 152 ends of the upper cam 150, and the first 153 and second 154 guides being disposed in planes that are each oriented non- perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis X of the extension member.

Referring generally to FIGS. 4-6, the upper cam 150 defines a cam holder having a plurality of surfaces (e.g., top surface, a first inclined surface, a second inclined surface, etc.), a plurality of grooves/channels, a plurality of apertures, first 153 and second 154 guides, and a plurality of gib plates 155. The first 153 and second 154 guides define inclined, cam surfaces of the upper cam.

The lower cam 110 defines a cam driver having a base 111 and an inclined, cam surface 112.

The extension member 120 includes a main body portion 121 , first 124 and second 125 inclined surfaces, a plurality of grooves/channels, a plurality of apertures, a plurality of side plates 126, a plurality of bottom plates 127, a positive return member 128, a plurality of cam slide return springs 129, and a mounting face 131 for mounting a device/work tool 140 (e.g., punch, pierce, etc.) on the end. First 124 and second 125 inclined surfaces define inclined cam surfaces of the extension member which co-act with guide surfaces 153, 154 of the upper cam 150 as hereafter described. As explained further here below, the extension member 120 is movably mountable to the lower cam/cam driver 110 and enables the punch feature to process (punch) a material sample (e.g., metal panel, etc.) as required by predetermined specifications and/or as desired.

As will be appreciated from the present disclosure, the drawbacks of prior art cam sliders are addressed by extending the length of the upper cam/cam holder 150 in order to provide at least first 153 and second 154 guides being disposed proximate the first 122 and second 123 ends of the extension member 120 and the first 151 and second 152 ends of the upper cam 150, while also providing complementary co-acting first 124 and second 125 inclined surfaces proximate the first and second ends of the extension member. In effect, the extended "nose" portion thus becomes integral with the cam slide of the prior art cam slider, thus reducing "overhang" and increasing cam slide accuracy and, therefore, the stamping and/or punching process.

Still referring to FIGS. 4-6, extension member 120 may be monolithic or, as in the illustrated embodiment, may be unitary, being comprised, for instance of a separate cam slider in the form of the main body portion 121 and work tool mount 140, the mount being disposed on the main body portion 121 of the cam slide proximate the second end 123. According to this embodiment, the mounting face 141 is defined on the mount 140.

By the foregoing construction, the accuracy and/or precision of the die cam and the work tool (e.g., punch device) while performing the work (e.g., punching) process on the blank material sample (e.g., the intended location of the punch to be created on the material sample (e.g., metal panel, etc.)) is improved. And with the improved accuracy and/or precision of the cam slider and the work tool, improved manufacturing efficiency and/or reduction of manufacturing costs (e.g., diminishes or eliminates wasted materials due to inaccurate/imprecise punching, etc.) is realized. The improved cam slider and work tool design will also accommodate material samples (e.g., metal panel, etc.) having a greater variety of dimensions (e.g., length, width, etc.) or irregular shapes (contours) thereby further enhancing manufacturing efficiency, improving quality, and/or reducing manufacturing costs.

Referring in particular now to FIGS. 7A-7D, a progression of side views of the cam slider of the present disclosure in operation is shown. Except as otherwise noted, operation is, in principle, the same as that of the prior art cam slider described in relation to FIGS. 1 -3D.

As depicted, the assembly comprising the upper cam 150 and extension member 120 with work tool 145 descends downward towards the lower cam 110 (FIG. 7A) until the underside, inclined surface of the extension member 150 contacts the top inclined surface 112 of the lower cam 110 (FIG. 7B). As the upper cam 150 continues to descend, co-acting inclined (i.e., cam) first 124,153 and second 125, 154 surfaces of each of the extension member 120 and upper cam 150, respectively, and co-acting inclined (i.e., cam) surfaces 130, 112 of the extension member 120 and lower cam 110, respectively, work to drive the extension member 120 progressively in the direction Di towards a material sample (e.g., panel, metal sheet, etc.) to be processed (e.g., punched, etc.(not shown)), as shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A-8D, the cam slider unit of FIGS. 1 -3D is shown (FIG. 8A) in comparison with various inventive cam sliders, including that of FIGS. 4-7D (FIG. 8D), so that the relative advantages of the present invention might be better understood. The conventional cam slider unit (FIG. 8A) has a guide and work edge (pierce) distance W that is relatively long, resulting in the previously described, undesirable "overhang." According to one alternative embodiment (FIG. 8B), the co-acting, inclined cam surface S-i, S ₂ of the cam slider and upper cam are extended to further support the cam slide, and the guide and work edge (pierce/punch) distance W, is decreased (shortened). This, however, increases the overall height Hi, of the cam unit relative to the height H, H ₃ , H ₄ of the cam slider assemblies of FIGS. 8A, 8C, and 8D, an undesirable secondary issue. According to another embodiment (FIG. 8C), the lower cam/cam driver 10 is extended at 10a' to further support the extend "nose" portion 25'. This, however, interferes with certain applications and processes (e.g., piercing, punching, etc.). For example, the extended lower cam 10a' may become obstructed by certain material samples (e.g., panels, etc.) and not extend properly to process (e.g., pierce, punch, etc.) the material sample. According to the exemplary embodiment thereof, the cam slider of the present invention (FIG. 8D) includes at least first and second adjacent guides to support the extension member 120 and the guide and work edge (pierce/punch) distance W ₄ is shortened, as best show in FIG. 8D. This design decreases the overall height H ₄ of the cam slider unit 100, decreases (shortens) the guide and work edge (pierce) distance, as noted, and further eliminate the drawbacks of having a lengthened lower cam 110, as in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 8C. This provides for a more compact and efficient die cam and long nose pierce unit that is more accurate than the traditional, known unit, but will still function within the same packaging envelope of the die tool.

Referring next to FIGS. 9 and 10, there are shown further embodiments of the present invention wherein the overall length of the upper cam and extension member are extended to increase the distance between the lower cam, at one end, and the device/work tool (e.g., punch, pierce, etc.) mounted at the mounting face at the other end. As will be appreciated, such "extended-nose" variants of the present invention may be desirable/necessary where the pierce/punch device or other work tool must necessarily or desirably be disposed a greater distance from the cam driver such as, for instance, to accommodate physical constraints in the operational envelope of the apparatus.

Except as expressly identified, the construction and operation of the invention according to the embodiments of FIGS. 9 and 10 is essentially as described with respect to the embodiment of FIGS. 4 through 7, above. Thus, for example, it may be seen that the apparatus of each embodiment (FIGS. 9 and 10) includes each of an upper cam 150', 150", extension member 120', 120" and lower cam 110', 110" wherein, as heretofore described, at least first 153', 153" and second 154', 154" guides of the upper cam 150', 150" are positioned proximate at least opposite ends of the extension member 120', 120" (i.e., proximate the mounting face and the lower cam) in order to better support the extension member.

Referring more particularly to the embodiment of FIG. 9, the "long nose" or "nose-extended" apparatus according to the first of these two alternative embodiments is characterized by the perpendicular orientation of the mounting face 141 ' and the longitudinal axis X of the extension member 120' (as well as the inclined surface 112' of the lower cam 110', the plane Yi of which is desirably, though not necessarily, oriented perpendicular to the plane of mounting face 141 '). Thus, an angle Ai defined by the intersection between the plane of the mounting face 141 ' and the longitudinal axis Xi of the extension member 120' is 90 degrees. This embodiment of the inventive cam slider therefore constitutes, in essence, a straightforward lengthening of the extension member the embodiment of FIGS. 4-7D and, correspondingly, a straightforward lengthening of the upper cam of that embodiment so as to provide the second guide proximate the mounting face end of the extension member, all as shown in FIG. 9.

It will be appreciated that, by so lengthening the upper cam member and extension member, the overall height H ₅ of the cam slider unit proximate the mounting face will increase constantly as the length of each of the extension member and upper cam member increases (since, even though the height of the upper cam member does not increase according to the embodiment of FIG. 9, the distance between the upper surface of the upper cam member and lower edge of the mounting face necessarily increases due to the perpendicular orientation of the mounting face relative the longitudinal axis Xi of the extension member). This may be undesirable in circumstances where the physical constraints of the cam slider unit's operating envelope do not provide sufficient space to accommodate the increased height.

Turning then to the alternative embodiment of FIG. 10, the "nose- extended" cam slider unit of this embodiment addresses the potential drawbacks of the embodiment of FIG. 9 by orienting the mounting face 141 " so as to be non-perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis X ₂ of the extension member 120". In other words, the mounting face 141 " is oriented at the desired angle for accomplishing the desired operation (e.g., punch, pierce, etc.) on the work piece (as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the orientations of the mounting faces in each embodiment are the same, with the desired perpendicular relationship between the mounting face and the lower cam sliding face Y-i , Y ₂ being preserved), while the longitudinal axis X ₂ of extension member 120" is oriented along a different axis so that, proximate the mounting face 141 ", the height H ₆ measured as the distance between the upper surface of the upper cam member 150" and lower edge of the mounting face 141 " is decreased over the same overall length of the cam slider unit as for the embodiment of FIG. 9. According to the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 10, the longitudinal axis X ₂ of extension member 120" is oriented at least approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis Z ₂ of the upper cam member 150". While this relationship is of course variable, it will be appreciated that, in order to decrease the distance H ₆ between the upper surface of the upper cam member 150" and lower edge of the mounting face 141 ", that the angle A ₂ defined by the intersection between the plane of the mounting face 141 " and the longitudinal axis X ₂ of the extension member 120" be less than 90 degrees.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, such construction provides more flexibility in the design and positioning of cam slider units as herein disclosed in what may otherwise be constrained physical operating envelopes of their intended operating environments.

For purposes of this disclosure, the term "coupled" means the joining of two components (mechanical and/or electrical) directly or indirectly to one another unless expressly stated otherwise. Such joining may be stationary in nature or movable in nature unless expressly stated otherwise. Such joining may be achieved with the components (electrical or mechanical) and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two components or the two components and any additional member being attached to one another unless expressly stated otherwise. Such joining may be permanent in nature or alternatively may be removable of releasable in nature unless expressly stated otherwise.

It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the die cam and tool punch as shown in the preferred and other exemplary embodiments is illustrative only unless expressly stated otherwise. Although only a few embodiments of the present innovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements show as multiple elements may be integrally formed, the operation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, the length of width of the structures and/or members or connector or other elements of the system may be varied. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system may be constructed from any of a wide variety of material that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors, textures and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present innovations. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the preferred and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present innovations.