GAS CYLINDER ACTUATOR WITH OVERTRAVEL INDICATOR DEVICE

Abstract

A gas cylinder actuator with overtravel indicator device, which comprises: a tubular containment jacket, an end face, an opposite annular guiding portion for a stem-piston, which protrudes from the jacket in an axial direction, a stem-piston arranged so as to pass through the annular portion, a chamber for pressurized gas being defined between the tubular jacket, the end face, the annular passage portion for a stem-piston and the stem-piston, a device for indicating that overtravel for the stem-piston has occurred; and an annular body, which is inserted partially into a corresponding seat between the jacket and the annular portion so as to surround the outer lateral surface of an end portion of the annular portion; the annular body rests in an axial direction on an element that protrudes radially within the jacket and is integral with the jacket.

Claims

1. A gas cylinder actuator with overtravel indicator device, comprising: a tubular containment jacket, an end face, an opposite annular guiding portion for a stem-piston, which protrudes from said jacket in an axial direction, a stem-piston arranged so as to pass through said annular portion, a chamber for pressurized gas being defined between said tubular jacket, said end face, said annular passage portion for a stem-piston and said stem-piston, a device for indicating that overtravel for said stem-piston has occurred, wherein said indicator device comprises an annular body, which is inserted partially into a corresponding seat between said jacket and said annular portion so as to surround an outer lateral surface of an end portion of said annular portion, said annular body resting in an axial direction on an element that protrudes radially within the jacket and is integral with said jacket.

2. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 1, wherein said annular body is cylindrical and is contoured to remain within a cylindrical space occupation defined between the outer lateral surface of the end portion of said annular guiding portion and the extension in an axial direction of an inner surface of said jacket that surrounds said outer lateral surface.

3. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 1, wherein said annular body is made of a material that is plastically deformable, or deformable and breakable, or breakable without plastic deformation.

4. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 1, further comprising extraction-preventing means that are preset to prevent the exit of said annular body from its seat.

5. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 4, wherein said extraction-preventing means comprise an inner perimetric radial protrusion that protrudes from said annular body and is inserted into a corresponding outer perimetric seat defined on the outer lateral surface of said annular guiding portion.

6. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 4, wherein said extraction-preventing means comprise an outer perimetric radial protrusion that protrudes from said annular body and is inserted into a corresponding inner perimetric seat defined on an inner lateral surface of said jacket.

7. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 1, wherein said annular body is fitted with interference over said end portion of said annular guiding portion.

8. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 1, wherein the annular body is coupled to the jacket by way of insertion with interference of a part thereof into an end portion of said jacket.

9. The gas cylinder actuator according to claim 2, wherein said element that protrudes radially within the jacket and is integral with said jacket is constituted by an extraction-preventing ring, which has a first part thereof inside a seat defined on the inner surface of the jacket and a second part thereof that protrudes radially toward the inside of said jacket and abuts against an extraction-preventing shoulder of the opposite annular guiding portion.

Description

[0018] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of four preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the gas cylinder actuator according to the invention, which are illustrated for the purposes of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a gas cylinder actuator according to the invention in a first embodiment thereof;

[0020] FIG. 2 is a detail of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 3 shows an element of the overtravel indicator device;

[0022] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of a detail of a gas cylinder actuator according to the invention in a second embodiment thereof;

[0023] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of a detail of a gas cylinder actuator according to the invention in a third embodiment thereof;

[0024] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of a detail of a gas cylinder actuator according to the invention in a fourth embodiment thereof.

[0025] With reference to the figures, a gas cylinder actuator with overtravel indicator device according to the invention is generally designated in the first embodiment thereof with the reference numeral 10.

[0026] The gas cylinder actuator 10 comprises: [0027] a tubular containment jacket 11, [0028] an end face 12, [0029] an opposite annular guiding portion 13 for a stem-piston 14, which protrudes from the jacket 11 in an axial direction X, [0030] a stem-piston 14 arranged so as to pass through the annular portion 13, [0031] a chamber 15 for pressurized gas is defined between the tubular jacket, the end face, the annular passage portion for a stem-piston, and the stem-piston, [0032] a device 17 for indicating that overtravel for the stem-piston 14 has occurred.

[0033] The indicator device 17 comprises an annular body 18, partially inserted into a corresponding seat 19 between the jacket 11 and the annular portion 13 so as to surround the outer lateral surface 20 of an end portion 21 of the annular portion 13.

[0034] The annular body 18 is resting in an axial direction X on an element 22, described in more detail below, that protrudes radially within the jacket 11 and is integral with the jacket 11.

[0035] The annular body 18 is cylindrical and is contoured to remain within the cylindrical space occupation 23 defined between the outer lateral surface 20 of the end portion 21 of the annular guiding portion 13 and the extension 24 in an axial direction X of the inner surface 25 of the jacket 11 that surrounds the outer lateral surface 20.

[0036] In particular, the annular body 18 is made of a material that is plastically deformable, or deformable and breakable, or breakable without plastic deformation.

[0037] The gas cylinder actuator 10 comprises also extraction-preventing means that are preset to prevent the exit of the annular body 18 from its seat 19.

[0038] In the first embodiment, the extraction-preventing means comprise an inner perimetric radial protrusion 28 that protrudes from the annular body 18 and is inserted into a corresponding outer perimetric seat 29 defined on the outer lateral surface 20 of the annular guiding portion 13, as in FIG. 2.

[0039] In a second embodiment of the gas cylinder actuator according to the invention, designated in FIG. 4 with the reference numeral 110, the extraction-preventing means comprise an outer perimetric radial protrusion 130 that protrudes from the annular body 118 and is inserted into a corresponding inner perimetric seat 131 defined on the inner lateral surface 125 of the jacket 111.

[0040] In a third embodiment of the invention, designated in FIG. 5 with the reference numeral 210, the annular body 218 is fitted with interference over the end portion 221 of the annular guiding portion 213.

[0041] In a fourth embodiment of the invention, designated in FIG. 6 with the reference numeral 310, the annular body 318 is coupled to the jacket by way of insertion with interference of a part 318a thereof into an end portion 341 of the jacket 311.

[0042] The element 22 that protrudes radially within the jacket 11 and is integral with the jacket 11 is constituted by an extraction-preventing ring, which has a first part thereof inside a seat 32 defined on the inner surface 25 of the jacket 11 and a second part thereof that protrudes radially toward the inside of the jacket 11 and abuts against an extraction-preventing shoulder 33 of the guiding portion 13.

[0043] When an overtravel situation occurs, for example owing to the sliding of a press, the annular guiding portion 13 enters to the jacket 11 at least partially, while the annular body 18, which rests on the element 22, is crushed or fractured; the plastic deformation or the breakage of such annular body 18 clearly highlights that an overtravel situation has occurred.

[0044] In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects.

[0045] In particular, with the invention a gas cylinder actuator has been devised in which, by virtue of the overtravel indicator device, it can clearly be seen that the overtravel safety device has worked.

[0046] Such gas cylinder actuator 10 makes it possible for a user to rapidly restore to full efficiency a die or other press machine in which the gas cylinder actuator is deployed, by replacing the gas cylinder actuator.

[0047] With the invention a gas cylinder actuator has been devised the functionality of which is not lower than conventional gas cylinder actuators.

[0048] The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

[0049] In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

[0050] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102016000030722 (UA2016A001965) from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.