TRANSMISSION GEAR FOR A SWING CLAMP

Abstract

The invention relates to a drive transmission for converting a drive movement into an output movement, in particular in a swing clamp (1) for clamping components. The drive transmission according to the invention first comprises a movable drive element (9), in particular in the form of a piston, which carries out the drive movement during operation. Additionally, the drive transmission according to the invention has a movable output element (4), in particular in the form of a rod, which carries out the output movement during operation, and a cam gear, which converts the drive movement of the drive element (9) into the output movement of the output element (4) according to a specified transmission curve, wherein of the drive movement and the output movement, one movement is or contains an axial movement along a specified movement axis while the other movement is or at least contains a rotational movement about the movement axis. According to the invention, the cam gear has two contact surfaces (F1, F2) which slide against each other in a planar manner and thereby convert the drive movement.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A transmission gear for converting movement from a driving movement into an output movement, comprising: a) a movable drive member which in operation executes the driving movement, b) a movable output member which in operation executes the output movement, and c) a cam gear which converts the driving movement of the drive member into the output movement of the output member in accordance with a predetermined transmission curve, d) wherein of the driving movement and the output movement one movement comprises an axial movement along a predetermined axis of movement, while the other movement comprises a rotational movement about the axis of movement, e) wherein the cam gear has two contact surfaces which slide on one another in an areal manner and thereby effect conversion of movement.

17. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein the drive member is a piston and the output member is a rod.

18. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein the contact surfaces which slide on one another are free-form surfaces.

19. The transmission gear according to claim 18, wherein the free-form surfaces run along a helix.

20. The transmission gear according to claim 18, wherein the free-form surfaces are non-circular in a cross-section at right angles to the axis of movement.

21. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein the cam gear is not self-locking.

22. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) a seal is provided in order to prevent a flow of a medium along the axis of movement at the contact surfaces which slide on one another, and b) the seal is arranged in an axial direction in a region of the contact surfaces sliding on one another.

23. The transmission gear according to claim 22, wherein an annular groove is let into one of the contact surfaces sliding on one another axially in the region of the contact surfaces sliding on one another, the seal being arranged in the annular groove.

24. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein one of the two contact surfaces is arranged on the drive member, while the other of the two contact surfaces is arranged on the output member.

25. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member in an initial phase is a pure axial movement without a rotational movement component, b) the output movement of the output member in the initial phase is a pure rotational movement without a translational component, and c) the output movement of the output member in a final phase is a pure axial movement without a rotational component.

26. The transmission gear according to claim 25, wherein the output movement of the output member in a transition phase between the initial phase and the final phase is a combined rotational and axial movement.

27. The transmission gear according to claim 26, wherein an axial lock is provided which prevents an axial movement of the output member along the axis of movement in the initial phase of the movement and releases the axial movement of the output member in the final phase.

28. The transmission gear according to claim 27, wherein a) the axial lock has a disc which is connected to the output member in a rotationally rigid manner, b) the disc is axially displaceable in a bore and only in a certain rotational position of the output member with the disc, whereas the disc otherwise blocks the axial movement of the output member, and c) the disc is secured against rotation in the bore.

29. The transmission gear according to claim 28, wherein the disc and the bore have an elliptical cross-section in order to effect rotational locking.

30. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the drive member is a piston or is driven by a piston, b) the piston is displaceable in a working cylinder along the axis of movement, c) the piston is displaceable in the working cylinder by a working fluid actuated by a pressure medium, and d) the output member is a rod.

31. The transmission gear according to claim 30, wherein the working cylinder and the piston have a cross-section which is not circular, so that the piston in the working cylinder cannot be rotated about the axis of movement, but can only be displaced along the axis of movement.

32. The transmission gear according to claim 31, wherein a) the piston has a through axial bore, b) the rod is guided through the axial bore in the piston, and c) the outer circumferential surface of the rod and the inner surface of the axial bore in the piston are the contact surfaces which slide on one another.

33. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the drive member is mounted in a torsion-proof manner so that the drive member cannot rotate about the axis of movement, and b) the drive member is mounted so as to be axially displaceable, so that the drive member can move axially along the axis of movement.

34. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein the drive member annularly surrounds the output member.

35. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein the output member annularly surrounds the drive member.

36. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a pure axial movement without a rotational movement component, while the output movement of the output member is a pure rotational movement without a translational movement component, b) the drive member is secured against rotation about the axis of movement, so that the drive member cannot perform a rotational movement, and c) the output member is secured against displacement along the axis of movement, so that the output member cannot perform an axial movement.

37. The transmission gear according to claim 36, wherein the drive member is a rod, while the output member is a piston.

38. The transmission gear according to claim 36, wherein the drive member is a piston, while the output member is a rod.

39. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a pure rotational movement without a translational movement component, while the output movement of the output member is a pure axial movement without a rotational movement component, b) the drive member is secured against displacement along the axis of movement, so that the drive member cannot perform an axial movement, and c) the output member is secured against rotation about the axis of movement, so that the output member cannot perform a rotational movement.

40. The transmission gear according to claim 39, wherein the drive member is a rod, while the output member is a piston.

41. The transmission gear according to claim 39, wherein the drive member is a piston, while the output member is a rod.

42. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a pure rotational movement without a translational movement component, while the output movement of the output member is a combined axial and rotational movement, b) the drive member also constitutes the output member, and c) the drive member and the output member area rod, which is surrounded by a piston.

43. The transmission gear according to claim 42, wherein the piston is secured against displacement and against rotation.

44. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a pure axial movement without a rotational movement component, while the output movement of the output member is a combined axial and rotational movement, b) the drive member also forms the output member, c) the drive member and the output member area rod, which is surrounded by a piston, and d) the piston is secured against displacement and against rotation.

45. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a combined axial and rotational movement, while the output movement of the output member is a combined axial and rotational movement, b) the drive member also forms the output member, c) the drive member and the output member area rod surrounded by a piston, and d) the piston is secured against displacement and against rotation.

46. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a pure rotational movement, while the output movement of the output member is a combined axial and rotational movement, b) the drive member also constitutes the output member, c) the drive member and the output member area piston surrounding a rod, and d) the rod is secured against displacement and against rotation.

47. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a pure axial movement, while the output movement of the output member is a combined axial and rotational movement, b) the drive member also forms the output member, c) the drive member and the output member area piston, which surrounds a rod, and d) the rod is secured against displacement and against rotation.

48. The transmission gear according to claim 16, wherein a) the driving movement of the drive member is a combined axial and rotational movement, while the output movement of the output member is a combined axial and rotational movement, b) the drive member also forms the output member, c) the drive member and the output member are a piston which surrounds a rod, and d) the rod is secured against displacement and against rotation.

49. The transmission gear according to claim 17, wherein the contact surfaces of the cam gear are arranged on the one hand in an outer lateral surface of the rod and on the other hand in an inner surface of the piston.

50. A swing device with a transmission gear according to claim 16 for moving a clamping bar during a clamping process.

51. The swing device according to claim 50, wherein the swing device is a swing clamp for clamping components.

52. The swing device according to claim 51, wherein a) the clamping bar is moved by the output member of the transmission gear, and b) the drive member is a piston which is displaceable in a working cylinder under pressure medium actuation.

Description

[0039] Other advantageous further embodiments of the invention are indicated in the dependent claims or are explained in more detail below together with the description of the preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the figures.

[0040] FIGS. 1A-7A show various views of a swing clamp according to the invention in a relaxed position.

[0041] FIGS. 1B-17B show the corresponding views in a pivoted position of the swing clamp.

[0042] FIGS. 1C-7C show the corresponding views of the swing clamp in a tensioned position.

[0043] FIGS. 1D-7D show the corresponding views of the swing clamp in a cocked position.

[0044] FIG. 8 shows a table listing the various possible movement conversions.

[0045] FIGS. 9-18 show schematic diagrams illustrating the various possible movement conversions from the table in FIG. 8.

[0046] In the following, the preferred embodiment of a swing clamp 1 according to the invention is described, as shown in FIGS. 1A-7A, 1B-7B, 1C-7C and 1D-7D. With regard to the basic design and operation of the swing clamp 1, reference is made to the relevant prior art, as known for example from EP 1 264 659 B1 and from DE 102 52 549 A1, in order to avoid repetition. In the following, therefore, only some details of the swing clamp 1 essential to the invention will be described.

[0047] Thus, the swing clamp 1 firstly has a housing 2 which is closed off by a housing cover 3 on its upper side.

[0048] A swing piston 4 extends through a bore in the housing cover 3, which supports a swing arm 5 with a swing bar 6 mounted thereon. The swing piston 4 is vertically displaceable with the swing arm 5 and the clamping bar 6 and can be swiveled about a vertical swing axis, as is known per se from the prior art and will still be described in detail. At this point it is only to be mentioned that the swing piston 4 together with the clamping bar 6 and the swing arm 5 form an output member in the sense of the invention.

[0049] In the housing 2, an adjusting bush 7 is arranged at the bottom, which has an elliptical internal cross-section and forms a working cylinder 8 with an elliptical cross-section.

[0050] A piston 9 is axially displaceable in the working cylinder 8, the piston 9 also having an elliptical cross-section. The piston 9 can thus be axially displaced in the working cylinder 8, i.e. in the vertical direction, whereas rotation of the piston 9 in the working cylinder 8 is not possible. The piston here forms a drive member in the sense of the invention.

[0051] The piston 9 has a central bore through which an elliptical body 10 is passed, which is integrally formed at the lower end of the swing piston 4, the elliptical body 10 having on its outer lateral surface a curved free-form surface F2 which follows a helical line. The through-bore in the piston 9 has a correspondingly adapted curved free-form surface F1 on the inside, which also follows a helix. An axial displacement of the piston 9 relative to the elliptical body 10 thus leads to a conversion of movement corresponding to a largely freely predeterminable transmission curve.

[0052] It should also be mentioned that a stop 11 and a lock nut 12 are screwed tightly to the lower end of the swing piston 4.

[0053] An elliptical disc 13 is formed on the swing piston 4 to form an axial lock. Thus, in the relaxed swing position according to FIGS. 1A-7A, the elliptical disc 13 rests on the upper side of the adjusting bush 7, so that the swing piston 4 with the elliptical disc 13 cannot be moved axially downwards.

[0054] Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the piston 9 in the working cylinder 8 can be displaced in axial direction by pressure medium. For this purpose, the swing clamp 1 has hydraulic connections 14, 15.

[0055] In the following, the transition from the relaxed position according to FIGS. 1A-7A to the swing position according to FIGS. 1B-7B is described.

[0056] Here, the piston 9 is moved axially downward in the working cylinder 8, whereby the piston 9 is secured against rotation due to the elliptical cross-sections of the working cylinder 8 and the piston 9.

[0057] During this downward movement of the piston 9, the free-form surfaces F1, F2 in the outer lateral surface of the elliptical body 10 on the one hand and in the through bore of the piston 9 on the other hand slide on each other, resulting in a conversion of movement. The pure axial movement of the piston 9 is initially converted into a pure rotary movement of the swing piston 4.

[0058] In this case, the elliptical disc 13 of the swing piston 4 rests on the upper side of the adjusting bushing 7 and thus prevents axial displacement of the swing piston 4.

[0059] In the swing position according to FIGS. 1B-7B, on the other hand, the elliptical disc 13 on the swing piston 4 is rotated so that it is in position with the working cylinder 8. As a result, the elliptical disc 13 can then dip downward into the working cylinder 8, which also allows a corresponding axial movement of the swing piston 4. During a further downward movement of the piston 9, the latter then takes the swing piston 4 along axially and then reaches the tensioned position according to FIGS. 1C-7C and finally the fully tensioned position according to FIGS. 1D-7D.

[0060] Furthermore, it should be mentioned that an annular groove is let into the free-form surface F1 in the through-bore of the piston 9, in which a seal 16 is arranged. The seal 16 here prevents axial media passage through the gap between the free-form surfaces F1, F2 which slide on one another. It is advantageous here that the seal 16 can be arranged directly in the free-form surface F1, so that no additional axial installation space is required.

[0061] FIG. 8 shows a table with various possible configurations for the conversion of movement from the drive member to the output member, irrespective of the specific area of application in the swing clamp 1.

[0062] FIGS. 9-18 show simple, schematic representations of the gear construction for the conversion of movement between a rod S and a piston K, where the rod S has a free-form surface in its outer surface which interacts with a corresponding free-form surface in the through-bore of the piston K. The two corresponding free-form surfaces here run along a helical line, as shown only schematically.

[0063] From the illustrations and from the table according to FIG. 8, it is immediately apparent that different configurations are possible, in which in part the rod S forms the drive member, while the piston K is an output member. In other configurations, however, the piston K is the driving member, while the rod S is the driven member. Otherwise, the operation of the configurations shown is explained in the table according to FIG. 8.

[0064] The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. Rather, a large number of variants and variations are possible which also make use of the inventive concept and therefore fall within the scope of protection. In particular, the invention also claims protection for the subject matter and the features of the dependent claims independently of the claims referred to in each case and in particular also without the features of the main claim. The invention thus comprises different aspects of the invention which enjoy protection independently of each other.

TABLE-US-00001 List of reference signs 1 Swing clamp 2 Housing of the swing clamp 3 Housing cover 4 Swing piston 5 Swing arm 6 Clamping bar 7 Adjusting bush with elliptical internal cross-section 8 Working cylinder with elliptical cross section 9 Piston with elliptical outer cross section and inner free-form surface 10 Elliptical body on swing piston with free-form surface 11 Stop 12 Lock nut 13 Elliptical disc on the swing piston 14, 15 Hydraulic connections of the swing clamp 16 Seal F1 Free-form surface in the piston 9 F2 Free-form surface on the elliptical body 10 S Rod with outer free-form surface K Piston with inner free-form surface