DEVICE AND METHOD FOR LOADING PREFABRICATED PARTS INTO A MOLDING TOOL OF A PRESS, AS WELL AS A PRESS COMPRISING SUCH A DEVICE

Abstract

A device and a method for loading prefabricated parts into a molding tool of a press for the production of molded parts, in particular for the production of elastomer molded parts. For this purpose, the device comprises a plate-like carrier element with a top and a bottom intended for attachment on or to the press and a holding device for accommodating at least one interchangeable platen equipped with the parts. The holding unit is arranged on the supporting element at a clear distance from its bottom and the interchangeable platen comprises a plurality of passage openings to accommodate the parts. Furthermore, the device comprises a platen with pins which are arranged between the bottom of the supporting element and the holding unit, wherein the pins align with the passage openings.

Claims

1. A device for loading prefabricated parts into a molding tool of a press for the production of molded parts, in particular for the production of elastomer molded parts, the device comprising: a plate-like carrier element for attachment to the press, wherein the carrier element comprises a top and a bottom; a holder to accommodate at least one interchangeable platen equipped with the parts, wherein the holder is arranged on the carrier element at a clear distance from its bottom and the interchangeable platen comprises a plurality of passage openings to accommodate the parts; a platen comprising pins that is located between the bottom of the carrier element and the holding unit, wherein the pins align with the passage openings; and a lowering device, via which the platen is lowered from an upper first position, in which the pins aligned with the passage openings maintain a clear distance to the at least one interchangeable platen, into a second lower position onto the at least one interchangeable platen, in which the pins penetrate the passage openings, wherein the platen is adapted to be fixed in an intermediate position between the first position and the second position, and wherein, in the intermediate position, the pins are arranged with their ends directly in the area of the parts placed in or on the passage openings for securing the parts.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the lowering device for lowering the platen comprises at least one actuator, which is controlled such that, during the lowering movement, the platen is fixed in the intermediate position between the upper first position and the lower second position.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one actuator comprises a first cylinder piston unit and a second cylinder piston unit, wherein the stroke of the first cylinder piston unit causes the platen to lower from the first position into the intermediate position, and the stroke of the second cylinder piston unit causes the platen to lower from the intermediate position into the lower second position.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the first cylinder piston unit and second cylinder piston unit are coupled such that their equidirectional piston strokes add up.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the lowering device comprises at least one pressure module with a push rod, which is mounted longitudinally movable in the carrier element transversely to the bottom thereof and is force-locked with its lower end to the platen, and wherein the at least one actuator acts directly or indirectly on the push rod.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the at least one pressure module comprises a rocker arm which is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation, wherein the at least one actuator is hinged to the one lever arm of the rocker arm and the upper end of the push rod is hinged to the other lever arm of the rocker arm.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the articulation point of the push rod on the other lever arm of the rocker arm is radially moveable with respect to the axis of rotation of the rocker arm.

8. The device according to claim 5, wherein the lowering device comprises at least two pressure modules spaced from each other, wherein the two rocker arms of the two pressure modules extend torque-proof on a common first shaft, which runs coaxially to the axis of rotation.

9. The device according to claim 5, wherein the lowering device comprises at least two further pressure modules, of which both rocker arms sit torque-proof on a common second shaft, which runs substantially parallel and at a lateral distance to the first shaft, as well as synchronizors with which the rotational movement of the first shaft is synchronized with the rotational movement of the second shaft.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the synchronizors each comprise a first lever seated torque-proof on the first shaft and a second lever seated torque-proof on second shafts as well as a tension-compression rod which connects the two levers in an articulated manner.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the platen for the detachable attachment of the pins comprises at least one carrier plate on which the pins are arranged, and wherein the at least one carrier plate is detachably attached to the platen.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises at least one supporting element for attaching and centering the device in bores on the press, wherein the at least one supporting element at its lower end comprises an expansion element, which is radially expandable with respect to the longitudinal axis of the at least one supporting element.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the platen and/or the at least one carrier plate and/or the at least one interchangeable platen comprise at least two, preferably at least three spaced slotted holes in each of which a centering pin engages, which, when centering the interchangeable platen with respect to the molding tool, interacts with fitting holes on the press or the molding tool, wherein the slotted holes are each aligned to the center of the at least one platen and/or to the center of the at least one carrier plate and/or to the center of the at least one interchangeable platen.

14. A press for the production of molded parts, the press comprising: a molding tool with cavities into which in the course of the manufacturing process pre-fabricated parts are adapted to be loaded; and a device according to claim 1.

15. A method for loading prefabricated parts into a molding tool of a press for the production of molded parts, in particular for the production of elastomer molded parts, wherein the parts are pressed into the molding tool by lowering pins from passage openings in an interchangeable platen, the method comprising: equipping an interchangeable platen with the parts by placing or loading in each case a part onto or into a passage opening in the interchangeable platen; securing the position of the parts in the passage openings by a first lowering of the pins up to or onto the parts; placing the interchangeable platen with the position-secured parts onto the molding tool; and loading the parts into the molding tool by a second lowering of the pins until the pins penetrate the passage openings.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 is an oblique view of a device according to the invention without interchangeable plates;

[0025] FIG. 2 is a section through the device shown in FIG. 1 in the xz-plane along line II-II shown in FIG. 3, with the platen in an upper first position;

[0026] FIG. 3 is a section through the device shown in FIG. 1 in the yz-plane along line III-III shown in FIG. 2, with the platen in the upper first position;

[0027] FIG. 4 is a section through the device shown in FIG. 1 in the yz-plane for line IV-IV shown in FIG. 2, with the platen in an intermediate position; and

[0028] FIG. 5 is a section through the device shown in FIG. 1 in the yz-plane along the line V-V shown in FIG. 2, with the platen in a lower second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] FIG. 1 gives an overview of the basic structure of an inventive device 1 without showing the interchangeable platens 14. The supporting structure of the device 1 comprises a rectangular plate-shaped and, during the operation of the device 1, approximately horizontally aligned carrier element 2 with a flat top 3 and parallel bottom 4, as well as a holder 5 for attaching the device 1 to a press, not further shown, of a collaborative robot, manipulator, or the like. The holder 5 comprises two parallel holding arms 6, which extend with their ends into the center area of the carrier element 1 and there together support a rectangular mounting plate 7, which in turn is force-locked to the top 3 of the supporting element 2. The opposite ends of the holding arms 6 lead to a common connection plate 8, which is used to attach the device 1.

[0030] As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 2 and 3, the device according to the invention 1 also comprises a holding device 9, which is arranged at a clear distance to the bottom 4 in a plane-parallel position to it. The holding device 9 substantially includes a support frame 10 with support profiles 11 running at a mutual distance in the y-direction, which are suspended over their length by means of several vertical rods 12 on the supporting element 2. On the longitudinal sides facing each other, the support profiles 11 each comprise a longitudinal groove 13, wherein a pair of opposing longitudinal grooves 13 form a receptacle and guide for loading interchangeable platens 14, which is described in more detail below. The support frame 10 also comprises a transverse profile which connects the support profiles 11 at their end facing the connection plate 8 and which forms a stop for the interchangeable platens 14 to limit the loading depth.

[0031] In the present embodiment, the support frame 10 of the device 1 comprises four parallel support profiles 11, which are distributed at a uniform distance from each other over the entire width in the x-direction and between them accommodate three identical interchangeable platens 14. The interchangeable platens 14 are mounted floating with play in the support frame 10.

[0032] Each interchangeable platen 14 has a rectangular shape, wherein along its longitudinal edges there is a strip-shaped projection 15 which engages in the longitudinal groove 13 when loading an interchangeable platen 14 into the holding device 9. Across its surface, an interchangeable platen 14 is equipped with a plurality of passage openings 16, which, over their depth, can be designed cylindrical, conical, stepped or the like, and each of which form a receptacle for a part to be loaded into the mold of a molding tool.

[0033] At two opposite corner areas, each interchangeable platen 14 is penetrated by a rigid centering pin 26, which forms a protrusion upwards and downwards beyond the interchangeable platen 14. With its lower protrusion, the centering pin 26 engages in existing fitting holes in a molding tool 57 when placing the device 1 on the latter in order to center the interchangeable platen 14 with respect to the molding tool 57. For ease of handling, each interchangeable platen 14 is equipped on its two narrow edges with a handle 23.

[0034] The device 1 further comprises a platen 17, which is arranged in the area between the bottom 4 of the supporting element 2 and the holding device 9. The platen 17 also has a rectangular shape and is mounted vertically moveably on the device 1 and approximately congruently to the holding device 9. For this purpose, the platen 17 comprises passage openings 18, which align with the rods 12 of the holding device 9 and are interspersed with them. In this way, the rods 12 form vertical guides along which the platen 17 can be lowered to the holding device 9 comprising the interchangeable platens 14 or lifted therefrom.

[0035] On the bottom 19 of the platen 17, in a congruent position to the supporting profiles 11 of the support frame 10, profile rails 20 are fastened which, comparable to the support profiles 11 at their mutually facing longitudinal edges, each form a longitudinal groove 21 resulting in receptacles for accommodating support plates 22. The support plates 22 essentially correspond in their dimensions to the interchangeable platens 14 and, after loading, float with play between two profile rails 20, the upper side of which faces the bottom 19 of the platen 17. Edge stops and spring-loaded fixes hold the support plates 22 in the intended position with respect to the platen 17, and thus within the device 1.

[0036] On their bottoms facing the interchangeable platens 14, the support plates 22 comprise a plurality of pins 25 which protrude vertically from the plane of the support plates 22 in the direction of the interchangeable platens 14. The arrangement of the pins 25 corresponds to the arrangement of the passage openings 16, i.e., the pins 25 are aligned with the passage openings 16 such that when lowering the platen 17, the pins 25 penetrate into the passage openings 16. In order to allow for a certain play of the pins 25 in the passage openings 16, the diameter of the pins 25 is smaller than the diameter of the passage openings 16.

[0037] The lowering of the platen 17 with pins 25 onto the interchangeable platens 14, or their lifting, is carried out with the help of a lowering device, of which the drive and other components are mainly arranged on the top 3 of the supporting element 2. As can be seen from a compilation of FIGS. 1 to 3, the lowering device comprises a first shaft 27 and second shaft 28, which are held axis parallel to the x-axis and at a lateral distance from each other in bearings 29, in each case rotatable about an axis 30. On each end of the two shafts 27, 28 and thus in the corner areas of the supporting element 2, is a torque-proof lever, for the first shaft 27 in each case a rocker arm 31, and for the second shaft 28 in each case a one-sided lever 32, which each act with their one lever arm 33 on a push rod 34 which, as part of a force-transmitting pressure module, ensures the movement of the platen 17 perpendicular to the supporting element 2.

[0038] For this purpose, each push rod 34 is guided longitudinally in a bearing bushing 35, which intersperses the supporting element 2 in the z-direction. The bearing bushing 35 has a widened foot 36 at the bottom 4 of the supporting element 2, which with its flat bottom represents an upper stop for the platen 17. The lower end of the push rod 34 non-positively integrates into the platen 17; the upper end, on the other hand, is jointly connected to the one lever arm 33, wherein the hinge point 37 in a radial slot 38 in the lever arm 33 is forcibly guided radially moveably with respect to the axis 30 to convert the rotational movement of the one lever arm 33 about the axis 30 into a linear movement of the push rod 34 in or against the z-direction.

[0039] The drive for turning the first shaft 27 about the axis 30 and thus the rocker arm 31 comprises a pair of linear actuators 39, each of which extend between a bearing bracket 40 attached to the top 2 of the supporting element 2 as a fixed bearing and the other lever arm 41 of the rocker arm 31. Each linear actuator 39 is formed of a first cylinder piston unit 43 and a second cylinder piston unit 44, which are arranged linearly in series. In the present embodiment, this means that the cylinder 42 of the first cylinder piston unit 43 is hinged at the bearing bracket 40, and the movable piston 45 of the first cylinder piston unit 43 supports the cylinder 47 of the second cylinder piston unit 44 with its piston rod 46. The piston rod 48 of the movable piston 49 of the second cylinder piston unit 44 is hinged to the second lever arm 41 of the rocker arm 31 (FIG. 4 and FIG. 5).

[0040] For the transfer and synchronization of the rotational movement of the first shaft 27 to the second shaft 28, a one-sided lever 51 sits torque-proof on both shafts 27, 28 between the bearings 29. A tension-compression rod 50 hinges with its ends to the two levers 51. A proximity switch 52 in the pendulum range of the tension-compression rod 50 limits the rotational movement of the shafts 27, 28.

[0041] For the precise placement of the device 1 over the mold of a press, the device 1 comprises at each corner a supporting element 53 extending from the carrier element 2 downwards against the z-direction, whose widened foot with its flat bottom forms a height-defined contact surface 54. In axial extension of the supporting element 53, an expansion element 55 protrudes from the contact surface 54, which expansion element, in the case of axial compression, experiences a uniform radial elongation over the circumference. The axial compression of the expansion element 55 is achieved by means of an actuating rod running inside the supporting element 53, which can be tensioned or relaxed by means of cylinder piston units 56 arranged at the top 2 of the carrier element 2.

[0042] The method according to the invention for loading prefabricated parts into a molding tool of a press in the production of molded parts with the help of the device 1 described above is explained below in more detail with additional reference made to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0043] Initially, the device 1 according to the invention is in a first operating position, as reproduced in FIGS. 1 to 3, in which the platen 17 with pins 25 is in the upper first position and the holding device 9 for accommodating the interchangeable platens 14 is ready. The cylinder piston units 43, 44 of the two actuators 39 are in a retracted state at this time (FIG. 1).

[0044] In a next step, the interchangeable platens 14, which are equipped with parts outside the device 1, are loaded into the holding device 9, wherein the passage openings 16 with parts lying therein are aligned with the pins 25 (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3).

[0045] The second operating position of the device 1 is achieved after subsequent activation of the second cylinder piston unit 44 in that the two rocker arms 31 are rotated on the first shaft 27 by a first dimension about the axis 30. Via the tension-compression rod 50, the rotational movement of the first shaft 27 is synchronously transferred to the second shaft 28 and subsequently to the one-sided lever 32. Rocker arm 31 or one-sided lever 32 push the push rods 34 by a first dimension in the direction against the z-direction downwards until the platen 17 has reached an intermediate position in which the pins 25 with their ends secure the parts in the passage openings 16 in their position.

[0046] In this state, the device 1 is placed over the mold 57 of a molding tool of a press, which is shown in FIG. 4. You can see the form 57 of a molding tool, shown only in a simplified manner, with upwardly open cavities 58 and blind bores 59. When placing the device 1 on the mold 57, the supporting elements 53 are inserted into the blind bores 59 until the contact surfaces 54 rest on the mold 57. With the help of the expansion elements 55 in the blind bores 59, the device 1 is centered and anchored with respect to the mold 57. At the same time, the centering pins 26 are inserted in fitting holes on the press or the molding tool, so that each passage opening 16 equipped with a part lies exactly above a cavity 58 of the mold 57.

[0047] By extending the first cylinder piston units 43, the rotational movement of the first shaft 27 and second shaft 28 and thus the lowering movement of the platen 17 is continued until the lower second position is reached. In this third operating position of the device 1, the pins 25 completely penetrate the passage openings 16, thereby pushing the parts out of the passage openings 16 into the cavities 58.

[0048] To remove the device 1 from the press, the described steps are carried out in reverse order. After that, the device 1 is back in the first operating position and is ready for another production cycle. Concurrently, the molding tool can be closed, and the molded part can be produced in the known manner.

[0049] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.