TOGGLE CLAMP DEVICE, IN PARTICULAR FOR USE IN VEHICLE BODY MANUFACTURING IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Abstract

A toggle clamp device, in particular for use in vehicle body manufacturing in the automotive industry. The worldwide industry standard for the range of toggle clamps in the automotive industry contains the same technical data for the structural dimensions, clamping and retaining forces and cylinder diameters. Deviating from this standard while maintaining the technical data, according to the invention, smaller cylinder diameters are used which lead to a reduction in compressed air or energy consumption of between 25 to 60%.

Claims

1. A toggle clamp device for use in vehicle body manufacturing in the automotive industry, with connection dimensions determined according to standard specifications in the industry, for bores with a thread on the clamping head, for arranging the toggle clamp device on an assembly line, with a drive unit which is to be acted upon by compressed air, and a piston of which is to be alternately acted upon by compressed air in opposite stroke directions and is guided in a longitudinally displaceable and sealing manner in a cylinder which is circular or deviates from the circular shape, the cylinder and piston having effective cylinder and piston diameters, wherein the piston drives a member in the stroke direction (X-Y), which, at its piston-remote end, drives, via a toggle linkage mechanism, a force transmission arm which is connected in terms of drive and mounted via a rotary pin, which is pivotable in the clamping head but is otherwise immovable in position and which is led out of the clamping head on one side or on both sides, and which force transmission arm drives a clamping arm pivotably, wherein, while maintaining the substantially the same torque or holding torque at the rotary pin and while maintaining the connection dimensions of the clamping head for an effective cylinder and piston diameter designation predetermined by the automotive industry, the cylinder has an effective diameter smaller than the predetermined effective cylinder and piston diameter designation predetermined by the automotive industry, and the force transmission arm has a larger effective lever length (L) to compensate for reduction of the piston force of the piston of smaller effective diameter.

2. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a toggle clamp device designated with the industry designation 63 (cylinder 63 mm) has a cylinder having an effective cylinder diameter of 50 mm.

3. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a toggle clamp device designated with the industry designation 50 (cylinder 50 mm) has a cylinder having cylinder diameter of 40 mm.

4. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a toggle clamp device designated with the cylinder designation U-63 (cylinder 63 mm) has a cylinder with an effective piston diameter of 50 mm, an effective lever dimension (L) of the force transmission arm of 42 mm, an overall stroke of the piston of 103 mm and a pivoting angle of at maximum 135 degrees.

5. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the energy consumption of the compressed air or the compressed air consumption of the toggle clamp device is lowered from a toggle clamp device having an effective cylinder and piston diameter corresponding to the predetermined effective cylinder and piston diameter designation by at least 25%.

6. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the member is a length-variable piston rod.

7. A toggle clamp device for use in vehicle body manufacturing in the automotive industry, with a clamping head, a piston-cylinder unit which is arranged thereon, is to be alternately acted upon by compressed air and drives an optionally length-variable adjusting member which extends in the stroke direction (X-Y) of the piston and, at its piston-remote end, via a toggle linkage mechanism and via a force transmission arm which pivotably drives a clamping arm via a rotary pin which is immovable in position in the clamping head and is led out of the clamping head laterally, characterized in that, while maintaining the clamping force on the clamping arm and while maintaining the attachment dimensions of the clamping head, the clamping head is in each case assigned a cylinder which is smaller in diameter with a correspondingly smaller piston and therefore a smaller force to be transmitted to the adjusting member, and the thereby in each case reduced piston force is restored to the original value of a larger piston-cylinder unit by an increase in the effective lever length (L) of the force transmission arm of the toggle linkage mechanism corresponding to the reduction of the piston force of the piston.

8. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 7, wherein a toggle clamp device designated with the industry designation 63 (cylinder 63 mm) has a cylinder having an effective cylinder diameter 50 mm).

9. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 7, wherein a toggle clamp device designated with the industry designation 50 (cylinder 50 mm) has a cylinder having an effective cylinder diameter of 40 mm).

10. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 7, wherein a toggle clamp device designated with the cylinder designation U-63 (cylinder 63 mm) has a cylinder with an effective piston diameter of 50 mm, an effective lever dimension (L) of the force transmission arm of 42 mm, an overall stroke of the piston of 103 mm and a pivoting angle of at maximum 135 degrees.

11. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the energy consumption of the compressed air or the compressed air consumption of the toggle clamp device is lowered from a toggle clamp device having an effective cylinder diameter corresponding to the predetermined effective cylinder and piston diameter designation by at least 25%.

12. The toggle clamp device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the member is a length-variable piston rod.

13. A method for optimizing an existing toggle clamp device for use in vehicle body manufacturing in the automotive industry, with connection dimensions determined according to standard specifications in the industry, the toggle clamp device comprising a drive unit which is to be acted upon by compressed air, and a piston of which is to be alternately acted upon by compressed air in opposite stroke directions and is guided in a longitudinally displaceable and sealing manner in a cylinder which is circular or deviates from the circular shape, the cylinder and piston having effective cylinder and piston diameters, wherein the piston drives a member in the stroke direction (X-Y), which, at its piston-remote end, drives, via a toggle linkage mechanism, a force transmission arm which is connected in terms of drive and mounted via a rotary pin, which is pivotable in the clamping head but is otherwise immovable in position and which is led out of the clamping head on one side or on both sides, and which force transmission arm drives a clamping arm pivotably, the method comprising substituting the cylinder and piston with a cylinder and piston having an effective diameter smaller than the predetermined effective cylinder and piston diameter designation predetermined by the automotive industry, and substituting the force transmission arm with a force transmission arm having a larger effective lever length (L) to compensate for reduction of the piston force of the piston of smaller effective diameter while maintaining the substantially the same torque or holding torque at the rotary pin and while maintaining the connection dimensions of the clamping head for an effective cylinder and piston diameter designation predetermined by the automotive industry.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the toggle clamp device further comprises a housing having an interior space within which are provided, the piston-remote end of the member, the toggle linkage mechanism, the force transmission arm, and a portion of the rotary pin, wherein the force transmission arm is provided adjacent the piston-remote end of the member within the interior space of the housing.

15. The toggle clamp device of claim 7, further comprising a housing having an interior space within which are provided, the piston-remote end of the member, the toggle linkage mechanism, the force transmission arm, and a portion of the rotary pin, wherein the force transmission arm is provided adjacent the piston-remote end of the member within the interior space of the housing.

16. The toggle clamp device of claim 1, further comprising a housing having an interior space within which are provided, the piston-remote end of the member, the toggle linkage mechanism, the force transmission arm, and a portion of the rotary pin, wherein the force transmission arm is provided adjacent the piston-remote end of the member within the interior space of the housing.

Description

FURTHER INVENTIVE REFINEMENTS

[0018] Further inventive refinements are described in patent claims 3 to 9 and, furthermore, further features and advantages emerge from the attached description of the drawing, in which the invention is illustrated, partially schematically, by way of example. In the drawing:

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a toggle clamp device schematically in side view,

[0020] FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through a toggle clamp device according to FIG. 1, and

[0021] FIG. 3 shows a top view of FIG. 2.

[0022] In the drawing, reference sign 1 overall denotes a toggle clamp device which essentially consists of a clamping head 2 and a piston-cylinder unit 3 arranged interchangeably on the latter. If the need arises, the toggle clamp device is provided on all four sides of the clamping head 2 with blind bores with a thread in order to be able to optionally attach said toggle clamp device at all four side surfaces.

[0023] The piston-cylinder unit 3 has a cylinder 4 and a piston 5 which is guided in a longitudinally displaceable and sealing manner therein. The piston 5 is alternately acted upon on both sides in a controlled manner by compressed air, and thereby carries out a stroke in the X or Y direction.

[0024] An elongate adjustment member, which is designed as a piston rod 6, is connected in terms of drive to the piston 5, said adjustment member, in the embodiment illustrated, but not necessarily, being of multi-part and length-adjustable design in order to permit a length adjustment in the X or Y stroke direction and the stroke in the X or Y direction of the piston 5 and thereby to change to the pivoting angle of a clamping arm or the like. For this purpose, the piston rod can consist of multi-part spindle parts which are screwable into one another.

[0025] For the length adjustment of the piston rod 6, it is possible to reach through a closable opening 8 into a bottom cover 9 of the cylinder 4 with a tool in order to connect said tool if the need arises to a recess in a screw head 7 of the piston rod 6. The piston rod 6 can then be rotated in opposite directions by means of the tool and, as a result, the stroke of the piston 5 in the X or Y direction can be infinitely variably adjusted to be greater or smaller. The sensitivity of the adjustment conforms to the pitch of the thread, at which the parts of the elongate adjustment member 6 are screwed into one another.

[0026] A toggle linkage mechanism 10 which consists of a plurality of tab elements coupled pivotably to one another via pivot axes 11 or 12 is connected in terms of drive to the piston rod 6. Said tab elements can be connected in terms of drive to the piston rod 6 or to part of the piston rod 6, for example via a fork head 13, and to one another in terms of drive and interchangeably.

[0027] A force transmission arm 14 is connected in terms of drive and pivotably to the toggle linkage mechanism 10. The force transmission arm 14 can consist of a plurality of elements. The force transmission arm 14 is connected in terms of drive via a rotary pin 15 which is indicated in FIG. 2 merely by a chain-dotted cross-hair pointer, is pivotable in the clamping head 2, but is otherwise immovable in position and is led out of the clamping head 2 laterally (FIG. 3) and here, in the embodiment illustrated (FIG. 1), has a square shape to which a clamping arm (not illustrated) can be releasably coupled, for example in the form of a fork or else only on one side. The clamping arm can be used to clamp sheet-like workpieces against a suitable abutment, for example what is referred to as a jaw (not illustrated), which is assigned to the clamping head 2, in order then to be able to permanently connect the workpieces to one another in a suitable manner, for example by clinching, spot welding or adhesive bonding.

[0028] The center point of the pivot axis 12, on the one hand, and of the rotary pin 15 which is immovable in position, on the other hand, are remote from each other by the dimension L (FIG. 2) which forms the effective lever arm with which the toggle linkage mechanism 10 drives the clamping arm (not illustrated) or the like. Said effective lever arm L is enlarged in comparison to conventional toggle clamp devices in such a manner that the relatively small piston-cylinder unit 3, which has a correspondingly small piston 5, is compensated for in terms of its reduced force, with which it drives the piston rod 6, in such a manner that, while the connection dimensions remain identical and the clamping head remains identical, the correspondingly large clamping force (torque) which would be achieved in the case of an otherwise larger piston-cylinder unit 3 is likewise obtained. It is thereby possible, with the same connection dimensions and an identical clamping head, to connect a substantially smaller piston-cylinder unit 3 which therefore considerably reduces the volume of the entire toggle clamp device and causes a substantially lower consumption of compressed air, for example by at least 25 to 60%, preferably, for example in the embodiment illustrated, 38% less than in the case of conventional toggle clamp devices of identical power. It is thereby possible to keep ready, as it were, identical clamping heads for the same connection dimensions on the bearing, to which clamping heads different piston-cylinder units 3 having considerably smaller diameters can be coupled if the need arises. The smaller clamping force is compensated for by the larger lever arm L in the illustrated embodiment. For example, the illustrated embodiment shows a toggle clamp device having the designation U 63, which is, however, only assigned a 50 cylinder.

[0029] The dimension 50 designates the effective piston diameter and therefore also the inside diameter of the cylinder 4. For example, the dimension L for a U 63 clamp with a 50 cylinder can be 42 mm while the overall stroke of the piston 5 is 103 mm at a maximum pivoting angle of the clamping arm (not illustrated) of 135.

[0030] In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the clamping head 2 consists of two housing parts which are arranged on each other in the manner of a sandwich, preferably housing halves 16 and 17, which are arranged on each other in a sealed manner and sealingly surround an interior space 18 of the clamping head 2 and thereby substantially protect the toggle linkage mechanism 10 and also those parts of the piston rod 6 screwable into one another that are arranged here against dirt and moisture.

[0031] Sensors (not illustrated) which are damped by a switching tag and thereby in each case detect the end positions of the piston rod 6 can be provided in the clamping head 2. The measurement values are transmitted to a plug unit, from which the data are tapped off and forwarded to a suitable central control unit (likewise not illustrated).

[0032] The features which are described in the patent claims and in the description and are also apparent from the drawing may be essential both individually and in any combination for realizing the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS

[0033] 1 Toggle clamp device

[0034] 2 Clamping head

[0035] 3 Piston-cylinder unit

[0036] 4 Cylinder

[0037] 5 Piston

[0038] 6 Piston rod, elongate adjusting member

[0039] 7 Screw head

[0040] 8 Opening

[0041] 9 Bottom cover

[0042] 10 Toggle linkage mechanism

[0043] 11 Pivot axis

[0044] 12

[0045] 13 Fork head

[0046] 14 Force transmission arm

[0047] 15 Rotary pin

[0048] 16 Housing part

[0049] 17

[0050] 18 Interior space of the clamping head 2

[0051] X Stroke direction

[0052] Y

[0053] L Effective lever length of the force transmission arm 14

LITERATURE INDEX

[0054] DE 11 2010 005 923

[0055] DE 10 2006 041 707 A1

[0056] DE 10 2006 022 950 A1

[0057] DE 10 2004 007 346 B3

[0058] DE 10 2004 027 849 A1

[0059] DE 10 2004 034 280 A1

[0060] DE 10 2007 027 849 A1

[0061] DE 10 2008 007 256 B3

[0062] DE 698 10 413 T3

[0063] DE 198 24 579 C1

[0064] DE 199 30 990 C1

[0065] DE 196 16 441 C1

[0066] DE 195 12 429 A1

[0067] DE 101 36 057 C1

[0068] DE 102 60 138 A1

[0069] DE 18 16 402 A1

[0070] DE 19 41 785 A1

[0071] DE 36 01 643 A1

[0072] DE 36 38 526 C1

[0073] DE 42 42 601 A1

[0074] DE 333 903 C

[0075] DE 202 07 776 U1

[0076] DE 297 00 887 U1

[0077] DE 298 11 331 U1

[0078] DE 20 2007 017 274.5

[0079] DE 20 2009 008 068 U1

[0080] DE 20 2009 002 141 U1

[0081] EP 2 329 153

[0082] EP 2 055 430 B1

[0083] EP 1 262 285 A2

[0084] EP 1 849 559 B1

[0085] EP 1 878 539 B1

[0086] EP 1 309 426 B1

[0087] EP 1 088 623 A2

[0088] EP 1 179 394 A

[0089] EP 1 149 665 A

[0090] EP 1 066 929 A

[0091] EP 0 908 272 B1

[0092] EP 0 967 050 A2

[0093] EP 0 243 599 A

[0094] WO 2005/044517 A2

[0095] WO 2007/128437 A1

[0096] WO 2010/127690 A1

[0097] WO 2012/045320 A1

[0098] U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,602

[0099] U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,743

[0100] U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,557

[0101] U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,588

[0102] U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,133

[0103] U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,045

[0104] Tnkers Maschinenbau GmbH, Ratingen, prospectus Spanntechnik fr professionelle Serienfertigung

[0105] Tnkers Maschinenbau GmbH, Ratingen, prospectus Produktionsprogramm

[0106] Tnkers Maschinenbau GmbH, Ratingen, prospectus Spannsysteme, Handling, Umformtechnik

[0107] Mannesmann Rexroth: Grundlagen und Komponenten der Fluidtechnik Hydraulik Der Hydraulik Trainer, October 1991 (1991-10), ISBN: 3-8023-0619-8, vol. 1, pages 182-183