Abstract
The invention relates to a cycle press, in particular a short-cycle press, for producing and/or coating board-shaped materials, in particular engineered wood boards, comprising a press body having several press frames arranged next to one another in the longitudinal press direction, and further comprising an upper press plate and a lower press plate, wherein pressing cylinders supported on the press frames act on the upper press plate or the lower press plate. According to the invention, said cycle press is characterized in that the pressing cylinders are attached to the press frames by means of frame pins, wherein said frame pins engage in cut-outs of the press frames. Thus, the pressing cylinders can be prestressed against the press frames.
Claims
1. A cycle press for making and/or laminating panel workpieces, the press comprising: a body having a row extending along an axis of frames each formed with windows and with respective cutouts offset vertically from the windows; an upper platen extending through the windows; a lower platen extending through the windows; a cylinders supported on the frames and also acting on the upper or lower platen; and support bars supporting the cylinders on the frames and also having ends engaging the cutouts in the respective frames, one end of each of the bars being dimensioned smaller than the respective cutout for removal of the bars from between the respective frames.
2. The press according to claim 1, further comprising: means for prestressing the cylinders via the support bars against the respective frames.
3. The press according to claim 1, wherein each cylinder is mounted on the frames by at least two of the support bars.
4. The press according to claim 2, wherein the means for prestressing includes a plurality of tensioning screws that are screwed into casings of the cylinders and pass through the respective support bars.
5. The press according to claim 1, wherein the cutouts are slots.
6. The press according to claim 1, wherein the one end of each of the support bars is provided with a respective reduced diameter region.
7. The press according to claim 6, wherein each reduced diameter region is formed by a chamfer.
8. The press according to claim 1, wherein the support bars are solid rods or tubes.
9. The press according to claim 4, further comprising: force-distributing plates interposed between the support bars and the respective tensioning screws.
10. The press according to claim 1, further comprising: tie rods or connecting bolts attaching the frames to each other and extending along the longitudinal press axis of the body.
11. The press according to claim 1, further comprising: at least two hydraulic tanks for supplying the cylinders and laterally offset relative to the cylinders.
12. The press according to claim 11, wherein the hydraulic tanks are mounted on connecting bolts or tie rods of the body by tank supports.
13. The press according to claim 1, further comprising: one or more retaining plates attached to the support bars when installed so as to secure the support bars within the cutouts.
14. A cycle press for manufacturing engineered wood boards, the press comprising: a longitudinally extending row of pairs of transversely extending and longitudinally spaced vertical frames each having a transversely extending upper cross member and a transversely extending lower cross member forming with the respective upper cross member a longitudinally open window, each a frame further being formed with a longitudinally open hole vertically offset from the window; an upper platen extending through the windows; a lower platen below the upper platen and extending through the windows, one of the platens being movable and the other of the platens being fixed; respective cylinders between the frames of each of the pairs of frames and bearing vertically on the movable platen; and longitudinally extending support bars supporting the cylinders on the frames and having ends engaging into the holes in the frames of the respective pair of frames and dimensioned for withdrawal of the bars from between the frames of the respective pair.
15. The cycle press defined in claim 14, wherein the holes and the cylinders are above the windows.
16. The cycle press defined in claim 14, wherein each of the cylinders is centered between a respective pair of the frames and has a casing with an end anchored to a respective pair of the support bars.
17. The cycle press defined in claim 16, further comprising: two tensioning fasteners each fixed between a respective one of the support bars and the respective casing.
18. The cycle press defined in claim 17 wherein each of the casings is generally cylindrical with a diameter greater than a longitudinal spacing between the frames of the respective pair of frames but formed with a flat such that rotation of the cylinder allows the cylinder to fit between and be withdrawn vertically out from between the frames of the respective pair of frames.
19. The cycle press defined in claim 14, wherein each of the holes is a vertically elongated slot vertically taller than a vertical height of the respective end of the respective support bar engaged therein.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
(1) The following describes the invention in more detail with reference to a drawing that shows only one illustrated embodiment. Therein:
(2) FIG. 1 is an end view of the short-cycle press according to the invention;
(3) FIG. 2 is a side view of the press according to the invention;
(4) FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of the structure of FIG. 2;
(5) FIG. 4 is section A-B through the structure of FIG. 3;
(6) FIG. 5 is section C-D through the structure of FIG. 4;
(7) FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail of the structure of FIG. 1;
(8) FIG. 7 shows a simplified horizontal section through the structure of FIG. 1;
(9) FIG. 8 is a simplified perspective view of the structure of FIG. 6; and
(10) FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C show a highly simplified horizontal section through the press as it handles various board formats.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(11) The figures shows a short-cycle press in the form of a single daylight press for making or laminating engineered wood boards. In its basic construction, this short-cycle press includes a press body 1 formed by a plurality of press frames 2 that are arranged in a row extending along a longitudinal press axis R. The axis R corresponds to the working direction, and thus the loading and removal direction of the press. Press frames 2 in the embodiment are made from cut-to-size sheet steel, and specifically, using a window design, i.e. the individual press frames 2 each form one window 3 defined at the top by an upper cross-member 2a and on the bottom by a lower cross-member 2b. The individual press frames 2 are connected to each other by tie rods 4 extending parallel to the longitudinal press axis R. To this end, spacer tubes are mounted on the tie rods 4 between the frames 2.
(12) The press includes an upper press platen 5 and a lower press platen 6. These press platens 5 and 6 are heated. The press is equipped with a plurality of press cylinders 7 that in the illustrated embodiment are in the form of single-acting hydraulic cylinders 7. Each press cylinder 7 includes both a cylindrical casing 8 and also a piston 9. The press is designed as a downstroke press, i.e. the press cylinders 7 are connected by their pistons 9 to the (movable) upper press platen 5, while the lower press platen 6 rests essentially stationary on the lower cross-members 2b of the frames 2. The press cylinders 7 are in the windows 3 below the upper cross-members 2a, i.e. they are braced when the pressing force is applied by their upper ends on the upper cross-members 2a of the press frames (see FIGS. 3 through 5).
(13) FIGS. 3 through 5 here show that each press cylinder 7 or its casing 8 is supported on two adjacent press frames 2. To this end, the cylinders or their casings 8 are of a diameter in at least one direction that is greater than the spacing between adjacent press frames. This is seen, for example, in FIG. 4 that furthermore shows that the casings are flattened in certain areas, i.e. the diameter is smaller in one direction than the diameter in another direction perpendicular theretoin particular the diameter along the one axis is smaller than the spacing between two adjacent press frames, thereby enabling the cylindersstarting from the functional position of FIG. 4to be rotated 90 so as to allow them to be removed. This will be explained in more detail below.
(14) FIGS. 3 through 5 furthermore illustrate that the cylinders are mounted by support rods or bars 10 to the press frames 2 with ends of the rods 10 engaged in respective aligned holes 11 of the press frames 2. The cylinders, or their casings 8, are attached by tensioning screws 12 to the rods 10 such that the cylinders 7 are prestressed against the frames 2 by the tensioning screws 12 and the support bars 10. A comparison of FIGS. 3 through 5 furthermore shows that each press cylinder 7 is attached to two support bars 10, and two tensioning screws 12 are in turn provided for each support bar 10. The holes 11 in the embodiment are oval or slots that are of greater length vertically than horizontally. FIG. 3 also reveals that the ends of the support bars 10 are provided with reduced diameter ends 13 that are formed as chamfers in the illustrated embodiment. This configuration comprising both chamfers 13 and slot-like holes 11 means that support bars 10 can be removed between respective press the frames 2 by appropriately tilting and/or rotating them. This construction provides an especially secure attachment of the cylinders to the frames 2 and also enables the system to be easily disassembled, thereby allowing the cylinders to be removed from the press upward between the frames 2 for maintenance purposes.
(15) The support bars 10 in the illustrated embodiment are provided in the form of solid rods. The length of the rods corresponds to the spacing between outer faces of two adjacent press frames. The support bars 10 are screwed to tensioning screws 12 with interposition of force-distributing plates 14. These ensure there is an effective support surface for the nuts or tensioning screws on the support bars 10, which here are of circular cross-section. Retainers 32 in the form of plates are attached to the support bars 10, for example by screws. These function to secure the rods 10 axially, thereby preventing the rods 10 from sliding out of the holes when installed. The plates 32 can be wider than the holes 11 for this purpose. They rest on the inside against the frames 2. The plates 32 must then be released in order to remove the support bars 10.
(16) The illustrated embodiment dispenses with the otherwise typical central hydraulic tank in order to allow the cylinders to be easily removed upward from the press for purposes of maintenance or replacement. What is essentially a double tank is provided instead. FIG. 1 thus shows that two hydraulic tanks 15 are provided that are mounted above the press body 1, and specifically not at the center over the press but offset laterally and consequently to the side. In the end view of FIG. 1, the hydraulic tanks 15 are thus not immediately above the cylinders but rather laterally offset relative to them. The illustration furthermore shows that hydraulic tanks 15 are not mounted directly on the frames 2; instead these hydraulic tanks 15 are mounted by supports 16 on the tie rods 4, or are mounted on them. As a result, damage to the frames 2 itself is prevented. In overall terms, a comparison of FIGS. 1 through 5 clearly shows that the cylinders can be especially easily removed upward out of the press in the embodiment of the invention. This is achieved despite the fact that the press itself, and thus also the press cylinders, press frames, and remaining components are designed for especially high pressing forces of 700 N/cm.sup.2 and higher.
(17) It is obviously necessary to disconnect the cylinders or their pistons 9 from the (upper) press platen 5 before removal. This is explained in more detail below, in particular based on FIGS. 6 through 8.
(18) FIGS. 6 through 8 show that the upper platen 5 is attached to the pistons 9 by latch plates 17 that fit complementarily in respective seat grooves 18 of the pistons or extensions at the ends of the pistons. The plates 17 are bolted to the press platen 5 by screws 19, springs 20, for example stacks of Belleville washers. Accordingly, the attachment of the pistons 9 is no longer effected by complex means using interposed mounting elements; instead, the plates 17 are slid into position between adjacent cylinders and each function to simultaneously attach more than one piston 9, specifically, two adjacent pistons. This provides simple installation and removal, even when the cylinders 7 and their the pistons 9 are of especially large size so as to achieve especially high pressing forces. Of special significance in the embodiment is the fact that a plurality of the plates 17 are combined to create a common flat mounting rail 17 for attaching the mounting press platen 5 to all the pistons 9 in a row extending along the longitudinal press axis, this flat mounting rail 17 extending parallel to the longitudinal press axis along a number of the cylinders. FIG. 7 shows here that one flat mounting rail 17 extends longitudinally across through five rows of cylinders, with the result that a total of ten pistons are attached to the press platen 5 by one flat mounting rail 17. This embodiment in particular has the advantage that the flat mounting rail 17 can in overall terms be extracted from and inserted into the press from the end, thereby providing easy installation and removal, in particular when overall installation space is reduced. FIG. 6 shows here that the plates 17 or flat mounting rails 17 are not bolted directly by the screws 19 into the heating platens but only via interpose spacers 21 that in turn are attached by the screws 22 to the platens 5. This prevents the heating platen 5 from being overloaded by one tensioning screw 19 torqued down to exert a high tensioning force.
(19) FIGS. 6 and 7 furthermore show that not only the mounting of the heating platen is optimized; in fact, the mounting or replacement of piston insulators is optimized as well in the press according to the invention. There are thus no longer any conventional insulator plates that are each screwed onto a respective piston end; instead, insulator plates 23 are held in respective seats 24 that are interconnected by longitudinal rails 25 to form a multi-cassette frame 24, 25. This is shown in particular in FIG. 7. The insulators are thus not attached to the ends of the pistons 9; instead they are set onto the upper platen 5 during installation, then compressed between the end of the respective piston and the press platen when the pistons 9 are mounted on the platen 5. An especially advantageous aspect is the fact that, after connections have been released, a plurality of insulator plates 23 can be removed and reinserted together, specifically by use of the of described cassette frame 24, 25. The often typically required replacement of the insulator plates, which are subject to wear, is considerably simplified, with the result that maintenance times are shortened. This aspect too is achieved despite the press being sized for high pressing forces such that there is typically little space available for maintenance work in the region of the press cylinders.
(20) FIGS. 6 and 7 furthermore show that, in addition to the plates 17 and insulator plates 23, centering plates 26 are provided that engage the seat grooves 18. These centering plates 26 are also mounted on the platens 5 by screws 27. The centering plates 26 function to optimally position the press platen 5 both relative to the longitudinal axis and also to the transverse axis. This is shown, in FIG. 7 where two of the centering plates 26 are provided for transverse positioning axis and also for longitudinal positioning.
(21) Finally, FIG. 6 shows that holding brackets 28 are attached at lower ends of the casings 8 of the cylinders. The purpose of these holding brackets 28 is to secure the pistons 9 in their retracted position, or even in a different position. This holding action is required in order to allow the press cylinders as an entire unit, i.e. the casing 8 together with its piston 9, to be removed from the press without the piston 9 falling out and downward from the casing after disconnection from the heating platen. An especially advantageous aspect is the fact that the holding brackets 28 can remain permanently installed on the casing. It is thus not necessary to install the brackets themselves to get the holding action; instead, all that is required is to insert a slide-in rod 29 that in a lockingly engages both the holding brackets 28 and an (additional) groove 30 in the piston or its end extension piece. An interesting aspect is the fact that this slide-in rod 29 can be inserted from the end into the press, thereby enabling a number of the pistons 9 in a row to be secured or even all of a longitudinal row of the pistons to be secured together by a single slide-in rod 29. In particular no extra screw-type attachments are required on the individual cylinders in order to effect the described holding action.
(22) The figures furthermore illustrate that the press is also equipped with pull-back cylinders 31. This is because the cylinders here are single-acting so that only pressing forces can be applied. Pull-back cylinders 31 are thus used to open the press.
(23) FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C furthermore show that engineered wood boards in a wide variety of formats can be made or laminated by this press that as a multi-piston press is fitted, for example with forty press cylinders. Appropriately selecting the press cylinders enables boards to be easily pressed, even when these involve widely different board sizes. It can be advantageous for this purpose to group the press cylinders into a plurality of press cylinder groups so as to allow individual groups to be controlled separately and independently of each other. This is indicated FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C by the letters a through f which represent different press systems. In addition, the operation preferably works with heating platens of high quality and very high surface smoothness. The heating platens can have a contact area ratio of between 97% and 100%. The press cylinders are mounted on the press frame to permit some canting. Control of the press cylinders is effected by proportional valves.
