Press for producing a pellet from powdered material

Abstract

The invention relates to a press for producing a pellet from powdered material, comprising a press frame and a press unit arranged in the press frame with at least one upper press punch and/or at least one lower press punch, as well as at least one receptacle for the powdered material to be pressed by the upper and/or lower press punch, at least two upper drive units, each with one upper electric drive motor for moving the upper press punch in a vertical direction.

Claims

1. A press for producing a pellet from powdered material, comprising a press frame (10) and a press unit arranged in the press frame (10) with at least one upper press punch and/or at least one lower press punch, as well as at least one receptacle for the powdered material to be pressed by the upper and/or lower press punch, at least two upper drive units, each with one upper electric drive motor (30, 31) for moving the upper press punch in a vertical direction, wherein the upper drive units each comprise one upper spindle drive driven by the respective electric drive motors (30, 31) and having an upper spindle (34, 35) and an upper spindle nut (36, 37), and/or at least two lower drive units, each with a lower electric drive motor (42, 43) for moving the lower press punch and/or the receptacle in a vertical direction, wherein the lower drive units each comprise a lower spindle drive driven by the respective electric drive motor (42, 43) and having a lower spindle (44, 45) and a lower spindle nut (50, 51), wherein the upper drive units act laterally offset on the at least one upper press punch by means of an upper power transmission bridge (38) extending in a horizontal direction, and/or wherein the lower drive units act laterally offset on the at least one lower press punch and/or the receptacle by means of a lower power transmission bridge (52) extending in a horizontal direction, characterized in that the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), or the upper fastening elements each connected to the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), are each connected to the upper power transmission bridge (38) by at least one upper compensation element (56, 58), wherein the compensation elements (56, 58) are each pivotably mounted on the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), or the upper fastening elements on the one hand, and on the upper power transmission bridge (38) on the other hand, and/or that the lower spindle nuts (50, 51), or lower fastening elements connected to the lower spindle nuts (50, 51), are each connected to the lower power transmission bridge (52) by means of at least one lower compensation element (60, 62), wherein the compensation elements (60, 62) are each pivotably mounted on the lower spindle nuts (50, 51), or the lower fastening elements on the one hand and the lower power transmission bridge (52) on the other hand.

2. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), or respectively each upper fastening element connected to the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), is connected in each case to the upper power transmission bridge (38) by two upper compensation elements (56, 58), and/or each of the lower spindle nuts (50, 51) or respectively each lower fastening element connected to the lower spindle nuts (50, 51) is connected in each case by two lower compensation elements (60, 62) to the lower power transmission bridge (52).

3. The press according to claim 2, characterized that the compensation elements (56, 58, 60, 62) are each arranged on opposite sides of the power transmission bridge (38, 52).

4. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that the bearing points for pivotably mounting the compensation elements (56, 58, 60, 62) are arranged over each other in a vertical direction when the press is in a state of rest.

5. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that the compensation elements (56, 58, 60, 62) are rotatably mounted by roller bearings or friction bearings.

6. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two upper drive units act on the opposite ends of the upper power transmission bridge (38), and/or the at least two lower drive units act on the opposite ends of the lower power transmission bridge (52).

7. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper spindles (34, 35), and/or the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), and/or the upper fastening elements do not touch the upper power transmission bridge (38) when the press is in a state of rest and during a pressing operation, and/or the lower spindles (44, 45), and/or the lower spindle nuts (50, 51), and/or the lower fastening elements do not touch the lower power transmission bridge (52) when the press is in a state of rest and during a pressing operation.

8. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that a space is formed between a bottom side or a top side of the upper power transmission bridge (38) and a top side, or respectively a bottom side of the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), or respectively the upper fastening elements, and/or a space can be formed between a bottom side or a top side of the lower power transmission bridge (52) and a top side, or respectively a bottom side of the lower spindle nuts (50, 51), or respectively the lower fastening elements.

9. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the opposite ends of the upper power transmission bridge (38) can possess a cylindrical through-hole, each of which accommodates an upper spindle (34, 45), wherein an annular gap is formed in each case between the insides of the through-holes in the upper power transmission bridge (38) and the outsides of the upper spindles (34, 35), and/or each of the opposite ends of the lower power transmission bridge (52) possesses a cylindrical through-hole, each of which accommodates a lower spindle (44, 45), wherein an annular gap is formed in each case between the insides of the through-holes in the lower power transmission bridge (52) and the outsides of the lower spindles (44, 45).

10. A press according to claim 1, characterized in that a cylindrical upper projection is connected to each of the upper spindle nuts (36, 37), wherein each of the opposite ends of the upper power transmission bridge (38) can possess a cylindrical through-hole, each of which accommodates an upper projection, wherein an annular gap is formed in each case between the insides of the through-holes in the upper power transmission bridge (38) and the outsides of the upper projections, and/or a cylindrical lower projection is connected to each of the lower spindle nuts, wherein each of the opposite ends of the lower power transmission bridge (52) possesses a cylindrical through-hole, each of which accommodates a lower projection, wherein an annular gap is formed in each case between the insides of the through-holes in the lower power transmission bridge (52) and the outsides of the lower projections.

11. The press according to claim 1, characterized in that the press frame (10) can have an upper and a lower holding plate (12, 14) that are connected by a plurality of vertical spacers (16).

12. The press according to claim 11, characterized in that the drive motors (30, 31) of the upper drive units are fastened to the upper holding plate (12) of the press frame (10), and the drive motors (42, 43) of the lower drive units are fastened to the lower holding plate (14) of the press frame (10).

13. The press according to one of claim 11, characterized in that a bearing element (18) is provided that is arranged on the vertical spacers (16) of the press frame (10) between the upper (12) and lower holding plate (14).

14. The press according to claim 13, characterized in that the receptacle is arranged on the bearing element (18).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below in greater detail with reference to figures. They show schematically:

(2) FIG. 1 A perspective view of a press according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 A detail of the press shown in FIG. 1 in a first operating state,

(4) FIG. 3 The detail from FIG. 2 in a second operating state,

(5) FIG. 4 A representation of an enlarged section of a part of the representation from FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) While this invention may be embodied in many forms, there are described in detail herein specific embodiments of the invention. This description is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated.

(7) If not otherwise specified, the same reference numbers indicate the same objects in the figures. The press according to the invention possesses a press frame 10 with an upper holding plate 12 and a lower holding plate 14. The upper and lower holding plates 12, 14 are connected to each other by means of four spacers 16 running in a vertical direction in the portrayed example, and to a bearing element 18 arranged approximately in the middle between the upper and lower holding plates 12, 14. In the portrayed example, the bearing element 18 is designed as a single part and possesses a U-profile lying in a horizontal plane, an arrangement and extension plane. The lower holding plate 14 stands on the supporting surface by means of four support legs 20. Furthermore, the press possesses an upper punch plate 22 with an upper punch (not shown) and a lower punch plate 24 with a lower punch (also not shown). In the portrayed example, a die plate 26 is arranged between the upper punch plate 22 and the lower punch plate 24 with a receptacle (not shown) for powder to be pressed between the upper and lower punch, such as metal or ceramic powder. In the portrayed example, the upper punch plate 22, the lower punch plate 24, and the die plate 26 are connected to each other by means of vertical guide columns 28. In the portrayed example, the die plate 26 is directly attached to the bearing element 18.

(8) The press according to the invention furthermore comprises two upper drive units for vertically moving the upper punch plate 22, and two lower drive units for vertically moving the lower punch plate 24. The upper and lower drive units are each arranged on opposite sides of the press frame 10. The upper drive units comprise in each case an upper electric drive motor 30, 31 arranged on the upper holding plate 12 and an upper spindle drive. The upper spindle drives comprise in each case an upper fixed bearing 32, 33 that is fastened in each case directly to the top side of the bearing element 18. The electric upper drive motors 30, 31 each rotatably drive an axially fixed upper spindle 34, 35. An upper axially movable upper spindle nut 36, 37 is arranged on each of the upper spindles 34, 35. When the upper spindles 34, 35 rotate, this therefore generates an axial movement of the respective upper spindle nuts 36, 37. In a manner explained further below, the upper spindle nuts 36, 37 are fastened to opposite ends of an upper, bar-shaped power transmission bridge 38 which is connected in the middle to the upper punch plate 22 by means of another power transmission element 40. The upper drive units with their upper drive motors 30, 31 therefore act laterally offset on the upper punch plate 22 and hence on the upper punch by means of the power transmission bridge 38.

(9) The design of the two bottom drive units is accordingly identical to the design of the two upper drive units. Accordingly, the lower drive units each have a lower electric drive motor 42, 43 that is arranged on the lower holding plate 14 and rotatably drives an axially fixed lower spindle 44, 45. A lower fixed bearing 46, 47 of each of the lower spindles 44, 45 is directly fastened to the bottom side of the bearing element 18. An axially movable lower spindle nut 50, 51 is in turn arranged on the lower spindles 44, 45. The lower spindle nuts 50, 51 are in turn arranged on opposite ends of a lower, bar-shaped power transmission bridge 52 which is connected in the middle to the lower punch plate 24 by means of another power transmission element 54. When the lower electric drive motors 42, 43 rotatably drive the lower spindles 44, 45, an axial movement of the lower spindle nuts 50, 51 arises which, in a manner yet to be explained, is transmitted to the lower punch plate 24 by means of the lower power transmission bridge 52 and the power transmission element 54 such that the punch plate is moved in a vertical direction. In turn, the lower drive units with their lower drive motors 42, 43 therefore act laterally offset on the lower punch plate 24 and hence on the lower punch by means of the lower power transmission bridge 52.

(10) In the depicted example, the upper spindle nuts 36, 37 are connected to the upper power transmission bridge 38 by means of a total of four compensation elements, of which two can be seen in FIG. 1 under reference numbers 56, 58. Corresponding compensation elements with an equivalent function are arranged on the rear of the press, hidden in FIG. 1, opposite the compensation elements 56, 58 in each case. The lower spindle nuts 50, 51 are correspondingly connected by means of a total of four compensation elements to the lower power transmission bridge 52, of which two can be seen in FIG. 1 under reference numbers 60, 62. On the other hand, on the rear of the press which cannot be seen in FIG. 1, there are two additional compensation elements opposite compensation elements 60, 62 which are identical to the compensation elements 60, 62 in terms of design and function.

(11) The elongated compensation elements 56, 58, 60, 62 are each rotatably mounted on the upper power transmission bridge 38, or respectively the lower power transmission bridge 52, by means of first pivot bearings 64, 66, 68, 70 in each case. The compensation elements 56, 58, 60, 62 are each rotatably mounted on the upper, or respectively lower spindle nuts by means of second pivot bearings 72, 74, 76, 78. It can be seen that the pivot bearings of a compensation element in the rest position of the press shown in FIG. 1 are each arranged over each other in a vertical direction. The longitudinal axis of the elongated compensation elements 56, 58, 60, 62 also extends in a vertical direction in this state of rest.

(12) The function of the compensation elements will be explained as an example in relation to the upper power transmission bridge 38 with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Of course, the function of the compensation elements in relation to the lower power transmission bridge 52 is accordingly identical. As in FIG. 1, the state of rest of the press in the section from FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. During a pressing operation, enormous forces arise. These can cause the power transmission bridges 38, 52 to bend as exaggeratedly depicted in FIG. 3 for the sake of illustration with reference to power transmission bridge 38. As can be seen in FIG. 3, this bending of the power transmission bridge 38 leads to a tipping of the compensation elements 56, 58 which is enabled by a rotation about the pivot bearings 64, 72, or respectively 66, 74. The distance decreases between the pivot bearings 64, 66 relative to each other that are provided on the power transmission bridge 38, whereas the distance between the pivot bearings 72, 74 remains substantially constant. As can also be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a space exists between the top side of the spindle nuts 36, 37 and the assigned bottom side of the upper power transmission bridge 38 which is sufficiently large so that no direct contact arises between the spindle nuts 36, 37 and the power transmission bridge 38 during the bending depicted in FIG. 3. It can also be seen that the spindles 34, 35 are accommodated in through-holes that in turn are formed in bearing sections at opposite ends of the power transmission bridge 38. The outer diameter of the spindles 34, 35 is less by a specific amount than the inner diameter of the through-holes in the power transmission bridge 38. Consequently, there is an annular gap between the outside of the spindles 34, 35 and the inside of the through-holes in the power transmission bridge 38. This annular gap is also sufficiently large so that direct contact of the spindles with the power transmission bridge 38 does not arise in the state shown in FIG. 3. Of course, the embodiment of the lower part of the press shown in FIG. 1, in particular the connection between the spindle drives and the power transmission bridge 52, is accordingly identical. The aforementioned embodiments with the compensation elements 56, 58, 60, 62 ensure that no relevant bending moments act on the spindle drives, in particular the spindle nuts 36, 37, 50, 51.

(13) Furthermore, a torque support, or respectively anti-rotation element of the press according to the invention can be seen in the figures, in particular the enlarged representation in FIG. 4. It comprises a reinforcing plate 76 screwed to each of spindle nuts 36, 37, 50, 51 which in the present case is arranged in a horizontal plane. The corresponding screwed connections can be seen under reference sign 79. In the portrayed example, the stiffening plate 76 is screwed to the power transmission bridge 38 by means of two support elements 80. The corresponding screwed connections can be seen under reference sign 82. The torque support secures against undesirable twisting. Of course, corresponding torque supports, or respectively anti-twist elements, are provided on all the spindle nuts 36, 37, 50, 51.

(14) The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims where the term comprising means including, but not limited to. Those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims.

(15) Further, the particular features presented in the dependent claims can be combined with each other in other manners within the scope of the invention such that the invention should be recognized as also specifically directed to other embodiments having any other possible combination of the features of the dependent claims. For instance, for purposes of claim publication, any dependent claim which follows should be taken as alternatively written in a multiple dependent form from all prior claims which possess all antecedents referenced in such dependent claim if such multiple dependent format is an accepted format within the jurisdiction (e.g. each claim depending directly from claim 1 should be alternatively taken as depending from all previous claims). In jurisdictions where multiple dependent claim formats are restricted, the following dependent claims should each be also taken as alternatively written in each singly dependent claim format which creates a dependency from a prior antecedent-possessing claim other than the specific claim listed in such dependent claim below.

(16) This completes the description of the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein which equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto.