Title of Invention

A FORGING MACHINE

Abstract

A forging machine comprises a driven arm (231) connected coaxially to a feed drive shaft (232) and turnable between a first position and a second position to drive the feed drive shaft (232), and a swing unit (21) driven by a reciprocating link (411) and connected coaxially to a punch drive shaft (211) to drive the punch drive shaft (211), the swing unit (21) having a first crank plate (213) which is reciprocated by the reciprocating link (411) to perform a cycle motion and which drives the driven arm (231) from the first position to the second position. A returning unit (22) is provided to return the driven arm (231) to the first position and is controllable to change an interval of time between two successive cycles of a cycle motion of the returning unit (22).

Full Text

FORGING MACHINE HAVING INTERMITTENT FEEDING MECHANISM This invention relates to a forging machine, more particularly to an intermittent feeding mechanism of a forging machine. Referring to Figure 1, a conventional forging machine includes a machine body 11 with a feeding opening 111, a reciprocating mechanism 12 which is driven by a main drive unit inside the machine body 11 and which can control the frequencies of the periodic motions of the components included in the forging machine, a feeding mechanism 13 driven by the reciprocating mechanism 12 to advance a feed material 10, a cutting mechanism 14 to cut the feed material 10, and a punching mechanism 15 to press and form the workpieces cut from the feed material 10 by the cutting mechanism 14. The punching mechanism 15 includes a front punching mechanism 151 and a rear punching mechanism 152 which are respectively provided with complementary male and female dies 153. The punching mechanism 15 further includes a clamp mechanism 154 to convey the workpieces. Each workpiece undergoes a continuous process that employs a series of dies to press the workpieces stage by stage to form final products. During the pressing operations of the punching mechanism 15, each male die must work at a predetermined speed with sufficient punching force so as to permit smooth forging of the final products . The punching force provided for each male die 153 may be calculated by dividing an overall operating power supplied to the punching mechanism 15 by the number of the male dies 153. Since the overall operating power and the number of the male dies 153 are fixed, the punching force for each male die 153 is also fixed. Thus, the forging machine is suitable only for producing products of one kind having the same forgeability. For example, if the overall operating power of a forging machine is 1200 tons and if the number of the die assemblies thereof is six, the punching force for each male die would be 200 tons. Such a forging machine is not suitable for forming a product that requires a punching force of 400 tons unless the number of the male dies thereof is reduced to three. Otherwise, another forging machine having an operating power of 2400 tons must be provided to produce the product. As described above, the conventional forging machine has low adaptability to various forged products, and can be used only for a few kinds of products. An object of the present invention is to provide a forging machine with an adjustable intermittent feeding mechanism so that the adaptability of the forging machine to various forged products may be increased. Accordingly, a forging machine of the present invention includes a cutting mechanism, a roller feed unit for advancing intermittently a feed material to the cutting mechanism, a feed drive shaft for driving the roller feed unit, a punching mechanism, a punch drive shaft for driving the punching mechanism, a reciprocating link for transmitting a driving force to the feed drive shaft and the punch drive shaft, the forging machine being characterized by: a driven arm connected coaxially to the feed drive shaft and extending radially from the feed drive shaft, the driven arm being turnable between a first position and a second position and driving the feed drive shaft whenever the driven arm turns from the first position to the second position; a swing unit driven by the reciprocating link, the swing unit being connected coaxially to the punch drive shaft for driving the punch drive shaft and including a first crank plate which extends radially from the punch drive shaft to the feed drive shaft, the first crank plate being reciprocated by the reciprocating link to perform a cycle motion, the first crank plate driving the driven arm from the first position to the second position; and a returning unit for returning the driven arm to the first position from the second position, the returning unit being movable in a cycle motion and being controllable to change an interval of time between two successive cycles of the cycle motion of the returning unit. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional forging machine; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a forging machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a rear portion of the forging machine of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation view showing a rear portion of the forging machine of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is the same view as Fig. 4 but showing that a driven arm is moved to a second position; Fig. 6 is the same view as Fig. 5 but showing that a second crank plate is moved away from the driven arm; Fig. 7 is another elevation view showing the rear portion of the forging machine of Fig. 2; and Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing how a returning unit of the forging machine of Fig. 2 is controlled. Referring to Figure 2, there is shown a forging machine embodying the present invention which includes a machine body 3 having a feed inlet opening 31, a feeding mechanism 2 to advance a feed material 20, a reciprocating mechanism 41 driven by a main drive unit 4 0 provided inside the machine body 3, a cutting mechanism 5, and a punching mechanism 6. The cutting mechanism 5 and the punching mechanism 6 are actuated by the reciprocating mechanism 41 so as to synchronize with each other. The reciprocating mechanism 41 includes a reciprocating link 411. The punching mechanism 6 includes a front punching mechanism 61 and a rear punching mechanism 62. The front and rear punching mechanisms 61, 62 are provided with complementary male and female dies 63. A clamp mechanism 64 is provided for conveying workpieces between the male dies 63 and from the cutting mechanism 5 to the male dies 63 during intervals between two successive punching motions of the punching mechanism 6. Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the feeding mechanism 2 is disposed at a rear side of the machine body 3 adjacent to the feed inlet opening 31. The feeding mechanism 2 includes a swing unit 21 driven by the reciprocating link 411/for synchronous movement therewith, a feed drive unit 23 driven by the swing unit 21, a returning unit 22 disposed above the feed drive unit 23 for returning the feed drive unit 23, and a roller feed unit 24 actuated by the feed drive unit 23. The swing unit 21 is connected coaxially to a punch drive shaft 211 which is used to actuate the punching mechanism 6 so that the punch drive shaft 211 and the punching mechanism 6 are synchronized with the swing unit 21. Since the punching mechanism 6 is known, it is not detailed hereinafter. The swing unit 21 includes a sleeve portion 210 sleeved around the punch drive shaft 211, a first crank plate 213 extending radially and rearwardly from the sleeve portion 210, and a second crank plate 212 extending radially and downwardly from the sleeve portion 210. The first and second crank plates 213 and 212 are angularly spaced apart from eachother. The second crank plate 212 is connected pivotally to the reciprocating link 411. The feed drive unit 23 is disposed at the rear side of the machine body 3 and includes a feed drive shaft 232, a driven arm 231 driven by the first crank plate 213 and connected coaxially to the feed drive shaft 232, and a drive gear 233 attached to the feed drive shaft 232 for synchronous movement therewith. The driven arm 231 has a sleeve 2311 sleeved around the feed drive shaft 232 and is turnable between a first position or a lower limit point (P) to a second position or an upper limit point (Q). The drive gear 233 is used to drive the roller feed unit 24. Referring to Figure 7 in combination with Figures 2 and 3, the roller feed unit 24 includes four rollers 241 to advance a feed material 20, and four driven gears 242 which are driven by the drive gear 233 and which are attached respectively to four shafts 243. Since the roller feed unit 24 does not form any part of the present invention, the construction thereof is not described further hereinafter. The returning unit 22 includes a telescopic device which is movable to execute an extension stroke and a retraction stroke over a cycle motion. In this embodiment, the returning unit 22 includes a gas cylinder 221 mounted on a top wall of the machine body 3, and a piston rod 222 extending outwardly from the gas cylinder 221 and connected pivotally to the driven arm 231. The returning unit 22 is controllable to change or adjust an interval of time between two successive cycles of the cycle motion of the returning unit 22. For example, the interval of time may be adjusted to be equal to a period of time that the first crank plate 231 takes to complete one cycle of its cycle motion (i.e. a two-stroke cycle consisting of a forward stroke and rearward stroke). Referring to Figure 8, the returning unit 22 maybe controlled through a control unit which may include a sensor (S), a counter (C ) and a solenoid valve (V). The sensor (S) may be disposed proximate to the first crank plate 213 to detect the cycle motion of the first crank plate 213. The counter (C ) may be any suitable type of counter. The solenoid valve (V) may be connected to the gas cylinder 221 and may be controlled through the sensor (S) and the counter (C ) to regulate the supply of gas to the gas cylinder 221. The controlling of the returning unit 22 is explained by way of example hereinafter. When the reciprocating link 411 performs a first cycle of reciprocating motion, the cutting mechanism 5, the punching mechanism 6 and the swing unit 21 each go through one cycle of reciprocating motion. The count of the counter (C ) is "0" before the motions of the reciprocating link 411, the cutting mechanism 5, the punching mechanism 6 and the swing unit 21. When the first crank plate 213 of the swing unit 21 turns clockwise to execute a first rearward stroke of its cycle motion, the driven arm 23 is moved upward from the lower limit point, i.e. the first position (P) (see Fig. 4) to the upper limit point, i.e. the second posit ion (Q) (see Fig. 5), and the count of the counter is "1." In response to this counting signal of the counter (C), the solenoid valve (V) is closed so that no gas is supplied to the gas cylinder 221. At this time, the piston rod 222 is in a retracted position, the roller feed unit 24 advances the feed material 20 a predetermined distance, the cutting mechanism 5 cuts the advanced feed material 2 0 to form a workpiece, and the workpiece is sent to a first one of the female dies 63 to be pressed by the front punching mechanism 61. When the first crank plate 213 executes a forward stroke (counterclockwise) as shown in Figure 6, the driven arm 231 does not move because the solenoid valve (V) of the returning unit 22 is not actuated. The pressure in the gas cylinder 221 is therefore controlled such that the piston rod 222 is kept in a retracted state and such that the driven arm. 23 is stopped at the upper limit point (Q). Thus, the first crank plate (213) is moved away from the driven arm 231. When the first crank plate 213 executes a rearward stroke for a second time, the cutting mechanism 5, the punching mechanism 6 and the swing unit 21 are actuated once again. However, since the driven arm 231 is at the upper limit point (Q), the first crank plate 213 swings idly so that the feed drive shaft 232 and the roller feed unit 24 are not actuated. Therefore, the cutting mechanism 5 moves idly, and no workpiece is picked up by the clamp mechanism 64 from the cutting mechanism 5. The clamp mechanism 64 conveys the workpiece from a first one of the female dies 63 to a next female die 63. As the first crank plate 213 executes the rearward stroke in the second time, the count of the counter is "2. " The counter is reset to "0" after the count of "2." At this time, the solenoid valve (V) is opened to supply gas to the gas cylinder 221 so that the piston rod 222 extends and pushes the driven arm 231 to move clockwise from the upper limit point (Q) to the lower limit point (P) where the driven arm 231 contacts the first crank plate 213 once again. When the driven arm 231 moves clockwise, the driven arm 231 does not actuate the feed drive shaft 232 because a unidirectional bearing (not shown) is provided between the driven arm 231 and the feed drive shaft 232 to control the feed drive shaft 232 to move in a single direction. As mentioned above, the returning unit 22 stops motion at an interval of time between two successive cycles of its cycle motion. The interval of time is equal to the period of time that the first crank plate 213 takes to complete one cycle of its cycle motion. When the first crank plate 213 executes the rearward stroke for the third time, the driven arm 231 is moved once again from the lower limit point (P) to the upper limit point (Q). Therefore, the driven arm 231 completes one cycle whenever the first crank plate 213 completes two cycles. Since the roller feed unit 24 is driven by the driven arm 231 and since the punching mechanism 6 is driven by the first crank plate 213, the roller feed unit 24 advances the feed material 20 one time whenever the punching mechanism 6 executes its punching stroke two times. As the cutting mechanism 5 is synchronized with the punching mechanism 6, the cutting mechanism 5 will idle one time when no feed material 20 is advanced to the cutting mechanism 5. As such, the workpiece will be supplied to every other one of the female dies 63 of the punching mechanism 6 from the cutting mechanism 5 so that the number of the female dies 63 which receive the workpieces is half of the total number of the female dies 63. When the number of the female dies 63 that receive the workpieces is reduced, the punching force received by the workpiece in each female die 63 may be increased. In case the total number of the female dies 63 is six and the total operating power provided for the punching mechanism 6 is 1200 tons, the workpiece in each of six dies 63 would receive a driving force of 200 tons. If the punching mechanism 6 is to produce a product that requires a driving force of 400 tones, the number of the dies 63 to receive the workpieces may be reduced to half of six, i.e. three, so that the driving force distributed to each female die 63 may be doubled. Such a reduction may be done by adjusting the returning unit 22 such that the interval of time between two successive cycles of the returning unit 22 is equal to a period of time that the first crank plate 213 takes to complete one cycle, as explained hereinbefore. If the number of the female dies 63 to receive the workpieces is to be reduced to one third of the total number of the female dies 63 (i.e. two), the interval of time of the returning unit 22 may be adjusted to be equal to a period of time that the first crank plate 213 takes to complete two cycles. As such, the driving force distributed to the workpiece in each female die 63 may be increased three times. WE CLAIM 1. A forging machine comprising a cutting means (5), a roller feed unit (24) for advancing intermittently a feed material (20) to said cutting means (5), a feed drive shaft (232) for driving said roller feed unit (24), a punching means (6), a punch drive shaft (211) for driving said punching means (6), a reciprocating link (411) for transmitting a driving force to said feed drive shaft (232) and said punch drive shaft (211), the forgoing machine being characterized by comprising: a driven arm (231) connected coaxially to said feed drive shaft (232) and extending radially from said feed drive shaft (232), said driven arm (231) being turnable between a first position and a second position and driving said feed drive shaft (232) whenever said driven arm (231) turns from said first position to said second position; a swing unit (21) driven by said reciprocating link (411), said swing unit (21) being connected coaxially to said punch drive shaft (211) for driving said punch drive shaft (211) and having a first crank plate (213) which extends radially from said punch drive shaft (211) to said feed drive shaft (232), said first crank plate (213) being reciprocated by said reciprocating link (411) to perform a cycle motion, said first crank plate (213) driving said driven arm (231) from said first position to said second position ; and a returning unit (22) for returning said driven arm (231) to said first position from said second position, said returning unit (22) being movable in a cycle motion and being controllable to change an interval of time between two successive cycles of said cycle motion of said returning unit (22). 2. The forging machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first crank arm (213) is synchronized with said punch drive shaft (211) and said punching means (6). 3. The forging machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said returning unit (22) comprises a gas cylinder (221) and a piston rod (222) connected to said gas cylinder (221). 4. The forging machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interval of time is equal to a period of time that said first crank plate (213) takes to complete one cycle of said cycle motion of said first crank plate (213). 5. The forging machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interval of time is equal to a period of time that said first crank plate (213) takes to complete two cycles of said cycle motion of said first crank plate (213). A forging machine comprises a driven arm (231) connected coaxially to a feed drive shaft (232) and turnable between a first position and a second position to drive the feed drive shaft (232), and a swing unit (21) driven by a reciprocating link (411) and connected coaxially to a punch drive shaft (211) to drive the punch drive shaft (211), the swing unit (21) having a first crank plate (213) which is reciprocated by the reciprocating link (411) to perform a cycle motion and which drives the driven arm (231) from the first position to the second position. A returning unit (22) is provided to return the driven arm (231) to the first position and is controllable to change an interval of time between two successive cycles of a cycle motion of the returning unit (22).

Documents:

420-KOL-2005-(28-12-2012)-FORM-27.pdf

420-KOL-2005-FORM 27.pdf

420-KOL-2005-FORM-27-1.pdf

420-KOL-2005-FORM-27.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-abstract.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-claims.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-correspondence.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-description (complete).pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-drawings.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-examination report.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-form 1.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-form 18.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-form 2.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-form 26.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-form 3.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-form 5.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-reply to examination report.pdf

420-kol-2005-granted-specification.pdf