GB2205056A

GB2205056A - Clamping vice

Info

Publication number: GB2205056A
Application number: GB08712418A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hung-Huei Chang
Original assignee: CHANG HUNG HUEI
Current assignee: CHANG HUNG HUEI
Priority date: 1987-05-27
Filing date: 1987-05-27
Publication date: 1988-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 2007-05-27
Also published as: GB8712418D0; GB2205056B; DE3718157A1

Description

i 2205056 1 Clamping Vice This invention relates to a clamping vice as

commonly used, for example, to hold a workpiece while carrying out working operations, especially machining.

A conventional vice includes a pair of vice jaws for clamping the workpiece therebetween, one vice jaw being anchored firmly in fixed position and the other jaw being movable towards and away from the fixed jaw by operating a vice handle to adjust the gap between the jaws. However, such a conventional vice has the follow- ing disadvantages:

1. The clamping operation is slow because only one vice jaw is movable; and 2. It takes time to align the center of a workpiece clamped on the vice with the center of a machine tool when mounting the vice on the table of the machine tool, thereby influencing the production rate and precision of a machining operation, such as drilling a hole or tapping a screw hole in a workpiece. - The present invention seeks to alleviate these problems and accordingly provides a vice comprising a frame, a pair of jaws mounted on the frame and guided for movement thereon towards and away from each other, driving means coupled to the jaws for opening and closing the jaws, a pair of opposed racks connected to the respective jaws, and a pinion meshing with the racks t whereby the jaws are constrained to move synchronously in opposite directions.

With such a vice the racks and pinion or gear which meshes with them ensure that the jaws are always symmetrical with respect to a given center and always move equally and oppositely. The vice of the invention mav be referred to as a bi-directional clamping vice.

A preferred form of bi-directional clamping vice embodying the invention has a body adapted to be fixed on a machine tool, a pair of movable vice jaws movably mounted on two rails formed on a top plate of the vice body, and a driving member for driving one of the vice jaws to move along the rails, each movable vice jaw being provided with a rack extending parallel with the two rails, and the racks engaging from opposite sides an intermediate gear which is rotatably supported by the vice body, so that when the driving member is operated to cause said one jaw to move along the two rails, the other jaw is caused to move synchronously in the opposite direction, whereby the two movable vice jaws are moved synchronously towards or away from each other by operating the driving member, to enable a quicker clamping operation.

A full understanding of the invention will be gained from the following detailed description which is given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment; Fig- 3 is a bottom plan view of the first embodiment with the rack-limiting plate removed; Fig. 4 is an illustration showing the alignment of the vice with a machine tool; Fig- 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention; k Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the second embodiment, being viewed from below; and Fig. 7 shows a present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

further application of the As shown in Figs. 1 - 3, the first embodiment of the present invention comprises: a vice body 1, a driving member 2, a first vice jaw 3, a second vice jaw-4, and an intermediate gear 5.

The vice body 1 includes a base plate 11 being formed with several screw holes 111 adapted to be fixed onto the table of a machine tool, a rectangular casing 12 formed on base plate 11 having two bearing holes 121 transversely formed on its two longitudinal walls 120, a pair of rails 13A, 13B respectively formed on the two longitudinal edges of the horizontal top plate 13C of casing 12, two longitudinal openings 14, 14A respectively disposed on the right and the left portion of the top plate 13C, and two side lugs 15A, 15B (Fig. 3) respectively protruding from the inside wall of the two longitudinal walls 120 of casing 12.

Driving member 2 includes a screw-rod 21 having male threads 211 formed thereon, a fixing block 22 rotatably mounting the screw rod 21 therein and fixed on casing 12 by screws 221 and 222, and a handle23 adapted to be removably mounted on the outer end of screw-rod 21 as spaced by a washer 231.

The first vice jaw 3 includes: a first 3aw portion 31 fixed on a first sliding block 32 having a 1 r female-threaded hole 320 longitudinally formed in the block 32 to movably engage with male-threaded screw-rod 21, a first lower extension 321 protruding downwards from block 32 through right longitudinal opening 14, two recesses 322 formed under block 32 to slidingly engage with two ra- ils 13A, 13B as separated by first lower extension.321, two guide plates 34 each fixed underneath block 32 to prevent each rail from disengaging from each recess 322, and a first rack 33 having formed rack teeth 331 and secured to first lower extension 321 by screws 332 and being capable of parallelly sliding under top plate 13a.

The second vice jaw 4 includes a second jaw portion 41 fixed on a second sliding block 42, a second lower extension 421 protruding downwards from block 42 through the left longitudinal opening 14a, two recesses 422 formed under block 42 to slidingly engage with the two rails 13A, 13B as separated by the second lower extension 421, two guide plates 44 each fixed under block 42 to prevent each rail from disengaging from each recess 422, and a second rack 43 having formed rack teeth 431 and secured to second lower extension 421 by screws 432 and being capable of parallelly moving below the top plate 13C. The length of second lower extension 421 is greater than that of first lower extension 321 to allow the two racks 33, 43 to engage with an intermediate gear 5 from opposite sides as shown in Fig. 2.

The intermediate gear 5 includes a horizontal central shaft 51 transversely across the two walls 120 1 c - rotatably mounted in two needle bearings 52 provided in two bearing holes 121 on two longitudinal walls 120 of vice body 1. The upper teeth of gear 5 engage with rack teeth 331 of first rack 33, whereas the lower teeth of gear 5 engage with rack teeth 431 of second rack 43. A limiting plate 53 is horizontally positioned under second rack 43 and fixed onto two side lugs 15A, 15B by screws 531, so as to support second rack 43.

When clamping a work piece W as shown in Fig. 2 upon the rotation of handle 23 to drive first vice jaw 3 leftwards, first rack 33 is also driven leftwards to rotate gear 5 counterclockwise to thereby move second rack 43 rightwards and thus move second jaw 4 rightwards synchronously, so as to clamp work piece W between two jaws 3, 4 as they move synchronously towards each other.

Accordingly, the synchronously clamping movement of two jaws 3, 4 may clamp a work piece in a quicker way than a conventional vice. Furthermore, in order to align the center of a work piece with a machine tool M as shown in Fig. 4 (such as a drill D) the two jaw portions 31, 41can be moved to combine together to form a boundary line L to align with the center of drill D of machine tool M and then fix the vice on the table of the machine tool M. Afterwards, when drilling the center of a work piece such as a circular washer, two jaws 3, 4 can be directly moved to clamp the work piece ready for drilling without wasting time to further check the center of the vice and the work piece.

1 T The clamping surfaces 31a, 41a of jaws 3, 4 facing with each other should be perpendicular to horizontal top plate 13C and rails 13A, 13B since jaws 3, 4 slidingly horizontally move along the rails.

The top plate 13C and the limiting plate 53 parallelly define the horizontal reciprocative movement of the two racks 33, 43 therebetween to prevent the unstable movement of the racks and the jaws.

As shown in Fig. 3, several retainers are provided to fix gear 5 and central shaft 51 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of this invention, which includes vice body 1, driving member 2, a first vice jaw 3, and second vice jaw 4, and an intermediate gear 5; first vice jaw 3 and second vice jaw 4 are respectively provided with first lower extension 321 and second lower extension 421, first lower extension 321 and second lower extension 421 being of equal height. As shown in Fig. 6, first lower extension 321 is provided with a first rack 33A fixed onto one side of first lower extension 321 with cap screws 332 and extending parallel with the pair of rails 13A, 13B. Similarly, second lower extension 421 is provided with a second rack 43A fixed onto one side of second lower extension 421 with cap screws 432 and extending parallel with first rack 33A. Intermediate gear 5, having a vertical central shaft 51 with two ends respectively supported by top plate 13C and a lower plate 53 (Fig. 5) is disposed inbetween first rack 33A and-second rack 43A, i S - so that first rack 33A and second rack 43A both engage with intermediate gear 5 from opposite sides of intermediate gear 5 which is rotatably supported onto central shaft 51 with a needle bearing. As shown in Fig. 6, first rack 33A has a back side slidably engaging with an inner side lug 15A at one side of casing 12, and second rack 43A has a back side slidably engaging with another inner side lug 15B at the opposite side of casing 12.

In the above described second embodiment, when first vice jaw 3 is caused to move in one direction by operating driving member 2, second vice jaw 4is caused to move in the opposite direction, as in the case of the first embodiment.

Screw-rod 21 can be replaced by a hydraulic or pneumatic system such as by fixing a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 6 on a side wall of vice body 1 as shown in Fig. 7.

tk k 0- 1 -

Claims

CLAIMS:

I. A vice comprising a frame, a pair of jaws mounted on the frame and guided for movement thereon towards and away from each other, driving means coupled to the jaws for opening and closing the jaws, a pair of opposed racks connected to the respective jaws, and a pinion meshing. with the racks whereby the jaws are constrained to move synchronously in opposite directions.

to
2. A clamping vice comprising a vice body including a rectangular side casing, a generally horizontal top plate on the side casing, and a pair of rails formed on said top plate, a first vice jaw and a second vice jaw mounted for movement along said rails towards and away from each other, driving means for driving said first vice jaw along the rails, each of gaid first and second vice jaws being provided with a downwardly directed extension supporting a rack extending parallel with said pair of rails, and an intermediate gear disposed between and in meshing engagement with said two racks, whereby when said first vice jaw is caused to move in one direction, said second vice jaw is caused to move synchronously in the opposite direction.
3. A clamping vice according to claim 2, wherein said intermediate gear has a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably supported by said vice body.
4. A clamping vice according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said racks are respectively guided by said top plate and by a limiting plate having opposite ends fixed to the inside of said vice body side casing.
5.

A clamping vice according to claim 29 wherein said intermediate gear has a substantially vertical shaft having the ends thereof respectively supported by said top plate of said vice body and by a plate having opposite ends fixed to lugs provided on the inside of said vice body side casing, and said intermediate gear is supported rotatably on said shaft by a bearing.
6. A clamping vice according to claim 5, wherein each of said racks has a rear face slidably engaged with one of said inner side lugs.
7. A clamping vice according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein said driving means is a screw rod in screw thread engagement with said first vice jaw.
8. A clamping vice according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein said driving means is a pneumatic cylinder.
9. A clamping vice according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein said driving means is a hydraulic cylinder.
10. A clamping vice substantially an herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 Published 1988 at The Patent Office, Etate House, 6671 Figh Holborn. London WC1R 4TP. Further copies May be obtained from The Patent Office, Sales Branch. St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BIR5 3RD. Printed by Multiplex techniques Itd, St Mary Cray, Kent. Con. 1/87.

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