GB2382316A

GB2382316A - Bar stacking and supply apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2382316A
Application number: GB0128245A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lewis J Passow
Original assignee: HYDRAFEED Ltd
Current assignee: HYDRAFEED Ltd
Priority date: 2001-11-24
Filing date: 2001-11-24
Publication date: 2003-05-28
Also published as: GB0128245D0

Abstract

An apparatus 5 for enabling the stacking of bars 15 and the supply thereof to a lathe, comprising a support 7 on which a stack of a plurality of layers of the bars 15 may be retained, and a gate member locatable in a position spaced a distance D above the support, in use the gate member 23 retaining each layer of bars 15 on the support, 7 other than a single layer, said distance permitting said single layer of the bars 15 to pass below the gate member 23 along the support and thereby to be supplied to the lathe.

Description

Bar Stacking and Supplv Apparatus The present invention relates to lathes and the supply of bars to be worked on by the lathe. The invention particularly relates to the automatic feeding of bars to lathes, especially computer numerically controlled (CNC) lathes.

Conventionally, bars are fed to CNC lathes by being loaded by hand onto a support, generally known as a"magazine", in a single row or layer. A flat upper surface of the support, on which the bars (known as"bar stock") are held, is inclined to the horizontal so that the bars are fed, by gravity, to a stop which permits one bar at a time to be automatically loaded into a feed channel and then fed into the lathe.

The present invention seeks to provide an apparatus which increases the capacity of a bar feeder magazine in a simple and reliable manner, thereby enabling a lathe fed by the magazine to run unattended for longer periods, for example overnight.

According to a first aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for enabling the stacking of bars and the supply thereof to a lathe, comprising a support on which a stack of a plurality of layers of the bars may be retained, and a gate member locatable in a position spaced a distance above the support, in use the gate member retaining each layer of bars on the support, other than a single layer, said distance permitting said single layer of the bars to pass below the gate member along the support and thereby to be supplied to the lathe.

The invention has the advantage that the gate member allows many more bars to be retained on the support in a stack of a plurality of layers of the bars, rather than merely in a single layer as hitherto. This increase in capacity is achieved while at the same time providing a controlled and reliable supply of the bars, by the gate member being positioned spaced a distance above the

support thereby permitting only a single layer of the bars to pass between the gate member and the support.

Preferably the bars are supplied to the lathe by a gravity feed. To this end, the support is preferably inclined to the horizontal in a direction downwardly towards the gate member. The bars preferably either slide or roll under gravity towards, and under, the gate member.

The support preferably comprises at least part of a"magazine"for the bars.

The supply of bars to the lathe by means of the apparatus according to the invention is preferably via one or more intermediate device (s) referred to herein as a"bar feed". The bar feed is preferably conventional. Preferably, therefore, the apparatus according to the invention does not supply bars directly to a lathe chuck or spindle, but instead supplies the bars to a bar feed which in turn supplies the bars to the lathe mechanism itself.

Advantageously, the single layer of bars which is permitted to pass below the gate member along the support abuts against a stop member situated on the opposite side of the gate member to the stack of bars. The stop member preferably allows a single bar at a time to exit the support, for example into a bar feed which then feeds the bar into the lathe. The stop member preferably forms part of the bar feed mechanism, or at least preferably is synchronized with the bar feed mechanism.

The bars themselves may have substantially any cross-sectional shape, and may be made from substantially any material suitable to be worked on by a lathe. For example, the bars may be substantially circular, substantially hexagonal or substantially square in cross-section. The bars may be made from metal or plastic material, for example.

The support preferably includes one or more retaining member (s) which, in cooperation with the gate member retain (s) the stack of bars on the support. For example, an edge of the support opposite to, and spaced apart from the gate member preferably includes (at or near the edge) a retaining plate (which may be framework or mesh, for example) which cooperates with the gate member to retain a stack of bars between itself and the gate member. There may be additional retaining members at or near the edges of the support extending between the gate member and the retaining plate. The support and the retaining members together preferably comprise a magazine for the bars.

The single layer of bars which is permitted to pass below the gate member to be supplied to the lathe is preferably the bottom-most layer of bars in the stack.

Advantageously, in use, at least a part of the gate member may be inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the layers of the bars and/or the gate member may be convexly curved. The direction of inclination and/or curvature is preferably generally downwardly towards the support and generally rearwardly away from the stack of bars (and towards the lathe). This has the important advantage of enabling the apparatus to be arranged such that the bars do not become jammed or wedged between the gate member and the support, but instead pass smoothly into and through this gap. It has been found that a convexly curved gate member (i. e. with the convex curvature arranged generally facing the stack and the support) is particularly effective in helping to prevent jamming. Preferably the curvature substantially takes the form of a segment of a circle in cross-section, but in other embodiments the curvature may be non-circular (for example a segment of a parabola in cross-section, or a non-uniform curve).

In some embodiments of the invention, the gate member may be locatable such that it is spaced only a single fixed distance above the support. In order to provide a range of spacing above the support, for example to accommodate

different cross-sectional sizes of bar, a plurality of gate members may be provided, any one of which at a time may be located in said position spaced a distance above the support, each of the gate members being so locatable at a different spacing above the support to each other gate member.

More preferably, however, the gate member is locatable in a range of positions spaced differing distances above the support (for example to accommodate different cross-sectional sizes of bar). Even more preferably, the gate member may be locatable in a continuous range of positions spaced at differing distances above the support.

In particularly preferred embodiments, the apparatus according to the invention includes a mounting structure by which the gate member is locatable with respect to the support. Preferably the mounting structure enables the gate member to be located at the above mentioned range of positions; even more preferably it enables the gate member to be located at the above mentioned continuous range of positions. Advantageously, the mounting structure may be attached or attachable directly to the support.

According to a second aspect, the invention provides a device comprising a mounting structure and a gate member mounted thereon, the mounting structure being attachable to a support for supplying bars to a lathe, such that when the device is so attached, a stack of a plurality of layers of the bars may be retained on the support, and the gate member may be positioned, by means of the mounting structure, such that it is spaced a distance above the support whereby the gate member retains each layer of bars on the support other than a single layer, said distance permitting said single layer of the bars to pass below the gate member along the support and thereby to be supplied to the lathe.

Preferably the mounting structure comprises a pair of frame members which are attachable to the support at opposite sides thereof. Each frame member preferably carries a screw threaded shaft which, in use, is preferably

arranged substantially perpendicular to the plane of the support. Each threaded shaft is preferably rotatably attached to its respective frame member at opposite ends of the shaft. The screw thread of each shaft preferably carries a respective screw threaded block, and each block preferably supports an end of the gate member, which extends between each of the two blocks. Thus, the gate member may be raised or lowered with respect to the support, by turning the screw threaded shafts (which cause the threaded blocks to move up or down the shafts). The threaded shafts are preferably turned by means of one or two handles. Advantageously, one or two rotatable handles arranged on a generally horizontal axis may be connected to the screw threaded shafts by means of perpendicularly disposed mutually engaging bevel gears.

The gate member preferably comprises a plurality (e. g. 2,3, 4 or more) of gate member parts which are spaced apart from each other and mutually

connected by one or more interconnecting member (s). Advantageously, one or more of the gate member parts may be slidable along the interconnecting member (s).

According to a third aspect, the invention provides a bar feed for a lathe, including an apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to a fourth aspect, the invention provides a lathe, including an apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention or a bar feed according to the third aspect of the invention. Preferably the lathe is a computer numerically controlled (CNC) lathe.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows, in end view and partial cross-section, an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention attached to a bar feed of a lathe ;

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a gate member of an apparatus according to the invention; and Figure 3 shows, in cross-section, a detail of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows an end view of a conventional bar feed 1 of a lathe 3.

Attached to a side of the bar feed 1 is an apparatus 5 according to the invention. The apparatus 5 comprises a support 7 which is a generally flat structure inclined to the horizontal such that it slopes downwardly towards the bar feed 1 to which it is attached by means of three brackets 9 (only one of which is shown). The support 7 is also supported by a pair of struts 11 (only one of which is shown) which extend between an underside of the support and a base 13 of the bar feed and lathe.

A stack of a plurality (five as illustrated) of layers of bars 15 are retained on the sloping support 7. A retaining member in the form of a retaining plate 17 situated along an edge of the support 7 furthest from the bar feed holds the stack in place. Additionally, lower retaining members 19 situated along each edge of the support extending substantially perpendicularly from the bar feed serve to guide the bottom-most layer 21 of the stack of bars 15.

The gate member 23 of the apparatus is located above the support towards the lower-most edge of the support near the bar feed 1. The gate member 23 is convexly curved in cross-section, its convex curvature facing generally towards the stack of bars 15 and the support 7. The convex curve comprises a segment of a circle (but other, non-circular, curves could be used).

An upper part 23b of the gate member substantially perpendicular to the support 7, however, is generally flat.

As shown in Figure 1, the gate member 23 is spaced a distance D above the support, such that the gate member retains each layer of the stack of bars

other than the bottom-most layer 21 which is allowed to pass below the gate member 23 along the support towards the bar feed 1 (under the influence of gravity). This is because the distance D is greater than the depth of one layer of the stack of bars 15 (i. e. greater than the diameter of one bar) but less than the depth of two layers of the stack of bars.

I Because the gate member 23 is convexly curved such that it curves in a direction generally downwardly towards the support and generally rearwardly away from the stack of bars, the bars are substantially prevented from becoming jammed between the gate member and the support 7. Instead, the bars 15 flow, or filter, between the gate member and the support in a smooth manner.

The conventional bar feed 1 includes a conventional stop member 25 which is synchronized with the rest of the bar feed mechanism to allow a single bar 15 at a time to pass from the support 7 to the bar feed 1, and thence to the lathe 3 to be worked on.

Figure 2 shows the gate member 23 of Figure 1, in isolation. The gate member 23 actually comprises a plurality (three as illustrated) of gate member parts 27, each of which is convexly curved. The gate member parts 27 are spaced apart from each other and mutually connected by a pair of interconnecting rod members 29. Each of the gate member parts is slidable along the rod members, as indicated by the double headed arrows.

The opposite ends of the rod members 29 of the gate member 23 are attached to respective screw threaded blocks 31, each of which is threadedly attached to a respective screw threaded shaft 33 arranged at right angles to the rod members 29. As shown in Figure 3 (which is a cross-sectional illustration of one end of the apparatus), each shaft 29 is rotatably attached to a respective frame member 35 of the mounting structure for the gate member, the frame member itself being attached to the underside of the support by means of a

bracket 37. The lowermost end of each shaft 33 has a bevel gear 39 fixedly attached thereto, and this bevel gear 39 is inter-engaged with a cooperating bevel gear 41 arranged at right angles to it. Bevel gear 41 is fixedly mounted on a control shaft 43 which has a handle 45 attached at one end thereof. The opposite end (not shown) of the control shaft 43 is mechanically connected to the opposite end of the gate member 23 in the same way. By turning the handle 45, an operator may therefore raise or lower the gate member 23 with respect to the support 7 to produce the correct gap D between the gate member and the support for each diameter of bar 15.

Claims

Claims 1. An apparatus for enabling the stacking of bars and the supply thereof to a lathe, comprising a support on which a stack of a plurality of layers of the bars may be retained, and a gate member locatable in a position spaced a distance above the support, in use the gate member retaining each layer of bars on the support, other than a single layer, said distance permitting said single layer of the bars to pass below the gate member along the support and thereby to be supplied to the lathe.
2. An apparatus according to Claim 1, in which said single layer of bars is the bottom-most layer of bars in the stack.
3. An apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which, when the gate member is located in said position in use, at least a part thereof is inclined with respect to a direction perpendicular to the layers of the bars, the direction of inclination being generally downwardly towards the support and generally rearwardly away from the stack of bars.
4. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which at least a part of the gate member is convexly curved such that when it is located in said position in use, it curves in a direction generally downwardly towards the support and generally rearwardly away from the stack of bars.
5. An apparatus according to Claim 4, in which said convex curve substantially has the form of a segment of a circle, in cross-section.
6. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the gate member is locatable such that it is spaced only a single fixed distance above the support.

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7. An apparatus according to Claim 6, including a plurality of gate members, any one of which at a time may be located in said position spaced a distance above the support, each of the gate members being so locatable at a different spacing above the support to each other gate member.
8. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the gate member is locatable in a range of positions spaced at differing distances above the support.
9. An apparatus according to Claim 8, in which the gate member is locatable in a continuous range of positions spaced at differing distances above the support.
10. An apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a mounting structure by which the gate member is locatable with respect to the support.
11. An apparatus according to Claim 10, in which the mounting structure is attached or attachable directly to the support.
12. A device comprising a mounting structure and a gate member mounted thereon, the mounting structure being attachable to a support for supplying bars to a lathe, such that when the device is so attached, a stack of a plurality of layers of the bars may be retained on the support, and the gate member may be positioned, by means of the mounting structure, such that it is spaced a distance above the support whereby the gate member retains each layer of bars on the support other than a single layer, said distance permitting said single layer of the bars to pass below the gate member along the support and thereby to be supplied to the lathe.

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13. An apparatus according to Claim 10 or Claim 11, or a device according to claim 12, in which the mounting structure enables the gate member to be spaced at a range of differing distances from the support.
14. An apparatus or device according to Claim 13, in which said range is a continuous range.
15. An apparatus or device according to any one of claims 10 to 14, in which the mounting structure includes at least one handle by which the gate member may be raised or lowered with respect to the support.
16. An apparatus or device according to any preceding claim, in which the gate member comprises a plurality of gate member parts which are spaced apart from each other and mutually connected by one or more interconnecting member (s).
17. An apparatus or device according to any preceding claim, in which the

support is inclined to the horizontal in a direction downwardly towards the "gate member, the bars being supplied towards and below the gate member by gravity.
18. A bar feed for a lathe, including an apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or 13 to 17.
19. A lathe, including an apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or 13 to 17, or a bar feed according to Claim 18.
20. A lathe according to Claim 19, which is a computer numerically controlled (CNC) lathe.
21. An apparatus or device substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying figures.

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22. An apparatus or device substantially as illustrated in the accompanying figures.