US2964829A - Clip punch - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1960. R. H. SPENGLER ETAL 2,964,829

CLIP PUNCH Filed May 14, 1956 ROBERT A. s ls-N54 ER C 7-50 /-7 5/904 u/vo United States Patent CLIP PUNCH Robert H. Spengler and Ted F. Brolund,.Rockford, Ill., assignors to W. A. Whitney Mfg. Co., Rockford, 111., a corporationof Illinois Filed May 14, 1956, Ser. No. 584,790 3 Claims. (Cl. 29 -211) This invention relates to punches for use in sheet metal work where two or more abutting flanges or an interfitting flange and channel require fastening together, and

is moreparticularly concerned with an improved clip punch designed not only to punch out from the twoparts atongue of metal substantially at right angles, as was done'with previous clip punches, but also in the same stroke of the lever bend this tongue over and clinch it down tightly, so that an extra hammering operation, otherwise'required, is eliminatedand a lot of time saved and a better and more uniform job performed.

In the clip punch of ourinvention we provide one reciprocable punch member to punch out the tongue in the first portion of the movement of the lever, and a second reciprocable punch member operated by the same lever in the rest of its stroke to bend the projecting tongueover and clinch it down, thereby eliminating the extra operation that the workman had to do with a hammer or other tool in a more orless makeshift fashion when previous clip punches were used.

The invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of'a clip punch madein accordance with our invention, a portion of the lower jaw being shown in section to better illustrate the construe ltion and also permit showing in dotted lines. the tongue out by the upper punch, the latter being shown at the end of its down-stroke with the tongue in readiness for the clinching operation that is performed by the lower punch;

Fig. 2' is a view similar to Fig. lshowing the lower punch at the end of its up-stroke, clinching the tongue after having bent it over; 1

Figs. 3 and 4 are two perspective views of two interfitting sheet metal pieces showing in Fig. 3 the projecting tongue and in Fig. 4 how this tongue appears when bent over and clinched down, and

Fig. 5 is anend view of Fig. 1.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring to the drawing, the upper punch element, which is D-shaped in cross-section, is designated by the reference numeral 6, and the lower punch element by the reference numeral 7. The upper element 6, as will soon appear, cuts and bends out the D-shaped tongue 8 from the rib 9 defined by the interfitting flange and channel portions of two pieces 10 and 11 of sheet metal, and punch 7 bends the tongue 8 over and clinches it down flat, as illustrated at 12 in Fig. 4, all in one stroke of the lever 13.

Insofar as the operation of the upper punch element 6 I is concerned, the punch designated generally by the reference numeral 14 follows generally the construction dis closed in Spengler Patent No. 1,510,451 and comprises a head 15 having formed integrally therewith upper and lower jaws 16 and 17, respectively, and a handle 18. The lower jaw 17 carries an anvil or die 19 having a vertical D-shaped bore 20 in which the upper punch element '6 operates, the one side of the bore corresponding 2,964,829 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 to the straightside of the D being cut away, as indicated at 21, so that the punch element 6 cuts and bends out-a D-shaped tongue, bending it substantially at right angles to the rib 9, as at 8 in Fig. 3. The die 19 also has a transverse bore 22 provided thereinjust'below the-range of operation of the upper punch 6 in bore 20, and the lower punch 7 is reciprocable in bore 22 and, when it is extended, as shown in Fig. 2, through the cut-away side 21 of bore 20. it bends the tongue 8 over and clinches it down, as shown at 12 in Fig. 4. In this movement, the punch 7 extends through a cut-away portion 23 provided on the upper front portion'of the lower jaw l7 inregistelr withthe cut-away portion 21 of die 19. The die 19 is received in a bore 24 provided therefor in the lower jaw 17 and is secured in place by means of a cross-pin 25 that has a press fit in registering holes provided therefor in the jaw 17 and die 19.

In line with the dis-closure of Spengler Patent No. 1,510,451, the punch 14 has an arm 26 pivoted at one end, as at 27, on the upper jaw 16, and provided with a T-slot 28 in the other end slidably receiving the T-shaped upper end portion-29 of the upper punch element 6. An car 30 on the top of the forward end of arm 26 isvpivotally connected, as at 31, to the end portion of the lever 13, which in turn is pivotally mounted, as at 32, between the upper ends of a pair of plates 33 whose lower ends are pivotally connected to the head 15, as. at 34. Thus, pivotal movement of the lever 13 downwardly from the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 1 to the full line position gives the upper punch element 6 its down-stroke, and inasmuch as the pivot 31 at the end of the down-stroke is so near a dead-center with respect to pivots 32 and 34 the punch element 6 will not be given any further perceptible downward movement in the further small downward swing of lever 13 required to operate the punch element 7, as shown in Fig. 2. When the lever 13 is returned to the raised fully retracted position indicated in dot-ted lines in Fig. l the upper punch element 6 is fully retracted and the work indicated in dotted lines at 9 in Figs." 1 and 2 is free and can be removed or shifted to a new position for the next operation or a new piece can be inserted. In Spengler Patent No. 1,510,451 a flat leaf spring is shown on head 15 under the arm 26 to assist in retracting the upper punch element 6, and such a leaf spring may be mounted on the flat top surface 35 of head .15 if. desired. An adjustable stop 36 is slidable in a horizontal guideway 37 on one side of the head 15 and has a right angle end portion 38 for locating abutment with the work 9 in a predetermined spaced relationship to the punch element 6. A set screw 39 threaded in a hole in the side of the head 15 extends through a longitudinal slot 40 provided in the stop 36 and when tightened serves to clamp the stop in adjusted position. In that way the tongue 8 can be punched out of the rib 9 just far enough from the plane of the walls 10 and 11 to allow room enough for the tongue to be bent over and clinched down, as shown at 12 in Fig. 4.

The lower punch element 7 is slidably pivotally connected at its forked outer end, as at 41, to the front end of a bell-crank lever 42 which has a working fit in a vertical slot 43 provided on a downwardly projectiong portion 44 on the bottom of the head 15 and is pivoted intermediate its ends in the portion 44, as indicated at 45. A coiled tension spring 46 connects the rear end of the lever 42 with the bottom of the handle 18 and serves normally to hold the lever 42 in the raised retracted position of Fig. 1 holding the lower punch element 7 retracted. However, the lever 42 is arranged to be swung downwardly against the resistance of the spring 46 to move the lower punch element 7 forwardly to bend the tongue 8 over and clinch it against the rib 9, as shown at 12 in Fig. 4. This occurs in the last-portion'of the downward stroke of the lever 13 from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 2, this move ment being obtained by the engagement of lever 13.with

-a roller 47 mounted between the upper endsof a pair 'of plates 48 disposed onopposite sides of handle 18 and having their lower ends pivotally connected to the rear end pin 50, and, as seen in Fig. 2, always remain inclined toward said pin. In the last portion of downward movement of the lever 13, the lower punch element 7 is moved forwardly with appreciable mechanical advantage to attend to clinching the tongue 8, as at 12 in Fig. 4, with very little effort on the operators part. When the lever 13 is returned to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 the spring 46 returns the parts associated with lower punch element 7 to the position shown in Fig. 1 before the upper punch element 6 is retracted.

In operation, the work is placed in the punch in abutment with stop 38, as seen in dotted lines at 9. The lever 13 is swung down from the dotted line position of Fig. l and first operates punch element 6, as shown in Fig. l, to cut the tongue 8 and bend it down at right angles to rib 9. In the further downward movement of lever 13, while punch 6 is on what amounts to a dwell and its annular shoulder 52 is holding the work tightly clamped on anvil 53, punch 7 is operated, as seen in Fig. 2, to clinch the tongue firmly, as shown at 12 in Fig.4. The lever 13 strikes the handle 18 at the end of the operation thereby signalling to the operator when it is time to return the lever 13 to the starting position for the next operation. This also prevents any likelihood of the work being damaged by moving the lower punch element 7 too far, and it insures close uniformity in the clinching of all of the tongues. The operation takes very little time and the resulting job is far superior to what was obtainable with prior clip punches where the projecting tongues had to be hammered down.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of our invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

We claim:

l. A punch of the character described comprising a head providing upper and lower spaced jaw portions and having a handle extending therefrom rearwardly with respect to said jaw portions, a punch element slidable endwise in the upper jaw into a bore provided in a die in the lower jaw, the bore being open on the front whereby said punch element is adapted to cut a tongue for clip purposes from a piece of work inserted between the jaws and bend the tongue substantially at right angles to the work into the open front of the bore, a lever pivoted with respect to said head and operatively connected with said punch element to reciprocate the same and swingable in the vertical plane of said head and handle and toward the latter in the down-stroke of said punch element, another punch element reciprocable endwise in a fore and aft direction in the lower jaw in transverse relation to and forwardly past the lower end of the first mentioned punch element into the open front of said bore at the end of the downstroke of the first mentioned punch element, whereby to bend the tongue through another 90 so that it lies fiat against the underside of the work, a bell-crank lever pivoted intermediate its ends on the bottom of the lower jaw'and operatively connected at one end to the last mentioned punch element, means operatively connected with the other end'of said bell-crank lever and extending upwardly therefrom and guided on the handle for reciprocatory movement by means of said lever in the last portion of its operating movement toward said handle, and spring means normally urging the last mentioned punch element to a retracted position, the next to the last mentioned means comprising a pair of plates disposed on opposite sides of the handle pivotally connected at their lower ends to the bell-crank lever on opposite sides thereof and having an abutment for said lever extending between the upper ends thereof above said handle.

2. A- punch of the character described comprising a head providing upper and lower spaced jaw portions and having a handle extending therefrom rearwardly with respect to said jaw portions, a punch element slidable endwise in'the upper jaw into a bore provided in a .die in the lower jaw, the bore being open on the front whereby said punch element is adapted to cut a tongue for clip purposes from a piece of work inserted between the jaws and bend the tongue substantially at right angles to the work into the open front of the bore, a lever pivoted with respect to said head and operatively connected with said punch-element to reciprocate the same and swingable in the vertical plane of said head and handle and toward the latter in the down-stroke of said punch element, another punch element reciprocable endwise in a fore and aft direction in the lower jaw in transverse relation to and forwardly past the lower end of the first mentioned punch element into the open front of said bore at the end of the downstroke of the first mentioned punch element, whereby to bend the tongue through another sothat it lies fiat against the underside of the work, a bell-crank lever pivoted intermediate its ends on the bottom ofthe lower jaw and operatively connected at one end to the last rnentionedpunch element, -rneans operatively connected with the other end of said bell-crank lever and extending upwardly therefrom and guided on the handle for reciprocatory movement by means of said lever in the last portion of its operating movement toward said handle, and spring means normally urging the last mentioned punch element to a retracted position, the next to the last mentioned means comprising a pair of plates disposed on opposite sides of the handle pivotally connected at their lower ends to the bell-crank lever on opposite sides thereof and having an abutment for said lever extending between the upper ends thereof above said handle, said plates being oscillatable with respect to said bell-crank lever through a predetermined angularity determined by guide projections on said handle.

3. A punch of the character described comprising a head providing spaced first and second jaw portions adapted to receive work therebetween to be punched, a punch element slidable endwise in the first jaw into a bore provided in a die in the second jaw, a lever pivoted with respect to said head and operatively connected-1by;tpgg1e means with said punch element to move itonj t's Working stroke by movement toward a dead centef position of said toggle means, another punch element'recipro'able endwise in the second jaw crosswise relative to the first punch element, and means operable by said leve'f'when. l the toggle means is close to dead center position for oper-v ating the last mentioned punch element on its working stroke.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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