WO1993009351A1

WO1993009351A1 - Interconnecting member

Info

Publication number: WO1993009351A1
Application number: PCT/SE1992/000746
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leif Gullblom
Original assignee: Leif Gullblom
Priority date: 1991-10-28
Filing date: 1992-10-28
Publication date: 1993-05-13
Also published as: SE468446B; AU2910892A; SE9103141L; SE9103141D0

Abstract

The invention refers to an interconnection arrangement to interconnect pairs of power cylinders. The interconnecting member itself has two faces corresponding to the width of, e.g., a power cylinder (1, 2), both faces of the interconnecting member (10) presenting along the total length of the element paired towards each other facing oblique projections (14a, 14b) having a shape corresponding to in the power cylinders cut parallel grooves. The projections (14a, 14b) do have a shape such that when the interconnecting member (10) is laid along a cylinder or a guide rail, the projections (14a, 14b) easily slide into the corresponding parallel grooves (4) of a connecting cylinder or guide rail. The interconnecting member (10) presents in its third face (11) a V-shaped cut provided with a number of threaded blind holes, and which cut receives a wedge-shaped member (20) provided with corresponding through holes and which member by means of threaded clamping means (30) may be pressed into the V-shaped cut, the wedge-shaped member (20) pressing the projections (14a, 14b) further towards each other for the locking of the interconnection arrangement.

Description

INTERCONNECTING MEMBER ¹

Technical field

The present invention relates to an interconnection arrangement for power cylinders or rodless cylinders for the interconnection of two or more cylinders, or the interconnection of a guide rail and a power cylinder or a rodless cylinder, and more exactly a double sided interconnection arrangement designed as an opposite positioned piece.

Prior art

In the use of power cylinders or rodless cylinders there is a general demand of being able to interconnect, into a compact package, two or more power cylinders or rodless cylinders or to interconnect a power cylinder or a rodless cylinder to a guide rail.

A known rodless cylinder having an arrangement for the inter¬ connection of several power cylinders is disclosed by the Swedish Patent SE 458 874 where the power cylinders are interconnected • by means of two identical but mirrored members by the use of a pair of T-shaped grooves on each side of the cylinders. This demands that each interconnecting member must to its total length be pushed into the corresponding T-shaped groove along the length of the power cylinder and then separately be locked to prevent any type of displacement action.

From SE 461 746 is disclosed an interconnection of a power cylinder and a guide rail by means of two separate interconnect¬ ing members. Interconnecting devices consisting of two portions like those in SE 458874 and SE 461 746 also do have the drawback that the members may each vary in measure in relation to the other resulting in an unsatisfactory interconnection due to that in such a case not being able to fully ensure that the intercon¬ necting members will not be inclined in relation to each other.

In an additional document SE 462402 is demonstrated on each side of the power cylinder a similar but single T-groove having arched bottom surfaces to leave space for locking screws being clamped through the interconnecting device being put into the T-shaped groove in the same manner as in the previous discussed Patent.

Another British document GB-A-2 156 480 discloses a power cylinder having longitudinal flat supporting faces with or without longitudinal grooves into which interconnecting means may be pushed in a similar way as previously mentioned, whereby a protruding trapezoidal projection is formed between two such longitudinal grooves. However, this design does not permit a fully symmetrical interconnection of the power cylinders.

In connection to this may also incidentally be mentioned a German document DE-2939422 disclosing a cylinder block having several to each other interconnected cylinders at the ends of which there are interconnection elements allowing as to the rest round cylinders to be interconnected. These cylinders furthermore are provided with a piston rod and do not actually have anything in common with the technical field referring to power cylinders or •rodless cylinders in arrangements for linear motion.

Today there is no really simple and efficient device available to in a stable way interconnect devices like two or more power cylinders or rodless cylinders alternatively a power cylinder or a rodless cylinder and a guide rail into a compact package. Among other thing there is a demand of a member which does not have to be pushed along the side of the total length of the grooves in the cylinders but may in a simple way be attached and released from the side along its total length but still provide an absolute fixing of the devices to each other and at the same time as the interconnecting device must take a minimal space as the demand is to connect the devices in a close relationship to each other.

Description of the invention

The present invention does solve the previous mentioned drawbacks byproviding an interconnection arrangement offering an intercon- necting means having an uniform contact surface for a paired interconnection of power cylinders or rodless cylinders without any risk of displacement in any direction between the power cylinders or the rodless cylinders.

Furthermore the present interconnection arrangement according to the invention does solve the previous problems by providing an interconnection member having an uniform contact surface inter¬ connecting means for paired interconnection of a guide rail and a power cylinder or a rodless cylinder without any risk of displacements in any direction between the devices.

The present invention furthermore provides an interconnection arrangement which does not have to be pushed along the power cylinders or the rodless cylinders when interconnecting but are simply fitted straight from the side.

Additionally the present invention provides an interconnection arrangement having a uniform interconnecting means having a face with a projection which fits into a corresponding groove in the power cylinder and being simply clamped by a number of clamping screws accessible from a free face of the interconnection arrangement, the projections will by shearing lock into the grooves of the power cylinder.

Furthermore the interconnection arrangement according to the present invention provides a thin interconnecting means allowing the devices to be interconnected closely together.

Description of the drawings

The invention will be described in a preferred embodiment by means of the attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view at a blind hole of an inter¬ connecting member according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlargement of a V-shaped wedge for the inter¬ connecting member according to Fig. 1 having a clamping means i the form of a screw,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of two cylinders interconnected by an interconnecting arrangement according to the present invention.

A pre erred embodiment

In Fig. 1 and 3 is demonstrates in a preferred embodiment an interconnection arrangement according to the present invention. The interconnection arrangement includes an interconnecting member 10, a wedge shaped member 25 provided with a number of through holes in which clamping means 30 are inserted. The interconnecting member has a first face 12 and a second face 13 having a total width corresponding to for example a cylinder 1 and 2,^*respectively, to be interconnected. The faces 12 and 13 are then both provided with paired inwardly to each other inclined projections 14a and 14b intended to be fit into grooves 4 in the cylinder according to prior art. The interconnecting member 10 furthermore is provided with a V-shaped cut 15 at a side face 11, the cut in the preferred embodiment stopping at an undercut groove 16. The V-shaped cut is forming shanks 20 and is furthermore provided with a number of threaded blind holes 15' distributed along the interconnecting member 10 having the same intervals and corresponding to the through holes i the wedge- shaped member 25 to accommodate the clamping means 30.

Furthermore the interconnecting member 10 is at the side faces 12 and 13 provided with additional recesses 19 on each side face between the projections 14a and 14b principally from material saving reasons. Additionally there are below the projections 14a closest to the V-shaped cut inclined cuts 18 further in below the projections 14a. The cuts 18 serve together with the recesses 19 and the undercut groove 16 to render the shanks 20 a certain amount of outward mobility. The wedge-shaped member 25 shown in Fig. 2 demonstrates in the preferred embodiment a cut blunt tip and is having an angle between its surfaces 26a and 26b being some degree or degrees larger than the angle between the inward inclined surfaces of the shanks 20 of the interconnecting member 10. This means that when the wedge-shaped member 25 is inserted into the V-shaped cut 15 of the interconnecting member and is clamped by the clamping means 30 the wedge-shaped member will press the shanks 20 outwards, locking the interconnecting member into the parallel grooves in, e.g., a cylinder 1 as is demonstrated by Fig. 3.

At each side of each projection 14a and 14b there is at least one supporting surface 17, 17a and 17b, respectively, which then will be supported by the face of, e.g., a cylinder. From this is realized that for example the side of the cylinder does not have to be fully flat, but may be allowed to show a rounded shape whereby primarily the supporting surfaces 17a and 17b between the inclined projections 14a and 14b will form the supporting face to, e.g., the cylinder.

The clamping means 30 constitute in the preferred embodiment flat countersinked screws, the through holes in the wedge shaped member 25 being provided with bevels or countersinks at the outward wider flat face 28 of the member.

Claims

1. An interconnecting arrangement for interconnection of a power cylinder or rodless cylinder, the outer face of which is provided with longitudinal parallel groves extended along all of said cylinder, having a corresponding arrangement i the shape of a cylinder or a guide rail, characterized by an interconnecting member (10) having a first face (12) and a second face (13) essentially corresponding to the width of a cylinder to be interconnected to the corresponding arrangement, said first face (12) and said second face (13) of said inter¬ connecting member (10) presenting along all the length of said interconnecting member paired inwardly to each other facing oblique projections (14a, 14b) having a shape in principal corresponding to in a power cylinder or a rodless cylinder alternatively a guide rail present parallel grooves (4), in that said inwardly to each other facing oblique projec¬ tions (14a, 14b) are designed such that said interconnecting member with its first or second face may be attached to said cylinder or said guide rail, said projections (14a, 14b) easily sliding into the corresponding longitudinal grooves (4) in said cylinder or said guide rail, in that said interconnection member (10) along a third face (11), principally in a plane perpendicular to the first and second faces (12, 13), is presenting a V-shaped cut (15) extending deeper into said interconnecting element than to the position of said projections (14a) of said first and second faces positioned closest to said third face (11) and preferably stops at an undercut groove (16), such that along said third face (11) is created two shanks (20).

2. The interconnecting arrangement according to claim 1, characterized by a wedge-shaped member (25) for insertion between said shanks (20) for pressing these somewhat outwards, said wedge shaped member presenting an acute angle between its inclined surfaces (26a, 26b) being some degree or degrees larger that the angle between said shanks (20) of said interconnecting member (10) .

3. The interconnecting arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that said interconnecting member (10) in said V-shaped cut (15) forming said shanks (20) is provided with a number of threaded blind holes (15) to receive fitting threaded clamping means (30) preferably bolts or a screws, that said wedge-shaped member (25) is provided with through holes corresponding to the positions of said threaded blind holes (15) of said interconnecting member (10), said wedge shaped member being pressed in between said shanks by said threaded clamping means (30).

4. The interconnecting arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that in connection to each of said projections (14) there is a supporting surface (17a, 17b) from which said projection is coming, whereby when said interconnection arrangement fits-up with said first face (12) or said second face (13) to a side of an arrangement have the corresponding grooves, said supporting surfaces (17a, 17b) are supporting corresponding surfaces of that arrangement when respective projections (14a, 14b) have been fitted into the grooves.

5. The interconnecting arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that inclined below each supporting surface (17a) below said two projections (14a) being closest to said V-shaped cut (15) are arranged additional cuts (18) inwardly inclined in the direction towards said third face (11) having said V-shaped cut (15) to facilitate a small motion of said projections (14a) closest to said V-shaped cut when said wedge-shaped member (25) having said threaded clamping means (30) are further clamped into said V- shaped cut between said shanks (20).

6. The interconnecting arrangement according to claim 5, characterized in that said interconnecting member (10) is produced out of a yielding tenacious material, preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

7. The interconnecting arrangement according to claim 5, characterized in that said threaded clamping means (30) are produced out of metal preferably iron or an iron alloy constituting adequate features to cooperate with said threaded blind holes (15) in the material of said interconnecting member (10).