Transfer device

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION WITH A MULTI-STATIONED MACHINE TOOL OF THE TYPE HAVING LINEARLY SPACED WORK STATIONS OPEN TO THE FRONT AND INCLUDING UPSTANDING WORK-PIECE HOLDING MANDRELS AT EACH STATION, A TRANSFER DEVICE, COMPRISING, A BASE MEMBER EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE MACHINE TOOL BED, ADJACENT THE WORK STATIONS; A FIRST TABLE MOUNTED ON THE BASE AND MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF ALONG THE FRONT EDGE OF THE MACHINE TOOL BED; A SECOND TABLE MOUNTED ON THE FIRST TABLE AND MOVABLE CROSS-WISE THEREOF; A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING THIRD TABLE MOUNTED ON THE SECOND TABLE AND MOVABLE VERTICALLY THEREOF; A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY EXTENDING CLAMP MEMBERS, HAVING TERMINAL GRIPPER FINGERS, MOUNTED ON THE THIRD TABLE IN LINEAL SPACED RELATION MATCHING THAT OF THE WORK-STATION MANDRELS; THE FIRST TABLE BEING MOVABLE IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION WHEREIN THE CLAMP MEMBERS ARE ALIGNED WITH ALL THE WORK STATIONS, AND A SECOND POSITION WHEREIN THE CLAMP MEMBERS ARE ALIGNED WITH THE STATIONS IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THOSE WITH WHICH THEY WERE ALIGNED WHEN THE TABLE WAS IN ITS FIRST POSITION; A FIRST PNEUMATIC CYLINDER MOUNTED ON THE BASE MEMBER, HAVING ITS PISTON ROD CONNECTED TO THE FIRST TABLE, THE PISTON ROD BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, THE TABLE BEING IN ITS FIRST POSITION WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS FIRST POSITION, AND IN ITS SECOND POSITION WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS SECOND POSITION; THE SECOND TABLE BEING MOVABLE IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE ON THE FIRST TABLE BETWEEN A FIRST, RETRACTED POSITION WHEREIN THE CLAMP MEMBER GRIPPER FINGERS ARE WITHDRAWN FROM THE WORK STATIONS, AND A SECOND, ADVANCED POSITION WHEREIN THE GRIPPER FINGERS ARE VERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE WORK STATIONS; A SECOND PNEUMATIC CYLINDER MOUNTED ON THE FIRST TABLE HAVING ITS PISTON ROD CONNECTED TO THE SECOND TABLE, THE PISTON ROD BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, THE SECOND TABLE BEING IN ITS FIRST POSITION WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS FIRST POSITION AND IN ITS SECOND POSITION WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS SECOND POSITION; THE THIRD TABLE BEING MOVABLE IN A VERTICAL PLANE, RELATIVE TO THE SECOND TABLE, BETWEEN A FIRST, RAISED POSITION WHEREIN THE CLAMP MEMBER GRIPPER FINGERS ARE ABOVE THE HORIZONTAL PLANE OF THE WORK STATIONS, AND A SECOND, LOWERED POSITION WHEREIN THEY ARE IN THE PLANE OF THE WORK STATIONS; A THIRD PNEUMATIC CYLINDER MOUNTED ON THE SECOND TABLE HAVING ITS PISTON ROD CONNECTED TO THE THIRD TABLE, THE PISTON ROD BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, THE THIRD TABLE BEING IN ITS FIRST POSITION WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS FIRST POSITION AND IN ITS SECOND POSITION WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS SECOND POSITION; THE CLAMP MEMBER GRIPPER FINGERS BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER BETWEEN A FIRST, OPEN POSITION AND A SECOND, CLOSED POSITION WHEREIN THEY ARE DRAWN TOGETHER TO CLAMP UPON A WORK PIECE LOCATED WITHIN THEIR GRASP; A FOURTH PNEUMATIC CYLINDER MOUNTED ON THE THIRD TABLE HAVING ITS PISTON ROD CONNECTED TO THE CLAMP MEMBER GRIPPER FINGERS, THE PISTON ROD BEING MOVABLE BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS, THE GRIPPER FINGERS BEING IN THEIR FIRST POSITIONS WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS FIRST POSITION, AND IN THEIR SECOND POSITIONS WHEN THE PISTON ROD IS IN ITS SECOND POSITION; EACH OF SAID PNEUMATIC CYLINDERS HAVING ELECTRICALLY OPERATED VALVE MEANS AND CONTROL CIRCUITS THEREFOR, OPERABLE TO ENERGIZE THE CYLINDERS TO CAUSE THE PISTONS THEREOF TO MOVE BETWEEN THEIR FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS IN A PREDETERMINED SEQUENCE; AND AN ELECTRIC CYCLING CIRCUIT CONTROLLED BY THE MACHINE TOOL AND ACTING TO INITIATE THE WORKPIECE TRANSFER CYCLE WHEN THE MACHINE TOOL IS IN ITS REST POSITION.