Punch press with assembly locking mechanism

Claim 2

A punch press having a support, a die shoe attached to said support and formed with an upwardly opening recess defining a seat, and a die assembly telescoped removably into said seat and projecting upwardly from said shoe, the improvement in said press comprising, an upwardly opening and radially extending slot formed through one wall of said recess and having a width at least equal to the diameter of the recess, a locking arm, and means mounting said arm on said support for upward and downward movement between: a. a locked position in which the arm extends upwardly alongside said slot and engages the die assembly to clamp the latter to said die shoe, and b. a released position in which the arm is disengaged from said die assembly and is spaced below the upper end of said slot to permit removal of the die assembly from the recess in the shoe by moving the assembly generally horizontally out of said slot and across said arm.

Claim 3

A punch press having a support, a die shoe attached to said support and formed with an upwardly opening counterbore, and a die assembly telescoped removably into said counterbore and projecting upwardly from said shoe, the improvement in said press comprising, an upwardly opening and radially extending slot formed through one wall of said counterbore and having a width at least equal to the diameter of the counterbore, a locking arm mounted on said support to swing upwardly and downwardly about a generally horizontal axis located outwardly of and below said slot, and means connected to said arm for swinging the latter upwardly and downwardly about said axis between: a. a locked position in which the arm engages the die assembly and clamps the Latter to said die shoe, and b. a released position in which the arm is disengaged from said die assembly and is spaced below the bottom of said slot to permit removal of the die assembly from the shoe by moving the assembly generally horizontally across the bottom of the slot and across said arm.

Claim 4

A punch press having a support, a die shoe attached to said support and formed with an upwardly opening counterbore, and a die assembly telescoped removably into said counterbore and projecting upwardly from said shoe, the improvement in said press comprising, an upwardly opening and radially extending slot formed through one wall of said counterbore and having a width at least equal to the diameter of the counterbore, a locking arm mounted on said support to swing upwardly and downwardly about a generally horizontal axis located outwardly of and below said slot, and means connected to said arm for swinging the latter upwardly and downwardly about said axis between: a. a locked position in which the arm engages the die assembly and clamps the Latter to said die shoe, and b. a released position in which the arm is disengaged from said die assembly and is spaced below the bottom of said slot to permit removal of the die assembly from the shoe by moving the assembly generally horizontally across the bottom of the slot and across said arm.

Claim 5

A punch press as defined in claim 2 in which the depth of said slot is slightly less than the depth of the counterbore whereby the entire periphery of said die assembly is seated in said counterbore but said assembly may be removed from said shoe by lifting the assembly to the level of the bottom of the slot and then moving the assembly generally horizontally across the bottom of the slot.

Claim 6

A punch press as defined in claim 2 further including an elongated and generally vertical slot formed in said support and spaced from said axis, an elongated slot formed through said locking arm and crossing said vertical slot, said means comprising a pin slidably mounted within said elongated slots, and mechanism for reciprocating said pin upwardly and downwardly within said vertical slot.

Claim 7

A punch press as defined in claim 4 in which said slot in said locking arm is located so as to slant upwardly and outwardly when said arm is in said locked position.

Claim 8

A punch press as defined in claim 5 in which said slot in said locking arm is located so as to extend generally horizontally when said arm is in said released position.

Claim 9

A punch press having a support, a die shoe attached to said support and formed with a first upwardly opening counterbore, a die adapter telescoped removably into said first counterbore and formed with a second upwardly opening counterbore, a die telescoped removably into said second counterbore, and a radially extending key mounted slidably in the side wall of said second counterbore and having an inner end engageable with the outer side of said die, the improvement in said press comprising, an upwardly opening and radially extending slot formed through one wall of said first counterbore and having a width at least equal to the diameter of such counterbore, a locking arm mounted on said support to swing about a generally horizontal axis located outwardly of and below said slot, an elongated vertical slot formed in said support and located outwardly of said axis, an elongated slot formed through said locking arm and crossing said vertical slot, a pin slidably mounted within said elongated slots, and means for reciprocating said pin vertically to swing said locking arm upwardly and downwardly about said axis between: a. a locked position in which the free end of the arm presses against the outer end of said key to clamp said die into said second counterbore and to clamp said die adapter into said first counterbore, and b. a released position in which the arm is disengaged from said key and is spaced below the upper surface of said die shoe to permit removal of the die adapter from the shoe by moving the adapter generally horizontally across the bottom of said radially extending slot and across said arm.

Claim 10

A punch press having a support, a die shoe attached to said support and formed with a first upwardly opening counterbore, a die adapter telescoped removably into said first counterbore and formed with a second upwardly opening counterbore, a die telescoped removably into said second counterbore, and a radially extending key mounted slidably in the side wall of said second counterbore and having an inner end engageable with the outer side of said die, the improvement in said press comprising, an upwardly opening and radially extending slot formed through one wall of said first counterbore and having a width at least equal to the diameter of such counterbore, a locking arm mounted on said support to swing about a generally horizontal axis located outwardly of and below said slot, an elongated vertical slot formed in said support and located outwardly of said axis, an elongated slot formed through said locking arm and crossing said vertical slot, a pin slidably mounted within said elongated slots, and means for reciprocating said pin vertically to swing said locking arm upwardly and downwardly about said axis between: a. a locked position in which the free end of the arm presses against the outer end of said key to clamp said die into said second counterbore and to clamp said die adapter into said first counterbore, and b. a released position in which the arm is disengaged from said key and is spaced below the upper surface of said die shoe to permit removal of the die adapter from the shoe by moving the adapter generally horizontally across the bottom of said radially extending slot and across said arm.

Claim 11

A punch press as defined in claim 7 in which the depth of said radially extending slot is slightly less than the depth of said first counterbore whereby the entire periphery of said die adapter is seated in said first counterbore but said adapter may be removed from said shoe by lifting the adapter to the level of the bottom of said radially extending slot and then moving the adapter generally horizontally across the bottom of said radially extending slot.

Claim 12

A punch press as defined in claim 7 in which the free end of said arm is inclined downwardly and outwardly when said arm is in said locked position and acts through said key to force said die radially and downwardly against the side and bottom walls, respectively, of said second counterbore and to force said die adapter radially and downwardly against the side and bottom walls, respectively, of said first counterbore.

Claim 13

A punch press as defined in claim 7 in which said slOt in said locking arm is located so as to slant upwardly and outwardly when said arm is in said locked position.

Claim 14

A punch press as defined in claim 10 in which said slot in said locking arm is located so as to extend generally horizontally when said arm is in said released position.