Press pressure and closed position control

Claim 2

A press for applying pressure to a work piece comprising rigid support structure, a stationary member carried by said support structure, a movable member carried by said support structure for movement toward and away from said stationary member, positive acting mechanical actuating means connected to said movable member and having a fixed stroke normally operable to provide movement of said movable member into predetermined spacing from said stationary member to apply a pressure to a work piece interposed between said members, yieldable means interposed between said positive acting mechanical actuating means and said rigid support structure and prestressed a predetermined amount to yield initially only when a predetermined force on the work piece is reached and to provide an opposing force which increases in accordance with the amount by which said yieldable means yields. said yieldable means comprising a container including a fIrst wall, a closure for said container including a second wall movable while in closing relation toward and away from said first wall, solid yieldable means within said container, and means limiting movement of said closure away from said first wall of said container to maintain the predetermined pre-stress on said solid yieldable means.

Claim 3

A press comprising rigid support structure, a work support member mounted in fixed position on said structure, guide means on said structure, a tooling support member associated with said guide means for guided movement toward and away from said work support member, a prestressed yieldable abutment on said rigid support structure, and extensible actuating means interposed between said yieldable abutment and said tooling support member, said yieldable abutment comprising a cylinder in said rigid support structure in alignment with said work support member, a cup-shaped piston slidable in said cylinder, a stop in said cylinder limiting movement of said piston toward said work support member, resilient means in said cup-shaped piston, and an adjustable element carried by said rigid support structure and movable into said cup to apply a predetermined prestress to said resilient means.

Claim 4

A press comprising rigid support structure, a work support member mounted in fixed position on said structure, guide means on said structure, a tooling support member associated with said guide means for guided movement toward and away from said work support member, a prestressed yieldable abutment on said rigid support structure, and extensible actuating means interposed between said yieldable abutment and said tooling support member, said yieldable abutment comprising a cylinder in said rigid support structure in alignment with said work support member, a cup-shaped piston slidable in said cylinder, a stop in said cylinder limiting movement of said piston toward said work support member, resilient means in said cup-shaped piston, and an adjustable element carried by said rigid support structure and movable into said cup to apply a predetermined prestress to said resilient means.

Claim 5

A press as defined in claim 2 in which said yieldable abutment comprises a block of yieldable highly resilient material.

Claim 6

A press as defined in claim 2 in which said yieldable abutment comprises an assembly of Belleville springs.

Claim 7

A press as defined in claim 2 in which said actuating means comprises a toggle.

Claim 8

A press for applying pressure to a work piece comprising rigid support structure, a stationary member carried by said support structure, a movable member carried by said support structure for movement toward and away from said stationary member, positive acting mechanical actuating means connected to said movable member and having a fixed stroke normally operable to provide movement of said movable member into predetermined spacing from said stationary member to apply a pressure to a work piece interposed between said members, yieldable means interposed between one of said members and said rigid support structure and prestressed a predetermined amount to yield only when a predetermined force on the work piece is exceeded, said yieldable means comprising a container including a first wall, a closure for said container including a second wall movable while in closing relation toward and away from said first wall, solid yieldable means within said container, and means limiting movement of said closure away from said first wall of said container to maintain the predetermined pre-stress on said solid yieldable means, said solid yieldable means comprising a block of substantially incompressible yieldable highly resilient material dimensioned to provide space within said container for resilient distortion thereof.

Claim 9

A press for applying pressure to a work piece comprising rigid support structure, a stationary member carried by said support structure, a movable member carried by said support structure for movement toward and away from said stationary member, positive acting mechanical actuating means connected to said movable member and having a fixed stroke normally operable to provide movement of said movable member into predetermined spacing from said stationary member to apply a pressure to a work piece interposed between said members, yieldable means interposed between one of said members and said rigid support structure and prestressed a predetermined amount to yield only when a predetermined force on the work piece is exceeded, said yieldable means comprising a container including a first wall, a closure for said container including a second wall movable while in closing relation toward and away from said first wall, solid yieldable means within said container, and means limiting movement of said closure away from said first wall of said container to maintain the predetermined pre-stress on said solid yieldable means, said solid yieldable means comprising a block of substantially incompressible yieldable highly resilient material dimensioned to provide space within said container for resilient distortion thereof.

Claim 10

A press as defined in claim 1 in which the solid yieldable means comprises an assembly of Belleville springs within said container.

Claim 11

A press for applying pressure to a work piece comprising rigid support structure, a stationary member carried by said support structure, a movable member carried by said support structure for movement toward and away from said stationary member, positive acting mechanical actuating means connected to said movable member and having a fixed stroke normally operable to provide movement of said movable member into predetermined spacing from said stationary member to apply a pressure to a work piece interposed between said members, yieldable means interposed between one of said members and said rigid support structure and prestressed a predetermined amount to yield only when a predetermined force on the work piece is exceeded, said yieldable means comprising a container including a first wall, a closure for said container including a second wall movable while in closing relatiOn toward and away from said first wall, solid yieldable means within said container, means limiting movement of said closure away from said first wall of said container to maintain the predetermined prestress on said solid yieldable means, and adjustable means on said support engaging said closure and operable to move said closure toward said first wall to vary the amount of pre-stress.

Claim 12

A press for applying pressure to a work piece comprising rigid support structure, a stationary member carried by said support structure, a movable member carried by said support structure for movement toward and away from said stationary member, positive acting mechanical actuating means connected to said movable member and having a fixed stroke normally operable to provide movement of said movable member into predetermined spacing from said stationary member to apply a pressure to a work piece interposed between said members, yieldable means interposed between one of said members and said rigid support structure and prestressed a predetermined amount to yield only when a predetermined force on the work piece is exceeded, said yieldable means comprising a container including a first wall, a closure for said container including a second wall movable while in closing relatiOn toward and away from said first wall, solid yieldable means within said container, means limiting movement of said closure away from said first wall of said container to maintain the predetermined prestress on said solid yieldable means, and adjustable means on said support engaging said closure and operable to move said closure toward said first wall to vary the amount of pre-stress.

Claim 13

A press for applying pressure to a work piece comprising rigid support structure, a stationary member carried by said support structure, a movable member carried by said support structure for movement toward and away from said stationary member, positive acting mechanical actuating means connected to said movable member and having a fixed stroke normally operable to provide movement of said movable member into predetermined spacing from said stationary member to apply a pressure to a work piece interposed between said members, yieldable means interposed between one of said members and said rigid support structure and prestressed a predetermined amount to yield only when a predetermined force on the work piece is exceeded, said yieldable means comprising a container including a first wall, a closure for said container including a second wall movable while in closing relation toward and away from said first wall, solid yieldable means within said container, and means limiting movement of said closure away from said first wall of said container to maintain the predetermined pre-stress on said solid yieldable means, said container and closure together constituting a capsule, and means on said container and closure cooperating to limit movement of said closure away from said first wall to determine the amount of pre-stress.

Claim 14

A press for applying pressure to a work piece comprising rigid support structure, a stationary member carried by said support structure, a movable member carried by said support structure for movement toward and away from said stationary member, positive acting mechanical actuating means connected to said movable member and having a fixed stroke normally operable to provide movement of said movable member into predetermined spacing from said stationary member to apply a pressure to a work piece interposed between said members, yieldable means interposed between one of said members and said rigid support structure and prestressed a predetermined amount to yield only when a predetermined force on the work piece is exceeded, said yieldable means comprising a container including a first wall, a closure for said container including a second wall movable while in closing relation toward and away from said first wall, solid yieldable means within said container, and means limiting movement of said closure away from said first wall of said container to maintain the predetermined pre-stress on said solid yieldable means, said container and closure together constituting a capsule, and means on said container and closure cooperating to limit movement of said closure away from said first wall to determine the amount of pre-stress.