Sheet or plate material machining equipment

Claim 1

Apparatus for machining sheet material, comprising: operating tools for machining a sheet material; a work table movable along a first axis for moving the sheet material with respect to said operating tools; carriage means mounted on said work table and movable along a second axis perpendicular to said first axis; work clamp means mounted on said carriage for holding and positioning the sheet material; upper and lower jaws extending horizontally from said work clamp means for clamping the sheet material therebetween; first detector means mounted at a predetermined position along said first axis with respect to said operating tools; first actuating means carried by said movable table for actuating said first detector means when moved along said first axis into proximity therewith; second detector means mounted at a predetermined position along said second axis with respect to said operating tools; second actuating means carried by said carriage means for actuating said second detector means when moved along said second axis into proximity therewith; said first and second detector means being positioned with respect to one another along said respective first and second axis as to define a danger zone in the vicinity of said operating tools when said axes intersect at a predetermined point; and means for releasing said upper and lower jaws from clamping engagement with the sheet material and for rotatably retracting said jaws out of said danger zone in response to the simultaneous actuation of both said first and second detector means.