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(11) | EP 1 302 276 B1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION |
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| (54) |
Manual locking system for assemblings Manuelles Verriegelungssystem für Montagevorrichtungen Système de verrouillage manuel pour dispositif de montage |
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| Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention). |
[0001] The present invention refers to a manual locking system for assemblings, that can be used in particular on assembling tools and for locking body parts for any type of vehicles.
[0002] Various locking systems of this type are known in the art, and they allow securing the body elements, for example of motor vehicles, into their desired final positions and performing thereon certain welding operations or the like, adapted to assemble such elements. The known locking systems are both of the manual type, and of the pneumatic, and therefore semi-automated,type (such as EP-A-0 928 664, WO-A-9 930 868 and EP-A-0 891 838, this tatter one forming the preamble of Claim 1).
[0003] These locking systems however are not satisfactory and have the following problems:
- in addition to the horizontal adjustment of the locking elements that they support, such systems must also be adjusted vertically, that is transversally with respect to the vehicle to be locked: in order to perform such vertical adjustment, the current systems use small external squares that must be drilled and connected to the system body, thereby increasing both manufacturing costs and manufacturing times of the global system;
- the centering lever of the system support member passes from the system opening position to the system closing position (in which it abuts onto the support body) with a rotary movement with a very quick snap (even quicker when the system is actuated pneumatically) and have serious dangers of cutting the operator's fingers, if they are inadvertently inserted into the space in which the centering lever moves when it snappingly rotates for closing;
- finally, the known systems allow realising a maximum opening angle of 90°, that could be insufficient for some applications.
[0004] Object of the present invention is solving the above prior-art problems, by providing a manual locking system that is equipped with vertically (that is transversally) adjusting means embedded into its support body, thereby allowing to save parts, costs and times for its manufacturing.
[0005] A further object of the present invention is providing a locking system as above, that is further equipped with protecting means that prevent injuries and cutting of the operator's hands when closing.
[0006] A further object of the present invention is providing a locking system as above, that further allows realising a maximum coverage angle of 95°, with a possible further increase of about 3°, in order to widen the system application range.
[0007] The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained by a manual locking system as claimed in Claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are claimed in the dependent Claims.
[0008] The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, given as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the locking system according to the present invention;
- Figure 2 is a front view of the system in Fig. 1; and
- Figure 4 is a perspective view of the system in Fig. 1 assembled on a support.
[0009] With reference to the Figures, a preferred and non-limiting example of an embodiment of the manual locking system 1 of the invention is shown, that is adapted to be used, for example, as assembling tool or for vehicle body parts tool in general, but that can also be applied to any other type of locking. The locking system 1 of the invention substantially comprises:
- a support body 3, adapted to be connected, for example, to risers 2 placed next to the structures to be locked;
- an actuating lever 5 hinged (in 4) to the support body 3: such lever 5 has a vertical closing position (shown with a full line in Fig. 1) in which a locking is realised, and a downward slanting opening position (shown with dashed lines in Fig. 1);
- a support member 7 adapted to adjustably support locking elements (not shown, and typically composed of sliders that make the final piece tightening and are screwed onto such support member 7 when arranging the locking fixture): this support member 7 is operatively connected (in 9, 11) to the actuating lever 5 through at least one hinge member 12, and is hinged (in 14) to the support body (3).
[0010] Also the opening and closing positions of the support member 7 and the hinge member 12 are shown in Fig. 1, respectively with dashed lines and a full line: in a known way, the support member 7, with the centering lever 24 with which it is equipped, gets a closing position in which one face of the lever 24 abuts against the support body 3 in a vertical position (reference 15 in Fig. 1), such position preventing chips, working wastes or dust from penetrating into the contact space (15) between centering lever 24 and support body 3 and from impairing thereby the perfect closure of the locking system 1. This prior art innovation related to the vertical closure, however, has the cutting danger for the operator's hands, since the passage between opening position and closing position of the support member 7 always occurs with a snap, through a sudden rotary movement that is still quicker in case of a pneumatic control of the locking system 1: such potential danger is not present, as will be seen below, in the locking system 1 of the present invention.
[0011] According to a first innovative characteristic, the locking system 1 of the invention further comprises front securing and adjusting means 16 for the locking system 1, that are embedded into the support body 3 and allow a transverse adjustment of the locking system 1.
[0012] In particular, in the non-limiting embodiment shown, such front securing and adjusting means 16 are composed of a plurality of through-holes 18 that are vertically arranged with respect to the support body 3 base and are adapted to house corresponding comb-shaped shims 20 to adjust the working height of the locking system 1.
[0013] In order to realise an absolutely safe locking system for the operator (taking also into account that locking systems of this type are present in a high number in an assembling line and that therefore an operator is forced to carry out a high number of closure operations, often with a very short time at his disposal), the system 1 of the invention is further equipped with protecting means 22 for the support member 7, which protecting means 22 prevent the insertion of operator's hands into the space between the centering lever 24 of the support member 7 and the support body 3 during the closure operation of the locking system 1.
[0014] In particular, in the non-limiting embodiment shown, the protecting means 22 are composed of a shield shaped as a quarter of a circle, hinged (in 14) to the support body 3 and that covers the whole circular movement path of the centering lever 24 of the support member 7.
[0015] Moreover, the locking system 1 of the invention provides a double possible operating adjustment, since the support member 7 is equipped with horizontal locking adjusting means 26, that are usually composed of a plurality of holes adapted to receive corresponding comb-shaped shims for securing and horizontally adjusting the above mentioned locking elements on the support member 7.
[0016] Finally, due to its particularly simplified arrangement, the locking system 1 of the invention is adapted, as can be best seen in Fig. 1, to realise, when opening, an excursion angle equal to 95° ± 3°, in order to increase its possible operating application range.
[0017] Some preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described: obviously, it will immediately appear to the skilled people in the art that numerous variations and modifications, that are functionally equivalent to the previous ones, can be made to the invention, such variations and modifications falling within the scope of the invention as pointed out in the enclosed Claims.
- a support body (3);
- an actuating lever (5) hinged (in 4) to said support body (3);
- a support member (7) adapted to adjustably support locking elements, said support member (7) being operatively connected (in 9, 11) to said actuating lever (5) through at least one hinge member (12), said support member (7) being hinged (in 14) to said support body (3);
characterised in that it further comprises in combination:• front securing and adjusting means (16) for said locking system (1), said front securing and adjusting means (16) being embedded into said support body (3) and allowing a transverse adjustment of said locking system (1), said front securing and adjusting means (16) are composed of a plurality of through-holes (18) that are vertically arranged and are adapted to house corresponding comb-shaped shims (20) to adjust the working height of said locking system (1);
• protecting means (22) for said support member (7), said protecting means (22) preventing the insertion of operator's hands into the space between a centering lever (24) of said support member (7) and said support body (3) during the closure operation of said locking system (1); and
• horizontal locking adjusting means (26) with which said support member (7) is equipped, said horizontal adjusting means (26) being composed of a plurality of holes adapted to receive corresponding comb-shaped shims for securing and horizontally adjusting the locking elements on said support member (7);
and in that said manual locking system (1) is adapted to realise, when opening, an excursion angle equal to 95° ± 3°.- Einen Tragkörper (3);
- Einen Steuerhebel (5), der klappbar (bei 4) an dem genannten Tragkörper (3) befestigt ist;
- Ein Tragelement (7), das geeignet ist, einstellbar Einspannelemente zu tragen, wobei das genannte Tragelement (7) operativ (bei 9, 11) mit dem genannten Steuerhebel (5) über mindestens ein Scharnierelement (12) verbunden ist, und das genannte Tragelement (7) klappbar (bei 14) an dem genannten Tragkörper (3) befestigt ist;
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass es darüber hinaus kombiniert folgendes umfasst:• Vorderseitige Befestigungs- und Einstellelemente (16) des genannten Einspannsystems (1), wobei die genannten vorderseitigen Befestigungsund Einstellelemente (16) in den genannten Tragkörper (3) eingebaut sind und die Quereinstellung des genannten Einspannsystems (1) gestatten, und wobei die genannten vorderseitigen Befestigungs- und Einstellelemente aus einer Vielzahl von durchgehenden Bohrungen (18) bestehen, die senkrecht angeordnet und geeignet sind, entsprechende kammförmige Zwischenlegscheiben (20) für die Betriebs-Höheneinstellung des genannten Einspannsystems aufzunehmen.
• Schutzelemente (22) für die genannten Tragelemente (7), wobei die genannten Schutzelemente (22) verhindern, dass die Hände eines Bedieners in den Raum zwischen dem Zentrierhebel (24) des genannten Tragelements (7) und den genannten Tragkörper (3) während des Schließvorgangs des genannten Einspannsystems (1) geraten; und
• Waagerechte Elemente (26) zur Einstellung der Einspannung, mit denen das genannte Tragelement (7) ausgestattet ist, wobei die genannten waagerechten Einstellelemente (26) aus einer Vielzahl von Bohrungen bestehen, die geeignet sind, entsprechende kammförmige Zwischenlegscheiben zur Befestigung und waagerechten Einspannung von Spannelementen am genannten Tragelement (7) aufzunehmen:
Sowie durch die Tatsache, dass das genannte Handeinspannsystem (1) geeignet ist, in der Öffnungsphase einen Ausschlagwinkel von 95° ± 3° herzustellen.- un corps de support (3) ;
- un levier d'actionnement (5) fixé par des charnières (en 4) audit corps de support (3) ;
- un élément de support (7) prévu pour supporter de façon réglable des éléments de verrouillage, ledit élément de support (7) étant relié du point de vue opérationnel (en 9, 11) audit levier d'actionnement (5) au moyen au moins d'un élément de charnière (12), ledit élément de support (7) étant fixé par des charnières (en 14) audit corps de support (3);
caractérisé en ce qu'il comprend en outre en association :• des dispositifs de fixation frontale et de réglage (16) dudit système de verrouillage (1), lesdits dispositifs de fixation frontale et de réglage (16) étant introduits dans ledit corps de support (3) et permettant le réglage transversal dudit système de verrouillage (1), lesdits dispositifs de fixation frontale et de réglage (16) étant constitués d'une pluralité d'orifices traversants (18) qui sont placés verticalement et prévus pour accueillir des épaisseurs à peigne correspondantes (20) pour le réglage de la hauteur d'usinage dudit système de verrouillage (1) ;
• des dispositifs de protection (22) pour ledit élément de support (7), lesdits dispositifs de protection (22) empêchant l'introduction des mains d'un opérateur dans l'espace se trouvant entre le levier de centrage (24) dudit élément de support (7) et ledit corps de support (3) pendant l'opération de fermeture dudit système de verrouillage (1) ; et
• des dispositifs (26) de réglage horizontal du verrouillage dont est pourvu ledit élément de support (7), lesdits dispositifs de réglage horizontal (26) étant constitués d'une pluralité d'orifices prévus pour accueillir des épaisseurs à peigne correspondantes pour la fixation et le réglage horizontal d'éléments de verrouillage sur ledit élément de support (7) ;
et en ce que ledit système de verrouillage manuel (1) est prévu pour réaliser, en phase d'ouverture, un angle d'excursion équivalant à 95° ± 3°.