FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005
& The Patents Rules, 2003 As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2006
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See section 10 and rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
An automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine
APPLICANTS
Crompton Greaves Limited, CG House, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai 400 030, Maharashtra, India, an Indian Company
INVENTOR
More Sachin Vasant of Crompton Greaves Ltd, M7 Division, Crompton Greaves Ltd, CG Global R&D Centre, Kanjur (E), Mumbai 400042, Maharashtra, India, an Indian National
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Stampings/laminations are formed on a blanking plate by a blanking or punching or press machine. Usually, the blanking plate is placed within the blanking machine manually. The blanking plate is manually picked up from a stack of blanking plates and put on a loading plate held raised at an angle of 45 degrees to the bolster plate of the blanking machine. The blanking plate slides onto the bolster plate from the loading plate. Subsequently, the blanking plate is blanked/punched by a punch arm held above the bolster plate and removed. Thereafter, another blanking plate is placed on the loading plate and so on. Usually, the punching/blanking of the blanking plate is quick and the speed of loading the blanking plates on the loading plate cannot catch up to the speed of punching/blanking. The obvious reason being the fact the loading of the blanking plates is manual. Thus the blanking machine is not used optimally. Moreover, the process remains human dependent. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide an automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided an automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine, the mechanism comprising a U-shaped frame held between a stack of blanking plates and a loading plate of the blanking machine, the frame comprising a base and a pair of upstanding members; a hollow tray pivoted to the free ends of the upstanding members and remaining

disposed therebetween; a tilting mechanism connected to the hollow tray or the pivot means for tilting the tray towards and away from the stack and loading plate; a slide held back and forth slidably within the tray; at least one vacuum cup held below the slide for lifting a blanking plate from the stack and dropping thereof onto the loading plate.
Preferably, the tilting mechanism comprises at least one pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder or an electrical actuator connected to the pivot means for tilting the tray towards and away from the stack and loading plate. The slide comprises of a shaft held between an opposite walls of the trays along the axis of the tilt, at least one plumer block held on the shaft through a bearing and projecting downwardly through the tray, a holding plate held to the bottom of the plumer block and at least one suction cup connected to the holding plate. The vacuum pads are connected to an external vacuum supplying means
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be better understood with reference to the following detailed description, accompanying drawings and appended claims, in which,
Fig la is a schematic view of an automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine.
Fig lb is a schematic view of an automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine picking up the blanking plate from a stack of blanking plates.
Fig lc is a schematic view of an automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine dropping the blanking plate onto a loading plate of the blanking machine.

Fig 2 is an exploded view of an automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine.
Referring to the figures, an automated mechanism I for loading a blanking plate 2 in a blanking machine comprises of a U-shaped frame 3 held between a stack 4 of blanking plates and a loading plate 5 of the blanking machine, a hollow tray 6, a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 7, slide and three vacuum cups 8. The U-shaped frame 3 comprises of a base 3a and pair of upstanding members 3b & 3c projecting upwardly from the base 3a and in a spaced apart relationship with each other. The upstanding members 3b extend above the stack 4 and the loading plate 5. A rectangular hollow tray 6 having L-shaped walls 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d is disposed between the upstanding members 3a & 3b such that a pair of opposite walls 6a & 6b thereof is pivoted to the free end of the upstanding members 3a & 3b by means of a pivot pin 9 held rotatably within the upstanding members 3a & 3b and connected to the triangular flanges 10 mounted to the walls 6a & 6b. The tilting mechanism comprises of a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 7 and a shaft 8 extending therefrom connected to a circular flange 11 connected to the pivot pin 9 such that when the shaft 8 moves axially back and forth, the pivot pin 9 is rotated back and forth thereby tilting the tray 6 towards and away from the stack 4 and the loading plate 5. Within the tray 6 a slide is held slidably on the L-shaped walls 6a & 6b of the tray 6 pivoted to the upstanding members 3a & 3b. The slide comprises of a shaft 12 having roller discs 13a & 13b mounted at the ends thereof. The roller discs 13a & 13b are mounted rollingly on the walls 6a & 6b of the tray 6 pivoted to the upstanding members 3a & 3b. Further, a pair of plumer blocks 14a & 14b projecting downwardly is mounted on the shaft 12 through a bearing 15 and in a spaced part relationship with each other. A connecting plate 16 is mounted to the bottom portion of the plumer blocks 14a & 14b for

synchronizing their movement On the bottom surface of the connecting plate 16, three vacuum cups 17a, 17b, 17c are mounted connected to a vaccum cylinder (not shown) in a known way.
When the pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 7 is actuated, the shaft 8 thereof moves upwardly rotating the pivot pon 9 clockwise thereby tilting the tray 6 towards the stack 4 of blanking plates. Upon tilting the tray 6, the shaft 12 therein is forced to roll towards the wall 6c. Further sliding of the shaft 12 is stopped by the wall 6c. The height of the stack 4 is so maintained that the vacuum cups 17a, 17b, 17c come in contact with the topmost blanking plate 2 of the stack 4 when the tray 6 is tilted optimally towards the stack 4. Subsequently, by means of external vacuum cylinder, suction force is created with in the vacuum cups 17a, 17b, 17c which in turn picks up the topmost blanking plate 2. In the next leg of operation, the shaft 8 is pulled back by the cylinder 7 forcing the tray 6 to tilt oppositely towards the loading plate 5 held there below and raised at an angle of 45 degrees towards the bolster plate 19 of the blanking machine. The picked up blanking plate 2 is consequently brought a little above the loading plate 5 by the rolling shaft 12. Suction is released from the vacuum cups 17a, 17b, 17c forcing the blanking plate 2 to be dropped on the loading plate 5 which subsequently slides on the bolster plate 19. Upon timing the movement of the shaft 8 of the cylinder 7 and maintaining a constant height of the stack 4, the above operation can be performed without any human intervention. The height of the stack 4 can be maintained constant by means of a pneumatic or hydraulic jack on which the stack 4 is placed. The jack can be programmed to raise the stack 4 intermittently based on the speed of transfer of blanking plate from the stack 4 to the loading plate 5. Inversely, the angle of tilt may be changed exponentially to allow the vacuum cups 17a, 17b, 17c to pick the blanking plate from the diminishing stack 4.

The shape of the tray may not be necessarily rectangular. The tilting mechanism may comprise other means readily known in the art. The shaft may not necessarily be moved by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder and can be moved by other means such as an electrical actuation mechanism well known in the art. Instead of connecting shaft to the pivot pin, it may be connected directly to the tray for tilting thereof. Number of plumer blocks and vacuum cups may vary. The slide may be of a different construction than that of described herein.
According to the invention loading of blanking plates on the loading plate of the blanking machine is rendered automatic thereby increasing the efficiency of the blanking process and utilizing the blanking machine optimally.
Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiment, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that such modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:
1. An automated mechanism for loading a blanking plate in a blanking machine,
the mechanism comprising
a. a U-shaped frame held between a stack of blanking plates and a
loading plate of the blanking machine, the frame comprising a base and
a pair of upstanding members;
b. a hollow tray pivoted to the free ends of the upstanding members and
remaining disposed therebetween;
c. a tilting mechanism connected to the hollow tray or the pivot for
tilting the tray towards and away from the stack and loading plate;
d. a slide held back and forth slidably within the tray;
e. at least one vacuum cup held below the slide for lifting a blanking
plate from the stack and dropping thereof onto the loading plate.
2. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tilting mechanism comprises at least one pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder or an electrical actuator connected to the tray or pivot for tilting the tray towards and away from the stack and loading plate.
3. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide comprises of a shaft held between an opposite walls of the trays along the axis of the tilt, at least one plumer block held on the shaft through a bearing and projecting downwardly through the tray, a holding plate held to the bottom of the plumer block and at least one suction cup connected to the holding plate.

4. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vacuum pads are connected to an external vacuum supplying means.