Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an interlocking safety device for a sheet metal bending and/ or punching machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Usually, CRCA sheets are used for punching & bending operations on machines for manufacturing Switchgear enclosure. Bending machine is enclosed from three sides & front side kept open (without safety guards) for operators. Operator from front side, operates the machine by keeping the CRCA sheets in between lower & upper dies, which are operated by hydraulic RAM. Centralized hydraulic motor operates the RAM after receiving the signal from Foot pedal. However, there are chances of an accident while performing various activities from front side (e.g. bending, back gauge setting, Die/punches installation/removal work, cleaning etc.). This is because there are no front safety guards available for operators working on machine. During any activity from front side, Operators body part may get entrapped between dies and causes severe injury.

Reference is made to DE3739949C1. This document relates to an anchoring device for a sheet metal bending machine with the following features: a) the image sensor device can be moved from an initial position to an adjustable end position by means of a displacement device connected to the bending machine arm, b) the image sensor device has a stop edge against which an operator can place an edge of a metal sheet to be bent, c) the stop edge can deviate from its normal position if necessary, in order to avoid injuries to the operator, the anchorage device comprises: d) a guide rail (6) connected to the displacement device, e) a stop bar (1) held by the guide rail (6) and displaceable along the rail (6), on one side of which the stop edge (2) is located, and f) a locking device (12) for locking the stop bar (1) relative to the guide rail (6) when the stop device has reached its end position without external resistance, for example a hand of the operator located in the displacement area of the stop device.

Further reference is made to WO2012151600A1. This patent document describes a method for operating a bending press (1) with a control device (17) and a stop device (16) for positioning a workpiece (3) for a bending deformation between a first bending tool (12) and a second bending tool (11), in which at least one stop finger (19) with a stop surface (20) by means of a drive (23) with at least one driven CNC axis (24) a position-controlled approaching movement (39) towards a vertical bending plane (22) into a stop position (21), characterized in that the control device (17) activates a retraction drive (42) which causes an immediate retraction movement (41) of the stop finger (19) or at least of the end section (45) of the bending plane (22) closest to Stop finger (19) away from the bending plane (22) causes, if in the approach movement (39) before reaching the stop position (21) by means of one of the control direction (17) sensor assembly (38) an obstacle (40) in the trajectory of the stop finger (19) is detected.

Reference is further being made to DE10246609A1. This patent document discloses a protective device for machines, such as bending presses, cutting machines, punching machines or the like, in which a first machine part executes work movements against a second machine part, with a light barrier arrangement attached to the first machine part by means of a holding device, in particular laser light barrier arrangement, which has at least two in the working movement path of the first machine part has light barriers arranged one behind the other, the light rays of which run perpendicular to the direction of the work movement and, in an adjustable safety position, have safety distances from this machine part in the direction of the other machine part, and with a blocking device which stops the work movement when the light beam is interrupted, characterized by a deactivation device (30) to deactivate the light barriers (19 - 22) one after the other before an interruption by the workpiece to be machined (14) or through the second machine part (11).

However, there remain a need for an alternative solution to avoid resulting crush injuries associated to bending and/ or punching machines that helps to cut-off the machine supply instantaneously if it senses operator between the punch and die.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The following disclosure presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the present invention. It is not intended to identify the key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concept of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description of the invention presented later.

The object of present invention is to an alternative solution to avoid resulting crush injuries associated to bending and/ or punching machines that helps to cut-off the machine supply instantaneously if it senses operator between the punch and die.

One aspect of present invention is to provide a interlocking safety device for a sheet metal bending and/ or punching machine for bending and/ or punching a metal plate inserted between an upper die and a lower die; comprising
a) a plurality of image capturing means positioned in both ends of a longitudinal expanse of the machine wherein each image capturing means is adapted to capture images of each half of the longitudinal expanse of the machine during the bending and/ or punching operation engaging said sheet metal, upper die and lower die and send the images to a storage means;
b) said storage means is configured to store the images including the images of any human intervention within them;
c) a plurality of processing modules configured to process said images on the basis of the image stored in the storage means and stop the movement of said upper die if human intervention is detected in said images thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.

Another aspect of present invention is to provide an interlocking safety device for a sheet metal bending and/ or punching machine operating method, comprising
a) inserting a sheet metal between an upper die and a lower die of said machine;
b) capturing, by each of a plurality of image capturing means positioned in both ends of a longitudinal expanse of the machine, images of each half of the longitudinal expanse of the machine during the bending and/ or punching operation engaging said sheet metal, upper die and lower die and sending the images to a storage means;
c) storing, by said storage means, the images including the images of any human intervention within them;
d) processing, by a plurality of processing modules, said images on the basis of the image stored in the storage means and stopping the movement of said upper die if human intervention is detected in said images thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.

The present invention facilitates to cut-off the machine supply instantaneously if it senses operator between the punch and die.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent in the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates bending machine with interlock (Isometric view) according to one of the embodiment of present invention.

Figure 2 llustrates schematic representation of the system according to one of the embodiments of present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates bending machine with interlock (front view) according to one of the embodiments of present invention.

Figure 4 illustrates bending machine with interlock (side view) according to one of the embodiments of present invention.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may not have been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding, but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “a component surface” includes a reference to one or more of such surfaces.

All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which various embodiments belong. Further, the meaning of terms or words used in the specification and the claims should not be limited to the literal or commonly employed sense but should be construed in accordance with the spirit of the disclosure to most properly describe the present disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of various embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising” used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, members, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, members, components, and/or groups thereof. Also, Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.

The present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the various embodiments set forth herein, rather, these various embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the present disclosure. Furthermore, a detailed description of other parts will not be provided not to make the present disclosure unclear. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.

The subject invention lies in an interlocking safety device for a sheet metal bending and/ or punching machine for bending and/ or punching a metal plate inserted between an upper die and a lower die; comprising
a) a plurality of image capturing means positioned in both ends of a longitudinal expanse of the machine wherein each image capturing means is adapted to capture images of each half of the longitudinal expanse of the machine during the bending and/ or punching operation engaging said sheet metal, upper die and lower die and send the images to a storage means;
b) said storage means is configured to store the images including the images of any human intervention within them;
c) a plurality of processing modules configured to process said images on the basis of the image stored in the storage means and stop the movement of said upper die if human intervention is detected in said images thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.

According to another embodiment of present invention, said device may further comprises sensors configured to detect presence of coloured substances within said longitudinal expanse of the machine and feed said detected information to said processing module, wherein said processing module configured to process said information and stop the movement of said upper die if presence of coloured substances is detected within said longitudinal expanse of the machine thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.

In another embodiment of present invention, said upper die is a moving die whereas the lower die is a fixed die.

In a preferred embodiment of preset invention, said plurality of image capturing means is a plurality of cameras.

In another embodiment of present invention, said plurality of image capturing means are detachably and rotatably mounted on a plurality of pneumatic holders.

In further embodiment of present invention, said plurality of image capturing means are adapted to move by means of said plurality of pneumatic holders during insertion or removal of sheet metals from said machine before or after the bending and/ or punching operation.

In yet another embodiment of present invention, said device may further comprises a human machine interface for user input.

Another embodiment of present invention relates to an interlocking safety device for a sheet metal bending and/ or punching machine operating method, comprising
a) inserting a sheet metal between an upper die and a lower die of said machine;
b) capturing, by each of a plurality of image capturing means positioned in both ends of a longitudinal expanse of the machine, images of each half of the longitudinal expanse of the machine during the bending and/ or punching operation engaging said sheet metal, upper die and lower die and sending the images to a storage means;
c) storing, by said storage means, the images including the images of any human intervention within them;
d) processing, by a plurality of processing modules, said images on the basis of the image stored in the storage means and stopping the movement of said upper die if human intervention is detected in said images thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.

Some of the non-limiting examples are provided below for better understanding of the invention.

The working of the Interlock mechanism is described in steps:

Step 1: The bending machine is fed with the sheet metal (11).
Step 2: The cameras (3&4) will take photograph and send the data to a storage (not shown in figures).
Step 3: A plurality of processors (9 & 10) is already programmed to allow the entry of sheet metal in between the Moving die (1) & Fix die (2) but if accidently operator comes to this area the program will recognize and stops the bending process.
Step 4: The bending process can be restarted when the operator clears the area between Moving die (1) & Fix die (2).

The cameras (3&4) are placed at both end of the bending machine. Each sense half of the area of the bending machine. If the bending machine is 1 meter in width, then each camera will cover half a meter of the bending area i.e; area between Moving die (1) and Fix die (2).

The cameras (3&4) clicks photo and send the data to processor (9&10). The processor is programmed to recognize human intervention if there is any in the photo. According to the result it allows the operation of the bending machine. In some cases, the operator wears gloves to protect themselves from the sheet metal sharp edges. For those situation, colored gloves are provided to the operator. The data is fed in the processor (9&10) regarding the colored gloves. During the bending operation if the operator wearing the colored gloves enters the Moving die (1) & Fixed die (2) then the process will be stopped by the processors (9&10).

After the bending operation, for removing the sheet metal parts, the camera must be moved by Camera pneumatic holders (5&6). During this condition i.e.; If the cameras (3&4) are moved from its original place, then the bending machine will not be operated till the cameras (3&4) are moved back to its original position through camera pneumatic holders (5&6).

Some of the advantages of present invenrtion are as follows:
1) The innovation is unique which uses sensors to prevent accident in bending and punching machines and increases the safety of operator.
2) The interlock device can be operated remotely.
3) The machine will remain in shut down state if camera is not in its original position.
4) The same innovation can be applicable for different types of machines. Like bending and punching.
5) The interlock device is an add on feature which means it can be fitted and remove if required.
6) The interlock device takes photo and matches with the already fed data to provide the input.
7) This arrangement eliminates the possibility of human error.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from scope and spirit of the invention. It is intended that present invention covers such modifications and variations disclosed in the description.
, Claims:
1. An interlocking safety device for a sheet metal bending and/ or punching machine for bending and/ or punching a metal plate inserted between an upper die and a lower die; comprising
a) a plurality of image capturing means positioned in both ends of a longitudinal expanse of the machine wherein each image capturing means is adapted to capture images of each half of the longitudinal expanse of the machine during the bending and/ or punching operation engaging said sheet metal, upper die and lower die and send the images to a storage means;
b) said storage means is configured to store the images including the images of any human intervention within them;
c) a plurality of processing modules configured to process said images on the basis of the image stored in the storage means and stop the movement of said upper die if human intervention is detected in said images thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.

2. The interlocking safety device as claimed in claim 1, comprises sensors configured to detect presence of coloured substances within said longitudinal expanse of the machine and feed said detected information to said processing module, wherein said processing module configured to process said information and stop the movement of said upper die if presence of coloured substances is detected within said longitudinal expanse of the machine thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.

3. The interlocking safety device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, said upper die is a moving die whereas the lower die is a fixed die.

4. The interlocking safety device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said plurality of image capturing means is a plurality of cameras.

5. The interlocking safety device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said plurality of image capturing means are detachably and rotatably mounted on a plurality of pneumatic holders.

6. The interlocking safety device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said plurality of image capturing means are adapted to move by means of said plurality of pneumatic holders during insertion or removal of sheet metals from said machine before or after the bending and/ or punching operation.

7. The interlocking safety device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprises a human machine interface for user input.

8. an interlocking safety device for a sheet metal bending and/ or punching machine operating method, comprising
a) inserting a sheet metal between an upper die and a lower die of said machine;
b) capturing, by each of a plurality of image capturing means positioned in each end of a longitudinal expanse of the machine, images of each half of the longitudinal expanse of the machine during the bending and/ or punching operation engaging said sheet metal, upper die and lower die and sending the images to a storage means;
c) storing, by said storage means, the images including the images of any human intervention within them;
d) processing, by a plurality of processing modules, said images on the basis of the image stored in the storage means and stopping the movement of said upper die if human intervention is detected in said images thereby stopping the bending and/ or punching operation.