METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING LOADING OF A PANEL PROCESSING MACHINE AND POSITIONING OF ARTWORK ON A WORK SURFACE THEREON

摘要

- 10 -METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING LOADINGOF A PANEL PROCESSING MACHINE AND POSITIONINGOF ARTWORK ON A WORK SURFACE THEREONAbstractA method and apparatus for positioning a locating mechanism and theartwork frame of a panel processing machine has been devised utilizing a flexiblebeam apparatus for suspending the panel location mechanism and artwork framewhich permit these devices to be moved out of the way during loading and unloadingpanels into and from the work surface of processing machinery. The flexible beamsuspending the location mechanism in the disclosed embodiment comprises twoparallel surface thin members of resilient sheet material. These members are eachattached along one edge to a rigid portion of the machinery and along an opposingedge to the panel locating mechanism. This flexible beam arrangement permits thelocating elements of the locating mechanism to be moved from and restored to aprevious position with great accuracy. A pair of co-planar high aspect ratio sheetbeam members are used to support the artwork frame. One end of these flexiblebeams is each attached to the machine and an opposing end is attached to the artworkframe. These flexible beam arrangements permit the locating elements and artworkto be moved while panels are inserted into or removed from a work surface of theprocessing machine and restored to a previous operative position with greataccuracy.