AU614830B2 - Bending machine - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 AU STRALIA, 1- PATENTS ACT 1952-1973 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Form Class: Int. CI: Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Published: I r I Priority: Related Art: 614830 I Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT ALEXANDER FREDERICK GENT 6 MORESBY STREET, MITCHAM VICTORIA 3132 ALEXANDER FREDERICK GENT 6 MORESBY STREET, MITCHAM VICTORIA 3132 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: BENDING MACHINE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:-* "Note: The description is to be typed in double spacing, pica type face, in an area not exceeding 250 mm in depth and 160 mm in width, on tough white paper of good quality and it is to be inserted inside this form.

11710/76-L C.J. TiiOMSoN, Commonwealth Government Printer. Canberra ~I ~~IIIIIY-_-- This invention consists of seven different areas within the patent.

1. Sliding top jaw for clamping not a pivoted top jaw.

2. Sliding teeth for quick and easy adjustment not a fixed locked-on teeth formation, but it can be a fixed position if required.

3. Self-tensioning by the pressure of the clamping on the work piece from soft to hard, not a mechanical adjustment by fine lifting up and down, but it still has a mechanical adjustment if needed.

Self-clamping is done within the same action S as the folding, not as a separate action done before folding Sby a separate mechanical movement of operation.

5. Self-locking of the clamping is done in the same movement as the folding and clamping.

6. Self-adjusting for thickness of the work piece from thin to thick (0.00 3.2mm or thicker with a

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strengthening of the press) is done automatically within the same movement of folding and clamping, not as a separate operation done before the folding operation takes place, by moving the top jaw up and down mechanically or using a physical packer 2 pieces of 1/16" instead of 1 piece of -2- 7. Self-adjusting for radius of the fold of the work piece (0.00 5.0mm or larger) is done in the same movement as the folding and clamping, not as a separate operation done before the folding operation takes place, e.g. by moving the top jaw back, moving the teeth back, or by dropping the bottom jaw down. Either one of these three operations will mechanically change the radius of the fold.

Therefore this invention does all the necessary adjusting, clamping and folding in the one movement, i.e.

at the same time that the fold is done on the work piece.

Whereas with other machines you have to do all, or most, of the above prior to commencement, i.e. adjusting for the l"5 thickness of the work piece, the tensioning of the clamp and finally adjusting the machine for the radius of the fold before you can commence on your work piece. Following .0 0 S' which you also have a two-part operation to do your fold 0:0o which consists of the clamping and then the folding of the work piece on each fold.

0:060: 3 F 27 4 Example other Presses: First, adjust for thickness; second, adjust clamp tension; third, adjust fold radius; a a.

a a.

a a.

consuming e.g.

fourth, clamp work piece down; fifth, take the handle and fold; sixth, return handle; seventh, release clamp fold complete.

Example the Press described in this application: First, take the handle and fold; second, return handle fold complete.

Presses available on the market have several time problems, some of which require expert setting, The top jaw is pivoted, not sliding; the teeth must be clamped; the pressure adjustment is mechanical; the work piece must be clamped before any work can be done; physical packing or mechanical adjustment is needed to adjust the machines for different thicknesses in different work pieces; physical adjustment for the radius of the fold.

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This press was designed with an aim to eliminate or minimise these problems. It achieves this aim by the design features and as such, requires patenting. There is a sliding top jaw for clamping, not a pivoted jaw. The teeth slide on and off for quick and easy adjustment.

However, the teeth may be clamped into position if need be. The mechanical pressure adjustment required by other machines is eliminated. The pressure is self-tensioning through the spring bar.

The mechanical clamping of the work piece is eliminated as clamping is done in the same action as the folding. The press can cope with a variety of thicknesses 4* S. of work piece without any adjustment to the machine (refer S to Sections 6 and The usual thickness range is from 0.00 to 3.25mm but thicker work pieces can be accommodated by strengthening the Press.

Pc The radius of the fold is set in the same movement as the clamping and folding (refer Sections 6 and No go•• preliminary setting is required. There is however a 2D mechanical adjustment if the need arises.

4.4449 The invention includes (see Figure 1. Parts to Folding Machine): a tooth which acts as the point of rotation for the work piece. The tooth is clamped to a tongue which is attached to the top jaw by a 5 1 2i -i a -1 tongue-in-groove arrangement. The tongue may be clamped to the top jaw by a holder The top jaw is attached to a spring bar which is connected through a universal joint to the side arm. The side arm is divided into two pieces an upper arm and a lower arm They are separated by a hinge and have a return spring attached The lower side arm is connected to the handle through the bottom pivot which is another universal joint, and the side arm mount The handle is attached S to the bottom jaw The work piece rests on the holding

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jaw The top jaw is mounted on the frame by runners which may be used as a mechanical adjustment for the angle and pressure applied by the top jaw.

.5 By adding more tongues and teeth, larger sheets S or multiple items may be bent.

The folder may be bench mounted or free standing on a metal frame of varying types.

The work piece is placed on the holding jaw S under the tooth The handle (15) is lifted to the desired angle.

The radius of the fold is automatically determined by the thickness of the work piece and the position of the tooth relative to the bottom jaw (16).

6 I The work piece is clamped and locked into position by the pressure applied to the spring bar caused by the lifting of the handle The handle is lowered releasing the tension on the spring bar which returns to its normal position aided by the side arm return spring (13) which enables the top jaw to be lifted.

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i I j i tr ,i r *9 *p Reference to numbers in bending machine description Section are set out below as Figure part numbers 1 to 22 i.e. Fig.(9) is Side Arm Centre Pivot 1. Tooth 2. Tongue 3. Tongue Holder 4. Top Jaw or Clamping Jaw Spring Bar 6. Side Arm Top Pivot 7. Side Arm Adjustment Points 8. Upper Side Arm 9. Side Arm Centre Pivot Lower Side Arm 11. Side Arm Bottom Pivot 12. Side Arm Stop and Lock 13. Side Arm Return Spring 14. Side Arm Mount 15. Double Position Handle 16. Bottom Jaw or Folding Jaw 17. Bottom Jaw Pivot and Folding Line of Work Piece 18. Handle Pivot Point 19. Bottom Axle Plate 20. Holding Jaw or Back Jaw 21. Sliding Tracks and Slide Adjustment 22. Side Frames 8 d Teeth Refer to Fig. The Teeth are a solid block of metal with a machined angled base to suit the holding jaw (20) and has a machined edge to enable a good crisp fold. The teeth are made in different sizes to suit the work piece, the teeth have holes to enable fastening to the tongue. The holes can be recessed to keep a smooth surface across the teeth for ease of work. Large teeth sections can be mounted onto two or more tongues if needed, but are normally mounted on one tongue.

1 Tongue Refer to Fig.. The Tongue is a •i solid block of metal with tooled tongue-in-groove assembly and an angled base, with a machined table recessed to he .p go S* hold the teeth in the correct position under load, plus lli S a tooled groove to enable the tongue holder to carry out its designed function to ensure the tongue and teeth il do not fall off the tongue-in-groove assembly. This still leaves the tongue free to slide for easy tongue and teeth adjustment, it does not have a loosen and fasten set-up to hold the tongue in place, which is a time delaying operation and this press is designed to eliminate time wastage.

Tongue Holder Refer to Fig. The Tongue Holder is a piece of formed angle with two or more holes in it to enable the tongue holder to be fastened to the 9

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top jaw The holes can be recessed to keep a smooth surface across the tongue holder. The tongue holder can be made in small or large sections, or one continual piece to do the same application. The sole function of the tongue holder is to stop the tongue and teeth from falling off.

Top Jaw Refer to Fig. The Top Jaw can I have numerous pieces to it, with the spine section being the main part. It is a solid block of metal with a iii tongue-in-groove assembly, tooled in its base so the tongue i i can be fitted onto it. There are a number of holes, e e1 or tapped holes, placed along the front (or one of the four I S" a sides) of the spine of the top jaw to enable the tongue a! a.

holder to be fitted. Plus there is another set of holes, or tapped holes, placed along the top of it, so that the S 15 spring bar can also be fitted onto the spine. The spring bar does not have to be placed on top of the spine, it can ja be to the front or back of the spine. The hole sizes can change in diameter to suit the sizes and stress strength needed for the varying jaws which would be required for 2,0 a large or small press or work piece. Because the spine

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a ha3 to change in length when the machine is made larger, it is necessary to strengthen and stiffen the spine. There are a number of different ways to do this, e.g. an A frame set-up, cable, rods or a solid piece of metal (of one or 10 T 0. 1 6* *0 OS

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44 more parts), with lug mounted fixtures or without (all can be bolted, clamped, slotted or welded into position).

Alternatively solid plate, angle, rod or hollow section pieces of metal may be used which can be assembled as a box section or gussett plate (these also can be bolted, clamped, slotted or welded into position). All the foregoing can act as spine bracers on one or more of the four sides of the spine of the Press. The end of the spine is machine cut or tool finished. The ends can have tooled running S tracks or wear strips placed in position to suit the slide e0 adjustment as massive use will create wearing damage

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to the spine. Therefore, wear strips or machining will be necessary to keep gaps, movement and play out of the slide adjustment (21) to enable this machine to operate in the way it is designed to do.

SSpring Bar Refer to Fig. The Spring Bar is a solid block of metal which can be the full length of S the spine, plus extra to allow for the mounting of the side arms or it can be in two sections to fit onto the spine, plus extra for the side arm mounts It may be fitted with holes for mounting onto the spine, either one or more types of fittings may be used for connecting it to the spine.

There are one or more ways of mounting the side arms on to the end of the spring bar a tapped hole or dyed

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08 11 thread to hold the side arms directly to it, or to hold a bearing or universal bearing as a side arm mount, it can also be made up with a collar and bush set-up for the side arm mounts. The solid block of metal can be round rod, hexagonal bar, square or unequal square bar. The spring bar is designed to self tension the clamping pressure to the thickness of the work piece to be folded and to allow t for movement between thick and thin work pieces, to prevent Vi bending, twisting or damaging of the designed set-up between i! ".lA the low jaws and the top jaw, by the side arms of this press.

Side Arm Top Pivot Refer to Fig. The Top Side Arm Pivot is a necessary part of the machine, it enables the side arms and (10) the freedom of movement through the stages of lifting, clamping and adjusting of the top jaw which also acts as a part of the mount to connect the spring bar and the top jaw to the side arms 4 and It may be a roller bearing, racer bearing, universal bearing (or self aligning bearing), a collar and bush set-up or a number of other ways to allow for the 3 0 designed movement needed to allow this press to operate.

I i Adjustment of Side Arms Refer to Fig. The Side Arm Adjustments are needed to allow for the assembling alignment of the side arm centre pivot to work in line with the bottom jaw and folding line pivot 12

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There is one of the two adjustment side arms located at one end of the upper side arm so that the tension of the spring bar can be pre-set to allow for different tension pressure on the spring bar to suit the size of the press. It can be a tapped or dyed thread in the end of the upper side arm or a telescopic sleeve and clamping arrangement. The second one of the two adjustments is located at the end of the lower side arm (10) to give and to keep the side arm centre pivot in the correct position to the bottom jaw pivot and folding line Without the j bottom adjustment the operator will bend or break the press see and prevent the press from operating to its correct designed o 0 movement. Without the top adjustment to the spring bar (which pre-sets the tension of the spring bar), the operator will lose the clamping pressures needed to keep the radius •O of the fold close and neat when operating a longer press or using a larger work piece.

Upper Side Arm Refer to Fig. The Upper Side Arm consists of an upper side arm adjustment to enable the side arm top pivot to be attached to it (explained in Sections 6. and It is a length of solid i or hollow metal with a mount on it which attaches the return spring (13) to the upper side arm, also at the other end there is attached a part of the side arm centre pivot 13 i.0 with a backward travel stop, which is a solid piece, or j pieces, of metal which is put in position to suit and line up with the side arm stop and lock The backward travel Istop can be mounted by welding, bolting, sleeved and keyed S 5 or clamped intu position to be fastened to the length of the upper side arm. Plus within the upper side arm there i is a stop plate placed near the centre pivot to prevent the side arm return spring (13) from bringing the lower i side arm back around too far and to enable the upper and lower parts of the side arm to unite, as if it was one piece, Sthus it can do the lifting, clamping and adjusting to the top jaw To inhibit wear, there may be a need to fix an adjustment to the plate to keep the lower side arm straight n on return.

SSide Arm Centre Pivot Refer to Fig. The S Side Arm Centre Pivot consists of two mounts, one on the upper side arm and the second on the lower side arm. These S two mounts are united by an axle to create the pivot. The axle is held at each end to prevent it from falling out.

i 0 The axle can be fitted with a bearing for ease of movement and to prevent wear on the pivot. Without the centre pivot on the side arms, the operator would not be able to do any 6eeee: folding because as the handle (15) is brought round to do the clamping, adjusting and locking into position, the side 14 arm centre pivot is required to allow the lower side arm to move round with the folding jaw (16) and handle as they are all connected.

Lower Side Arm Refer to Fig. The Lower Side Arm consists of a lower side arm adjustment so that the side arm bottom pivot (11) may be attached to it (explained in Sections 6. and It is a length of metal, i solid or hollow, with a mount on it to attach the return Jspring (13) to the lower side arm. Attached at the other end is a part of the side arm centre pivot within this mount there is a solid block of metal to enable the piece to engage with an adjacent piece of metal, which acts as 6 a stop at between 1700 to 2100 (basically a straight line between the top pivot centre pivot and bottom pivot to allow it to do the lifting in the backward movement and to release it from the adjusted and clamped position.

Without this solid block of metal, the upper side arm and lower side arm would be pivoted into a reversed cocked position, which would prevent the releasing of the adjusted and clamped top jaw and stop the side arms from doing the designed lifting. The solid block of metal can be mounted by welding, bolting, sleeved and keyed, or clamped into position to be fastened to the lower side arm.

Side Arm Bottom Pivot Refer to Fig. The 15 .1 fI 44

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Bottom Side Arm Pivot is a necessary part of the machine which enables the side arms and (10) the freedom of movement through the stages of lifting, clamping and adjusting of the top jaw which also acts as a part of the mount to connect the side arm mount handle (15) and the folding jaw (16) to the side arms and The side N arm bottom pivot may be a roller bearing, racer bearing, universal bearing (or self aligning), a collar and bush set-up, or a number of other ways to allow the designed 1i 0 movement needed for the press to operate.

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i!i i Side Arm Stop and Lock Refer to Fig. (12).

i The Side Arm Stop and Lock is a solid piece of metal, hollow, ooQ S angle iron or other, placed into a solid fixed position 5.5 to the side frame (22) to stop the upper side arm and side o arm centre pivot from moving past the lined up position with the bottom jaw pivot and folding line (17) and also ~0S* to stop the upper side arm and top jaw from moving l backwards and thus lose the tension on the spring bar, which 0:2 0 would stop the top jaw toigue and tooth from D being able to keep a good clamp on the work piece, which would consequently cause either no fold or the fold would .i not be neat and tight. The side arm stop can be welded solid or bolted solid and it may be fitted with an adjustment 16 to get the correct position when being manufactured, or to keep the position if any wearing occurs.

Return Spring of Side Arm Refer to Fig. (13).

The Return Spring is a spring that may be a coil, flat spring or hydraulic. This has no affect on its application. The sole purpose of the return spring is to bring the upper and lower side arms and (10) back together in a basically Sstraight line (as explained in Section 10.) when the upper i side arm is returning from the folding motion. It is spring mounted to a mount on each upper and lower side arms (8) and Side Arm Mount Refer to Fig. There are *0 numerous ways in which the side arm mounts can be mounted to the handle, i.e. a tapped hole, dyed thread to hold the side arms directly to it, or to hold a bearing or universal bearing (11) to the side arm mount. It can be made in S conjunction on assembly as part of the handle, or it may be a separate part to be fitted later to the handle. The S"0 side arm mount is to be strongly made or gussetted to ensure there is no movement or bending within it and to ensure that the spring bar can do its designed function. The side arm mount is also to keep the side arm centre pivot in its correct position with the bottom jaw pivot and 17 folding line The side arm mount can be made out of round, square, hollow metal, etc.

Double Position Handle Refer to Fig. The Double Position Handle is made of solid pieces of metal which are cut, bent and assembled into the form and shape of the handle. The handle can be made into any size, form or shape to do the functions required, but the double position means that there is an upper and lower handle designed for ease of working. The upper handle is more for the use of clamping, adjusting and lifting the top jaw with ease and less movement and effort on the part of the operator. The lower handle can be used for folding thicker or larger sections of the work piece and thus the operator does not have to exert too much ernergy to carry out the folding S. *a S•5 functions of the press. The handle is then mounted to the as o S* handle pivot (18) which is the primary movement for the lifting, clamping and adjusting of the top jaw There is a fitted handle stop which can be connected to either the handle, bottom jaw or folding jaw or on to the 9: mO bottom axle plate to connect the handle pivot (18) to the bottom jaw pivot The handle then goes into its second stage movement which engages the folding jaw (16) to do the folding, bending or forming of the work piece.

The handle can also be fitted with roller bearings or a 18 rr~secondary skin, which will turn freely on the handle, when i the secondary skin moves freely it will stay in a vertical or north position to prevent the operator from getting blisters, etc.

Bottom Jaw or Folding Jaw Refer to Fig. (16).

The Bottom Jaw is made of a solid piece of metal. The folding jaw goes from one side of the press to the other. In the i case of a larger machine, it may have a stiffener piece attached to it that can be welded or bolted. It can be made of either angle iron, box section, solid, channel, etc. It can also have a folding strip mounted to it which S. can be welded or bolted onto the main section. The folding a 'strip can be made in one or more sections. On the ends i (left and right) of the main section of the folding jaw it can have axles mounted directly to it, or mounts can be placed on the main section of the folding jaw so the main section can be removed quickly and easily away from the axles of the bottom axle plate On any part of the bottom jaw bottom axle plate or the double :0 position handle the handle stop can be mounted.

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Bottom Jaw Pivot and Folding Line of the Work Piece Refer to Fig. The Bottom Jaw Pivot can be made in multiple ways, e.g. by racer bearings, roller bearings, self centring bearings, collars and bushes or 19 just a hole put into the side frame The bearings Scan be mounted by bolting, welding or pressed into a hole.

Any of the above will create a pivot point from which the Folding Jaw can pivot.

Handle Pivot Point Refer. to Fig. There are numerous ways in which the handle pivot point may be constructed to make the pivot, as in Sections i (11) and This pivot point is to allow the handle Sto proceed through the two stages of movement through the 1i 0 folding procedures. The first part of this movement is governed solely from the pivot to bring the top jaw (4) down to do all of the clamping and adjusting before the handle is engaged with the bottom jaw by a handle stop, placed above the handle, which can be either connected to the bottom jaw double position handle or bottom 0* axle plate Thus when the handle (15) is engaged with the bottom jaw, through the handle stop plate, it goes into its second stage of movement, which is to move the bottom jaw or folding jaw (16) to make the fold or bend on the work piece.

Bottom Axle Plate Refer to Fig. The bottom Axle Plate consists of a solid piece of metal which has the axle for the bottom jaw (16) fitted to it and which 20 1 C

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lines up centrally to the folding line The axle can be made in varying lengths and whether it is a self-centring bearing, racer bearing, roller bearing or a collar and bush set-up will be ascertained according to the bottom jaw pivot.

5 For a larger or smaller press, the axle will change in diameter to give the extra strength needed. The principle of this axle is to give the bottom jaw movement and to extend out into its mount (bearing, etc.) far enough to keep the bottom jaw (16) and the bottom axle plate clear from the 10 side frame, bolts, nuts, weldments or mounts which would cause fouling and stoppage to the movement of the bottom S jaw (16) and bottom axle plate (19) along with the double position handle Also with this axle plate there is

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enough room for two different ways of mounting the bottom e• lS jaw (16): S By welding the axle plate directly to the bottom jaw.

S By having the axle plate bolted to the bottom jaw as this makes easy accessability for maintenance and assembly procedures.

There is also room on the axle plate for the handle pivot bearings, bushes, etc., to give the handle its first S stage movement to do the clamping, adjusting and lifting, 55 as explained in Section 18. The positioning of the handle 21

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0 0 0* S 00 pivot point (18) to the bottom jaw pivot or folding line (17) is not too crucial, but as this press has a self-locking set-up on the clamping, the handle pivot would need to be moved down and away from the imaginary straight line of the side arm top pivot side arm centre pivot with the bottom jaw pivot or folding line plus the side arm bottom pivot There are two bottom axle plates, one left-hand and one right-hand. On a larger press there may be more handle pivot plates fitted.

Holding Jaw or Back Jaw Refer to Fig. The Holding Jaw can be made up of one, two or more pieces of metal. The metal can be solid, hollow, angle, channel or flat. This jaw is the only fixed jaw on the press and it has three purposes: To give the parent metal or work piece a fixed position on the folding line.

To be the second half of the clamping jaw (top jaw To be the front spacer between the side frames.

The jaw needs to be mounted on either side of the side frame (left and right) by weldment or bolting. There may be a folding strip added to the holding jaw for wear and tear, and for larger presses a stiffener plate or bracket (1, 2 or more) can be fitted to strengthen the holding jaw.

22 -C c Slide Adjustment Refer to Fig. The Slide Adjustment is made up of a number of pieces of metal, which can be solid plate, cast iron or cast steel, etc. There are basically four pieces of steel on each side of this press with holes in them. Two pieces are fixed to the side frame by weldment or bolted in an anchored position, and in these two pieces there are tapped holes 2 or more) for adjusting tools to push or pull on the other two parts of the slide adjustment. The two pieces also have holes (whether they are tapped or not does not matter) for anchoring them to the side plate after the first two pieces,

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with the adjusting tools, have found the correct position So of slide to line the tooth up with the folding line o Sin the centre of the folding point, or bottom jaw pivot The sliding angle is set between 200 and 600 up from the holding jaw The necessity of having these two

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degrees is so that the operator can have a choice of varying the radius of the fold, e.g. 200 which is a large radius eo ~fold, or a 400 angle which is a normal radius fold, or a 600 angle which is an extremely tight radius fold.

~Side Frame Refer to Fig. The Side Frame

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is made out of a solid piece of metal with a large slotted hole placed in line with the sliding top jaw this is 23 to give an open area for the spring bar to pass through and connect to the side arms and (10) to the top jaw The slotted hole has to be large enough to allow for the complete sliding movement of the top jaw and the adjustment of the sliding tracks (21) which will change the position and slide angle of the top jaw There is a series of holes placed in line with the bottom jaw pivot or folding line (17) for the bottom jaw axle to pass through the side frame to meet up with its mount (17) (explained in Section Plus within the side frame there are holes placed for the mounting of the slide tracks whether they are slotted, tapped, or if the sliding tracks (21) are weld mounted (as explained in Section 21.) 9e So There is also the positioning of the side arm stop and lock S. 09 I (12) (as explained in Section The side frames have 90 to have the mounts for the holding jaw or back jaw built into it for bolting or welding the holding jaw (20) into 0090 i "position (as explained in Section The holding jaw (20) also acts as a front spacer, for the inner width of the side frames there are another two spacers between the 9 side frames, one placed and mounted at the rear top section of the side frames and the other placed and mounted to the rear bottom of the side frames, this bottom spacer also does the designed purpose as a back stop for the parent 24 T metal or work piece. The rear top spacer also acts as a tool tray and drawing holder for the operator. Without the spacers for the side frames the top jaw would twist and jam and it would prevent the designed free sliding travel for the top jaw The side arm assembly is the part of this Press i which connects the top jaw assembly and the handle assembly together so that when the handle moves into its first stage of movement, to do the clamping and adjusting, the spring bar can make allowances for thick and thin work pieces i and give different clamping pressures onto the work piece.

Within the first stage of handle movement, the side arm

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fo assembly will give the top jaw assembly the power to lift and pull down to the work piece. When the top jaw is pulled *o o°down between the set angle of the sliding tracks it i will give the operator the adjustment of the radius of the fold. Therefore, where the folding edge of the tooth stops *in its clamped postion on the work piece, relative to the folding line of the bottom two jaws (16 20), the radius of the fold is given automatically. This is another design fault with other Presses, they need to have a precisional adjustment made to alter the radius of the fold between thick and thin work pieces. The Operator is faced with a few different types of adjusting points to do the radius adjustment 25 v

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'pL r W according to the design of the Press he is operating, i.e.

moving all the teeth back onto the top jaw away from the folding line, moving the complete top jaw back away from if the folding line or by dropping the folding jaw down away from the folding line on the holding jaw. When making any of these adjustments, the Operator has to make the adjusting gap even on both right and left sides of the Press and must keep the folding edge of the teeth straight and parallel to the folding line.

The foregoing is a design fault on other Presses which need to be adjusted precisionally in order to alter S" the radius of the fold between thick and thin work pieces.

4* The Operator is faced with a few different types of adjusting 4.

4 *4 .points to carry out the radius adjustment according to the iH design of the Press he is operating, i.e. by moving all the Steeth back onto the top jaw away from the folding line (17), or by moving the complete top jaw assembly back away from the folding line this is the most common type of set-up used or by dropping the folding jaw down away from the folding line.

When making any of these adjustments to obtain the radius, the Operator has to make the adjusting gap even on both right and left side of the Press and must keep the .4 S"folding edge of the teeth straight and parallel to the folding line.

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Example other Presses: First, find a tool; second, unlock the adjustment (left side); third, make the adjustment (left side); Sfourth, lock up the adjustment (left side); fifth, unlock the adjustment (right side); sixth, make the adjustment (right side); seventh, lock up the adjustment (right side); Example the Press described in this application: Adjustments non existent.

On other Presses, if the adjusting tool is handy, it can take the Operator 7 to 10 minutes (even up to 20 minutes S. according to the set-up used) to make these adjustments, S.whereas on the Press under application there is no time wasted.

Within the handle assembly, there are the side arm mounts left and right, two horizontal bars, two vertical bars, connecting to the horizontal bars and to the i handle pivot axles (18) and gussets for the side arm mounts The handle assembly is then mounted into the handle S pivot point (18) which is connected to the folding jaw (16), ago* through the bottom axle plate which also connects the folding jaw (16) to the bottom jaw pivot which are n fastened to the side frames, left and right (22).

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1 Ih The side frames have the large slotted holes in them for the top jaw assembly to pass through, so that the side arm assemblies can be connected up to the spring bar The side arm stop and lock (12) is fastened to the side frames plus the sliding tracks and slide adjustment (21) are also attached to the side frame.

To keep the side frames evenly apart from one another, there are three spacers placed between them, one is placd and mounted at the rear top section of the side frames which also acts as a tool tray, one is fixed to the centre of the side frames, which also acts as a part of the back stop for the work piece, and the third one is .9 Sfastened to the rear bottom of the side frame. The front S"spacer is the holding jaw The backstop is made up 9. 99 a Swith the centre spacer and two pieces mounted to it and running 0o•°• up to and connecting to the front spacer (holding jaw with a sliding track between the two pieces.

Th. summary and overall perspective within the *9999.

description section of this application, in comparison to .9 other Presses, is best summed up by a comparison detailing step by step work operations and adjustments between the two Presses when making two right angle channel sections °"out of two different thicknesses of parent metal to be folded on each Press.

0. on each Press.

28 T- C c r f :1 i i The four pieces of parent metal, being two of 1mm and two of 3mm thicknesses, are all cut to the same size of 100mm length by 100mm width, plus they have two 25mm deep cut-outs at 450 on the third fold line. Two fold lines are to be placed 25mm in from two adjacent edges running parallel and the third fold line will be across the centre of the first two fold lines. The cut-outs are placed on this third fold line. All folds are 900 up from the horizontal (see drawing for detail).

When going into the step by step operation of the right angle channel sections we are assuming that the other Press has already been set-up with the thickness adjustment set to 1mm, the radius set to 1.2mm and the clamp tension worked out for the pressure needed on the clamping of the work piece. Therefore the first work piece to be folded is 1mm Plate.

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Example Other Presses: 1. Place 1mm thick work piece in Press to 25mm fold line; 2. clamp work piece down; 3. tack the handle and fold to 900; 4. return handle; release clamp first fold complete; 6. turn work piece to other 25mm fold line; 7. clamp work piece down; 8. tack the handle and fold to 900; 9. return handle; release clamp second fold complete; 11. find a tool; 12. unfasten the tongues; 13. adjust the tooth gaps; 14. fasten the tongues; turn work piece to centre fold line; 16. clamp work piece down; 17. return handle; 19. release clamp completion of first work piece.

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1. Find a tool; 2. unfasten adjustment for thickness left side; 3. adjust for thickness to 3mm left side; 4. fasten adjustment for thickness left side; unfasten adjustment for thickness right side; 6. adjust for thickness to 3mm right side; 7. fasten adjustment for thickness right side; 8. unfasten adjustment for radius left side; 9. adjust radius to 3-6mm left side; fasten adjustment for radius left side; 11. unfasten adjustment for radius right side; 12. adjust radius to 3-6mm right side; 13. fasten adjustment for radius right side; 14. unfasten adjustment for clamp tension left side; adjust clamp tension for 3mm plate left side; 16. fasten adjustment for clamp tension left side; 17. unfasten adjustment for clamp tension right side; 18. adjust clamp tension for 3mm plate right side; 19. fasten adjustment for clamp tension right side;

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0* 00 00 @0 00 S 0005 31 @0 00 0 0005 @0 0@ 0S hLmp I A place 3mm thick work piece in Press to 25mm fold line; 21. clamp work piece down; 22. take the handle and fold to 900; 23. return handle; 24. release clamp first fold complete; turn work piece to other 25mm fold line; 26. clamp work piece down; 27. take handle and fold to 900; 28. return handle; 29. release clamp second fold complete; find a tool; 31. unfasten the tongue; 32. adjust the tooth gap; 33. fasten the tongues; S. 34. turn work piece to centre fold line; clamp work piece down; 36. take the handle and fold to 900; 37. return handle; i, 38. release clamp completion of second work piece;

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the Press described in this application: Place Imm thick work piece in Press to 25mm fold line; take the handle and fold to 900; return handle first fold complete; turn work piece to other 25mm fold line; take the handle and fold to 900; return handle second fold complete; slide tongues for tooth gap; turn work piece to centre fold line; take the handle and fold to 900; return handle completion of first work piece.

Place 3mm thick work piece in Press to 25mm fold line; take the handle and fold to 900; return handle first fold complete; turn work piece to other 25mm fold line; take the handle and fold to 900; return handle second fold complete; slide tongues for tooth gaps; turn work piece to centre fold line; take the handle and fold to 900; return handle completion of second work piece.

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1 This Patent is to cover the use of: 1. All Automotive Power Drives whether they be electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical or any other form or forms of forces to drive the press into or through the stages of lifting, adjusting, clamping and folding, plus all other Sstages of the press procedure.

2. All types of pivots, whether they be ball-bearing, racer-bearing, roller-bearing, self-centreing bearing, ball joint, collar and bush assembly, or whatever needs to be used to create a pivot S point, as the pivot point is the crucial part S of the design principle.

3. All forms of building materials steels, i• •metals, alloys, plastics, ceramics, carbon fibres, fibreglass, or any other, plus the appropriate joining techniques and assembly procedures.

4. All shapes, sizes, vriations of any dimensions J used to create all or any part of parts of this press, as they must be changed to suit the load factors and stress forces which will evolve with the various sizes and applications of the machine.

S 6 34 .3 <^vp i Finally, it is to be understood that the foregoing description refers merely to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and that variations and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the ambit of which is spelt out and determined within the introduction, description and the following claims section of this patent.

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Claims (7)

1. 2. The bending machine according to Claim i, wherein said clamping jaw has a machined base to suit the tongue which also has a machined base at one end to fit onto the clamping jaw, the tongue has another machined surface for the tooth to sit on, the tooth also has a machined surface to suit the lower back supporting jaw and has a tongue holder fitted between the tongue and the clamping jaw.
2. 3. The bending machine according to Claim i, wherein said spring bar is connected to the top jaw and as such the said spring bar is the part on the press that enables the differing height needed to fold different thicknesses of work pieces and to give a stronger clamp onto thicker work pieces, without the spring bar the operator would need to assemble adjustment points to the press, as the gap between the holding jaw and the top jaw assembly is increased the spring bar will bend to make allowances for the different thicknesses of the work piece and when the spring bar bends, it changes the pressure on the top jaw assembly and clamping from soft to hard as the work pieces change from thick to thin 37 s r
3. 4. The bending machine according to Claim 1 and 3 has a side arm top pivot which rotates on the spring bar and is connected to the side arm adjustment, the side arm adjustment is made up to be part of the upper side arm, the side arm centre pivot (elbow) is partly placed with the upper side arm and partly placed with the lower side arm to make the centre pivot, the upper side arm and the lower side arm each have an adjustable pivot to line up the centre pivot see 6'4 with the folding axis of the said machine, the upper side o:i arm and the lower side arm each have a spring mount so that S.the side arm return spring can be united to both the upper and lower side arms, the lower side arm *s another side arm adjustment made up to be part of the side arm assembly which connects the side arm bottom pivot to the lower side 15 arm, thus the bottom pivot rotates on the lower side arm o. mount, the side arm assembly is placed on each side of the ee press by being connected to the left and right sides of the top jaw assembly and to the left and right sides of the handle assembly, the side arm assembly is the part of this press which connects the top jaw assembly and the handle assembly together so that when the handle moves into its first stage of movement, to do the clamping and adjusting, the spring bar can make allowances for thick and thin work pieces and give different clamping pressures onto the work i- 38 1.1- I piece, within the first stage of handle movement the side V arm assembly will give the top jaw assembly the power to lift and pull down to the work piece and when the top jaw is pulled down between the set angle of the sliding tracks S 5 it will give the operator the adjustment of the radius of the fold, therefore where the fiolding edge of the tooth S"stops in its clamped position on the work piece relative to the folding line of the two jaws the radius of the fold is given automatically. 46
4. 5. The bending machine according to Claim 1 and 4, wherein :%see said other folding jaw has a handle assembly, within the handle assembly there are the side arm mounts, left and right, two horizontal bars, two vertical bars, connecting Sto the horizontal bars and to the handle pivot axles and gussets for the side arm mounts, the handle assembly is then mounted into the handle pivot point which is connected to the folding jaw through the bottom axle plate, which also connects the folding jaw to the bottom jaw pivot, which are fastened to the side frames, left and right.
5. 6. The bending machine according to Claim 1 and 5, wherein said side frames have a side arm stop and lock mounted to the side frames, left and right, plus the sliding tracks (running gear) for the clamping jaw are also attached to the side frames, to keep the side frames evenly apart from -39 Oct 7 A one another, there are three spacers placed between them, one is placed and mounted at the rear top section of the side frames, which also acts as a tool tray, one is fixed to the centre of the side frames, which also acts as a part of the back stop for the work piece and also makes up the holding jaw, the third one is fastened to the rear bottom ii.'o of the side frame, the backstop is made up with the centre spacer an.. two pieces mounted to it to aid a sliding backstop which runs back and forward from the back of the said bending machine up to the holding jaw.
6. 7. The bending machine according to Claim 1 to 6 I. is summed up into a simple perspective between the said bending i machine and other bending machines in that the operator can make his fold of basically any thickness by putting his parent metal into the machine, take the handle and then execute the fold from start to finish, without having to adjust the machine for parent metal thickness, without adjusting the o. clamp tension, without adjusting the radius and without having free to use a clamping handle and then a folding handle and then back to the clamping handle to execute the fold.
7. 8. A bending machine, as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS 20TH DAY OF JUNE 1991 A.F. GENT Ilk"I i Y 7 40-