AU2012297120B2

AU2012297120B2 - Construction profile and method and device for producing such a construction profile

Info

Publication number: AU2012297120B2
Application number: AU2012297120A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Christof Maisch
Original assignee: Protektorwerk Florenz Maisch GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Protektorwerk Florenz Maisch GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2011-07-27
Filing date: 2012-07-24
Publication date: 2016-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 2032-07-24
Also published as: PL2729264T3; WO2013023860A1; AU2012297120A1; EP2729264B1; AR087316A1; AU2012297120C1; TW201314098A; UY34214A; EP2729264A1; DE102011108679A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a construction profile, in particular a T, C, U, V, H, L, M, W, Q or hat profile, having an in particular metallic, elongated base body (14). The base body comprises a center region (15) extending in the longitudinal direction and designed substantially closed and at least two longitudinal regions (16) extending on both sides of the center region (15). Openings (13) expanded crosswise to the longitudinal extension of the base body (14) are arranged in the longitudinal regions (16). A profile recess (18) or rise having lateral guide surfaces (19) and extending in the longitudinal direction of the base body (14) over the entire length thereof is formed in the center region (15) of the base body (14). The invention further relates to a method and to a device for producing such a construction profile.

Description

CONSTRUCTION PROFILE AND METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRODUCING SUCH A CONSTRUCTION PROFILE

The present invention relates to a structural section, in particular a T-section, C-section, U-section, V-section, H-section, L-section, M-section, W-section, Ω-section or hat section, as well as to a method and to an apparatus for manufacturing such a structural section. Structural sections of this kind are produced in many cases from a metallic, elongated base body, for example from a metal web. In this respect, the production frequently takes place in the so-called online process, i.e. a correspondingly elongated material web is subjected to a plurality of shaping steps during the forward movement of the material web in the longitudinal direction to achieve the final section shape. In this respect, it is in particular important that high processing speeds of up to 150 m/min are reached to achieve a throughput which is as high as possible.

It is also important in such structural sections that the costs are to a predominant degree fixed by the material costs. The means that the total costs of the structural section can also be considerably reduced by a reduction in the material consumption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a structural section as well as a method and an apparatus for producing a structural section which can in particular be manufactured in a simple manner and inexpensively in an online process.

According to a first principal aspect, there is provided a T-section rail for carrying panel-shaped elements for the insertion assembly of ceiling panels for grid ceilings comprising an elongated base body, which includes a middle region extending in the longitudinal direction and formed at least substantially as closed, which includes at least two longitudinal regions which extend at both sides of the middle region and in which openings widened transversely to the longitudinal extent of the base body are arranged, which includes respective outwardly disposed regions adjoining the longitudinal regions including the widened openings, and which includes a double-wall region having two surface portions, with the widened openings being formed in the two surface portions of the double wall region, wherein at least one section recess or section nose comprising side guide surfaces is formed in the middle region of the base body and extends in the longitudinal direction of the base body over its total length, and wherein the middle region forms a top chord, the double wall region forms a web and the outwardly disposed regions form a bottom chord of the T-section rail.

In one embodiment, the section recess is formed as a guide groove.

In another embodiment, the section nose is formed as a rear region of a guide groove.

In a further embodiment, the longitudinal regions include at least two longitudinal part regions which are arranged next to one another in the longitudinal direction and which are each connected to one another in one piece by folded over web-shaped portions to form the widened openings.

In one embodiment, no openings are formed in the respective outwardly disposed regions.

In another embodiment, the T-section rail is metallic.

In a further embodiment, the elongated base body is metallic.

According to a second principal aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a T-section rail, wherein at least one section recess or section nose comprising side guide surfaces and extending in the longitudinal direction is formed in a middle region of an elongated material web; substantially slit shaped openings are introduced into at least two longitudinal regions of the material web extending at both sides of the middle region; the section recess or section nose is guided during a longitudinal movement of the material web along a guide portion such that a movement of the middle region transverse to the longitudinal direction and substantially in the plane of the material web is prevented by the mutual engaging of the section recess or section nose and the guide portion; the openings are widened transversely to the longitudinal direction by a pulling apart of the longitudinal regions during the longitudinal movement of the material web; the longitudinal regions are bent over with respect to the middle region after the widening of the openings; the middle region is shaped so that the longitudinal regions form a double wall region; a respective outwardly disposed region which adjoins the respective longitudinal region is bent over with respect to the respective longitudinal region; and a top chord is formed by the middle region, a web is formed by the double wall region and a bottom chord of the T-section rail is formed by the outwardly disposed regions.

In one embodiment, the section recess or section nose is produced during the longitudinal movement of the material web.

In another embodiment, the slit-shaped openings are produced during the longitudinal movement of the material web.

In a further embodiment, the openings are widened by a folding over of web-shaped portions which each connect two longitudinal part regions of the respective longitudinal region to one another in one piece.

In one embodiment, the T-section rail comprises a metal T-section rail.

In another embodiment, the T-section rail comprises any embodiment of a T-section rail according to the first principal aspect as herein described.

In a further embodiment, no openings are formed in the respective outwardly disposed regions.

According to a third principal aspect, there is provided an apparatus for carrying out any embodiment of a method according to the second principal aspect as herein described, comprising a profiling unit for producing the section recess or section nose in the material web, comprising a cutting unit for producing the slit-shaped openings, comprising a widening unit for widening the openings and comprising the guide portion for the longitudinal guidance of the section recess or section nose, wherein the guide section engages into the section recess or engages over the section nose such that a movement of the middle region of the material web transverse to the longitudinal direction and substantially in the plane of the material web is prevented. A structural section in accordance with an aspect of the invention includes an elongated base body which is in particular metallic and which includes a middle region which extends in the longitudinal direction and which is formed substantially as closed and includes at least two longitudinal sections which extend at both sides of the middle region and in which openings are arranged which are widened transversely to the longitudinal extent of the base body, with at least one section recess or section nose having side guide surfaces and extending in the longitudinal direction of the base body and over its total length being formed.

In a method in accordance with an aspect of the invention, at least one section recess or section nose having side guide surfaces is formed in a middle region of an elongated material web, substantially slit-shaped openings are introduced into at least two longitudinal regions of the material web extending at both sides of the middle region, the section recess or section nose is guided along a guide portion during a longitudinal movement of the material web so that a movement of the middle region transverse to the longitudinal direction and substantially in the plane of the material web is prevented by the mutually engaging section recess or section nose and the guide portion and the openings are widened by a pulling apart of the longitudinal regions transverse to the longitudinal direction during the longitudinal movements of the material web.

An apparatus in accordance with an aspect of the invention includes a profiling unit for producing the section recess or section nose in the material web, a cutting unit for producing the slit-shaped openings, a widening unit for widening the openings and a guide portion for longitudinally guiding the section recess or section nose, with the guide portion engaging into the section recess or engaging over the section nose such that a movement of the middle region of the material web transverse to the longitudinal direction and substantially in the plane of the material web is prevented.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the openings in the longitudinal regions are, for example, not produced by material-wasting punching out, but rather by a widening process. To be able to ensure a uniform widening of the openings in the two longitudinal regions, a section recess or section nose having side guide surfaces is formed in this respect, especially in the middle region. On the parting of the openings, it is ensured by the guide portion cooperating with the section recess or section nose that the middle region is fixed in the transverse direction so that the openings are uniformly widened in both longitudinal regions. Without the fixing through the guide portion, there is the risk that the openings are widened more in one longitudinal region than the openings in the other longitudinal region or even that only openings in one of the longitudinal regions are widened, while the openings remain in their original, slit-shaped, unwidened state in the other longitudinal region.

In embodiments, the section recess can advantageously be formed as a guide groove and/or the section nose can be formed as a rear region of a guide groove. Such a guide groove can be stamped in a simple manner, which can take place directly in the online process. The section recess or section nose can thus be produced directly during the longitudinal movement of the material web. In embodiments, the slit-shaped openings can also advantageously be produced during the longitudinal movement of the material web in order in this manner to ensure a single-stage online manufacturing process.

In accordance with an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the longitudinal regions include at least two longitudinal part regions which are arranged next to one another in the longitudinal direction and which are connected to one another in one piece for forming the widened openings by respective folded over, web-shaped portions. The openings can thus be produced by a folding over of these web-shaped portions which each connect two longitudinal part regions of the respective longitudinal region to one another in one piece. The openings are produced by a so-called folding process in this case. It is generally also possible, for example, that the openings are produced by a widening process of parallel slit-shaped openings arranged alternatingly to one another. They can, for example, be widened to diamond-shaped openings in that the longitudinal regions are pulled apart transversely to their longitudinal extent.

In accordance with a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the structural section includes a double-wall region having two surface portions, with the widened openings being formed in the two surface portions of the double wall region. The longitudinal regions can for this purpose be bent over with respect to the middle region after the widening of the openings, with the middle region preferably being shaped such that the longitudinal regions form the double wall region.

In an embodiment, a respective outwardly disposed region which can in particular be formed without openings and which adjoins the respective longitudinal region can advantageously be bent over with respect to the respective longitudinal region. The resulting structural section then includes correspondingly bent over outwardly disposed regions in which in particular no openings are formed.

In this manner, the structural section can advantageously be formed as a T-section rail, in particular for carrying panel-shaped elements, preferably for the insertion installation of cover panels for grid ceilings. The middle region can in this case form a top chord, the double wall region a web and the outwardly disposed regions a bottom chord of the T-section rail. Since the web is made with double walls, it is not disadvantageous for the stability that the openings are formed in this region.

In an embodiment, beads can preferably be formed in the longitudinal regions to increase the stability. They can in particular extend in the regions between the openings and thus extend transversely to the longitudinal extent of the longitudinal regions. The beads can in this respect extend over the full width of the longitudinal regions or only over a part thereof. It is in particular also possible that a plurality of beasts are connected to one another via further beads extending in the longitudinal direction in the marginal regions of the longitudinal regions. In this case, the beads can form a ladder structure or one or more comb structures in particular engaging into one another. The beads can in particular be stamped into the longitudinal regions, in particular in an online process, to produce them. It is, however, also possible that the beads are not stamped directly, but that the material regions of the longitudinal regions surrounding the beads are stamped so that the non-stamped regions ultimately form projecting beads.

In an embodiment, the beads can in this respect advantageously be formed after the production of the openings. In this case, the openings form equalization portions which substantially take up material stresses arising by the stamping process so that a corrugation or arching of the material web outside the stampings caused by the stamping process is prevented or at least minimized. This in particular applies when the openings are arranged at least partly or completely within the stampings. The maximum depth of the stampings can preferably amount to at least approximately twice, in particular at least three times, preferably at least five times the material thickness of the starting material of the material web. In embodiments, an unwanted corrugation or arching of the material web is also avoided by the openings in these unusually deep stampings and simultaneously a stiffening of the material is achieved.

Further advantageous embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more fully understood and put into practice, embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The invention will be described in more detail in the following purely by way of example with reference to a T-section rail and to the drawings. The invention can generally, as initially mentioned, also be used for other structural sections. There are shown in the drawings:

Fig. 1 a perspective view of a frame construction with a T-section rail formed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention for forming a grid ceiling;

Fig. 2 a perspective view of a structural section in accordance with the embodiment of the invention of Fig. 1 formed as a T-section rail;

Fig. 3 a plan view of a material web for manufacturing the structural section of Fig. 2.;

Fig. 4 a schematic representation of an apparatus for manufacturing a structural section formed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 a transverse section through the material web of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 a perspective view of a V-section in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1 shows a frame construction 1 which comprises a plurality of parallel section rails 2 extending perpendicular thereto.

The section rails 2 have a T-shaped cross-section, having an elongated web 3 and a bottom chord 4 adjoining its lower longitudinal edge. The bottom chord 4 comprises two bends of the web 3, outwardly in each case, by which two bottom chord portions 5, 6 are formed which form contact surfaces for panel-shaped elements 7, for example ceiling panels.

The section rails 2 have a top chord 8 at their respective upper longitudinal side which is made as a hollow section and serves for the coupling of the section rails 2 to suspension elements 9, 10.

The structure of the section rail 2 in accordance with the embodiment of the invention can be clearly recognized from Fig. 2.

It can in particular be recognized from Fig. 2 that the web 3 forms a double wall region 11 with two surface portions 12 of the section rail 2 in which a respective plurality of openings 13 are formed.

The section rail 2 is formed symmetrically along a middle plane extending in the longitudinal direction and coinciding with the web 3 and includes a base body 14 which includes a middle region 15 extending in the longitudinal direction, longitudinal regions 16 extending in the longitudinal direction at both sides of the middle region 15 and outwardly disposed regions 17 respectively adjoining the longitudinal regions 16 and likewise extending in the longitudinal direction. The middle region 15 is in this respect made as a hollow section and forms the top chord 8. The two longitudinal regions 16 contact one another and form the double wall region 11 and thus the web 3. The two outwardly disposed regions 17 are each bent over by 90° with respect to the longitudinal regions 16 and form the two bottom chord sections 5, 6. A section recess 18 which extends over the total length of the section rail 2 and which is formed as a guide groove is formed on the upper side of the top chord 8 and thus in the middle region 15. The section recess has two side guide surfaces 19 which are formed for lateral guidance in the manufacture of the section rail 2, as will be explained in more detail in the following.

As can furthermore be recognized from Fig. 2, the openings 13 formed in the longitudinal regions 16 are arranged alternatingly. In this respect, the longitudinal regions 16 are each divided into two longitudinal part regions 21,22 which are arranged next to one another in the longitudinal direction and which are each connected to one another in one piece by folded over web-shaped portions 23 to form the openings 13. The openings 13 are in this respect formed as widened openings such as will likewise be explained in more detail below. Whereas the openings 13 in the two longitudinal regions 16 are each arranged so that they coincide with one another, it is generally also possible that the openings 13 in the one longitudinal region 16 are arranged offset with respect to the openings 13 in the other longitudinal region 16 so that the openings 13 are each partly or completely covered by the material of the respective oppositely disposed longitudinal region 16.

Respective transverse beads 41 which extend into the regions between the openings 13 are formed in the longitudinal regions 16. The transverse beads 41 are each connected to longitudinal beads 42 at their outwardly disposed ends to that two comb-like structures are formed. These transverse beads and longitudinal beads 41, 42 can in this respect either be stamped directly or the material regions 43 disposed between the transverse beads and longitudinal beads 41, 42 can be stamped so that the transverse beads and longitudinal beads 41, 42 remain as noses. It is achieved in this case that the material strains occurring in the stamping process are taken up by the openings 13 disposed within the stamped regions so that an unwanted corrugation or arching of the longitudinal regions 16 is avoided.

Fig. 3 shows a plan view of an elongated material web 24 which is moved along its longitudinal direction in accordance with an arrow 25 for manufacturing the section rail 2. The material web 24 is in this respect formed as a planar material web, with respective bending edges being indicated by dashed lines 26, 27 in Fig. 3 along which bending edges the respective outwardly disposed regions 17 are bent over with respect to the longitudinal regions 16 or the respective longitudinal regions 16 are bent over with respect to the middle region 15 in order ultimately to produce the section rail 2 in accordance with Fig. 2.

In the material web 24, the openings 13 in the longitudinal regions 16 are not yet shown in their widened form, but rather only slit-shaped openings 26 are present which are introduced, for example, by a laser cutting process, by a punching press process or by a rotary cutting process.

The production of the section rail 2 and of the widened openings 13 will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to Figs. 4 and 5.

The material web 24 is unwound in the continuous process, for example from a roll 29, and is fed to a profiling unit 31 via guide rollers 30. The section recess 18 is continuously stamped therein as is indicated at the position 32 in Fig. 4. On a further forward movement in the longitudinal direction in accordance with the arrow 25, the material web 24 is fed to a cutting unit 33 in which the slit-shaped openings 28 are produced. The material web can thereupon be fed to an optional stamping unit 44 for producing the transverse beads and longitudinal beads 41, 42.

The material web 24 is subsequently fed to a widening unit 34. Guide portions 35, 36 are provided in the widening unit 34 which cooperate with the section recess 18 such that a movement of the middle region 15 of the material web 24 transverse to the longitudinal direction and substantially in the plane of the material web 24 is prevented.

For this purpose, the guide portion 35 engages into the section recess 18 from above, whereas the guide portion 36 engages around the corresponding section nose on the other side of the material web 24. The guide portion 35 contacts the guide surfaces 19 of the section recess 18 and thus prevents a movement transverse to the longitudinal extent of the material web 24. In a similar manner, the guide portion 36 contacts the correspondingly outwardly disposed surfaces of the section nose in order likewise to avoid a transverse displacement.

Generally, instead of two such guide portions 35, 36, only one such respective guide portion can be provided. Depending on requirements, an otherwise suitable support surface or guide surface for the material web 24 can be provided at the oppositely disposed surface of the material web. In addition, the section recess can also be introduced into the material web 24 from below so that a corresponding section nose projects upwardly out of the material web 24.

The material web 24 guided in this manner is widened in the widening unit 34 in that the two outwardly disposed longitudinal edges 37, 38 of the material web 24 are gripped and are pulled apart in accordance with arrows 39, 40 transversely to the longitudinal extent and substantially in the plane of the material web 24. Since the material web 243 is fixed in the transverse direction via the section recess 17 and via the guide portions 35, 36, the respective longitudinal regions 16 disposed at both sides of the middle region 15 are acted on in an identical fashion by corresponding parting forces on this moving apart, whereby the slitshaped openings 28 are uniformly widened in both longitudinal regions until the widened openings 13 shown in Fig. 2 are formed. It is in this respect ensured by the fixing of the middle region 15 via the section recess 18 and via the guide portions 35, 36 that the openings 13 are uniformly widened in both longitudinal regions 16.

Subsequently, the material web widened in this manner can be shaped in a shaping station, not shown, to form the section rail 2 shown in Fig. 2 in that the outwardly disposed regions 17 are bent over along the dashed line 26 with respect to the longitudinal regions 16 and the latter are bent over along the dashed lines 27 with respect to the middle region 15. The middle region 15 is in this respect additionally bent over to form a hollow section having a square cross-section or to form another suitable cross-section such as can be recognized in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 shows a V section formed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The longitudinal regions 16 are folded over in V shape with respect to one another and include the openings 13 as described with respect to Fig. 2. The section recess 18 coincides with the folded over longitudinal edge between the limbs of the V section and is therefore practically no longer visible. As previously described, the openings 13 are widened by pulling apart the longitudinal regions 16, with the middle region 15 being fixed in the transverse direction via the section recess 18.

Each document, reference, patent application or patent cited in this text is expressly incorporated herein in their entirety by reference, which means that it should be read and considered by the reader as part of this text. That the document, reference, patent application or patent cited in this text is not repeated in this text is merely for reasons of conciseness.

The discussion of the background to the invention in the specification is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge of the person skilled in the art in any jurisdiction as at the priority date of the invention.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Furthermore, throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “include” or variations such as “includes” or “including”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Reference numeral list 1 frame construction 2 section rail 3 web 4 bottom chord 5 bottom chord portion 6 bottom chord portion 7 panel-shaped elements 8 top chord 9 suspension element 10 suspension element 11 double wall region 12 surface portions 13 openings 14 base body 15 middle region 16 longitudinal regions 17 outwardly disposed regions 18 section recess 19 guide surfaces 21 longitudinal part regions 22 longitudinal part regions 23 web-shaped portions 24 material web 25 arrow 26 dashed line 27 dashed line 28 slit-shaped openings 29 roll 30 guide rollers 31 profile unit 32 position 33 cutting unit 34 widening unit 35 guide portion 36 guide portion 37 longitudinal edge 38 longitudinal edge 39 arrow 40 arrow 41 transverse beads 42 longitudinal beads 43 material regions 44 stamping unit

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOW

1. A T-section rail for carrying panel-shaped elements for the insertion assembly of ceiling panels for grid ceilings comprising an elongated base body, which includes a middle region extending in the longitudinal direction and formed at least substantially as closed, which includes at least two longitudinal regions which extend at both sides of the middle region and in which openings widened transversely to the longitudinal extent of the base body are arranged, which includes respective outwardly disposed regions adjoining the longitudinal regions including the widened openings, and which includes a double-wall region having two surface portions, with the widened openings being formed in the two surface portions of the double wall region, wherein at least one section recess or section nose comprising side guide surfaces is formed in the middle region of the base body and extends in the longitudinal direction of the base body over its total length, and wherein the middle region forms a top chord, the double wall region forms a web and the outwardly disposed regions form a bottom chord of the T-section rail.
2. A T-section rail in accordance with claim 1, wherein the section recess is formed as a guide groove.
3. A T-section rail in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the section nose is formed as a rear region of a guide groove.
4. A T-section rail in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the longitudinal regions include at least two longitudinal part regions which are arranged next to one another in the longitudinal direction and which are each connected to one another in one piece by folded over web-shaped portions to form the widened openings.
5. A T-section rail in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein no openings are formed in the respective outwardly disposed regions
6. A T-section rail in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the T-section rail is metallic.
7. A T-section rail in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elongated base body is metallic.
8. A method of manufacturing a T-section rail, wherein at least one section recess or section nose comprising side guide surfaces and extending in the longitudinal direction is formed in a middle region of an elongated material web; substantially slit shaped openings are introduced into at least two longitudinal regions of the material web extending at both sides of the middle region; the section recess or section nose is guided during a longitudinal movement of the material web along a guide portion such that a movement of the middle region transverse to the longitudinal direction and substantially in the plane of the material web is prevented by the mutual engaging of the section recess or section nose and the guide portion; the openings are widened transversely to the longitudinal direction by a pulling apart of the longitudinal regions during the longitudinal movement of the material web; the longitudinal regions are bent over with respect to the middle region after the widening of the openings; the middle region is shaped so that the longitudinal regions form a double wall region; a respective outwardly disposed region which adjoins the respective longitudinal region is bent over with respect to the respective longitudinal region; and a top chord is formed by the middle region, a web is formed by the double wall region and a bottom chord of the T-section rail is formed by the outwardly disposed regions.
9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the section recess or section nose is produced during the longitudinal movement of the material web.
10. A method in accordance with claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the slit-shaped openings are produced during the longitudinal movement of the material web.
11. A method in accordance with any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the openings are widened by a folding over of web-shaped portions which each connect two longitudinal part regions of the respective longitudinal region to one another in one piece.
12. A method in accordance with any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the T-section rail comprises a metal T-section rail.
13. A method in accordance with any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the T-section rail comprises a T-section rail in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 7.
14. A method in accordance with any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein no openings are formed in the respective outwardly disposed regions.
15. An apparatus for carrying out the method in accordance with any one of the claims 8 to 14, comprising a profiling unit for producing the section recess or section nose in the material web, comprising a cutting unit for producing the slit-shaped openings, comprising a widening unit for widening the openings and comprising the guide portion for the longitudinal guidance of the section recess or section nose, wherein the guide section engages into the section recess or engages over the section nose such that a movement of the middle region of the material web transverse to the longitudinal direction and substantially in the plane of the material web is prevented.