EP1099523A2

EP1099523A2 - Improved automatic flanging machine

Info

Publication number: EP1099523A2
Application number: EP00124077A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mauro Sandon
Original assignee: Fravol Export Srl
Current assignee: Fravol Export Srl
Priority date: 1999-11-09
Filing date: 2000-11-06
Publication date: 2001-05-16
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-06
Also published as: DE60037708D1; ES2300244T3; EP1099523A3; DE60037708T2; EP1099523B1; ITMI992342A1; ATE383232T1; ITMI992342A0; IT1314019B1

Abstract

This invention describes an improved automatic flanging machine, characterized in that it provides for at least one tool capable of processing the edges of a forward moving panel, where said tool can slide along an inclined plane with respect to the panel's forward motion, while suitable devices are provided which are capable of synchronizing the sliding speed of the tool with the speed of the panel, and others capable of controlling the tool's support during the processing phase.

Description

This invention refers to an improved flanging machine, designed in particular to process the opposite edges of panels or the like, holding two separate tooling assemblies capable of performing the milling and/or rounding of the panel's front and rear edges during its forward motion.
The milling assemblies move along with the panel, but are sliding on an inclined plane and subject to the action of a linkage that controls the rotation of the milling assembly along a path corresponding to a profile to be realized on the edge of the panel.
The characteristics of the flanging machine allow achieving a more precise motion of the tool, as well as controlling its sliding speed, so that the latter moves faster at the beginning and at the end of the processing operation.
These characteristics allow achieving a better precision of the work. In the woodworking industry and in particular in the furniture industry, the panels manufactured for instance from enhanced hardboard or the like, are usually finished by applying heavy wooden edges, which are then rounded off based on profiles varied from time to time, so as to achieve for instance a semicircular edge, or a flat edge with rounded corners.
For many years, the application of edges to panels and the subsequent finishing was performed by special and separate machines, which required the transferring of the panels from one machine to another, their proper positioning and the introduction of a separate processing phase, thus lengthening the processing time and affecting the production cost.
Certain flanging machines have been recently introduced, which are capable of automatically rounding off the edges after applying them.
In particular, the Italian patent no. 1.295.377 of the same applicant describes a flanging machine equipped with a profiling device comprising some means capable of engaging a milling tool with the panel edge, other means for controlling the forward sliding of this tool along with the panel, and additional means to impart to the latter a trajectory befitting the profile to be generated on the panel.
In particular, this known flanging machine includes a tooling assembly installed on a support which is in turn mounted on a trolley sliding along a rail set up in a direction parallel to the forward motion of the panels and equipped with a motorized chain attached to said support, that engages a toothed element firmly attached to the same support so as to simultaneously control both its rotation and forward motion on said trolley.
This invention now enters the same branch. It proposes an improved flanging machine comprising two separate tooling assemblies designed to process a panel's front and rear edge, respectively, and to move along a plane inclined with respect to the forward motion of the panel, under the action of a linkage which controls the rotation so as to force the tool, with extreme precision, to follow a path befitting the profile to be achieved on the panel.
This invention will now be described in detail, for exemplifying and nonlimiting purposes, with reference to the enclosed figures in which:

Figure 1 shows the profiling devices with the relative sliding guides in a flanging machine according to the invention, in their initial and final processing positions, respectively,
Figure 2 is a view of a profiling assembly in an orthogonal plane with respect to that in Figure 1;
Figure 3 illustrates a profiling assembly in a flanging machine according to the invention, evidencing the devices that control its rotation;
Figure 4 illustrates the second profiling assembly, again evidencing the devices that actuate its rotations;
Figure 5 shows a simplified view of the operation of the devices controlling the rotation of the profiling assembly of Figure 4.

With reference to figure 1, the flanging machine according to the invention comprises two milling assemblies, identified by the reference numbers 1 and 2, respectively, the first being designed to process the front edge and the second to work the rear edge of a panel illustrated in a simplified form and marked by the number 3, while advancing in the direction of the arrow F.
In the various figures each milling assembly is assembled twice, first in its starting position and then in its final processing position.
Each assembly comprises a tool indicated by the number 4 in Figure 2, actuated by a motor 5 and mounted on a support 6 sliding along a guide on recirculating rollers 7, which is mounted on the inclined plane 8.
The shifting motions of the support 6 along the guide 7 are controlled by an electric motor 9, preferably a brushless motor actuating a screw on recirculating rollers 10, on which a nut screw 11 solidly attached to the support 6 is allowed to slide.
The nut screw is also illustrated twice in the Figures 4 and 5, in the tool's initial and final positions, respectively.
The support 6 (Figure 3) is solidly attached to a crank 12, hinged to a connecting rod 13 which is in turn hinged on its opposite side to a fixed arm 14, attached to the inclined support 8.
The lever connected to the milling assembly is arranged so as to control the rotation of its relative support in one direction, in this figure for example in a counterclockwise sense, while the lever 13 connected to the assembly 4 (refer to Figure 4) is positioned so as to control its rotation in an opposite direction, in this figure in a clockwise sense.
The crank 12 is firmly attached to a ring gear 20, connected by a chain 21 to a another ring gear 22 which is in turn firmly attached to the support 6.
The ratio between the ring gears 20 and 22 is such that the ring gear 22 completes a larger rotation with respect to that of the ring gear 20, at a ratio of 1:1.3, for example.
This allows eliminating the forward moving difficulty and the effort exerted by the cinematic mechanism based on the connecting rod and crank at its dead points.
The result is to achieve a rotation of 180° of the milling assembly, while rotating the connecting rod and crank system by about 36°.
The operation is as follows:
The panel is carried along on a conveyor belt or similar carrying device of a known type and brought up to the processing area, where its presence is detected by a sensor of a known type not shown in the figure but connected to the support of the milling assembly.
As soon as the feeler engages the panel, the milling group moves up to contact the upper surface of the same, and the tool is rotated.
At the same time, this also actuates the motor 9, which causes the milling group, with the aid of the recirculating roller screw 10, to slide along the guide 7 arranged on the inclined plane 8, and therefore to move forward along with the panel.
As a result of the sliding action of the support 6, the lever 13 acts on the crank 12, thus rotating the support with the milling assembly 6 in a counterclockwise direction.
The tools run along a curve corresponding to the profile to be imparted to the edge, thus performing the milling process.
As soon as the tool reaches the upper surface of the panel, it is stopped and removed, while the panel continues its motion so as to be processed on its rear edge by the assembly 4.
The latter works in a manner similar to the former, by using a sensor to prime the starting motion of the tool, which slides along the guide 7 by moving forward along with the panel while being simultaneously rotated, by the lever 13, in a direction opposite to that of the milling assembly 3, thus achieving a processing effect similar to that performed on the front edge.
The flanging machine produced in this manner allows achieving a better precision in following the desired profile while also allowing an optimization of the tool's shifting speed with respect to the panel.
An expert in the trade may further provide various modifications and variants, all of which are to be held as falling within the scope of this invention.

Claims

An improved automatic flanging machine, characterized in that it provides for at least one tool capable of processing the edges of a panel while moving forward, characterized in that said tool is capable of sliding forward along an inclined plane with respect to the advancing motion of the panel, while certain devices are provided in order to synchronize the speed of sliding of the tool with the speed of the panel, and further devices capable of controlling the rotation of the tool while it performs the processing.
A flanging machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it provides for two separate tooling assemblies capable of performing the processing on the front edge and on the rear edge, respectively, of a forward moving panel.
A flanging machine according to each of the claims 1 or 2, characterized in that each of said tooling assemblies is hinged to a support moving along an inclined plane and subject to the action of a lever, hinged on one side to a crank firmly attached to the support of said tooling assembly, and on the other side to a support firmly attached to the structure of said inclined plane on which said tooling assembly is made to slide.
A flanging machine according to claim 3, characterized in that said tooling assemblies are respectively subject to the action of levers arranged on opposite sides, so as to actuate the rotation of the assemblies in directions opposed to each other.
A flanging machine according to the foregoing claims, characterized in that it provides for a number of independent actuators in order to control the shifting of said tooling assemblies along said inclined guides.
A flanging machine according to claim 5, characterized in that said actuators are constituted by brushless motors which actuate a screw based on recirculating rollers.
An enhanced flanging machine, as described and illustrated above.