GB1581798A

GB1581798A - Folded seam closing machine

Info

Publication number: GB1581798A
Application number: GB498378A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: WUKOVICH oHG PETER
Current assignee: WUKOVICH oHG PETER
Priority date: 1978-02-08
Filing date: 1978-02-08
Publication date: 1980-12-17

Description

(54) FOLDED SEAM CLOSING MACHINE (71) We, PETER WUKOVICH OHG, an Austrian Company, of 46, Lerchenfelderstrasse, 1080 Vienna, Austria, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The. invention relates to a folded seam closing machine of the kind comprising two opposing cheeks, an eccentric drive for executing an impact movement of one of the cheeks towards the other on a fold located between them, a hammer for striking'the fold, and a further eccentric drive for executing an impact movement of the hammer transversely to the direction of movement of the movable cheek.

A folded seam closing machine has already been proposed by the applicants in which two opposing impact cheeks execute movements in opposed directions, and in which a hammer is provided operating in an operating direction before the impact cheeks, transverse to the directions of movement of the impact cheeks, This closing machine is suitable for the closing of a Z-fold or seam, where the erect fold to be folded over is bent forwards by the hammer and subsequently folded over, finished by the opposingly driven impact cheeks and brought-into contact on the fold of the other work element (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,522.752). The hammer and the impact cheeks feature shaping surfaces. This machine is. however. not suitable for the closing of a corner fold. such as the so-called Pittsburgh Fold.

This also applied to another known folded seam closing machine (German Auslegeschrift No. 1.452.671) in which also the fold to be folded over is bent forwards bv a driven hammer and then enters between two cheeks, of which onlv one cheek is driven. As this machine inclines to lift away from the fold to be closed, and the forward thrust is deficient, it cannot be expected that it is suitable for the closing of a corner fold or seam. Thus, a practical, tool is lacking which permits the production, of, corner seams in a simple manner, on site.

Until now, for joining together sheet metal parts such as for air and air- conditioning plants, or also, for example, when constructing facings, the corner folds, which are partly pre-finished during manufacture, are closed by hand by means of a; hammer. This has been necessary if the high costs of transporting completely finished sheet metal parts, ducting, shaped pieces etc., or of erecting fixed seam-closing machines on site, are to be avoided. These fixed machines work with sets of rollers to close the seam, and are of large dimensions to allow the pushing-through of the sheet metal parts to be folded.

The essential task of the invention is to create a folded seam closing machine which is suitable for the clean, even and rapid closing of corner seams such as the Pittsburgh Fold.

With the seam closing machine of the kind mentioned in the introduction, the task, is resolved according to the invention in that the cheeks bending forwards the fold are each provided with a surface, for carrying out a shaping action on the fold, which is formed like a screw surface. and in that the hammer closing the fold is located behind the cheeks in the direction of movement of the machine during operation.

The fold entering between both cheeks is thus firstly bent forwards and over between the shaping surfaces in a progressive manner, and the fold is alternatelv gripped between the two cheeks and released for the thrust forward and. after emerging from the cheeks, beaten down by the hammer and brought into contact position. In this manner, the Pittsburgh Fold on sheet metal tubes, elbow and transition pieces can be easily closed without problems and with high operational speed. Because of the low weight and the easy handling of the device, an operation which is free from fatigue results. The joining together of sheet metal parts delivered dismantled to a site can be economically carried out.

According to a further feature of the invention, one cheek is formed as an anvil block, against which the fold to be folded is struck by the driven cheek.

Furthermore, the driven cheek may be provided with a guide profile which engages with the seam outside of the area to be folded over. In this manner, a lifting-off of the seam closing machine is prevented and the machine is guided during the thrust forward in the longitudinal direction.

In a further development of the invention, the cheek serving as an anvil block can be swivelled against the thrust of a spring.

Thus, the placing of the seam closing machine on the workpiece is facilitated. For placing, the cheek is first swivelled away, whereupon the device is applied to the workpiece at the tacked start of the seam.

Further, the driven cheek may be formed at the free end of a two-armed lever pivotable about a pin, the other end of which lever is connected to a bearing bush enclosing an eccentric or cam on a driving shaft.

According to a further feature, at least one cup spring may be arranged between the bearing bush and the end of the lever.

The drive of the impact cheek may thus be characterised by simple construction, low space requirement. great reliability and by quiet running. The bearing bush follows the movement of the cam on the drive shaft and the drive transfer to the drive impact cheek takes places by way of shock-proofed cup springs.

In a further development of the invention, the cheeks are formed as replaceable inserts. Thus. the device can be matched to varying seam heights in a simple manner.

On the other hand. adjustment for differing thicknesses of material, as usually employed, is not necessary.

Further, the impact surface of the hammer preferably extends in a plane parallel to the direction of impact of the driven cheek.

The impact surface of the hammer can be provided with a chamfer in the direction of operation. Thus. the insertion of the preformed fold between the cheeks is facilitated and easier pushing forward of the device is achieved. Finally. the fold is brought flat into contact with the opposite fold bv the even surface of the hammer.

In one embodiment of the invention. the hammer is formed in two parts which can be adjusted with respect to each other for lift adjustment.

According to a further feature of the invention, the hammer may be directly driven by an eccentric provided next to the eccentric for the impact cheek drive, on the driving shaft. In this manner, the cdnstruction of the machine is economic with respect to space requirement and the folded seam closing machine can be coupled to an electric drill, as an attachment.

According to a further feature of the invention, the eccentrics are so phased that the impact movement of the hammer occurs after that of the cheek. Thus, an easy forward movement of the closing machine is made possible which leads to a high operational speed which can be of the order of 2m/min.

In the following, an embodiment of the invention is explained in greater detail with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an axial section through the closing machine, Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a perspective view of the impact cheeks. and Figure 5 shows the profile of the Pittsburgh Fold to be closed with the closing machine.

In Figure 1, a drilling machine 10, not shown in detail, is provided with an extended drive shaft 12 the front end of which is borne at 14 in an end plate 13. A bearing shell 15 of the front bearing of the drilling machine 1ü is located in a bore 16 in a housing plate 17 which is clamped in the usual manner to the bearing shell 15.

The drive shaft 12 features two eccentrics or cams 18. 19. spaced axially one behind the other. A movable impact cheek 20 is driven by the eccentric 18 and a hammer 21 is driven by the eccentric 19.

To the housing plate 17, a housing block 22 is fastened by means of screws, not shown in detail. This end plate 13 is attached to the opposite side of the housing block 22. The housing block 22 serves as a mounting for the hammer 21 and the impact cheeks, as can be seen in greater detal from Figures 2 and 3. A housing cover, not shown, can be easily attached to the bearing plate 17.

The end view of the closing machine, shown in Figure 2, discloses the arrangement of the impact cheeks. The eccentric 18 on the drive shaft 12 is rotatable within a ring 23. which is located, for its part. in a bore in a bearing bush 24. Thus. reciprocal movement is imparted to the bearing bush 24 by rotation of the drive shaft 12, which movement is transferred to a two-armed lever 25 which is pivotally mounted, about half way along its length, on a pin 26, and carries the impact cheek 20 on its lower end. The upper end of the lever 25 is connected by means of a screw 27 to the bearing bush 24. Between the bearing bush 24 and the lever 25 several cup springs are inserted to effect a resilient transfer of force. The pin 26, as can be seen from Figure 1, is supported at one end in a bore 29 in the housing block 22 and, at its other end, in a bore 30 in the end plate 13.

A further impact cheek 33, serving as an anvil block, is located in a recess 32 of the housing block 22 and is pivotally mounted on a bearing bolt 34. In the position shown in Figure 2, the cheek 33 is shown in a pivoted-away position in which the upper corner 35 of the cheek 33 engages in a correspondingly formed recess 36 in a shaft 37, which is also accommodated rotatably in the housing block 22. The-shaft 37 passes through the end plate 13 and can be rotated by means of a lever, not shown, fastened to the protruding end, whereby the corner 35 of the cheek 33 maybe pushed out of the recess 36 so that the cheek 33 swings into a closed position in which it is held by the cylindrical circumference of the shaft 37 on which the upper edge of the corner 35 of the cheek 33 is supported.

In this manner, the cheek 33 can easily be pivoted away from the cheek 30 in order to make possible the placing into position of the closing machine. Thereafter, the cheek 33 is pivoted by means of the shaft 37 and secured in the closed position in which it serves as an anvil block. A spring 40 inserted between the cheek 33 and the housing block 22 biases the cheek 33 towards the open position.

Each of the cheeks has a recess into which a replaceable cheek insert 41, 42 is fastened.

The shape of the cheek inserts is shown, in particular, in Figure 4. Thus. the driven impact cheek insert 42 exhibits a shaping surface 43 which is formed like a screw.

Accordingly, the shaping surface 43 possesses a practically vertical front edge 44 into which the fold 45 (see Figure 5). which,is to be folded over and is still erect. enters. By the impact movement, the fold 45 is now, on the forward movement of the closing machine. laid-over and folded-down along the screw-shaped. curved shaping surface 43. For this, the cheek 33 serving as an anvil block is provided with a corresponding shaping surface (not shown in Figure 4).

Below the shaping surface 43. the movably driven impact cheek insert 42 features a guide profile 46 which engages in a groove 47. shown in Figure 5. of the pre-formed fold. As the stroke of the movable impact cheek is small. the guide profile 46 cannot come out of engagement with the folding groove 47, whereby the lifting-away upwards of the closing machine is prevented.

The impact cheek inserts 41, 42 are fastened detachably to the impact cheeks 20, 33 respectively so that they can easily be exchanged for differing heights of the fold 45.

After the emergence of the fold 45, which is folded diagonally downwards from between the impact cheeks, this is struck by the hammer 21 and so beaten down that it assumes the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5, whereby the Pittsburgh Fold is closed. The hammer 21 can be adjusted for height and is fastened to a drive member 50 whose upper edge 51 is urged into engage' ment with the eccentric 19 by means of a spring 52. The hammer 21 is clamped onto the drive member 50 by means of a screw 53 which passes through a slot 54 in the hammer 21 so that the height of the hammer 21 may be adjusted. The hammer 21, with the drive member 50, is positioned in a bore 55 in the housing block 22 so that it can be displaced up and down.

The underside 56 (see Figure 1) of the hammer 21 is formed flat, whilst the leading edge of the hammer 21 is provided with a chamfer 57 in order to facilitate the forward movement and inse'rtion of the fold 45.

The operational direction of the closing machine is indicated in Figure 1 by the direction of the arrow 60.

The eccentrics 18, 19 on the drive shaft 12 are so phased that the closing movement of the driven cheek 20 precedes the blow of the hammer 21. The phase displacement for delaying the hammer blow should be about 15 angular degrees, additional to the 90" displacement of the eccentrics necessary for the transverse cheek and hammer movements. The hammer 21 then strikes at a phase displacement of 15 after closing of the cheeks, whereby a movement forwards which is free from jamming is obtained and a lifting-off of the machine is avoided.

WHAT WE CLAIM 1S: 1. A folded seam closing machine comprising two opposing cheeks, an eccentric drive for executing an impact movement of one of the cheeks towards the other on a fold located between them, a hammer for striking the fold, and a further eccentric drive for executing an impact movement of the hammer transversely to the direction of movement of the movable cheek, the cheeks each being provided with a surface. for carying out a shaping action on the fold, which is formed like a screw surface, and the hammer closing the fold being located behind the cheeks in the direction of movement of the machine during operation.

2. A folded seam closing machine according to claim I, wherein one cheek is formed as an anvil block and the other

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. pivotally mounted, about half way along its length, on a pin 26, and carries the impact cheek 20 on its lower end. The upper end of the lever 25 is connected by means of a screw 27 to the bearing bush 24. Between the bearing bush 24 and the lever 25 several cup springs are inserted to effect a resilient transfer of force. The pin 26, as can be seen from Figure 1, is supported at one end in a bore 29 in the housing block 22 and, at its other end, in a bore 30 in the end plate 13. A further impact cheek 33, serving as an anvil block, is located in a recess 32 of the housing block 22 and is pivotally mounted on a bearing bolt 34. In the position shown in Figure 2, the cheek 33 is shown in a pivoted-away position in which the upper corner 35 of the cheek 33 engages in a correspondingly formed recess 36 in a shaft 37, which is also accommodated rotatably in the housing block 22. The-shaft 37 passes through the end plate 13 and can be rotated by means of a lever, not shown, fastened to the protruding end, whereby the corner 35 of the cheek 33 maybe pushed out of the recess 36 so that the cheek 33 swings into a closed position in which it is held by the cylindrical circumference of the shaft 37 on which the upper edge of the corner 35 of the cheek 33 is supported. In this manner, the cheek 33 can easily be pivoted away from the cheek 30 in order to make possible the placing into position of the closing machine. Thereafter, the cheek 33 is pivoted by means of the shaft 37 and secured in the closed position in which it serves as an anvil block. A spring 40 inserted between the cheek 33 and the housing block 22 biases the cheek 33 towards the open position. Each of the cheeks has a recess into which a replaceable cheek insert 41, 42 is fastened. The shape of the cheek inserts is shown, in particular, in Figure 4. Thus. the driven impact cheek insert 42 exhibits a shaping surface 43 which is formed like a screw. Accordingly, the shaping surface 43 possesses a practically vertical front edge 44 into which the fold 45 (see Figure 5). which,is to be folded over and is still erect. enters. By the impact movement, the fold 45 is now, on the forward movement of the closing machine. laid-over and folded-down along the screw-shaped. curved shaping surface 43. For this, the cheek 33 serving as an anvil block is provided with a corresponding shaping surface (not shown in Figure 4). Below the shaping surface 43. the movably driven impact cheek insert 42 features a guide profile 46 which engages in a groove 47. shown in Figure 5. of the pre-formed fold. As the stroke of the movable impact cheek is small. the guide profile 46 cannot come out of engagement with the folding groove 47, whereby the lifting-away upwards of the closing machine is prevented. The impact cheek inserts 41, 42 are fastened detachably to the impact cheeks 20, 33 respectively so that they can easily be exchanged for differing heights of the fold 45. After the emergence of the fold 45, which is folded diagonally downwards from between the impact cheeks, this is struck by the hammer 21 and so beaten down that it assumes the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5, whereby the Pittsburgh Fold is closed. The hammer 21 can be adjusted for height and is fastened to a drive member 50 whose upper edge 51 is urged into engage' ment with the eccentric 19 by means of a spring 52. The hammer 21 is clamped onto the drive member 50 by means of a screw 53 which passes through a slot 54 in the hammer 21 so that the height of the hammer 21 may be adjusted. The hammer 21, with the drive member 50, is positioned in a bore 55 in the housing block 22 so that it can be displaced up and down. The underside 56 (see Figure 1) of the hammer 21 is formed flat, whilst the leading edge of the hammer 21 is provided with a chamfer 57 in order to facilitate the forward movement and inse'rtion of the fold 45. The operational direction of the closing machine is indicated in Figure 1 by the direction of the arrow 60. The eccentrics 18, 19 on the drive shaft 12 are so phased that the closing movement of the driven cheek 20 precedes the blow of the hammer 21. The phase displacement for delaying the hammer blow should be about 15 angular degrees, additional to the 90" displacement of the eccentrics necessary for the transverse cheek and hammer movements. The hammer 21 then strikes at a phase displacement of 15 after closing of the cheeks, whereby a movement forwards which is free from jamming is obtained and a lifting-off of the machine is avoided. WHAT WE CLAIM 1S:

1. A folded seam closing machine comprising two opposing cheeks, an eccentric drive for executing an impact movement of one of the cheeks towards the other on a fold located between them, a hammer for striking the fold, and a further eccentric drive for executing an impact movement of the hammer transversely to the direction of movement of the movable cheek, the cheeks each being provided with a surface. for carying out a shaping action on the fold, which is formed like a screw surface, and the hammer closing the fold being located behind the cheeks in the direction of movement of the machine during operation.

cheek is driven.

3. A folded seam closing machine according to claim 2, wherein the driven cheek is provided with a guide profile which engages the fold outside of the area to be folded over.

4. A folded seam closing machine according to claim 2 or claim, wherein the cheek serving as an anvil can be swivelled against the thrust of a spring.

5. A folded seam closing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the driven cheek is formed at the free end of a two-armed lever pivotable about a pin, the other end of which lever is connected to a bearing bush enclosing an eccentric or cam on a driving shaft.

6. A folded seam closing machine according to claim 5, wherein at least one cup spring is arranged between the bearing bush and the end of the lever.

7. A folded seal closing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cheeks are formed as replaceable inserts.

8. A folded seam closing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the impact surface of the hammer extends in a plane parallel to the direction of impact of the driven cheek.

9. A folded seam closing machine according to claim 8, wherein the impact surface of the hammer is provided with a chamfer in the direction of operation.

10. A folded seam closing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the hammer is formed in two parts which can be adjusted with respect to each other for lift adjustment.

11. A folded seam closing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the hammer is directly driven by an eccentric provided next to the eccentric for the impact cheek drive, on the driving shaft.

12. A folded seam closing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the impact movement of the hammer occurs after that of the driven cheek.

13. A folded seam closing machine according to claim 11, wherein the eccentrics have a relative phase displacement exceeding 90 angular degrees by about 15 angular degrees for a hammer impact movement transverse to, and delayed with respect to, the impact movement of the driven cheek.

14. A folded seam closing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.