GB2438467A

GB2438467A - A hand operated crimping tool for use with roof panels

Info

Publication number: GB2438467A
Application number: GB0610378A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul CUMMINGS
Original assignee: Blue Sky Access Ltd
Current assignee: Blue Sky Access Ltd
Priority date: 2006-05-25
Filing date: 2006-05-25
Publication date: 2007-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2026-05-25
Also published as: GB2438467B; GB0610378D0

Abstract

A method of crimping a roof panel seam (20, Fig 3) and a hand operated crimping tool 21 for use with roof panels (10,11, Fig 1) having interengagable male and female flanges (12,13, Fig 1), the tool 21 in use deflecting a portion (17, Fig 1) of a female flange (12, Fig 1) around a portion (19, Fig 1) of a male flange (13, Fig 1). The tool 21 comprises a base 22, a first elongate jaw 23 mounted on the base 22 to support a fixed root portion of the female flange, a second elongate jaw 25 moveable relative to the first jaw 23 and which engages a distal end portion (17, Fig 1) of the female flange (12, Fig 1) and clamping means 29,41,42 for moving the second jaw 25 towards the first jaw 23 to deform the distal end portion (17, Fig 1) of the female flange around the male flange portion (19, Fig 1) crimping together the two flanges (12,13, Fig 1) to form an upstanding seam. The second jaw may be slidably mounted on the body by means of at least one slide pin 29.

Description

1 2438467 A (Trimpine Toot frr use ona Mt&RoofPani

Field

This invention relates to a crnipn tool for forming the upstanding seams between adjacent mel at roof' pa nels, especa1l v panels of ihe type primarily used on large commercial huildinis Back r(.)1Ind of the 1nvntion The roofs of larue coniTnercial buildings are typically formed from metal panels that are laid !O side by side in overlapping courses on a roof'structure The roof panels have edge margins which in use extend up the roof towards the apex and which are formed with upstanding side flaniucs for connection to side flanges on adjacent roof panels In some roof structures the roof panels are provided interengagable male and female flanges formed on o.posite sides of'the panel such that female flange on one panel engages around the male flange on 1 another panel The two flanges ma then he held together by crimping as is shown in US c70c] 7 Tools for crimpin& together pairs of upstanding flanges are known US 7861 7 describes a power assisted hand tool which is basically comprises a pair of narrow jaws with punch and o die sets formed in the jaws to form interlocking dimples A metal roof panel seaming appal atums is described in!S 4] 797, in which the apparatus can be rolled along an un-formed seam or partially formed seam The apparatus is driven h rollers and further comprises pairs of rollers which roll the seam as the apparatus is moved along the lengths of the flanges it has been found that some powered seaming apparatus have dirnculty is 2 Initiating the seam format ion at the edges of panels In some situations, ii has been found that builders will walk on pre-assembled roof panel prior to the seamin operation and this is both dan erous and may cause distortion of the panels The present invention describes a simple hand operated crimpint tool suitable for crimping together male and remale flanes on sheet metal roof panels prior to seaming and which will facilitate walking over the crimped panels

Statements of Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there s provided a hand operated roof panel seam crimping tool for use with roof panels having interengagable male and female flanges tbrned on opposite sides of the panel such that a female flangeon one panel is engagahie around the male flange on another panel, the tool in use deflecting a portion of a female flange around a portion of a male flange, and comprising a base, a first elongate jaw I mounted on the base to support a fixed root portion of the female flange, a second elongate jaw moveable relative to the first jaw and which engages a distal end portion of' the female flange, and clanipin means operable to move the second jaw towards the first jaw to defbrm the distal end portion of the female flange around the male fianue and thereby crimp together the Iwo flanges to ftffnl an upstan(lIng seam -n Preferably, the second jaw is slidably mounted on the body by means of at least one slide pin and preferably two slide pins fixed to one of the body and second jaw The second jaw is connected to the body by means which in use bridge the flanges and which is conveniently provided by the slide pins The pins may he fixed to the second jaw and slidably mounted 2 in bearing surfaces provided on the body The clamping means may be mounted on the body and preferably comprises a handle having a leg pivoted relative to the base and connected to the second jaw such that rotation of the handle causes the second jaw to move towards or away from the first jaw Preferably the handle is connected to the second jaw via one of said slide pins. The handle leg is pivoted to the base through an arm which extends normally to the leg, the arm being pivotally connected at a mid-point to one end of a link the other end of which is pivotally connected to the distal end of said one slide pin The first jaw is provided with an elongate surface shaped to support a fixed root portion of the female flange over a length thereof, and the opposed second jaw is also provided with a shaped surface shaped to the required shape to be formed from said deflected distal portion of the female flange over the same length thereof According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method ofjoining Is roof panels having inter- engagable male and female flanges formed on opposite sides of the panel, wherein in said method the female flange on one panel is engaged around the male flange on another panel, and a portion of a female flange is deflected around a portion of a male flange, using a hand tool as described in the first aspect of the Invention.

The hand crimped length of seam provides a crimped length over which a powered seaming tool can be placed to facilitate the full seaming operation over the length of the roof According to another aspect of the present invention there a method ofjoining roof panels having interengagable male and female flanges formed on opposite sides of the panel, wherein in said method the female flange on one panel is engaged around the male flange on another panel, and a portion of a female flange is deflected around a portion of a male flange, characterised in that said method comprises using a hand operated tool having a fixed jaw to support a fixed root portion of the female flange over a length thereof, operating by hand clamping means to move a moveable jaw towards the fixed jaw and distort a portion of the female flange over the same length thereof around the male portion whilst supporting said root portion, and thereby crimp together the two flanges over said length, releasing the jaws from the crimped flange.

Preferably the operation is repeated at a further spaced location on the inter-engaged flanges.

Hand crimping each panel at two locations, for example the top and bottom of each panel, stabilizes the roof structure, prior to completing the seaming operation using powered tools

Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig I is a schematic cross-section through the adjacent flanges of a pair of roof panels, Fig 2 is a schematic cross-section of the panels in Fig.] assembled together and prior to crimping, Fig. 3 shows the panels in Fig. 2 after crimping, Fig 4 is a plan view of a crimping tool according to the present invention in a closed condition with part of the handle omitted for clarity, Fig 5 is a section through the crimping tool shown in Fig 3 taken on the line V-V of Fig 4 with the clamping Fig. 6 is side elevation of the moveable jaw, and Fig 7 is a side elevation of the fixed jaw

Detailed Description of the Invention

With reference to Fig. 1, there is shown two sheet metal roofing panels 10 & 11 prior to assembly and which have upstanding side flanges 12 & 13 on opposite sides thereof The flanges 12 & 13 are formed as inter-engagable female and male flanges respectively, on opposite sides of the panel such that a female flange 12 on one panel 10 is engagable around the male flange 13 on the other panel 11 The panels may be provided with insulation 14 on their inner sides with a resilient sealing strip 15 for sealing between the insulation on adjacent panels 11 & 12 The female flange 12 is formed as an open loop 18 having a fixed root portion 16 and a deformable distal portion 17 The male flange 13 is formed as a substantially rigid open ioop 18 which in use is insertable into the open loop 18 on the female flange 12 With reference now to Fig 2, there is shown the two panels 10 & 11 assembled together with the two flanges 12 & 13 in contact with the loop 19 on the male flange 13 located within the open ioop 18 on the female flange. The deformable portion 17 of the female flange 12 is shown prior to crimping The deformable portion 1 7 is then deflected around the loop 19 on the male flange 13 and crimped to form a seam 20 connecting and substantially sealing adjacent roof panels as is shown in Fig. 3.

The female flange 12 is deflected around the male flange 13 using a crimping tool 21 according to the present invention. The crimping tool 21 will be described with reference also to figs. 4 to 7 and is a portable hand operated tool. The tool 21 comprises an elongate planar body 22 having an upstanding first jaw 23 fixed along one side margin of the body 22, The first jaw 23 is about 11 /2 inches ( 290-300mm) in length and has an exposed surface 24 shaped to receive and support the root portion 16 of the loop 18 and also is dimensioned to support substantially the whole height of the flange 12 ( about 65mm) A second jaw 25 is mounted on a support 26 in opposition to the first jaw 23. The second jaw 25 has an exposed surface 27 shaped to the required shape to be formed from said deflected distal portion 17 of the female flange 12 The support 25 is connected to the ends faces of a pair of slide pins 28,29 via connecting blocks 3 1,32 respectively. The slide pins 28,29 are slidably supported in bush bearings 35 mounted in supports 3 3,34 fixed relative to the body 22 by brackets 48, 49. The second jaw 25 is moveable on the slide pins 28,29, sliding in the fixed bush bearings 35, towards or away from the firs jaw 23. The slide pins in use will bridge the flanges 12 & 13 and one pin 29 of the two pins is connected to an operating handle.

The free end of the sidle pin 29 is to the bottom end portion 41 of an operating handle 42 via a link 44 The bottom end portion 41 of the operating handle 42 comprises an arm rigidly connected to the handle leg 45 and extending normally of the leg 45 The free"end of the arm 41 is pivoted relative to the base 22 by a pivot pin 46 mounted on the bracket 49 and spaced from the bearing support 34 The link 44 has one end connected via pivot 47 to the sliding pin 29 and its other end is connected to a mid point location on the arm 41 by pivot pin 51 The bracket 49, link 44, and arm 41 form a collapsible three bar linkage As shown in Fig. 4 and 5, the jaws 23,25 are opened by pivotal movement of the handle towards the body 22, causing the pivot pin 50 to move in an arc about the pivot pin 46 and -thereby moving the one end of the link 44 inwards. The inward movement of the end of the link 44 is transferred to the slide pin 29 via pivot pin 47 opening the jaws 23,25 With a pair of roof panels assembled as is shown in Fig.2, the crimping tool is placed over a selected length of the two flanges 12 & 13 with the base 22 and fixed law 23 located behind the female flange 12 which is supported and accommodated by the shaped surface 24 The handle 42 is pivoted away from the base 22 causing the link 44 to pull on the slide pin 29.

The moveable jaw 25 slidably supported on the two pins 28,29 is moved towards the fixed jaw 23 and the distal portion 17 of the open loop 18 on the female flange 12 is deflected and then deformed and crimped to the form of the shaped surface 27 on the moveable jaw. The crimped seam 20 is now released by opening the jaws and the tool 21 is re-position for a further crimping operation until a continuous crimped seam is formed between the two roof panels is If the hand tool 21 is used to inter-connect adjacent panels at spaced locations, for example the top and bottom of the panels on a pitched roof, the roof panels can be made safe to walk on prior to final seaming using a powered seaming tool of the type described in US 4916 797 or US 4686 809 The hand crimped length also provides a starting location to facilitate the use of the powered seaming tools

Claims

Claims A hand operated roof panel seam crimping tool for use with roof

panels having interengagable male and female flanges formed on opposite sides of the panel such that a female flange on one panel is engagable around the male flange on another panel, the tool in use deflecting a portion of a female flange around a portion of a male flange, and comprising a base, a first elongate jaw mounted on the base to support a fixed root portion of the female flange, a second elongate jaw moveable relative to the first jaw and which engages a distal end portion of the female flange, and clamping means operable to move the second jaw towards the first jaw to deform the distal end portion of the female flange around the male flange and thereby crimp together the two flanges to form an upstanding seam.

2 A crimping tool as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the second jaw is slidably mounted on the body by means of at least one slide pin fixed to one of the body and second jaw.

3. A crimping tool as claimed in Claim I or Claim 2, wherein the second jaw is connected to the body by bridge means which in use bridge the flanges.

4. A crimping tool as claimed in Claim 3, when dependant upon Claim 2, wherein the bridge means is provided by the slide pin(s) A crimping tool as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the pins are be fixed to the second jaw and slidably mounted in bearing surfaces provided on the body.

6 A crimping tool as claimed in any one of Claims I to 5 wherein the clamping means are mounted on the body 7 A crimping tool as claimed in Claim 6 and comprises a handle having a leg pivoted relative to the base and connected to the second jaw such that rotation of the handle about the pivot causes the second jaw to move towards or away from the first jaw 8. A crimping tool as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the handle is connected to the second jaw via one of said slide pins 9 A crimping tool as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8 wherein the handle leg is pivoted to the base through an arm which extends normally to the leg, the arm being pivotally connected at a mid-point to one end of a link the other end of which is pivotally connected to the distal end of a slide pin A crimping tool as claimed in any one of Claims I to 9, wherein the first jaw is provided with an elongate surface shaped to support a fixed root portion of the female flange over a length thereof, and the opposed second jaw is also provided with a shaped surface shaped to the required shape to be formed from said deflected distal portion of the female flange over the same length thereof 11. A method of joining roof panels having interengagable male and female flanges formed

I

on opposite sides of the panel, wherein in said method the female flange on one panel is engaged around the male flange on another panel, and a portion of a female flange is deflected around a portion of a male flange, using a hand tool as claimed in any one of Claims ito 10.

12 A method ofjoining roof panels having interengagable male and female flanges formed on opposite sides of the panel, wherein in said method the female flange on one panel is engaged around the male flange on another panel, and a portion of a female flange is deflected around a portion of a male flange, characterised in that said method comprises using a hand operated tool having a fixed jaw to support a fixed root portion of the female flange over a length thereof, operating by hand clamping means to move a moveable jaw towards the fixed jaw and distort a portion of the female flange over the same length thereof around the male portion whilst supporting said root portion and thereby crimp together the two flanges over said length, releasing the jaws from the crimped flange.

13 A method as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the crimping operation is repeated at a further spaced location on the inter-engaged flanges 14. A method as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13 wherein the remaining lengths of the flanges are crimped together using a power seaming tool. /