JP2659044B2 - Sheet metal joining equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for joining sheet metal by the method disclosed in US Pat. No. 2,254,558.

[Conventional technology]

Two or more sheet metals are placed on top of the die member and the punch member is moved through the sheet metal to draw a portion of the sheet metal into the cavity defined by the die member. The die member includes an anvil member,
The drawn-in material is pressed between the punch member and the anvil member and extruded laterally, while the cut portion of the die member simultaneously bends laterally. Thus, a rivet-type joint is formed.

Thus, the tool setting disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,254,558 essentially comprises two lower assemblies to be driven relative to each other, a die-anvil member coupled to a punch member.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,254,558 also discloses an apparatus that includes a first wheel carrying a plurality of punches and a second wheel also carrying a plurality of die-anvil assemblies. The two wheels are driven synchronously and successive rows of blades each produce a joint for the strip of sheet metal to be joined fed between the wheels. However, in practice such a device would require a wheel having a significantly larger diameter because otherwise the punch would start to cut through the sheet before the sheet was fully supported by the die. This results in significant deformation of the sheet adjacent to the joint.

A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,428, but this device has the same disadvantages.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for continuously producing joints of the type described above without the disadvantages of the prior art.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Invention]

In order to achieve this object, a sheet metal material joining apparatus according to the present invention includes a punch member that engages with a part of a sheet metal material and pulls a part of the sheet metal material, and a groove on an upper surface. A die member having a hole and cooperating with the punch member to draw the sheet metal material into the slot; and a die member separated from the die member and cooperating with the punch member and drawn into the slot. An anvil member for extruding the sheet metal material in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the punch member between the punch member, and means for driving the punch member, wherein the sheet metal material is drawn in, and A punch portion for creating a first force component for extruding in the lateral direction and a second force component for conveying the sheet metal material from the slot to the anvil member, orthogonal to the first force component; Material driving means.

Thus, as compared to the prior art, the material is drawn into the slots in the die member, and since the die does not need to have an anvil or the die cuts need to be flexible, the die member has exactly its purpose. , I.e., to limit the sheet metal portion to be cut and drawn. Also,
Anvils are also optimal in terms of their shape and strength, as the available spacing for anvils is not limited by the die cuts. The punch protrudes into the sheet metal after passing through the first station, and the sheet metal remains pierced by the punch and is easily carried on the anvil.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

〔Example〕

The device according to the invention basically comprises the elements punch, die and anvil, but all three elements can take quite different forms without departing from the spirit of the invention, as explained below.

Referring first to FIG. 1, punches 20 are mounted at equal intervals around a punch wheel 22. All the punches 20 have the same structure, and the work surface facing in the radial direction is rectangular. Alternatively, this surface may be rounded. The punch wheel 22 is attached to the rotation shaft 22a at its center, and is rotatable counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 22a.

The sheets 26, 28 are on top of the support 30 to which the die 32 and the anvil 34 are attached in an overlapping state. Die 32
As shown in FIG. 3, it is formed of a block having a U-shaped outer shape, and a slot 32a is formed on the upper surface thereof. The slot 32a facing the punch wheel 22 has a width W (see FIG. 2) that cuts through the sheets 26, 28 in cooperation with the edge of the punch 20.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the die slots taper to the surface from the cutting edge to the bottom of the slots.

In this embodiment, the anvil is a roller 34 which is journaled rotatably on the support 30 and has end pins 36. As seen in FIG. 2, rollers 34 are positioned in line with the die slots and are somewhat lowered with respect to the cutting edges of the die slots. Roller 34
Has a significantly greater width than the slot in the die, and the upper surface of the die is closer to the punch wheel 22 than to the periphery of the roller 34, preferably in an adjustable relationship "a".

The shape of the outer peripheral surface of the roller 34 affects the shape of the joint between the sheets 26 and 28. In particular, the die 32 prevents extrusion of the punched material portion of the adjacent sheet by being laterally supported, but extrudes the material of another one or several sheets away from the die 32. It is possible to form the outer peripheral surface of the roller 34 so as not to hinder. In this way, the connection can be particularly hardened.

 The operation of this device is as follows.

The sheets 26, 28 are moved along the support 30 from the left (as seen in the figure), with the side of the sheet 26 facing the punch wheel 22 indicated by the dashed line on the working surface of the punch 20. Is moved along the upper surface of the die 32 until the sheet reaches the point where it intersects. The punch wheel 22 is driven to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as seen in the figure. Thus, one of the punches 20 cooperates with the fixed die 32 to cut both sheets 26, 28 through two parallel slits starting at said intersection. The sheet is then conveyed by the rotating punch 20, which means that the material between the slits has been drawn into the slots in the die 32,
Therefore, the sheet does not separate from the punch 20 (clinching station).

When the punch 20 approaches the anvil, the gap between the work surface of the punch 20 and the contour of the anvil is smaller than the entire thickness of the sheet, so while the anvil roller 34 is rotated by a small angle,
The drawn-in material is forcibly extruded laterally (pressing station). The sheets 26, 28 are still carried by the punch 20 until the punch 20 separates from the first joint thus formed, which is preferably such that the next punch 20 prepares the next joint. It is the moment when you start to cut through the sheet.

The die 32 and the anvil are preferably made of a wear resistant material, and are preferably made of cemented carbide. It will be seen that the device is extremely reliable because both the die 32 and the anvil are extremely robust.

FIG. 4 shows that a tiltable lever 40 biased to a starting position by a spring 38 may be used in place of the roller 34.

To reduce wear due to relative movement between the die 32 and the sheets 26, 28, as shown in FIG. 5, the die 32 is a pivotable partial cylinder which is biased to a starting position by a suitable spring 32c. It can be formed as a shaped lever 32b.

On the other hand, the anvil can be tolerated, but for this purpose the anvil is simply a stationary plate 42 as shown in FIG. The operation of plate 42 is preferably polished.

It will be appreciated that each of the illustrated die molds can be combined with each of the illustrated anvil molds.

Alternative embodiments of punches and punch wheels are within the concept of the invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the individual punches are removably mounted on the wheel, whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the punch and the wheel are preferably an integral star, reinforced on both sides by support discs 46. It is formed as a member 44.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a punch wheel similar to the punch wheel of FIG. 1 fitted with an ejector ring 47 supported by a spring 48, which pushes the sheet after the joint is completed. Figure 7 shows another embodiment that serves the purpose.

Instead of a punch wheel, a further embodiment is envisaged in which only one sector of such a wheel can swing back and forth, this sector being provided with a small number or only one punch. Can be

Yet another alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. The punch assembly 50 includes a central block 52 and two lateral cam blocks each carrying one of two parallel punches (only one shown in the figure). The central block is mounted via a leaf spring 74 to a reciprocating drive means, for example a piston of a hydraulic cylinder indicated by arrow 56. Thus, the punch assembly 50 can be reciprocated with respect to the stationary cam housing 60. The cam housing wall 62 carries a cam member 64. The slope 71 of the cam member 64 causes an arrow 68 due to the deflection of the leaf spring 74 until it returns to the standard position behind the cam member 64.
By a cam block 54 lifted in the direction of. Upon reversal of the drive means, cooperating ramps 70 and 71 provided on cam member 64 and cam block 54, respectively.
Due to the punch assembly (not shown in the figure)
Pressed into the sheet supported by the die. Thus, the joint is formed while the punch assembly is being pulled, and behind the cam member, the punch assembly is lifted away from the joint by the leaf spring 74.

FIG. 11 schematically shows a machine incorporating the device of the present invention. This machine is for joining the edges of a sheet bent in a longitudinal direction to provide a tube. Although the base frame 80 includes the driving means, the structure of the driving means is not important for the present invention. The first cantilever 82 carries a punch wheel as described above, and the second cantilever 84 extending parallel to the first cantilever 82 carries a die-anvil assembly. Drive torque may be transmitted by chain 86 or the like. The second cantilever 84 is the finished work 90
Is pivotable about the journal 88 so that it can be removed. The figure shows the hydraulic rotary drive means 92.

FIG. 12 shows a similar machine including two cantilevers. However, the direction in which the workpiece is fed is perpendicular to the direction of extension of the cantilever. This machine makes it possible, for example, to join tubes arranged in a line in the axial direction or to join elongated flat workpieces.

Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, a rotating punch wheel includes a plurality of wheels mounted axially spaced on a common shaft and each cooperating with a respective die-anvil assembly. It will be appreciated that Punches of different wheels may operate in phase or lag. For example, a facility for joining a flat sheet and a corrugated sheet to form a composite plate may include as many devices as the joining lines to be formed, the joining being performed in one operation. obtain.

Punches and dies never force through all sheets to be joined. If the lateral size of the punch is smaller than the distance between the cutting edges of the die,
The sheet facing the punch will not be cut and the joint will be liquid tight. Further, if the die is provided with rounded, and therefore non-cutting edges, none of the sheets will be cut and the joint will simply be a material that has been drawn deeply into the pushed interengagement. Will contain parts.

It will also be appreciated that the apparatus may be mounted on a movable device that is manually or automatically moved along the guide means to join stationary sheets.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided such a joining apparatus which is most suitable for limiting the shape of a sheet metal portion to be joined without causing significant deformation of a sheet member portion adjacent to a joining portion. Can be. Further, since the shape and strength of the anvil can be optimally used in accordance with the sheet metal to be joined, it is possible to provide this kind of joining apparatus which has good work efficiency and can be used for a long time. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the die-anvil assembly of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is II of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another example of the anvil design, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another structure of the die-anvil assembly, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an anvil of the mold of FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a view showing a modification of the punch wheel, FIG. 8 is a view showing still another example of the punch wheel, and FIG.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the punch wheel shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing another example of the punch assembly structure, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are views each showing a machine equipped with the apparatus of the present invention. 20 ... Punch, 22 ... Punch wheel, 26,28 ... Sheet, 30 ... Support, 32 ... Die, 34 ... Roller or anvil, 36 ... End pin, 37 ... Flying circle, 38, 48 ... spring, 40 ... lever, 42 ... plate, 44 ... star-shaped member,
46 ... Support disk, 47 ... Ejector ring, 50 ... Punch assembly, 52 ... Center block, 54 ... Cam block,
56,68… Arrow, 60… Cam housing, 62… Wall, 64
…… Cam member, 66,70,71 …… Slope, 74 …… Leaf spring, 80…
... Base frame, 82, 84 ... Cantilever, 86 ... Chain, 88 ... Journal, 90 ... Workpiece, 92 ... Rotation drive means.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Gerd-Jürgen, Etzcort Germany, day 3424 Sankt Andreasberg, Silberchützte 11 (72) Inventor Hans, Mars, Germany, day 3422 Bad Lauterberg, Germermannsille Torathe 12 (56) References Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-23773 (JP, B1) Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 46-19407 (JP, Y1)

Claims (21)

(57) [Claims] 1. A punch member (20) which engages a part of at least two sheet metal materials (26, 28) which are superimposed and then pushes the sheet metal material, and a slot (32a) on an upper surface. A die member (32) that cooperates with the punch member to draw the sheet metal material into the slot; and is separated from the die member and cooperates with the punch member to be drawn into the slot. An anvil member (34) for extruding the sheet metal material between the punch member and the moving direction of the punch member in a lateral direction, and means (22) for driving the punch member, A first force component for pushing in a metal material and extruding in the lateral direction, and a second force component for transporting the sheet metal material from the slot to the anvil member orthogonal to the first component. Punch members that create A sheet metal joining device comprising: a driving unit; 2. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said punch member driving means rotates said punch member relative to said die member and said anvil member. 3. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotatable punch wheel, wherein a plurality of the punch members are arranged on the punch wheel. The described sheet metal joining device. 4. A plurality of punch wheels are mounted on a common rotating shaft (22a), and the die member and the anvil member are arranged for each punch wheel. 3. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to 3. 5. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the punch member and the punch wheel are formed integrally (44). 6. A reinforcing support disk (46) is attached to both sides of said punch wheel, and said punch member protrudes beyond said reinforcing support disk. 3. The sheet metal bonding apparatus according to claim 1. 7. A hollow ring member (47) having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the punch wheel, and having an opening (47a) at a position corresponding to the punch member so that the punch member can protrude. A ring member (47) disposed around the circumference of the punch wheel; and a spring member disposed between the punch wheel and the ring member to urge the ring member outward. Four
The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: (8). 8. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said die member and said anvil member are supported by a common support (30). 9. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said die member is fixed to said support. 10. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said die member (32b) is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in a conveying direction of said sheet metal material. 11. The die member (32b) has a partially cylindrical shape and is pivotally attached to the support between two positions in the direction of transport of the sheet metal material. 11. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 10, wherein (32b) is urged by a spring member (32c) in a direction opposite to a conveying direction of the sheet metal material. 12. The sheet according to claim 8, wherein the die member has a U-shaped cross section when viewed from the conveying direction of the sheet metal material. Metal joining equipment. 13. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said anvil member is fixed to said support. 14. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said anvil member is reciprocally movable with respect to said support in a conveying direction of said sheet metal material. apparatus. 15. The anvil member (40) has a partially cylindrical shape and is pivotally mounted on the support between two positions in the direction of transport of the sheet metal material. 15. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the floor member (40) is urged by a spring member (38) in a direction opposite to a conveying direction of the sheet metal material. 16. An anvil member comprising a rotatable roller (3).
15. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 14, wherein 4) is satisfied. 17. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said anvil member has a width larger than a width (W) of said slot. 18. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the width (W) of the slot increases toward the bottom. 19. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said anvil member has a convex work surface. 20. The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a position of said die member with respect to said anvil member is adjustable in a direction of said first force component. 21. At least one of the die member and the anvil member is made of a cemented carbide.
The sheet metal joining apparatus according to claim 1.