US2511530A - Metal-folding machine with interconnected folding and workclamping means - Google Patents

Description

June 13, 1950 A. A. ESPARI METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WITH INTERCONNECTED FOLDING AND WORK-CLAMPING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1946 June 13,- 1950 A. A. ESPARI METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WITH INTERCONNECTED FOLDING AND WORK-CLAMPING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 8, 1946 June 13, 1950 A. A. ESPA 2,511 530 METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WIT NTERCONNECTED FOLDING AND WORK-CLAMPING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 8, 1946 June 13, 1950 A. A. ESPARI 2,511,530

METAL-FOLDING MACHINE WITH ERCONNECTED FOLDING AND WORK-CLAMP MEANS Filed Nov. 8, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 if Q Patented June 13, 1950 CGNN-EOTED FOLDING GLAMPIN G MEANS WORK- AlphonseAEspafi, New Haven, Conn. ApplicationiNovember 8, 1946,:Se15ia1N0. J,493

.1 This invention relates to metal-folding machines, and more particularly to those of the hand-operated.typeoperable by means such as :a hand crank, which are suitable for bending up the edges-of sheet metal plates for the purpose of hanging them. Such machines are commonly known as bar .folders, and they comprise in their construction a stationary forming member in the nature of ananvil against which thesheet is clamped preliminary to bending, and over one edge of which the metal isfbent 'by operation of a turning folder bar whose turning movement is imparted by the hand crank.

In -machines of this type therelnas been considerable inconvenience and loss of time involved .in the clamping of the work sheet in position prior to the folding operationand one object 'of the present invention is to overcome this drawback.

Another object of the invention is to provide .a machine having a =work-clamping .means that is operable from. the .same manual operating means .as the folding bar so as to have a clampingmovement preliminary to the folding, and therebylincrease the speed with which the machine can be operated and increase the-output .of themachine.

Another object is to improvethe structureand efiicacy of machines of this general type.

In the accompanying drawings;

Fig. l is a side elevation of a machine embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, with certain parts broken away";

Fig. 3 is 'a view from the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1, the casing of the @gears being shown in-section;

Fig. "4 is an-end view looking from the righthand end of Fig. .1, the operating --sh-a-tt section a'di'acent that end of the machine being shown in section Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are, re'spectivelygsectionsl :on lines 5--6and 1-1 of Fig. 1;

Fig/8 is a -de'tail showing one of the end frames;

Fig. 9 is a section on line -'9--9 of Fig. -4,"this view being a broken View;

Fig. 10 is a transverse section showing parts of the machine as they appear at a certain stage of the folding operation;

Fig. 10 isa section on line NI -I'll of Fig. 10;

Fig. lO 'is an enlargedse'ction on line 10 -4 0 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10, showing a later stage of the operation;

Fig. .12 is a section on line {IL-I12. of Fig. :9;

. member.

*ca'ted at 23 operating hand crank at one end. It comprises 'a'frame in which is arranged for turning movement on 'a longitudinal horizontal axis a folding 'bar,.said bar in operation being swingable from a substantially horizontal position at one side .of the frame "into idifierent positions in which it cooperates with a substantially.horizontally dis- .po's'ed'anvil member at the opposite side of the frame. The ,metal .sheet to be folded is introduced betweenthe anvil member and the folding 'bar, :the'extent oftheintroduction being controlled by 'stcpmembers that are conveniently adjustable. There are also provided novel'means iorclamping the .s'heet against the anvil preliminary'to folding, saidme'ans including an up- .wardly'movable clamping bar which is operable .from the hand crank or the like that is used to actuate the folding bar. The clamping bar is controlled in its upward and downward movementfrom the operating means for the folding bar through the use of a cam shaft located beneath'the clamping bar. The folding bar in its initial position, preliminary to folding, has its active or folding face spaced downwardly to a certain extent from the folding edge of the anvil After the workpiece has been introduced to the required extent into a space immed'iately beneath the edge portion of the anvil member, the clamping bar is shifted to move it upwardly into firm clamping cooperation with the anvil member, and substantially simultaneously thejfolder bar is moved up to its operative position with respect to the anvil member.

In the drawings the frame of the machine is indicated generally at 20, the anvil member at 2 I,

.the swinging folding bar at 22, the latter being operable by a hand crank '23 located at one end 7 of the frame, and. the clamping bar being indi- The cam shaft previously referred to is indicated at 24, the same being located below "theclamping, bar. For limiting the introduction of the workpiece into a space between the anvil member and the clamping bar, a laterally adjustable gauging slide is employed, the same being section 28 and suitably fixed thereto. opposite end of the frame the latter is provided ,withan inset end wall member 36 suitably fastened to the bottom plate. frame which is located away from the folder bar, the frame is closed in by a side wall member indicated at and being equipped with a number of suitable stop members 26, as hereinafter described. The gauge member 25 is adjustable laterally by a number of adjusting screws 21. The turning axis of the folder bar 22 is located above and in line with the cam shaft 24. The folder bar is mounted between and connected to shaft sections 28 and 29, best shown in Fig. 9, of which the section 28 is connected to the crank member 23. Between the shaft section 28 and the cam shaft 24 is a gear connection, indicated generally at 38, and including gears covered by a gear casing 3!. There are also cam connections between the cam shaft 24 and the shaft sections 2-8 and 29, as hereinafter described.

Referring now to the details, the frame 29 has a bottom member 32 which'extends throughout its length and is turned up at one end to provide an integral end wall 33 having at the upper part thereof an upwardly elongated hole or slot 34 accommodating a portion of shaft section 28, as shown in Fig. 9. The inner end portion of the crank member 23 base hub 35 which is applied over the outwardly extending end portion of'shtaft At he At the side of the 31-, which is suitably fastened in place, said mem.- ber in this particular case being set in under the butt end of the anvil2l and suitably secured thereto, and thus acting as a partial support for The adjusting screws 21, previously mentioned, .are mounted in the member 31 so as the anvil.

to be rotatable therein. At the opposite side of the frame the latter is leftopen, so that the folder bar will have no interference with its movements. The side wall member 3! does not extend throughout the length of the frame, but, on the other hand, extends from the end wall 36 to a transverse wall member 38. The wall member 38 is near the end wall 33, and between them the gearing 30, previously mentioned, is accommodated, also the gear casing 31.

The end wall 36 serves as a mounting for the shaft section 29, and has at the upper part thereof a recessed portion 39 receiving a bearing-49 for said shaft section, said bearing being ,movable upwardly in the recessed portion or to a limited extent. For this purpose the bear-' ing 43, embracing shaft section 28, is adaptedv to move upwardly in a recess 44 in wall 38, and is adapted to make contact with an adjustable screw 45 mounted in a bridge member 46.

'The cam shaft 24 has a hearing at one end .in the end wall 36, and near the opposite end of the camshaft isanother bearing provided in the wall 38. In-the form shown these hearings are created by providing suitable bores in the walls 36 and 38. The cam shaft i also supported at a number of points between its ends,

" and inthe present case this shaft is supported by members 41 that can be referred to as partitionmembers set in the frame, which partition members also serve to support 50m? i th Othfir gauge bar 25.

ends on two of the adjacent partitions.

. the frame.

operating parts, as hereinafter described. In addition to the partition members just referred to, the cam shaft is also supported at intervals by blocks 48 set in under the shaft and supporting it from beneath. In Fig. 3 the general arrangement of these partition members and blocks is disclosed, and it will be noted that in this case there are six partition members 41 and six blocks- 48. Each of the blocks 48 rests at its lower end on the bottom of the frame and is notched at its upper part, as shown at 49, to receive a portion of the shaft. Each of the partition members 4i rests at its lower end on the bottom of the frame, and has one of its side edges supporting the Side wall 31 of the frame. In each of these partitions is a hole 59 through which extends a portion'of the cam shaft. The cams 5|, provided on the cam shaft 24 for the purpose of providing for upward movement of the clamping bar 23*, may be six in number, each cam being located adjacent a supporting block 48. The cams 5! may be separate members slipped over ,the shaft 24 and then fixed thereto by suitable means suchas pins 52. Each of these cams preferably has a periphery which, through the greater part thereof, is concentric with the shaft but is cut away to form a recess 53, as shown in Fig. 6. This recess is adapted to be engaged by a downward projection on the clamping bar .23 In the form shown the projection is provided by mounting on the clamping bar a vertically adjustable screw 54 having a lower end shaped as a, rounded nose 55. Each screw is adjustable vertically in a threaded socket 56 suitably fastened to one side of the clamping bar.

clamping bar 23*. is received, and by means of which the clamping bar is guided in a vertical direction. Normally the lower edge of the clamping bar rests on the bottom of th recess 58, but by actuation of the adjacent cam 5| the clamping bar can be raised, as shown in Fig. 10.

The upper edge portions 59 of the partitions 41, shown in Fig. 13, serve as supports for a superposed member, which in turn supports the There are several such superposed members, each supporting the gauge bar throughout a, portion of its length, and in this particular case the superposed members referred to are indicated at 60, as shown in Fig. 2. Such a. member 60 may be supported at the respective Certain of the partitions 41 can be placed so that they are at a short distance from each other, thus providing two relatively narrow spaces in the frame, in which spaces the shanks of the screws 21 are accommodated, there being in this instance two of these screws. The superposed members 59, previously referred to, are arranged to extend between and bridge partition members which are farther apart than those between which the screws 21 are located. The members 69 provide an ample support for the gauge bar 25 which extends substantially throughout the length of V The screw; 2'! may have round knurled heads and each screw may have a bear- .ing in the wall 31 provided between a shoulder morocco "to the shank-cr me screw! mm 'ishank of-ithe screw threaded, as shown at 552, :and the threaded portion engages a threaded :bore provided in a block 63, which is fixedly secured in an appropriate manner the gauge Lbar -gand extends downwardly 'irom the gauge bar. By. this arrangement the gauge bar is :moved in opposite directions "laterally of- "the iframe when the screw is rotated in the respective 'cl'irections, :the gauge bar in this movement ibeing guided mpon r the upper iaces of the supporting members 6! L'Ihe stops 26,-:prev iously mentioned, areprovided upon the gauge bar at the inner sedge of the :gauge loanand each of these stops :may "he in lthe form of a U-sha-ped :mem'ber fheldin .place :a screw '64 screwed intov the gaugeibar. 'Elhe ueshaned stops are provided with free :ends 65 that :proj-eot into notches 156 cut into time -.c1amping bar 26 from the upper edge thereof. fIlhe matches -.66 extend entirely across' the impart-edge of the clamping bar-123 and the :legs of'tthe iJ- s'haped stop members project into tthesennotches tova greater 101' less extent, depending nnonthe. positionito which the gauge'aoarfl iSfB-djLISiQd. .nrfter the gauge bar has. been adjusted" laterally by position by suitable means, 101 example, :by means of screwstlnassing ldosety thro gh the 31 :andrthreaded so as to. hatethreaded engagement with iiheigange :har. 'TI'IGSBJAGIEQWS are-reach equipped with 2; lockingzmitfifl bearill against the outer surface of wall 31.

"The tolder bar titsgorefflably on composite construction, the some heingiini-lthe: term :of a

truss tor g'iyingxit greater .stnength :IEQI this I 4 purposetheiolder :bar comprises the ibar proper F whi h i a stmight memheri-andrthe;angniar 'ztruss member 1110' diam-rig Jim-intermediate "pow :tion spaced :from the intermediatesnortion of Jbar169 by means of aholtl'l. V -The:folder*1loar is applied atits "respective endsvtozz'onnd disk members .12 and 513., nespeotinely; :first wcf which is suitably fixedito the Inner endloi asha-ft section '23 and the second niwhich lItS' similarly fixed to the shaft section-c219. r'lihese diskimembelts are disposed :thealnner faces of: the walls 88 and'zat, respectively,- and overlie: the hearings. :43 amino, mspectizelyuand the'ahridgeimemhers "4'5 and 142, respectively; Engaged xwithxtheaperipheries of themespeotiwedi'sks T2,: :13

' M and-1.5, Tespectiwely, pinned :to' the shaft .24. "There is a certain ecam autism betweenthe disks of each pair 12,1 4 .andflfi, 515,.zfor the-pun :pose of raising the 'iongitudmal :axis the folder bar, and in thepresemt instanoezithis camaction is :produoedihy deforming the: tower disks fi l and 51 5, which, cars-shown inqEig. "1;; are 'each provided at. one pointfin the'zperiphery with :a depression :or dwell adapted toacoommodate a portion of the peripheryof :thefcooperathig :disk, and 'confornringfinzshape to r-snch portion.

The'iolder barizzpis. suitably attached to the upper disks 312 and 13 aslby zmeims iOfz'SQflOW-S :passi-ng through' the disks and into the endsof ham-member 59. .sSuch screwsiu'e mdioated at location as the ,folding proceeds.

the shaft sectionIB is in the aposition :ashown :in

Fig. l9. When gear T8 :is in the positionzshowm in V-Fi-g. :5, the teeth of the gear which .at opposite sides Of the portion ill) vare in close proximity to the :teeth of the gear .119.

For the purpose =.of providing adjustable :means iortlimiting the isw-ing oZE :thetfolderhar, an ad- Justable stop may ice placed on end 12111133. ;A stop member may be :provided in the form of an .arcuate slotted piece :BI held :in iadjusted "position by bolts' 82 engaging-thewall: 3'3, :said arcuate piece having at one end ;a projecting stop member :35 adapted to he contacted hy the (hand :crank..:2:3. :Prefierably the hand lcrank :is substantially horizontal when the folder :loar :is "in the-position shown in Fig-G and by adjustmentzof "the stop :memher the upward swing of theziolder'rharrelatively"to :the anvil man be limited :as desired.

For the purpose of providing an indication %at the upper wpart oi the frame of the: lateral po- :sitio-n .oi'the {gauge bar {SJ-suitable indicating means may be employed. irI-nthe form shown, tthe igangelbar is provided at two points in its length with npstanding :headed members ssh-ayin cylindrical heads projecting upwatdl-y into transverse slots 7&5 provided in the :anvil, the sides of said 'fSlQlzS having associated therewith suitablescales (adapted to register with markings on theheaoled members.-84.

the operation of theqmaohine, the gauge hariZS is .lflrst adjusted bythe iadfrnstin-g means above described so as (to permit itheimetal-sheet 120- be operated noon to be inserted to the -d-e= sired extent .-betweenl-the upper-edge =01 the clamping bar 23 and the opposing lower faceportion ofthsanvil '24. In Fig. 6,, for example, the gauge bar iis -shown iniilull lines in one position, and in dotted lines another position. The anyilj-at its upper portionis provided with an inclined sur-Eace that leads to a thin inner After themetal .sheetuhas been inserted into the bite between the parts above mentioned, so that the inner edgeof the sheet, engages the stops 26, the bending or foldin operation is commenced by turning the crank in a counterclockwise direction with reference to Fig. 14, and with reference to Figs. '5 and 6. At the commencement of the turning movement, a tooth on gear 78 engages the adjacent tooth of gear l-9,' thus starting the rotation of gear 59 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5. As the rotation continues the :cams 255i act to raise the =olamping rbar it which is 'therel y moved upwardly to clamp a portion of the :sheet against the anvil. The-screw pins are, :of course, adjusted lengthwise heiorehand, so-that when the cylindrical surfaces of the oamswa'rein engagement with thelower -ends of thepins, the plate will be firmly clamped against the lower surface of the anvil with they reqniredamcunt of {pressure for :holding the plate against dis- In this oporation the teeth of the gear 1-8 engage teeth at the upper part of gear .19, and the dwells it vofthe lower cam disks M, 15 are shifted so that the. cylindrical surfaces of these scam vdisks engags-lathe peripheries of the upper disks "i2, i3.

7 This latter action has the effect :of raising and The gear 13 slightly swinging the iolderibar, and the latter is moved upwardly so that before any considerablejolding-action takes place the upper Slotthandoorner-of the folder loar (Fig. 14) is brought substantially tothetolane oi the lower surface of be able to rest upon the teeth of gear 19 when to the anvil, with said'cornerin close proximity 7 to the edge of the anvil. After the folderbar has reached this position where the turning axis of the folder bar (and of the shaft sections 28 and 29) is substantially coincident with the inner edge of the anvil, the Swing of the folder bar continues, as shown in Fig. 15, thus bending the metal sheet to form a flange at the margin of the sheet. In the case illustrated in Fig. 16, the body of the sheet is folded down against the inclined upper surface of the anvil, but the extent of the fold will, of course, depend upon the adjustment of the stop member 8|.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that, after a folding movement, such as shown in Fig. 16, for example, has been accomplished, a reverse rotation of the folding shaft comprising the sections 28 and 29 will permit the workpiece to be released, the clamping bar and the folding bar being restored to the initial positions. 7

It will be seen from the foregoing that the machine can be operated very conveniently and very quickly, no separate operating means for the clamping bar being required, and the clamping operation, as well as the folding operation, being accomplished by one hand of the operator, leaving his other hand free for other purposes. On

the first movement of the machine, the work which has been inserted under the edge of the anvil is automatically clamped by the rise of the clamping bar, and as the clamping bar is rising the folder bar is being moved or translated upwardly from a lower position to a position in which one of its corners, adjacent the axis of rotation, is raised to operative position with respect to the anvil. Then the folder bar is actuated on continued movement of the operating means was to create the fold. By the provision of these features the operation of the machine is much more rapid than heretofore, and production is speeded up considerably. Moreover, the machine is of simple and durable structure.

It will be apparent that in the machine disclosed the anvil has a fiat lower face leading to a pointed folding edge, and that the clamping bar is adapted to clamp the work against the lower face over an area that ends approximately at the folding edge. It will also be apparent that the folder bar has a folding face which is initially in a lower position but at a later stage swings on an axis substantially coincident with the folding edge of the anvil.

In the drawings a preferred form of the machine is illustrated, and it is to be understood? that this is by way of example only, and that various modifications in the organization and changes in the details may be made without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a metal-folding machine, the combination of a fixed anvil, a frame in which the anvil is mounted, a work-clamping bar beneath the anvil slidable vertically upwardly to clamp the work against the anvil, a rotary shaft having fixed bearings in the frame and carrying cams which upon rotation engage the work-clamping bar to lift it into the operative position, a folder bar structure embodying a folder bar swingable with respect to the anvil to fold the workpiece and also embodying rotary shaft sections having mountings in the frame which permit the lifting of said sections in a vertical plane, and means of operative connection between said folder bar structure and said cam shaft including gears and cams arranged so that upon rotation of the folder bar the cam shaft is rotated and the folder bar lifted.

2. A metal-folding machine as defined in claim 1, in which the cams in said means of connection are located internally of cross members provided in the frame and the gears. are located externally of one of said cross members.

3. In a metal-folding machine, the combination of a fixed anvil, a frame in the upper part of which said anvil is mounted, said frame having a bottom member, end members, and a plurality of cross members in the nature of partitions, a work-clamping bar slidable vertically in the partitions and adapted to clamp the work against the lower surface of the anvil, a rotary shaft mounted in the frame beneath the work-clamping bar carrying a plurality of rotary cams adapted to move the clamping bar upwardly, a folder bar structure embodying a folder bar swingable with respect to the anvil to fold the workpiece and also embodying shaft sections adapted to move vertically in the upper part of the frame, said folder bar having an inoperative position in which its active face is spaced downwardly from the level of the under face of the anvil, and operative means of connection between said bar structure and said cam shaft whereby upon swinging movement of the folder bar the cam shaft is rotated and the folder bar lifted bodily.

4. In a metal-folding machine, the combination of a fixed anvil, a, frame in the upper part of which said anvil is mounted, said-frame having a, bottom member, end members, and a plurality of cross members in the nature of partitions, a work-clamping bar slidable vertically in the partitions and adapted to clamp the work against the lower surface of the anvil, a rotary shaft mounted in the frame beneath the workclamping bar carrying a plurality of rotary cams adapted to move the clamping bar upwardly, a folder bar structure embodying a folder bar swingable with respect to the anvil to fold the workpiece and also embodying shaft sections adapted to move vertically in the upper part of the frame, and operative means of connection between said bar structure and said cam shaft whereby upon swinging movement of the folder bar the cam shaft is rotated and the folder bar lifted, said means including co-acting gears one of which is mutilated, one of said gears being mounted on the cam shaft and the other upon one of said shaft sections.

5. A metal-folding machine as defined in claim 4, in which one of the gears is mounted on one end of said cam shaft and in which said means of connection also includes pairs of camming disks located adjacent the ends of the folder bar.

6. A metal-folding machine as defined in claim 5, in which said cam shaft is supported within said partition members and is also supported by additional members in the spaces between the partition members and in which the clamping bar is slidable in slots provided in the upper portions of said partition members.

ALPHONSE A. ESPARI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

(References on following-page) I 9 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Stow Feb. 28, 1860 Gleason Dec. 24, 1867 Keene May 10, 1887 Reising Feb. 14, 1888 Stark Aug. 14, 1888 Kunold Oct. 14, 1902 Keene Apr. 3, 1906 Talmadge May 29, 1906 Number 10 Name Date Hahnemann Dec. 30, 1924 Jarecki Nov. 11, 1930 Jensen Jan. 28, 1936 Kilham Mar. 16, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Sweden Sept. 16, 1905

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