Metal deforming – With means to drive tool – Including link-actuated tool support
Patent
1990-09-06
1991-08-13
Jones, David
Metal deforming
With means to drive tool
Including link-actuated tool support
72314, 72451, 2924358, 100271, 100280, B21J 918
Patent
active
050385976
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to apparatus for bending a margin flange, which projects at an angle to a surface on a workpiece, against said workpiece, the apparatus including a bending tool which is mounted on a tool holder carried by a parallelogram mechanism for movement in relation to a stand on which the workpiece is placed, and further including a drive arrangement which is drivingly connected to the tool holder, by means of a linkage.
Apparatus of this kind are previously known in various forms. Such apparatus are used, for instance, to bend a margin flange on a sheet metal workpiece around the margin of another sheet metal workpiece, to effect a clinching or hemming joint which joins the two workpieces together. This type of operation is common, for instance, within the vehicle manufacturing industry, in the production of different vehicle body parts. One drawback with such known apparatus, however, is that a relatively large free area is required around the margin flange to be bent, in order for the apparatus to function satisfactory. This makes it difficult, or even impossible, to use such apparatus for certain kinds of working operations where said space is extremely limited.
One example of an apparatus of the above mentioned kind is known from GB-A-958671. This previously known apparatus has the drawback that rather large parts of the apparatus are situated both above and below the margin flange to be bent. Therefore, this known apparatus requires a large free space around the margin flange to be bent, and it cannot be used to bend margin flanges in confined spaces.
The object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the aforesaid kind which do not suffer these drawbacks and which can also be used in confined spaces with satisfactory results. This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that the tool holder includes a main part which is connected to the parallelogram mechanism, and a movable part which is pivotal about a journal pin on the main part, said journal pin being substantially parallel with the journal pins of the parallelogram mechanism; in that the movable part carries the tool and by means of a resilient element is urged towards a starting position with the nose of the tool biased away from the parallelogram mechanism; and in that the linkage is a toggle linkage which includes a projection for co-action with an abutment on the movable part of the tool holder when the toggle linkage is in the proximity of its fully extended state to cause the movable part of the tool holder to move away from the starting position, the main part of the tool holder thereby being located in the vicinity of an end position and the tool being in engagement with the margin flange on the workpiece.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic side view of one embodiment of the inventive bending apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows the apparatus components in their respective starting positions, prior to commencing a working sequence;
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows the apparatus components in their respective preliminary bending or pre-form positions, during a working sequence; and
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, and shows the apparatus components in their respective final bending or clinching positions during a working sequence.
The apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a stand 1 which is mounted on a support surface (not shown), which also supports a workpiece 2. The illustrated workpiece 2 comprises a sheet metal rail 3, in which a sheet metal profile section 4 is placed. The sheet metal rail 3 has two margin flanges 5, of which one flange is shown in FIG. 1 to be bent over a lower flange on the sheet profile section 4. Binding of the flange has been effected with the aid of a tool 6.
The stand 1 carries two journal pins 7 and 8 which are mutually parallel. Respective one ends of pivot arm
REFERENCES:
patent: 4346579 (1982-08-01), Takatsu
patent: 4706489 (1987-11-01), Dacey, Jr.
AB Volvo
Jones David
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