Panel assembly and panel forming apparatus

Details Panel assembly and panel forming apparatus Panel assembly and panel forming apparatus

2000-01-31

2001-04-03

Crane, Daniel C. (Department: 3725)

Metal deforming

By deflecting successively-presented portions of work during...

By use of deflector arranged to bend work transversely of...

C072S379600

Reexamination Certificate

active

06209375

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a panel assembly and a panel forming apparatus, and more particularly, relates to a panel assembly having a stringer and a sheet panel clampingly secured to projections and recesses provided on the stringer and an apparatus for forming said sheet panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A panel assembly is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 42-26591, 46-14394 and 44-11699, for example.
The conventional panel assembly comprises a stringer
1
and a plurality of panel elements
2
, as shown in FIG.
1
.
The stringer
1
is formed of a plate-of aluminum alloy, for example, by press working in a predetermined figure shown in FIG.
1
and bent so as to have a U-shaped cross-section as shown in FIG.
2
. The stringer
1
can be formed by molding a plastic material instead of the aluminum alloy. The stringer
1
has projections
5
a
each having convex portions
3
at both sides thereof and recesses
5
b
each having concave portions
4
at both sides thereof. Each of said projections
5
a
and each of said recesses
5
b
are arranged alternately with a constant interval on the top of each of side walls of the stringer
1
.
Each of said panel elements
2
is formed of a baking finished plate of aluminum alloy or plastic and has convex portions
6
at both sides thereof.
A first panel element
2
facing upward is clampingly secured to the recess
5
b
formed between the projections
5
a
of the stringer
1
and a second panel element
2
facing downward is put on the projection
5
a
of the stringer
1
, so that the two curved edges
6
of the second panel element
2
are hooked around the two curved edges
6
of the first and third panel elements
2
clamped in the recess
5
b
to form a panel assembly.
The conventional panel assembly can be fabricated in the following manner.
One of the two curved edges
6
of the second panel element
2
to be clamped on the first projection
5
a
is hooked, as shown in
FIG. 1
, around one of the two bent edges.
6
of the first panel element
2
clamped in the first recess
5
b
adjacent to said first projection
5
a
. Thereupon the other of the two curved edges
6
of the second panel element
2
is hooked around one of the two curved edges
6
of the third panel element
2
which has to be clamped in the second recess
5
b
adjacent to said first projection
5
a
before the third panel element
2
is placed in the second recess
5
b
. The other curved edge of the third panel element
2
is then brought into engagement with the second recess
5
b
. There after, the second and third panel elements
2
are pressed into place.
As stated above, in the conventional panel assembly, it is necessary to arrange the panel elements
2
facing upward and facing downward alternately and to engage with the projections and recesses of the stringer
1
, respectively, and accordingly the work becomes hard and the panel assembly becomes expensive. Further, the conventional panel element is limited in width, so that it is difficult to form a panel assembly of large area. If the number of panel elements of the panel assembly is increased, some of the panel elements are not mounted precisely on the stringer, so that there is a danger of leaking of rain in case that the panel assembly is used as a roof, for example.
As a result of the studies and experiments it was found that a sheet panel of aluminum alloy or plastic consisting of a plurality of panel elements
2
could be obtained by a press working and that each of the panel elements
2
could be clamped on each of the projections and recesses of the stringer, respectively, by the resiliency of the sheet panel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to obtain a panel assembly comprising a stringer provided with projections and recesses arranged alternately, each of said projections having convex portions at both sides thereof and each of said recesses having concave portions at both sides thereof, and a sheet panel having first panel portions facing downward and second panel portions facing upward arranged alternately, each of said first panel portions having convex portions at both sides thereof and each of said second panel portions adjacent to each of said first panel portions having concave portions at both sides thereof, each of said first and second panel portions corresponding in position and configuration to said projection and recess of the stringer, respectively, so that the sheet panel can be clampingly secured to the stringer.
Another object of the present invention is to obtain the panel assembly further comprising an auxiliary stringer having projections and recesses each corresponding In position and configuration to said recesses and projections of the stringer, respectively, said auxiliary stringer being fitted to the stringer through said sheet panel clamped to the stringer.
Another object of the present invention is to obtain the panel assembly further comprising a panel element having convex portions at both sides thereof to be clamped on one of the first and second panel portions of said sheet panel.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a sheet panel comprising first panel portions facing downward and second panel portions facing upward arranged alternately, each of said first panel portions having convex portions at both sides thereof and each of said second panel portions adjacent to each of said first panel portions having concave portions at both sides thereof.
A further object of the present invention is provide a panel forming apparatus comprising a first forming means for forming a center projection at a central portion of a sheet panel, a second forming means for forming S-shaped curve faces on both sides of said center projection of said sheet panel, a third forming means for forming side projections at both sides of said center projection of the sheet panel, and a fourth forming means for forming S-shaped curve faces on both sides of each of the side projections of the sheet panel, said first to fourth forming means are arranged in order in a forward direction of the sheet panel.
Each of said first and third forming means comprises a horizontal negative form roller and a horizontal positive form roller arranged above and below so as to face to each other, and each of said second and fourth forming means comprises two gourd-shaped vertical inside rollers facing the inside side faces of each of said projections, respectively, and two gourd-shaped vertical outside rollers facing the outside side faces of each of said projections, respectively.
Each of said first and third forming means consists of a plurality of forming elements arranged in order in the forward direction of said sheet panel, the figures of the negative and positive form rollers of said forming element at the upstream side of said forward direction of the sheet panel are so determined that a shallower projection can be formed, and the figures of the negative and positive form rollers of the forming element at the downstream side of said forward direction are so determined that a deeper projection can be formed.
Each of said second and fourth forming means consists of a plurality of forming elements arranged in order in the forward direction of said sheet panel, a gap formed between corresponding gourd-shaped vertical inside and outside rollers at the upstream side of said forward direction of the sheet panel being larger and a gap formed between corresponding gourd-shaped vertical inside and outside rollers at the downstream side of the forward direction of the sheet panel being smaller.
The foregoing and other objects and features of the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of example according to the present invention. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative rather than limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3160132 (19

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