Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Repairing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-24
2003-05-13
Bryant, David P. (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Repairing
C029S402190, C029S469500, C072S409110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06560838
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet metal repair method and a sheet metal repair tool for repairing a sheet metal of a damaged car body and the like. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to a sheet-like member fixing device for positioning, supporting, and temporarily fixing a sheet-like member.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
When a sheet metal of a car body and the like is damaged, a sheet metal repair method for removing a particular portion of the sheet metal including the damaged part and for bonding a repair member to the sheet metal in place of the removed portion has been often employed so far.
For example, when a car body
1
shown in
FIG. 43
is damaged due to a car accident, a particular portion
4
of the body including a damaged part
2
was removed by cutting it along a line
3
and then a repair member
6
is bonded to the body
1
in place of the removed portion
5
. Before bonding the repair member
6
to the body , a reinforcing member
7
is connected to the portion near the cut part of the body
1
, and then the repair member
6
is bonded onto the member
7
by spot welding
8
and
9
.
However, in such a sheet metal repair method, the reinforcing member
7
was indispensable, and therefore a repair process became complicated. In addition, the use of the repair member
7
increase the number of joint surfaces, which was a problem in terms of strength and corrosivity.
In a conventional method for repairing a sheet metal (sheet-like member) of a car body, a particular portion including a damaged part of a car body is removed and then a repair member is connected to the body in place of the removed portion. For example, as shown in
FIG. 44
, a repair member
502
is positioned on a sheet metal
501
, and the repair member
502
is bonded to the body by spot welding and the like.
However, when the repair member
502
is bonded to the sheet metal by using such a method, the sheet metal
501
has to be supported by hand. Therefore, it has been desired that greater safety be secured. In order to position the repair member
502
by pressing it against the sheet metal
501
, the repair member
502
had to be pushed outward by inserting hand into the space between the sheet metal
501
and an interior panel
503
. For this reason, bonding of the member
502
to the sheet metal
501
involved great difficulties. In order to temporarily join the repair member
502
to the sheet metal
501
for spot welding, it was indispensable to use fasteners such as bolts and to insert hand into the space between the sheet metal
501
and the interior panel
503
. Thus, temporarily joining involved great difficulties.
Accordingly, inventors of the present invention carried out intensive studies with an objective of providing a sheet metal repair method and a sheet metal repair tool having a sufficiently high bonding strength and resistance to corrosion without using any reinforcing member.
The inventors also carried out intensive studies with an objective of providing a sheet-like member fixing device capable of placing or temporarily fixing a sheet-like member such as a repair member in a particular position while holding it with ease and safety.
The inventors also carried out intensive studies with an objective of providing a sheet-like member fixing device capable of pushing a sheet-like member outward with ease and safety.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As the results of intensive studies to overcome the above difficulties, the inventors of the present invention have eventually attained the present invention.
Main point of a sheet metal repair method according to the present invention, in which a particular portion including a damaged part of a sheet metal is removed and a repair member is bonded to the sheet metal in place of the removed portion is: to bend a portion near the end part of the repair member which is larger in area than a gap formed by removing the particular portion or a portion near the end part of the sheet metal to which the repair member is bonded in accordance with the shape of the gap so as to form at least a first bent part; and to bond the repair member to the sheet metal in place of the removed portion.
Such a sheet metal repair method makes it possible to repair the sheet metal without using any reinforcing member by bending either a portion near the end part of the repair member or a portion near the end part of the sheet metal to which the repair member is bonded, or by bending both of them so that the repair member is shaped to fit with the gap.
Another main point of the sheet metal repair method according to the present invention is to form a second bent part by bending a portion nearer to the end part of the repair member or a portion nearer to the end part of the sheet metal in the direction opposite to the first bent part so as to bond the portion near the end of the repair member to the sheet metal.
In this sheet metal repair method, a repair member or a sheet metal is bent stepwise to form a first bent part and a second bent part which is bent in the direction opposite to the first bent part. While the end part of the repair member or of the sheet metal is fitted to the first and second bent parts of the sheet metal or of the repair member, the portion nearer to the end than the second bent part of the repair member or of the sheet metal is bonded to the sheet metal or the repair member, and thus the repair member is bonded flush with the sheet metal. The phrase “the end part of the repair member or the sheet metal is fitted to the first and second bent parts of the sheet metal or of the repair member” used herein means that the end part of the sheet metal which is not bent is fitted to the bent parts of the repair member, or that the end part of the repair member which is not bent is fitted to the bent parts of the sheet metal. The phrase “the portion near the end part of the repair member is bonded to the sheet metal” used herein means that the portion near the end part of the repair member which is bent is bonded to the end part of the sheet metal which is not bent, or that the portion near the end part of the sheet metal which is bent is bonded to the end part of the repair member which is not bent.
Still another main point of the sheet metal repair method according to the present invention is to form the first and the second bent parts at one time with a sheet metal repair tool comprising a punch and a die which are shaped to fit with the first and the second bent parts.
In this sheet metal repair method, the first and the second bent parts are manually or automatically formed at one time by sandwiching the repair member between the punch and the die of the sheet metal repair tool.
A further main point of the sheet metal repair method according to the present invention is to bond a part of or a whole of joint surfaces of the repair member and the sheet metal by an adhesive agent, an adhesive agent and rivet, or a combination of an adhesive agent, rivet, and spot welding.
In this sheet metal repair method, the repair member is bonded to the sheet metal by welding, an adhesive agent, or a combination of welding and an adhesive agent.
A still further main point of the sheet metal repair method according to the present invention is to bend the portion near the end part of the repair member and/or the portion near the end part of the sheet metal to remove distortion on the portion near the end part before the repair member and the sheet metal are bonded together.
Another main point of the sheet metal repair method according to the present invention is to bend the portion near the end part of the repair member and/or the portion near the end part of the sheet metal so that the first bent part is curved.
A main point of a sheet metal repair tool according to the present invention, which is used in the sheet metal repair method, for removing a particular portion including a damaged part of a sheet metal and for bonding a repair member to the sheet metal in place of the removed portion is to comprise a punch and a d
Ito Akio
Tokuhara Eiji
Bryant David P.
Milde & Hoffberg LLP
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