This invention relates to an apparatus, system and method for applying and shaping a prefabricated material on a form.
Many vehicle bodies are provided with partial or com-plete flexible sheet plastic to function as decorative roofs.
Generally, the fle~ible plastic ro~ftop portion has as the underlying support medium rigid rooftop portions upon which the flexible plastic material rests and to which such flexible sheet material is permanently attached by adhesive. The plas-tic material making up the rooftop material usually comprisesa prefabrlcated flexible material consisting of a relatively thin layer of rooftop material and a heavy tough textile ma-terial~ synthetic or natural fibers, having the characteristic of absorblng a suitable adhesive on the te~tile side of the prefabricated material and adapted to be permanently cemented or attached to a smooth rigid roof surface of a vehicle~ such roof surface generally consisting of metal or wood or rigid plast~c material.
The rooftop material prior to application to the vehicle rooftop is usually in the form of a blank consisting of a roof body portion and at least two vehicle roo~ post portions. In many instances, a complete vehicle roof blank not only has the body portion for the vehicle roof but usually will have two front post portions and two rear post portions for covering the roof support portions extending from the vehiclé roof to the veh~cle body proper. This type is con-,, .~
' -- 2 --sklered a full rcof. There are varlations to the roof style, such as a half roof cover (landau), T-roof, etc.
As a rule, such prefabricated rooftop material for an automotive vehicle is quite expensive and because of this, blanks of such material for a particular vehicle body are stamped and sewn accurately to size with a slight margin for trimming after installation of such material upon a vehicle body.
Instead of applying the rooftop material directly to the roor of an automotive vehicle for on-line assembly to the vehlcle, the blank may also be preshaped in a~ orf-line operation and then stored for later assembly of the pre-shaped rooftop material blank to the vehicle. For purposes of this preshaping operation, the rooftop material blank is seated into place over a rooftop form and is treated so that, after removal from the form, the blank will retain the shape of the form.
One type of preshaping operation was disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 4,029,532. In this pre-shaping arrangement, the material blank is stiffened by placing thereover a gauæe impregnated with material such as plaster of paris, which is then removed when the blank is ~pplied to.the car body. But this is a messy~ cumbersome and time-consuming operation.
The prefabricated rooftop material is quite tough and strong and when the pre-cemented surfaces of the rooftop material and vehicle roof proper come into contact, controlled tensionlng is required to smooth out the material to free the same of wrinkles and also to position the material accurately for final trimming of the margins. It has been the practice for a crew of at least two and more generally four muscular individuals to apply a cement-bearing prefabricated rooftop material to a pre-cemented rooftop`and manipulate the same into final position preparatory to the setting of the material on the roof under heat. Thls difficulty of accurately positioning and shaping the rooftop material blank is experienced whether the blank is being applied directly to the car top or to a form for pre~shaping, since there is considerable d~fficulty in equalizing the forces applied to the rooftop material blank.
According1y, the ob~ect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and an improved system and method for applying a prefabricated material on a form.
Accordingly, the present invention provides appar-atus for applying and shaping a prefabricated material on a form, said apparatus comprising quickly detachable clamping means for engaging the associated material at spaced-apart clamping locations thereon while it is on the associated form, fluid-actuated power means coupled to said clamping means for effecting movement thereof to apply a tensioning force to the associated material, and control means coupled to said power means for equalizing the tensioning force applied to the associated material at said clamping loca--tions thereon, said power means being so arranged and ori-ented as to be in equilibrium when the material has attained a desired orientation and shape on the form to which the material is applied.
The present invention also provides a system for applying and shaping on a form a flexible prefabricated material including a layer of thermosetting material, said system comprising a conveyor passing through a heating station and a material applying station and at least one curing station and a discharge station; a plurality of forms mounted at spaced-apart points along said conveyor for transportation thereby sequentially through said sta-tion; heating means at said heating station for heatingeach. form as it passes therethrough; means at said material applying station including quickly detachable clamping means for engaging the associated material at spaced-apart clamping locations thereon while it is on the associated form, fluid-actuated power means coupled to said clamping means for effecting movement thereof to apply a tensioning force to the associated material, and control means coupled to said power means for equalizing the tensioning force applied to the associated material at said clamping loca-tions thereon, said power means being so arranged andoriented as to be in equilibrium when the material has attained a desired orientation and shape on the form to ~. .
3~
to which -the material is applied; holding means associated wi.th each of said forms for holding the associated material thereon in the predetermined orientation and shape while said form passes -through said curiny station, the thermo-setting material belng ac-tivated by the heat from said heated form as it passes through said curing station for permanen-tly settling the material in the predetermined shape; and discharge means at said discharge station for removing the preshaped material from the associated form.
In addition, the present invention provides a method of shaping a flexible material on a form,comprising the steps 3~
of applying a coating of thermosetting material to the flexible material, applying the coated flexible material to the form, applying tensioning forces to the flexible material a-t spaced-apart locations to orient the flexible material and to hold it on the form in a predetermined shape, equalizing the tensioning forces applied to the flexible material at said spaced-apart locations, applying heat to the flexible material while it is held in the predetermined shape on the form for activating the thermo-setting material and permanently setting the flexiblematerial in the predetermined shape.
The invention will now be described in connec-tion with the drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a plan view of an exemplary blank of roofing material for application to the roof of a vehicular body.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an overhead type of apparatus embodying the invention for applying and positioning a rooftop material blank in final position on a form or vehicle top.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modification wherein the vehicle to which plastic or other rooftop material is to be applied rests upon a platform or convey-or, the platform carrying the various means for manipulat-ing the rooftop material in finaI position.
FIG. 4 is a detail partly in section, of a clamping means carried at the end of a tensioning piston rod for engaging the end portion of a rooftop material blank.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fixture type car top form on which a rooftop material blank can be ap-plied by the apparatus of FIGS. 2 or 3 for preshaping of the blank in off-line production.
FIG. 6 is a top plan, partially diagrammatic view, of a manufacturing system u-tilizing the clamping and tensioning apparatus and preshaping form of the pre-sent invention.
A popular example of a blank used on the roof of a vehicle 15 consists essentially of body portion 10 of 43~
yenerally rectangular shape with relatively narrow front post portions 11 and 12 extending from two corners of body portion 10 and rear post portions 13 and 14 from the remaining two corners of body portion 10. Front post portions 11 and 12 are adapted to cover the roof supports extending between the vehicle body proper 16 and the front of the vehicle roof. As a rule, the front portion of the roof curves down~ardly toward the con-ventional windshield to permlt wide angle vision through the windshield. Slmilarly, rear post portions 13 and 14 normally extend wlth the ad~acent part of the body portion lO from the vehicle roof downwardly toward the rear window 17 of the vehicle 15. In many instancesl the portion of the vehicle body 16 containing the rear window 17 extends somewhat above the level of the bottom portion of the windshield, thus account-ing for the different lengths of rear post portions 13 and 14 on the one hand, as compared to the front post portions ll and 12 on the other hand. There are many variations of shapes of rooftop material blankY 5 and in fact, in some instances, body portion lO of the roo~top material blank 5 may be in two separate parts, separated by metal trim across the top of the roof.
It is well known that the rooftop material blank 5 is a prefabricated assembly which may comprise a decorative outer skin o~ plastic or other material ~uch as vinyl or any of numerous other man-made materials adhered to a relatively heavy layer of woven or nonwoven natural or synthetic material (see FIG. 6). The vinyl layer is usually embossed to provide a roughened outer surface which is visible after the rooftop material is installed. The inner layer of the prefabricated rooftop material usually has a roughened or h~irlike surface which will receive adhesive for cementing the material to the conventional vehicle metal rooftop, or is co~ted with a thermo-setting material which would be applicable to off-line pro-duction, as will be explai.ned more fully below. Usually adhesive is also applied to the vehicle rooftop metal surface after such metal surface has been suitably cleaned for receiv-ing the same.
As is well known, it is practically impossible to apply a pre-cemented rooftop material blank 5 to the vehicle rooftop surface without requiring some adJustment, u~ually by tugging or pulling such rooftop material along the vehicle roof surface.
As a rule, considerable force is necessary to move the rooftop material blank 5 with reference to the vehicle rooftop and care must be exercised in the application of such force to $~
prevent damaglng or tearing of the rooftop material. Inasmuch as the rooftop material blanks 5 have relatively narrow marginal portions for trLmming~ dama~e thereto results in appreciable loss. ln connection with the application of such a pre-cemented rooftop material blank (or the thermoset preshaped rooftop as described below in connection with FIG. 5), it is essential to eliminate air bubbles between the opposing surfaces as well as obtain precise and accurate orientation Or the blank 5 with reference to the vehlcle rooftop.
In any event, irrqspective of whether the setup in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 is used for manipulating the pre-cemented rooftop material on a vehicle roof, it is necessary that a pre-cemented roof-~op material blank 5 must be initially applied to the vehicle rooftop surface. A~ter the rooftop material blank 5 has been applied preliminarily to the vehicle rooftop surface in an approximately suitable position, this placement being accomplished manually by at least two persons for the average automotive vehicle, the power energized means for manipulating can be suitably connected to the initially positioned rooftop material blank 5.
Referring speci~ically to the setup illustrated in FIG.
2, a generally rect~ngular frame 20 is supported ~or longitu-dinal travel along an overhead conveyor track 22 for movement above and in the same direction as conveyor 23~ upon which a generally assembled automotive vehicle 15 can travel. While not essential, it ls preferred to have the automoti~e vehicle in a generally assembled condition. Normally after the rooftop material blank 5 has been flnally positioned and cemented on the rooftop and sides of the vehicle 15, molding generally in the form of metal trlm ls applied over the appropr~ate marginal portions o~ the rooftop material. Inasmuch as this procedure is well-known and forms no part of the present invention, no attempt is made to show such metal- trim.
In accordance with the invention, frame 20 normally supports a plurality of palrs of double acting cylinders 25 to 32 lnclusi~e. It is understood that each cylinder has its o~n indivldua] piston and piston rod, the piston rods being respectively designated 25a to 32a inclusive. For convenience, "~ q ~ ~3~1~
FIG. 2 does not show the pressure tubing for feeding air or fluid under pressure to a desired side of the piston for each cylinder. This ls illustr~ted ln FIG. 3 which shows a console ror supplylng such pressure lines to the respective end~ of the cylinders, such pressure llnes being under the control of manually operated valves for controlling the amount of pres-surized air or liquid for each pressure supply line. It will be understood that for other styles oP roof the cylinders would be arranged dlfferently.
The .~ree power applying ends of the two plston rods for each pair of power cylinders are respecti~rely loosely attached to clamping brackets 35, shown in detail in FIG. 4.
Any suitable means may be provided for temporarily clamping a piston rod end to the front or rear post portions 11 14 of the roo~top material blank 5. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 4, each clamping bracket 35 includes a pair of clamping blocks 36 and 37 loosely carried by two spaced headed pins 39 pas~ing through such blocks and adapted to retain the blocks by snap rastener 40 engaging the free end of pin 39. For certain ap-plications it may be desirable to couple both cylinders of apair to a single clamping br~cket.
Thus~ a small marginal-portion 41 of one of the post portions 11-14 of the rooftop material blank 5 may be wrapped around the edge of clamping clock 36 to be locked between the two clamping blocks 36 and 37 to permit the associated piston rods to exert tension upon the..post port~ons of the rooftop material blank 5. Due to the rigid nature o~ clamping blocks 36 and 37, each post portion 11-14 of roo~top material blank 5 is tensioned in two directions, determined by the anchorage of the pair of cylinders constituting a tensioning pair for a corner of the rooftop material blank 5. By selecting the appropriate anchoring locations of the ends of an ad~acent pair of cylinders, a desirable d~rection for tensiolling each of the corner pleces.of a rooftop material blank 5 may be provlded. It is understood that for different body st-rles or ~hapes, different anchorage locations may be necessary. As a r~le. the two tensloning units for the rear part of the roof on opposite sides of the rear window wlll be symmetrically o g~
dlsposed. The same will be true for the tensioning units on opposite sides of the front of the windshield. ~ue to the ten-dency of a fluid or hydraulic tensioning unit to equalize the force exerted on the four or more post portlons of the rooftop material blank 5, a dlslocation of the rooftop material blank 5 from desired proper position ~Jill be corrected by the tendency of t~e various power unlts to equalize the tensions of the various blank post portions 11-14.
Wh Ue double acting piston units are preferred, it is possible to use single acting power units for tensioning pur-poses only. The double acting power units are desirable for increasing the pressure differential across each side of a pis-ton, making for a greater range o~ force to be applied for manipulating the roo~top material.
Referring now to FIG. 3, an arrangement is disclosed whexein platform 53 supports a vehicle 15 to be worked upon.
Platform 53 has console 55 containing valves and gauges, the console having a plurality of pressure hoses 56 going to several tensioning units 50, preferably eight in number with two at each post portion of the blank 5, as expl~ined above in FIG. 2. Each tensionin~ unit 50 includes a cylinder 58 carrled by one end of a support rod 59, the othex end of which support rod is pivotally secured to an anchor block 60. A
piston rod 61 extends from a piston within each cylinder 58, the piston rod 61 extending through a suitable cylinder cap having suitable packing to prevent leakage of air or hydraulic fluid. The free end of piston rod 61 is connected to a clamp-ing bracket 35 as described in connection with FIG. 2. Ten-sioning units 50 are mounted in pairs as previously set forth.
Providing double acting cylinder tensioning units makes it possible to use ~pparatus arranged as illustr~ted in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, depending upon various considerations.
Referring now to FIG. 5 of the drawings, there is illus-trated a fixture or ~orm, generally designated by the numeral 70, for preshaping t,he rooftop material blank 5 in an off-line production process. The form 70 is preferably constructed of metal, but may be constructed of any other suitable material, and is identical in shape to the roo~top of a corresponding automotive vehicle. Tlle form 70 includes a top portion 71, a front; portion 72, a rear portion 73 and opposed side portions 71~. The ~orm 70 may be supported by any suitable means, such as support legs 75 mounted on a platform 76. Preferably, clamping members 77 are respectively provided adjacent to each of the side portions 74, and a clamping member 78 is provided adJacent to the rear portion 73, each of the clamping members 77 and 78 being adapted for cooperation with the associated portions of the form 70 and with suitable fasteners 79 to clamp the associated rooftop material blank 5 in place.
In use, the rooftop material blank 5 first has applied to the underside thereof a thermosetting resin. Then, the form 70 is preheated and the resin-carrying blank 5 is applied thereto. Preferably, the form 70 and its associated support mechanism is adapted for location ad~acent to a tensioning assembly such as that disclosed in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. The ten-sioning assembly is then utilized to position and shape the blank 5 on the form 70 in exactly ~he same manner as was des-cribed above for tensioning and positioning the blank 5 directly on the rooftof of vehicle 15. When the ro.o~top material blank has been tensioned to the proper shape and position, it is then clamped in place by the clamping members 77 and 78, whereupon the tensipning apparatus may be released.
The blank 5 is held in place.by the clamping members 77 and 78 until the heat ~rom the form 70 has set the thermosetting resin in the blank 5. Thus, upon removal o~ the b-lank 5 from the form 70, the blank 5 will retai.n the shape of the form 70 in a rigid construction which can be then stored for later assembly to an automotive vehicle on the production line.
Referring now to FIG. 6 of the drawings, there is il-lustrated a system~ generally designated by the numeral 80, for increasing the capacity of the preshaping operatlon utilizing the form 70. The system 80 includes a circular conveyor assem-bly, generally designated by the numeral 81, which may be in the form of a turntable, and having positioned thereon at equiangularly spaced-apar~ locations therearound~ a plurality of the forms 70. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, six such ~orms 70 are located on the circular conveyor assembly ~ ~ J ~3~
81, which moves these forms 70 consecutively through a 21urality of stations, respectively designated I through VI.
The system 80 also includes a plurality of radial shifting assemblies, equal in number to the forms 70, and each desig-nated by the numeral 82. Each of the radial shifting assem-blles ~2 is adapted for moving the associated forms 70 radial-ly of the circular conveyor assembly 81 between inner and outer positions, the innex positions belng represented by the positions of the forms 70 at statlons I and III-VI, and the outer position being indicated by the position of the forms 70 at the station II. Station VI lndicates the fo~s 70 in solid line as disposed intermediate the inner and outer positions.
Station I is a preheating station for preheat~ng the forms 70. Station II ls the blank-applying station, at which a rooftop material blank 5 is applied to the forms 70) in the same manner as was described above in connection with FIG. 5.
Preferably, a supply 83 of the rooftop material blanks 5 is located ad~acent to the station II for ready access by an operator. Also located at station II is a clamping and ten-sioning assembly, such as that illustrated in FIG. 3, for seating and shaping the ~ooftop material blank 5 into position on the form 70 in the same manner as was described above in connection with FIG. 5~ the control console 55 o~ that assembly being diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 6.
Each of the forms 70 preferably also-has associated therewith a clamping assembl~, generally designated by the numeral 85~ which is illustrated in the open position at statlon II, and includes side clamps 84 and a rear clamp 86 for respectively clamping the side and rear portions of the rooftop material blank 5 against the form 70 a~ter the blank 5 has been tensioned, seated and shaped into position by the controlled tensioning apparatus of FIG~ 3. This clamping assembly 85 corresponds to the clamping members 77 and 78 illus-trated in FIG. 5, and serves the same function as those clamp-ing members.
In operationJ as each form 70 arrives at the station I, it is preheated by suitable external and internal means. Each q~ 3~
.~ ~, of the forms 70 may also include internal heating means to maintain the temperature thereof during the curing operations -to be described below. At station I, the form 70 is disposed in its inner radial position. After the circular conveyor assembly 81 has indexed the preheated form 70 to the station II, the form 70 is moved outwardly by the radial shifting assembly 82 to the outer position thereof, in which it is dLsposed for cooperation with the clamping and tensioning assembly oP FIG. 3. At this location, a rooftop material blank 5 is applied to the form 70. Preferably, the blank 5 wil]. have been first treated~ as by airless spraylng with a protective coating on the outer surface thereof and a thermo-setting coating of resin or other suitable ther~osetting materlal on the inner surface thereo~0 ~he rooftop material blank 5 may be carried by a suitable conveyor to the form 70 and, as it is applied thereto, the clamping brackets 35 (see FIG. 3) are applied thereto starting at the rear of the blank 5 and progressing to the front end thereof. The rooftop material blank 5 is then tensloned as was described above ~n connection with FIG. 3 and~ when the desired tension and shape i8 reached, the clamping assembly 85 is cl~sed securely to hold the ten-sioned blank 5 in positlon on the form 70. The form 70 is then returned to its lnnor radial position by the radial shift-ing assembly 8~, and th~ circular conveyor assembly 81 then in-dexes it through stations III-~I. At stations III-V, the thermosetting material on the blank 5 takes a permanent set.
While three curing stations have been illustrated in FIG. 6, it will be appreciated that any o~ner desired number of such stations could be utilized~ with thetota~ number of stations along the circular conveyor assembly 81 being altered accord-ingly.
At station VI the form 70 is moved to its radial out-ward position and the clamping assembly 85 is opened~ A suit-able carrier 88~ such as a vacuum carrier) then removes the preshaped rooftop material blank 5 from the form 70 and flips it over to the position designated 90, at which location the preshaped blank 5 is trimmed to the exact dimensions desired, utilizing a suitable trimming die. The preshaped blank 5 is , .
then stored for Jater assernbly to the top of an automobile.
The clamping brackets 35 grip the rooftop material blank 5 at portions thereof whlch are later trlmmed off. Thus, thls system, contrary to prior art systems, requires no con-tact with the outer surface of the roo~top materlal whlchmight mar or damage the finished product.
While in the preferred embodiment of this inventlon the tensioning and positlonlne apparatus has been disclosed as used in the application of automoblle rooftop material to a form or directly to the vehicle top, it wlll be appreciated that this same type of apparatus is suitable for other appli-catlons. Thus, for example, the apparatus may be used to tenslon materlal over ~ehicle seat forms for providing the seatcovers of automotive vehicles, or for forming the padded interior panel moldings of vehicle doors or the like. In general, any application which use~ a preshaped flexible ma-terial could advantageously use the apparatus and method o~
the present lnvention for preshaping ~he material.