US3889618A - Rolling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for simultaneously rolling and securing, in a longitudinal direction, the transversely extending edges of an elongated sheet material along and around the underlying outer edges of opposed parallel frame members, the apparatus including rigidly interconnected allochiral tool assemblies, each of which includes a carriage assembly, pairs of spaced upper and lower guide rolls, a plurality of form rolls and an edge roll.

Description

Jarvis et al.

[ June 17, 1975 [54] ROLLING APPARATUS 709,754 9/1902 Ditchfield 72/181 1,976,148 10/1934 Sonnta 113/55 [75] Inventors: Lactance A. Jarvis, Buchanan 3,680346 8/1972 Wilcox? n 29/2435 Ronald Bemen Sprmgs, 3,773,005 11 /1973 Day ct a1. 113/55 both of Mich. 3,797,430 3/1974 Boudreau 113/55 [73] Assignee: Clark Equipment Company,

Buchanan, Mich. Primary Examiner-Richard J. Herbst Filed J 26 1974 Attorney, Agent, or FirmErnst H. Ruf

[21] App]. No.: 483,263 [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for simultaneously rolling and securing, ($1 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II igs i376; in a longitudinal direction, the transversely extending 58] Fie'ld 29/243 edges of an elongated sheet material along and around [181 the underlying outer edges of opposed parallel frame members, the apparatus including rigidly intercon- R f ce Cited nected allochiral tool assemblies, each of which inl e s cludes a carriage assembly, pairs of spaced upper and UNITED STATES PATENTS lower guide rolls, a plurality of form rolls and an edge 127,896 6/1872 Koons 113/55 r011. 164,567 6/1875 Laing 72/207 651,053 6/ l900 Philips 72/207 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures ROLLING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The field of art to which this invention pertains includes that of apparatus for bending or rolling sheet metal; more specifically, an apparatus for simultaneously rolling and securing the transversely extending edges of a rectangular roofing sheet for a tractor trailer van along and around the underlining outer edges of two opposed parallel roof frame members.

2. Description of the Prior Art At the present time, one way of manufacturing trailer vans involves the hammering of the van roof skin or sheet over the top rail of parallel roof reinforcing section of members by means of a hand-held forming tool and a pneumatic hammer. While this practice does produce an acceptable approximately 180 bend of the roof skin around the roof frame member, this practice I is both inefficient and quite noisy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The rolling apparatus of this invention provides an efficient and noiseless method of rolling the roof sheet edge over the top rails of a trailer van by means of allochiral tool assemblies that are located on opposed longitudinal edges of the roofing sheet. The two units are rigidly interconnected and pulled along the longitudinal axis of the trailer van during which time the roof sheet edges are simultaneously mechanically crimped or formed over the top rail outer edges. The edges of the roof sheet are given an approximate 180 form or bend by means of a plurality of tandem form rolls carried between pairs of first and second upper and lower guide rolls. The guide rolls in turn are secured to a carriage assembly movable along the surface of the roof sheet material at the outer edge of each one of the frame members. An edge roll between the second upper and lower guide rolls serves to guide the tool assembly and coacts with the second guiderolls to smooth out and complete the bending initiated by the plurality of form rolls.

As will be further discussed in the description, the number and angle of inclination of the various form rolls will, of course, depend on the type, thickness and hardness of the material being formed.

Other features and advantages of this invention will become more readily understood by persons skilled in the art when following the detailed description in conjunction with the several drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective inside view of one of the allochiral tool assemblies of the rolling apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified left-hand end view of the rolling apparatus of this invention and shows the operation of the vertically aligned first upper and lower guide rolls.

FIG. 3, which is a sectional view, taken along'line 3-3 of FIG. 1, shows the operation of the first form roll.

FIG. 4, which is a sectional view, taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1, shows the operation of the second form roll.

FIG. 5, which is a sectional view, taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1, shows the operation of the third form roll.

FIG. 6, which is a right-hand end view of one of the tool assemblies of this invention, looking in the direction ofarrows 66 of FIG. 1, shows the operation of the vertically aligned second upper and lower guide rolls as well as the horizontally disposed roller.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail, particularly FIG. 2, there is shown a rolling apparatus generally denominated bynumeral 10 which includes transversely and rigidly interconnected allochiral or mirrorimage tool assemblies 12A and 12B respectively. Each tool assembly 12, as best seen in FIG. 1, includes alongitudinal support bracket 16 and transversely extending upperroller support members 18 and 20 rigidly attached to the ends thereof by means ofbolts 22. A pair of dependingleg portions 24 and 26 on each ofmembers 18 and 20 serves to confine and pivotally support, viabolts 32, each of lowerroll support members 28 and 30 respectively, therebetween. Spacer bolts 34, threaded throughsupport members 18 and 20, and in contact with the upper surface ofsupport members 28 and 30, can be adjusted to regulate the angularity, if I any, between the respective upper and lower roll support members.

As best seen in FIG. 1, upperroll support members 18 and 20 rotatably support longitudinally spaced and vertically disposedupper guide rolls 38 and 40 respectively. Similarly, lowerroll support members 28 and 30 rotatably support longitudinally spaced and vertically disposedlower guide rolls 42 and 44 respectively, withguide rolls 38 and 42 as well asguide rolls 40 and 44 also being vertically aligned.

Longitudinally interposed and in tandem between the longitudinally spaced set of upper and lower guide rolls, are a plurality ofform rolls 52, 54 and 56.Form rolls 52, which has its axis of rotation at an angle of above the horizontal, is rotatably supported on amounting block 58 which in turn is fixedly secured to amunting bracket 60 depending fromlongitudinal support bracket 16. Aspacer bolt 62, threaded throughmounting bracket 60 and abuttingmounting block 58 controls the transverse adjustment ofform roll 52.

As best seen in FIG. 4,form roll 54, which has its axis of rotation perpendicular to the horizontal, is also rotatably supported on amounting block 64.Block 64, in turn, is rigidly affixed to amounting bracket 66 depending fromlongitudinal support bracket 16 andspacer bolt 68, threaded throughbracket 66 and abuttingblock 64, permits the transverse adjustment ofform roll 54.

As best seen in FIG. 5,form roll 56, having its rotational axis inclined 45 below the horizontal, is rotatably supported on amounting block 72. In addition,mounting block 72 is rigidly attached tomounting bracket 74 depending fromlongitudinal support bracket 16, withform roll 56 being transversely adjustable by means of aspacer bolt 76, that is threaded throughsupport bracket 54 and in abutment withmounting block 72.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, a horizontally disposededge roller 80, having a vertical axis of rotation, is rotatably supported on abolt member 82 rigidly attached to upperroll support member 20, withroller 80 being disposed intermediate upper and lowerroll support members 20 and 30 respectively. In addition,roller 80 has its axis of rotation in the same transverse vertical plane that also contains the axes of rotation of upper andlower guide rolls 40 and 44 respectively.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, each oftool assemblies 12A and 12B has transversely extendingtop bars 84 and 86 that are rigidly interconnected with the allochiral bars on the other tool assembly via connectingbar 88. Elongated slots, such as 90, inbars 84 and 86, permit transverse width adjustment betweentool assemblies 12A and 12B. One or more, preferably equally spaced,attachment lugs 92 allow the attachment of any desired driving or pulling mechanism (not shown).

In operation, rolling apparatus is utilized for simultaneously rolling and securing, theedges 104 of an elongate sheet material along and around the underlying outer edges orshoulders 108 of opposed parallel support members or aframe 106. The direction of movement of tool assemblies 12A and 12B is from right to left as indicated by arrow 110 in FIG. 1 or in the direction outward on a plane perpendicular to the plane of the paper of FIG. 2. As best seen in FIG. 2,guide roll 38 rotatably contacts afirst surface portion 114 ofelongate sheet 102, while lower guide roll 42 rotatably contacts lowerhorizontal surface 116 offrame edge 108. Thus, upper andlower guide rolls 38 and 42 coact to support and guide tool assemblies 12 with reference tosheet 102 andframe edges 108, as well as confiningsheet face portion 114 andframe edge 108.

As best seen in FIG. 3,form roll 52 makes contact with bothsheet portions 104 and 114 and starts to bend or formportion 104 partially aroundframe edge 108. It should be pointed out at this time that the rolling operation ofsheet edges 104 aroundframe edges 108 involves the progressive and sequential bending ofedges 104 through an angle of about 180. The amount or degree of bending performed by each ofrollers 52, 54 and 56, depends, of course, upon a number of factors which include: the type of material being bent, the thickness of the material and the temper or hardness of the material. Therefore, the number of form rolls and the angle of inclination of the various form rolls may vary considerably. The particular arrangement of the tool assemblies previously described and shown in the drawings serves to bendelongate sheet 102 which is a type 3003 H-l6 aluminum alloy that is 0.050 inches thick, with the number 3003 denoting a particular aluminum alloy and I-I-l6 designating the particular temper or hardness thereof. When utilizing the previously described material, formroll 52bends edges 104 downwardly from the horizontal to an angle of about 52.

As best shown in FIG. 4,form roll 54 progressivelybends sheet edge 104 aroundframe edge 108 to an angle of about 130 from the horizontal.

FIG. 5 shows the continued bending ofsheet edge 104 aboutframe edge 108, with the bend ofsheet edge 104 now reaching about 165 from the horizontal. It should be understood that whileform roll 56 may actually bendsheet edge 104 to an angle of about 180 from the horizontal the inherent spring-back characteristics of most materials, especially when bent against a fixed surface, such aslower surface 116 offrame edge 108, will limit the degree of bending.

In order to achieve an about 180 bend ofsheet edge 104 aroundframe edge 108,sheet surface portion 114 andouter surface portion 118 ofsheet edge 104 are squeezed or rolled betweenupper guide roll 40 andlower guide roll 44 respectively. At the same time that rolls 40,44 are squeezingsurfaces 114 and 118, roller is squeezing or forming the arcuate portion that joinssheet portion 102 and 104 so as to achieve the desired approximate bend. Thus, the combined action ofrolls 40, 44 and 80 completes the final bending ofsheet edge 104 completely aroundframe edge 108. In addition, theopposed rollers 80 oftool assemblies 12A and 12B minimize any undesired skewing movement of the tool assemblies about an axis perpendicular to the upper surface ofelongate sheet 102. In addition,rolls 40 and 44 also serve as the rear guide rolls of tool assemblies 12.

As previously noted, the number and the angle of inclination of the various forming rolls would, of course, depend on the type, thickness and hardness of the material being formed. However, from the foregoing it is believe that those familiar with the art will readily recognize and appreciate the novel concepts and features of the present invention. Obviously, while the invention has been described in relation to only one preferred embodiment, numerous variations, changes and substitutions of equivalents will present themselves to persons skilled in the art and may be made without necessarily departing from the scope and principles of this invention. As a result, the embodiment described herein is subject to various modifications, changes and the like, with the scope of this invention being determined solely by reference to the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for simultaneously rolling and securing, in a longitudinal direction, the transversely extending edges of an elongate sheet material along and around the underlying outer edges of opposed parallel frame members, said apparatus including first and second transversely and rigidly interconnected allochiral tool assemblies, wherein each of said assemblies comprises:

a. a carriage assembly movable along the surface of said sheet material at the outer edge of one of said frame members;

b. longitudinally spaced and vertically disposed first and second upper guide rolls, carried by said carriage assembly, for rotatably contacting a first surface of said sheet material;

0. a vertically disposed first lower guide roll' carried by said carriage assembly and vertically aligned with said first upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a lower surface of said frame member outer edge;

(I. a vertically disposed second lower guide roll, carried by said carriage assembly and vertically aligned with said second upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a second surface of said sheet material;

e. a plurality of form rolls carried by said carriage assembly, longitudinally in tandem, between said first and second upper and lower guide rolls, respectively, for progressively bending the transversely extending edge of said elongate sheet material along and substantially complete around the underlying outer edge of said one frame member; and

f. a horizontally disposed edge roller, carried by said carriage assembly between, but transversely spaced from, said vertically disposed second upper and lower guide rolls, said edge roller contacting the generally vertically outer edge of said sheet material after it is bent around said frame outer edge by said form rolls, said edge roller coacting with said second upper and lower guide rolls to complete an about 180 bend of said sheet material, said edge roller also minimizing any undesired skewing movement of said tool assembly about an axis perpendicular to the surface of said sheet material.

2. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein said plurality of form rolls carried by said carriage assembly includes first, second, and third form rolls.

3. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein said first form roll has its axis of rotation at an angle of 45 above the horizontal.

4. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein said second form roll has its axis of rotation perpendicular to the horizontal.

5. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein said third form roll has its axis of rotation at an angle of 45 below the horizontal.

6. In an apparatus for simultaneously rolling and securing, in a longitudinal direction, the transversely extending edges of a rectangular roofing sheet for a tractor trailer van along and around the underlying outer edges of two opposed parallel and longitudinal roof frame members, a pair of allochiral rigidly interconnected tool assemblies wherein each assembly comprises:

a. carriage means movable along the surface of said roofing sheet at the outer edge of one of said roof frame members;

b. longitudinally spaced first and second upper guide rolls, having parallel axes of rotation in a common horizontal plane, carried by said carriage means for rotatably contacting a first surface portion of said roofing sheet;

c. a first lower guide roll, having a parallel axis of rotation in a common vertical plane with said first upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a lower surface of said roof frame member outer edge;

(1. a second lower guide roll, having a parallel axis of rotation in a common vertical plane with said second upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a second surface portion of said roofing sheet that is parallel with but spaced from said roofing sheet first surface portion;

e. a plurality of longitudinally spaced form rolls carried by said carriage means, between said first and second guide rolls, for progressively bending a transversely extending edge of said rectangular roofing sheet along and substantially completely around the outer edge of said one roof frame member; and

f. an edge roller, having a vertical axis of rotation in a common vertical plane in the said second upper and lower guide rolls, carried by said carriage assembly, said roller contacting a third surface portion of said roofing sheet intermediate said roofing sheet first and second surface portions, said edge roller coacting with said second upper and lower guide rolls to smooth-out and complete the bending initiated by said plurality of form rolls.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said roofing sheet second surface portion is substantially perpendicular to said roofing sheet first and third surface portions.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said plurality of form rolls includes first, second and third form rolls.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said first and third form rolls have their axis of rotation at an angle of 45 above and below the horizontal, respectively.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said form rolls are each independently transversely adjustable.

Claims (10)

1. An apparatus for simultaneously rolling and securing, in a longitudinal direction, the transversely extending edges of an elongate sheet material along and around the underlying outer edges of opposed parallel frame members, said apparatus including first and second transversely and rigidly interconnected allochiral tool assemblies, wherein each of said assemblies comprises: a. a carriage assembly movable along the surface of said sheet material at the outer edge of one of said frame members; b. longitudinally spaced and vertically disposed first and second upper guide rolls, carried by said carriage assembly, for rotatably contacting a first surface of said sheet material; c. a vertically disposed first lower guide roll carried by said carriage assembly and vertically aligned with said first upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a lower surface of said frame member outer edge; d. a vertically disposed second lower guide roll, carried by said carriage assembly and vertically aligned with said second upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a second surface of said sheet material; e. a plurality of form rolls carried by said carriage assembly, longitudinally in tandem, between said first and second upper and lower guide rolls, respectively, for progressively bending the transversely extending edge of said elongate sheet material along and substantially complete around the underlying outer edge of said one frame member; and f. a horizontally disposed edge roller, carried by said carriage assembly between, but transversely spaced from, said vertically disposed second upper and lower guide rolls, said edge roller contacting the generally vertically outer edge of said sheet material after it is bent around said frame outer edge by said form rolls, said edge roller coacting with said second upper and lower guide rolls to complete an about 180* bend of said sheet material, said edge roller also minimizing any undesired skewing movement of said tool assembly about an axis perpendicular to the surface of said sheet material.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plurality of form rolls carried by said carriage assembly includes first, second, and third form rolls.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said first form roll has its axis of rotation at an angle of 45* above the horizontal.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said second form roll has its axis of rotation perpendicular to the horizontal.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said third form roll has its axis of rotation at an angle of 45* below the horizontal.

6. In an apparatus for simultaneously rolling and securing, in a longitudinal direction, the transversely extending edges of a rectangular roofing sheet for a tractor trailer van along and around the underlying outer edges of two opposed parallel and longitudinal roof frame members, a pair of allochiral rigidly interconnected tool assemblies wherein each assembly comprises: a. carriage means movable along the surface of said roofing sheet at the outer edge of one of said roof frame members; b. longitudinally spaced first and second upper guide rolls, having parallel axes of rotation in a common horizontal plane, carried by said carriage means for rotatably contacting a first surface portion of said roofing sheet; c. a first lower guide roll, having a parallel axis of rotation in a common vertical plane with said first upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a lower surface of said roof frame member outer edge; d. a second lower guide roll, having a parallel axis of rotation in a common vertical plane with said second upper guide roll, for rotatably contacting a second surface portion of said roofing sheet that is parallel with but spaced from said roofing sheet first surface portion; e. a plurality of longitudinally spaced form rolls carried by said carriage means, between said first and second guide rolls, for progressively bending a transversely extending edge of said rectangular roofing sheet along and substantially completely around the outer edge of said one roof frame member; and f. an edge roller, having a vertical axis of rotation in a common vertical plane in the said second upper and lower guide rolls, carried by said carriage assembly, said roller contacting a third surface portion of said roofing sheet intermediate said roofing sheet first and second surface portions, said edge roller coacting with said second upper and lower guide rolls to smooth-out and complete the bending initiated by said plurality of form rolls.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said roofing sheet second surface portion is substantially perpendicular to said roofing sheet first and third surface portions.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said plurality of form rolls includes first, second and third form rolls.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said first and third form rolls have their axis of rotation at an angle of 45* above and below the horizontal, respectively.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said form rolls are each independently transversely adjustable.

Images