Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D1/00—Straightening, restoring form or removing local distortions of sheet metal or specific articles made therefrom; Stretching sheet metal combined with rolling
  • B21D1/06—Removing local distortions
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S72/00—Metal deforming
  • Y10S72/705—Vehicle body or frame straightener

Definitions

• the invention relates to a bulge device and a bulge method according to patent claims 1 and 11.
• EP 681 876 discloses a lever device which, by means of one or more levers supported at one point, allows bulging from the inside of a deformed body panel.
• This device has the disadvantage that the inside to be machined is usually not exposed and that precise handling is difficult because of the levers supported only at one point.
• single-lever devices have the additional disadvantage that forces are introduced obliquely onto the point to be machined or the supporting point.
• US4,026,139 shows a lever device with a pair of levers articulated in the central area. At the end of each of the levers, a suction cap is attached via a joint. A U-shaped tension element is pivotally articulated in the joint point of the pair of levers, which also has a suction cap at the free end, which is to be attached to the Dell point.
• This construction has an adjustment facility by means of additional holes on the two levers, but is unsuitable for the regularly necessary adjustments, since the corresponding adjustment is on the one hand cumbersome, on the other hand on the one hand, unequal lever lengths and lever forces as well as undesired movement paths result in the handle. This construction cannot be used with sufficient flexibility on more complex work parts. In addition, especially with larger dents, the distance between the two support points changes during the bulging process, which results in the risk of scratch marks or difficult to control handling
• the devices described above also have the common disadvantage that the devices are difficult to attach to the material to be dented, since both supporting parts and the traction part! the devices must be set up essentially simultaneously. Subsequent adjustment is possible with the single-lever construction mentioned in EP 681876, but this has the disadvantage that the support point is itself subjected to too great a load when it directly attacks the material.
• the invention provides for the first time a device and a method for repairing dented or dented layers of material, in particular vehicle bodies made of sheet metal or plastic, which allow a small force to be applied to the Dell point to be reshaped with low operating forces and when attaching and, if necessary, during use, have an easy and flexible adjustability of the device.
• the idea of the invention is based on distributing the opposing forces, which counteract the necessary denting force, over at least two feet of support elements, the action of force being applied to the tensile element at least essentially uniformly at any time at any time.
• the bulge device contains two or more lever arms which are articulated in the region of the end opposite their handle with an articulated member connecting the lever arms.
• the lever arms are articulated at a point spaced from these ends and are movably supported on a carrier element via support devices.
• the tension element is in turn connected to the joint member.
• the carrier element is operatively connected to at least two support elements, which in turn support the bulge device with respect to the workpiece to be machined.
• the lever device of a denting device according to the invention preferably has two lever arms with a transmission ratio of at least about 3: 1.
• the working end of the tension element is preferably detachably connected to a connecting element which has an end face for connection to the material layer to be machined.
• this connection of the end face to the material is effected by means of a hot-melt adhesive which
• the adhesive point expediently has a strength at ambient temperature; which is sufficient for only plastic deformation of the material layer but is smaller than the fracture tensile strength of the material layer to reliably prevent damage to the material layer.
• a polymer with polar side groups which is solid at room temperature and which softens or melts at temperatures above 150 ° C is preferably used as the hot-melt adhesive.
• Such polymers are known and commercially available, such as copolymers with vinyl acetate, acrylates or acrylic acid, and hot-melt adhesives based on ionomers.
• the method according to the invention is particularly suitable for use in body repair of vehicles, the material layer consisting of sheet metal, in particular steel sheet, and any cover layers being removed before bonding to the connecting element if their adhesive strength on the material layer is less than the required tensile strength of the splice.
• Figure 1 is a semi-schematic representation of an inventive device in side view
• Figure 2 shows part of the device of Figure 1 in plan view
• Figure 3a shows a support device according to the invention in side view
• FIG. 3b another support device according to the invention in side view
• FIG. 4 shows the schematic representation of an adhesive point when carrying out the method according to the invention.
• FIG. 1 shows a denting device 10 according to the invention with two lever arms 151.1,
• lever arms 151.1, 151.2 each have a handle 163.2 at their free end, which is shown schematically in the second lever arm 151.2.
• Each lever arm 151.1, 151.2 is connected at the end 158.1, 158.2 opposite the handle via a joint (here an axle joint) to the joint member 157.
• the lever arms 151.1, 151.2 are also articulatedly connected to the support devices 162.1, 162.2 at a distance dl from these axle joints.
• these articulated connections have an axle or stub axle mounted in a slot-shaped opening 156 in the lever arms 151.1, 151.2.
• the carrier element 16 is a straight rail on which the support devices 162.1, 162.2 designed as a slide can be displaced. These slides can be adjusted by means of adjusting means 164.1, 164.2, e.g. Wing nuts can be locked in a desired position on the arm.
• the arm l ⁇ is operatively connected at its ends to support elements 12.1, 12.2, these being height-adjustable with respect to the arm 16.
• the tension element 11 is here at least partially threaded
• Rod 154 is adjustably connected to the joint member 157 by means of an adjusting head 155.
• This adjustability has the effect that the ratio of the distance d3 between the support elements 12.1, 12.2 to the maximum path d2 of the tension element 11 is at least 10: 1, preferably at least 20: 1.
• the tension element or the rod 154 are preferably guided, here through guide slots or a bore 71, so that a defined application of force is ensured.
• the arrangement according to the invention causes that when the lever arms 151.1, 151.2 are actuated in the direction of the workpiece to be machined, the tension element 11 moves away from the workpiece and covers a desired partial path of the maximum path d2. It is ensured that the tension element is uniformly moved away from the Dell point even when the force acting on the lever arms 151.1, 151.2 is uneven and that no undesired force components are introduced into the workpiece.
• the tension element 11 here has a coupling device 69 at its free working end 68.
• This coupling device 69 enables a releasable connection to a connecting element 13 which can be connected to the Dell point to be deformed.
• this coupling device 69 is formed by a recess in the region of the working end 68 of the connecting element 13, which preferably contains a latching mechanism, for example a groove or a groove, so that the connecting element 13 can not only be inserted loosely into this recess, but rather therein finds a defined stop.
• alternative coupling devices e.g. a firmly locking bayonet connection can be used.
• FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the arm 16 with two spaced, straight rail parts 165.1, 165.2.
• the support devices 162.1, 162.2 can additionally be fixed at different positions of the carrier element 16, so that their mutual distance d3 can be varied.
• a particular advantage of the invention is that the denting device can be adjusted very flexibly and can be adapted to practically all conceivable workpiece geometries, but that the distance d3 between the support elements 12.1, 12.2 remains constant during the use of the tool and thus secure and precise support is achieved while avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art , In particular in comparison to the single-lever constructions described at the beginning and US Pat. No.
• the distance d3 can be adjustable, but does not change undesirably when the tool is used, or that joint arrangements are required which make the tool unstable (see the axle joints 32 in US) 4,026,139).
• the distance between the tension element and support elements 12.1, 12.2 remains constant in the solution according to the invention.
• no undesired force components are caused transversely to the material surface, which would have a very disadvantageous effect on the use of a connecting element 13 to be glued because of the shear forces occurring in the glue point.
• the device according to the invention enables the restoring forces to be introduced essentially perpendicular to the bulge region (B) and a largely homogeneous flow of force to be achieved.
• the support arm can deviate from the straight rail shape.
• the support arm can have, for example, a yoke-like, upward-pointing geometry in the middle region.
• the support devices 162.1, 162.2 remain displaceable on straight rail parts in the manner described above.
• Such yoke-like transitions can be mechanically connected to the rail parts or can be formed in one piece with them.
• Figure 3a shows a support element 12 in a side view. The arrangement of a three-axis joint 51, which is designed here as a ball joint, is particularly favorable.
• the foot 52 of the support element 12 has as large an area as possible, which is approximately 20-30 cm in the case of a tool for denting car bodies and here is circular.
• a fastening device 55 such as a magnet or a suction cup, which can be temporarily connected and detached with the material layer WS.
• 3b shows a further preferred embodiment of a support element 12
• the support element 12 is provided here with two feet 52.1, 52.2.
• the support element 12 is connected in an articulated manner to the carrier element 16 via a ball joint 56.
• the two feet 52.1, 52.2 are movably arranged with respect to the support arm via adjusting devices 57.1, 57.2, 57.3, 57.4, here for example adjusting nuts, joint and length / axis position adjustment (also rotation).
• a ball joint can also be provided as an adjusting device for each of the feet 52.1, 52.2.
• the contact surfaces of each of the feet can be correspondingly smaller in comparison to the foot shown in FIG. 3a, without impermissible pressure effects on the material surface.
• this arrangement has the advantage that the tool can also be supported in relation to the work part in difficult working areas due to geometric conditions.
• Bump B in a material layer WS e.g. The steel sheet of a vehicle body should be removed.
• the connecting element 13 is pressed with its end face 61 onto a hot melt adhesive 19 liquefied by previous heat action approximately in the middle of the bulge region B. After the hot melt adhesive 19 has cooled, the connecting element 13 is so firmly connected to the material layer WS that pulling this layer in the bulge region in the direction of the arrow Z leads to a plastic deformation of the material layer.
• the connecting element 13 essentially consists of the end surface 61, a transition piece 62 and a coupling head 63, which cooperates releasably with the coupling device 69 of the tension element 15.
• the coupling head 63 preferably engages in a recess or groove of the coupling device 69, so that the coupling head 63 is not undesirably released from the coupling device 69 under the action of a pull.
• the coupling head 63 has one
• the arrangement of the tension element 11 and the connecting element 13 is selected such that the forces introduced via the lever arms 151.1, 151.2 (cf. FIG. 1) act as vertically as possible on the material layer WS in order to bring about a uniform bulge in the Dell point B. Since the maximum path d2 (cf. FIG. 1) of the tension element 15 in the direction of the arrow Z is limited but variably adjustable according to the invention. In order to adapt to the depth of a bulge B, the length d4 can be varied, for example by providing a set of connecting elements 13 with different lengths of the transition piece 62. Within the scope of the method, a force (F) is to be introduced essentially perpendicularly to the bulge region (B) by actuating the lever arms (151.1, 152.2).
• the end surface 61 does not have to be flat and can be adapted to the shape of a bulge, e.g. in that the contact area or practically the entire element 13 consists of a material that can be adapted to the respective bulge shape by cutting or thermal deformation, e.g. B. in that the contact area consists of a thermoplastic and in the plastic state before bonding to the Form ⁇
• the actual denting process now takes place as follows.
• the connection of a connecting element 13 to the material layer WS is carried out as described above.
• the support devices 162.1, 162.2 of the lever arms 151.1, 152.2 are adjusted and aligned with respect to a support element and further setting parameters, such as adjustable feet 52 of the support elements.
• the tension element 11 is then connected to the connecting element 13 via the coupling 63, 69 and the support elements 12.1, 12.2 are placed on the workpiece to be machined at the desired location.
• the idea of the invention also includes obvious embodiments in which the handles of the lever arms 151.1, 151.2 are actuated in a coordinated manner by means of an auxiliary construction, e.g. a lever device usually configured, which can also be guided or supported by the rod 154.
• an auxiliary construction e.g. a lever device usually configured, which can also be guided or supported by the rod 154.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Vehicle Cleaning, Maintenance, Repair, Refitting, And Outriggers (AREA)
• Massaging Devices (AREA)
• Display Devices Of Pinball Game Machines (AREA)
• Electrical Discharge Machining, Electrochemical Machining, And Combined Machining (AREA)
• Magnetic Heads (AREA)
• Apparatuses And Processes For Manufacturing Resistors (AREA)
• Coating Apparatus (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

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• 2000
  • 2000-12-05 AU AU2001215071A patent/AU2001215071A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-12-05 WO PCT/CH2000/000643 patent/WO2002045877A1/fr active Search and Examination
  • 2000-12-05 DE DE50010892T patent/DE50010892D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-12-05 EP EP00977335A patent/EP1341621B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-12-05 AT AT00977335T patent/ATE301011T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-12-05 US US10/258,397 patent/US6874347B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-12-05 ES ES00977335T patent/ES2246906T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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