US3464180A - Straight edge,beam or other similar article of manufacture - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 2, 1969 N BOND STRAIGHT EDGE, BEAM OR OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE Filed Oct. 7, 1966 INVENTOR JasEfiw/v. 304 0 MW/011M 4 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 2, 1969 3,464,180 STRAIGHT EDGE, BEAM OR OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE Joseph N. Bond, Commack, N.Y., assignor to Potter Instrument Company, Inc., Plainview, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 585,058 Int. Cl. E04c 3/10; B21d 7/00, 11/10 US. Cl. 52-720 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to the straightening or curving of long, stifl members such as beams, straight edges and the like, and more particularly, to an improved method for easily and accurately straightening or curving such members and also to an improved adjustable curvature member.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is costly and in some cases impractical in view of the extremely small tolerances permitted in certain applications to accurately straighten or curve relatively long, stifl members by machining or other similar methods known in the prior art.

One object of this invention is the provision of an improved method for straightening or curving relatively long, stiff members such as beams, straight edges and the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved member which can be easily and accurately straightened (or curved) by stressing the member to deflect it so that it conforms to a desired straight or curved configuration.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear from the following description.

Briefly, this invention contemplates the provision of outer conjugate members or member and an inner member which are joined at two longitudinally spaced points. Preferably, the members are of substantially equal length and are joined at their ends. To straighten (or curve) either the inner or outer members, it is deflected by a force applied 'by the other member at one or more points along its length. Thus, when the one member is properly aligned, all members are fully loaded.

An important adjunct of this invention is the provision that both members may have substantially the same sectional properties so that there is no loss of alignment due to relaxation of forces over a period of time.

Having briefly described this invention, it will be described in greater detail along with other objects and advantages in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment which may be 'best understood by reference in the accompanying drawings which form part of the instant specification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith and which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views;

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of a member whose edge may be aligned by the practice of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view along the line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed fragmentary view, on a somewhat enlarged scale of the section of FIGURE 2, with a tool in position for aligning an edge of the member;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic drawing of the member shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of a cylindrical beam (with the beam in cross section), illustrating another embodiment of this invention; and

FIGURE 6 is an end view of the 'beam shown in FIG- URE 5.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, a rectangular plate 10, whose side 16 may be employed as a straight edge, for example, is sandwiched between two similar conjugate plates 12 and 14.

Pins 18 and 20 respectively join plates 10, 12 and 14 together near their ends. Conveniently, pins 18 and 20 are force fitted into aligned bores in the plates, which bores are of equal diameter.

At so-called straightening stations designated in FIG- URE 1 by the letters A, B, and C, there are aligned bores 22, 24 and 26 in the plates 12, 14 and 10, respectively, into which tools may be placed for straightening the side 16. The diameter of bore 26 is slightly larger than the diameter of the bores 22 and 24 which are of equal diameter.

At each of the stations, a screw 28 on either side of the bores 22, 24 and 26 is screwed into the upper plate 12 and passes through enlarged bores 32 and 34 in the plates 10 and 14, respectively. It should be noted that the "bore 32 in plate 10 is large enough relative to the diameter of the screw 28 to allow suflicient movement of plate 10 to bring its edge 16 into the desired alignment. When the edge 16 is properly aligned, the beam is tightly clamped between the plates 12 and 14 by means of nuts 36 which screw onto the screws 28 and engage the lower surface of the plate 14.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, to align the edge 16, a suitable tool such as that generally indicated by the reference numeral 38 is inserted into the bores 22, 24 and 26. The tool illustrated has a cylindrical body portion 42 which snugly fits the bores 22 and 24 and a threaded bore 44 into which a screw 46 can be screwed. Screw 46 has a conical point which contacts a ball bearing 48 riding in a port in the wall of the body member 42. As screw 46 is screwed downwardly, it forces the ball 48 outwardly.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, in aligning the edge 16 of the beam 10 with a straight line 52, the plates 10, 12 and 14 are initially joined by pins 18 and 20. It should be noted that while in the illustrated embodiment of the invention it is convenient to join the plates at their ends by means of pins 18 and 20, in other applications it may be advantageous to join the plates at two other points or to join them in some alternative manner, as by clamping or by the arrangement of their contiguous surfaces, for example.

The adjusting procedure is accomplished by inserting a plurality of tools 38 at each station, A, B and C, with the ball 48 so orientated that it applies a force which deflects the edge 16 in the direction required for conformance to the reference line 52. When the edge 16 has been deflected to the dotted line 54 (which is parallel to the reference line), the nuts 36 at each station are tightened, clamping the plate 10. The tools 38 may then be removed from the assembly for reuse. Alternatively, one tool may be used at each station in turn and the edge 16 may be brought into alignment at that station and nut 36 tightened.

Any suitable spacing may be used between the stations; for example, a station spacing equal to approximately two and one half times the width of the plate is usually satisfactory. The plates 12 and 14 are advantageously about one half as thick as the plate 10 so that the sectional properties of these conjugate plates in combination is approximately the same as that of the plate 10.

Referring now to FIGURES and 6, in this embodiment of the invention, a member 62 positioned inside a hollow beam 64 is used to camber the beam. Of course, it will be understood that the beam 64 could be straightened if desired. However, it is usually desirable to camber a load bearing member so as to compensate for its deflection under load. 1 An adjusting screw 66 screws into a threaded bore at one end of member 62, and the other end of the member contacts the inner surface of the beam. A protuberance or hump 68 in the member 62 also contacts the upper surface of the beam.

In cambering the beam 64, member 62 is positioned within the beam and screw 66 adjusted until hump 68 contacts the beam. In this position, the respective ends of member 62 and beam 64 are contiguous so that they can move relative to one another as screw 66 is screwed further into the bore in member 62. Continued adjustment of screw 66 causes hump 68 to exert a force on the beam 64 which deflects towards the dotted line 70. When beam 64 has been deflected sufficiently to impart the desired camber, adjustment of screw 66 is stopped. The beam 64 is then ready for use; member 62 is left in place, exerting a force on beam 64 and increasing its stiffness.

It should be noted that members constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention are stressed but that the stress is well below their eleasticity limit so that no permanent deformation of the members occurs.

Thus, it will be seen that the objects of the invention have been accomplished. Long, rigid members can be straightened or curved without expensive machining or other metalworking operations. The forces applied to deflect a member into desired configuration are balanced when the desired configuration is achieved so that there is no loss of alignment due to deflection of the clamps or members used to maintain alignment.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture that has been manipulated to a pre-determined shape, comprising in combination:

at least two generally co-extensive members joined together near their respective ends, one of said members applying a force against the other of said members at one point intermediate said ends,

said force deflecting said other member to a desired configuration without stressing either member beyond its elastic limit.

2. An article of manufacture as in claim 1 wherein said force is applied at a plurality of discrete points intermediate said ends.

3. An article of manufacture as in claim 1 wherein said second member is a cylindrical beam and said first member is disposed within said beam.

4. An article of manufacture as in claim 3 wherein a hump on said first member contacts the interior of said cylinder and applies said force thereto, and means at one end of said first member for moving it relative to said second member and thereby varying said force.

5. An article of manufacture as in claim 2 wherein the sectional properties of said one member are substantially the same as the sectional properties of the other member.

6. An article of manufacture that has been manipulated to a predetermined shape comprising, in combination:

a plate sandwiched between two similar plates,

pins at each end of said plates joining said plates together,

at leat two bores extending through said plates intermediate said pins to receive a tool which applies a defleeting force to said sandwiched plate and the reactio force to said sandwiching plates, and

means adjacent said bores for clamping said plates together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 251,563 12/1881 Fagan 72-386 1,342,263 6/1920 Goben 72390 2,060,013 11/1936 Baker 72389 3,266,285 8/1966 Jensen 72370 3,251,162 5/1966 Strimple 52-720 RONALD D. GREEE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 72.-388

Images