BUFFIERE, Yves (Le Baronnet, Saint Germain les Vergnes, 19330, FR)
Claims
1. Device for inwardly or outwardly bending an edge (4) of an opening (6) of a container (8), especially for crimping protruding tabs provided at the edge, comprising a support member (16) with a plurality of moveable parts (34) for arrangement beside the edge (4), the moveable parts (34) being moveable in a radial direction (12) from an outer or inner position to an inner or outer position at the same time bending the edge (4), characterised in that an actuation member (14) is provided, which is mounted on the support member (16) and which is moveable relative to the support member (16) in an axial direction from a first position to a second position, the actuation member (14) and the support member (16) being coupled such that the moveable parts (34) are moved from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position, if the actuation member (14) is moved from the first to the second position.
2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that each moveable part (34) comprises a roll (38) for arrangement beside the edge (4), said roll (38) be- ing rotatable around a rotation axis (44) .
3. Device according to claim 2, characterised in that the roll (38) could be rolled along the container (8) during the movement of the moveable part (34) from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position.
4. Device according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterised in that the rotation axis (44) of the roll (38) runs at an angle to the axial direction (10), preferably the rotation axis (44) of the roll (38) fur- ther runs at an angle to the radial direction (12) .
5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each moveable part (34) is ro- tatable from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position around a swivel axis (40) .
6. Device according to claim 5, characterised in that each moveable part (34) comprises a swivel arm (36) being rotatable around the swivel axis (40), the ro- tatable roll (38) being mounted on the swivel arm (36) .
7. Device according to one of claims 5 or 6, character- ised in that the swivel axis (40) runs at an angle to the axial direction (10), preferably the swivel axis (40) further runs at an angle to the radial direction (12 ) .
8. Device according to claim 7, characterised in that the swivel axis (40) extends parallel to the rotation axis (44) of the respective roll (38) .
9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the moveable parts (34) are concentrically moveable from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position.
10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that actuation rolls (26) are mounted on the actuation member (14), the actuation rolls (26) being rotatable around a rotation axis (28) and being pushable in the axial direction (10) against the moveable parts (34) by moving the actua- tion member (14) from the first to the second position, so that the moveable parts (34) are moved from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position .
11. Device according to claim 10, characterised in that the actuation roll (26) could be rolled along the moveable part (34) by moving the actuation member (14) from the first position to the second position.
12. Device according to one of claims 10 or 11, charac- terised in that the rotation axis (28) of the actuation roll (26) runs at an angle to the axial direction (10), preferably the rotation axis (28) further extends parallel to the swivel axis (40) of the respective moveable part (34) and parallel to the ro- tation axis (44) of the respective roll (38) .
13. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the actuation member (14) is cup-shaped, the support member (16) being at least partially mounted inside the cup-shaped actuation member ( 14 ) .
14. Device according to claim 13, characterised in that the support member (16) is guided inside the actua- tion member (14) in the axial direction (10) .
15. Device according to one of claims 13 or 14, characterised in that the actuation member (14) comprises a circumferential wall (20), the circumferential wall (20) being provided with slots (24) extending in the axial direction (10) and the actuation rolls (26) being mounted inside the slots (24) .
16. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the support member (16) substantially has a cylindrical shape, cavities (32) being provided in the support member (16) extending in the radial direction (12), the moveable parts (34) being at least partially mounted inside the cavities (32) .
17. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the actuation member (14) is biased into the first position.
18. Device according to claim 17, characterised in that a compression spring (48), preferably a coil spring, is mounted between the actuation member (14) and the support member (16) .
19. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the moveable parts (34) are biased into the outer or inner position.
20. Device according to claim 19, characterised in that a compression spring (54), preferably a coil spring, is mounted between the support member (16) and the moveable part (34) .
21. Method for fixing an object inside a container (8) comprising the steps of
providing a container (8) with an opening (6) and an object,
inserting the object into the container (8) through the opening (6) and
inwardly bending the edge (4) of the opening (6) by using a device (2) according to one of the preceding claims, so that the inwardly bent edge (4) engages behind the object.
22. Method according to claim 21, characterised in that the object is a component assembly (58) of a sole- noid, the container (8) constituting the case of the solenoid.
23. Method according to one of claims 21 or 22, characterised in that the container (8) is made of sheet metal.
24. Method according to one of claims 21 to 23, characterised in that the edge (4) of the container (8) comprises tabs protruding in the axial direction (10), the step of bending the edge (4) comprising the step of inwardly bending the tabs. |
Device for bending an edge of a container and method for fastening an object inside a container
Description
The present invention is related to a device for inwardly or outwardly bending an edge of an opening of a container comprising a support member with a plurality of moveable parts for arrangement beside the edge, the moveable parts being moveable in a radial direction from an outer or inner position to an inner or outer position at the same time bending the edge of the container. The present invention is further related to a method for fixing an object inside a container.
Devices for inwardly or outwardly bending the opening-edge of a container are well known from the state of the art. Such devices which are mostly named crimping devices are especially used in sheet metal forming. How- ever, such devices are also used if containers made of paper or plastic are modified.
EP 0 626 254 Bl describes an apparatus for outwardly bending the edge of an opening of a container, said container having a tubular shape. The known apparatus comprises two forming members. In the opposing sides of the forming members there are provided ring-shaped recesses. The tubular container is placed between the forming members and then the forming members are moved to- wards each other in an axial direction so that the tubular container is compressed. Thus, the edge of the open-
ing gets into one of the recesses and is deformed according to the profile of the recess. A similar device for containers made of plastic is described in DE 1 963 608 A.
EP 1 167 222 Bl describes a device for producing an annular rim of a sheet metal container having a cylindrical shape. In order to produce a spiral-shaped preliminary rim there is provided a first forming tool having an annular recess in the side being directed to the edge of the opening of the container. As already described before, the first forming tool is pressed against the opening in an axial direction so that the edge gets into the annular recess. By pressing the first forming tool into the opening the edge will be bend outwardly so that the spiral-shaped preliminary rim is generated. In a second step there is provided a second forming tool. The second forming tool comprises a plurality of moveable parts for arrangement beside the spiral-shaped prelimi- nary rim. The moveable parts are moveable in a radial direction from an outer position to an inner position thereby deforming the spiral-shaped preliminary rim in the radial direction.
The known apparatuses and methods prove themselves, however, there are still some disadvantages which have not been overcome yet. First of all it should be mentioned that the known apparatuses do not allow a fast bending of the edge since their operation is complicated. Above this, during the bending of the edges very small fractions of the material of the container are released so that the inside of the container may be contaminated by said material. This is especially problematic, if there is already placed an object, like for example a component assembly of a solenoid, inside the container.
If a sheet metal container is used small metal fractions may get into the container and disturb the operation of the solenoid.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for inwardly or outwardly bending an edge of an opening of a container which reduces the contamination of the container with fractions of the container material and which allows an easy operation. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for fixing an object, like for example a component assembly of a solenoid, inside a container.
This problem is solved by the features men- tioned in claim 1 and 20, respectively. Preferred embodiments of the invention are mentioned in the dependent claims .
The present invention is related to a device for inwardly or outwardly bending an edge of an opening of a container. The invention is especially directed to a device for crimping protruding tabs provided at the edge of the opening of the container. The device comprises a support member with a plurality of moveable parts. Said moveable parts could be arranged beside the edge to be bend. The moveable parts, like for example jaws, are moveable in a radial direction from an outer or inner position to an inner or outer position. The radial direction means the radial direction of the device which nor- mally corresponds to the radial direction of the container and its opening, respectively. By moving the move- able parts from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position the edge of the opening of the container could be bent inwardly and outwardly, respec- tively. According to the invention there is further pro-
- A - vided an actuation member which is mounted on the support member. The actuation member is moveable relative to the support member in an axial direction from a first position to a second position. The axial direction means the axial direction of the device which normally corresponds to the axial direction of the container and its opening, respectively. The force for bending the edge could be applied in said axial direction onto the actuation member. The actuation member and the support member are coupled such that the moveable parts are moved from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position, if the actuation member is moved from the first to the second position.
The invention provides a device for bending the edge of the opening of the container having a very simple construction so that the handling of the device is simplified. It is possible to produce an inwardly or outwardly bent rim in short time.
According to a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention each moveable part comprises a roll for arrangement beside the edge, i.e. said roll could be placed beside the edge before bending. The roll is rotatable around a rotation axis. This embodiment has the advantage in that in contrast to the normally used dies or similar, the rotatable rolls do not produce any fractions of material which are released from the container. Thus, the contamination of the container and of an object placed inside the container is reduced to a minimum.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the rotatable roll could be rolled along the container during the movement of the moveable part from the outer or inner position to
the inner or outer position, so that the contamination of the interior of the container with material fractions is minimized.
In another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the rotation axis of the roll runs at an angle to the axial direction. Preferably the rotation axis of the roll further runs at an angle to the radial direction. Thus, it is easier to deform the edge of the opening of the container. Most preferably, the rotation axis of the roll runs at right angle to the axial direction and the radial direction.
In order to facilitate the movement of the moveable parts form the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position each moveable part can be rotated from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position around a swivel axis in a further preferred embodiment of the invention.
In another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention each moveable part comprises a swivel arm being rotatable around the swivel axis, the rotatable roll being mounted on the swivel arm. The ro- tatable roll with its rotation axis may for example be mounted on the distal end of the swivel arm away from the swivel axis.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the swivel axis runs at an angle to the axial direction. Preferably the swivel axis further runs at an angle to the radial direction. Most preferably, the swivel axis of the moveable part runs at right angle to the axial direction and the radial direction.
In another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the swivel axis extends parallel to the rotation axis of the respective roll, so that the roll could be rolled easily along the container dur- ing movement of the moveable part and swivel arm, respectively. The respective roll means the roll that is mounted on the moveable part to be rotated around the swivel axis .
To further facilitate and accelerate the bending of the edge the moveable parts are concentrically moveable from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position in another preferred embodiment.
In a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention there are mounted actuation rolls on the actuation member. The actuation rolls are rotatable around a rotation axis and can be pushed in the axial direction against the moveable parts by moving the actuation member from the first to the second position, so that the moveable parts are moved from the outer or inner position to the inner or outer position. The actuation rolls allow a relative movement of the actuation member to the moveable parts and support member, respec- tively, with a minor friction loss.
To further facilitate the relative movement of the actuation member to the moveable parts and support member, respectively, the rotatable actuation roll could be rolled along the moveable part by moving the actuation member from the first position to the second position in a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention.
In another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the rotation axis of the ac-
tuation roll runs at an angle to the axial direction, preferably the rotation axis further extends parallel to the swivel axis of the respective moveable part and parallel to the rotation axis of the respective roll.
In a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the actuation member is cup- shaped, the support member being at least partially mounted inside the cup-shaped actuation member. Due to the fact that the support member is at least partially mounted inside the cup-shaped actuation member, the risk of injury is reduced and the support member is protected against damage.
In order to further facilitate the handling of the device the support member is guided inside the actuation member in the axial direction according to another preferred embodiment of the invention.
In a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the actuation member comprises a circumferential wall, the circumferential wall being provided with slots extending in the axial direction and the actuation rolls being mounted inside the slots. Thus, also the moveable parts and the swivel arms, respectively, could extend radial outwardly into said slots, when they are in the outer position without colliding with the circumferential wall.
In a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the support member substantially has a cylindrical shape. There are cavities provided in the support member which extend in the radial direction. The moveable parts are at least partially mounted inside the cavities. Thus, the moveable parts and
the swivel arms, respectively, are well protected against damage or contamination.
According to another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the actuation member is biased into the first position, i.e. the actuation member is moved to and held in its first position as long as no force is applied to the actuation member. Thus, the actuation member does not have to be pulled back after having bent the edge of the opening of the container so that the handling of the device is simplified and accelerated.
In order to bias the actuation member into its first position a compression spring, preferably a coil spring, is mounted between the actuation member and the support member according to another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the moveable parts are biased into the outer or inner position, i.e. the moveable parts are moved to and held in their outer or inner position as long as the actuation member is in its first position. Thus, the moveabie parts do not have to be pulled back after having bent the edge of the opening of the container so that the handling of the device is simplified and accelerated.
In order to bias the single moveable part into its outer or inner position a compression spring, preferably a coil spring, is mounted between the support member and the moveable part.
The present invention is further related to a method for fixing an object inside a container. Ini-
tially, a container with an opening and an object, like for example a component assembly of a solenoid, are provided. Then the object is inserted into the container through the opening. Afterwards the edge of the opening is inwardly bent by using a device according to the invention, so that the inwardly bent edge engages behind the object. Thus, the inwardly bent edge prevents a later removal of the object through the opening so that the object is fixed inside the container.
According to a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention the object is a component assembly of a solenoid, so that the container constitutes the case of the solenoid to be produced. The component assembly might for example comprise a coil, pole parts, armatures etc. of the solenoid. Due to the fact, that no fractions of material are produced during the bending of the edge, the method is especially useful in this case, since there are no small metallic fractions which might disturb the function of the solenoid to be produced.
According to another preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention the container is made of sheet metal.
In a further preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention the edge of the container comprises tabs protruding in the axial direction, the step of bending the edge comprising the step of inwardly bending the tabs. Only the tabs are bent in order to fix the object inside the container so that the effort is reduced and only a few moveable parts are necessary at the device .
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings in which:
Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention with the actuation member in a first position,
Fig. 2 shows the device of Fig. 1 with the actuation member in an intermediate position and
Fig. 3 shows the device of Fig. 1 and 2 with the actuation member in the second position.
Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a device 2 for inwardly bending an edge 4 of an opening 6 of a container 8 according to the invention. The device 2 extends in an axial direction indicated by reference number 10 and in radial directions, one of them being indicated by reference number 12. The device 2 comprises an actuation member 14 and a support member 16.
The actuation member 14 is cup-shaped. In the present embodiment the actuation member 14 comprises a bottom 18 extending in the radial direction (s) 12 and a circumferential wall 20 that extends from the bottom 18 in axial direction 10. Thus, the bottom 18 and the circumferential wall 20 surround an inner chamber 22 which is opened in the axial direction 10. The inner chamber 22 has a cylindrical shape. In the circumferential wall 20 adjacent to the opening of the actuation member 14 there is provided a plurality of slots 24 extending in the axial direction 10, said slots 24 further
extending from the inner chamber 22 to the outside in radial direction 12.
Inside each slot 24 there is provided an ac- tuation roll 26. The actuation roll 26 is mounted on the actuation member 14 via a rotation axis 28 so that the actuation roll 26 could be rotated around the rotation axis 28 as indicated by arrows 30. The rotation axis 28 of each actuation roll 26 runs at an angle to the axial direction 10. In the present embodiment said angle is 90° if the device 2 is viewed in the radial direction 12. It should be noted that in Fig. 1 there are only shown two actuation rolls 26, however, there may be provided more actuation rolls 26 being circularly distributed along the circumferential wall 20 of the actuation member 14.
The support member 16 substantially has a cylindrical shape and is at least partially mounted inside the inner chamber 22 of the cup-shaped actuation member 14. The cylindrical shape of the inner chamber 22 of the actuation member 14 and the cylindrical shape of the support member 16 are designed such that the support member 16 is guided inside the inner chamber 22 of the actuation member 14 in the axial direction 10.
In the cylindrical support member 16 there is provided a plurality of cavities 32. These slot-like cavities 32 extend in the radial direction 12 and are opened downwardly and to the side of the support member 16. Inside each cavity 32 there is mounted a moveable part 34. Each moveable part 34 comprises a swivel arm 36 and a roll 38. Each swivel arm 36 is mounted via a swivel axis 40 on the support member 16 so that the swivel arm 36 could be rotated around the swivel axis 40 as indi- cated by arrows 42. At the other end of each swivel arm
36 there is provided the roll 38 which is mounted via an-
other rotation axis 44 on the swivel arm 36 so that the roll 38 could be rotated around the rotation axis 44 as indicated by arrows 46. It should be noted that in Fig. 1 there are only shown two moveable parts 34, however, there may be provided more moveable parts 34 being circularly distributed along the circumference of the support member 16. Preferably, the number of the moveable parts 34 should correspond to the number of the actuation rolls 26.
The rotation axis 44 of the roll 38 and the swivel axis 40 both run at an angle to the axial direction 10 and the radial direction 12, preferably said angle is 90° when viewed in the radial direction 12 and in the axial direction 10, respectively. The swivel axis 40 and the rotation axis 44 of the same moveable part 34 are oriented parallel to each other.
As already mentioned before, the support mem- ber 16 is placed inside the inner chamber 22 of the actuation member 14 whereupon every actuation roll 38 is dedicated to one of the moveable parts 34. Thus, the rotation axis 28 of the actuation roll 26 is parallel to the swivel axis 40 of the swivel arm 36 and to the rota- tion axis 44 of the roll 38. Above this, there is further provided a compression spring 48 inside the inner chamber 22 of the actuation member 14. The one end of the compression spring 38, which consists of a coil spring in this embodiment, is supported in a recess 50 in the bot- torn 18 of the actuation member 14 while the other end of the compression spring 38 is supported in a recess 52 in the end of the support member 16. However, there may also be provided a stem at the bottom 18 of the actuation member 14 and/or a stem at the end of the support member 16, said stem(s) extending into the compression spring 38 in order to hold the compression spring 38 in its position.
The compression spring 38 extends along the axial direction 10 of the device 2. Further, there are provided compression springs 54 between the support member 16 and the swivel arm 36 of each moveable part 34, said further com- pression springs 54, which consist of coil springs in the shown embodiment, substantially extending in the radial direction 12.
Hereinafter, the operation mode as well as further features of the device 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to 3. First of all, the container 8, which is made of sheet metal, has to be fixed in a support 56 so that the opening 6 of the container 8 is directed to the support member 16 of the device 2. The ax- ial direction of the container 8 should correspond to the axial direction 10 of the device 2. Afterwards an object, like a component assembly 58 of a solenoid for example, is inserted into the container 8 through the opening 6. Then the component assembly 58 of the solenoid will be fixed inside the container 8 as described below.
In Fig. 1, the actuation member 14 is biased into a first position relative to the support member 16 by compression spring 48, while the swivel arms 36 of the moveable parts 34 are biased into an outer position by compression springs 54. In the outer position the swivel arms 36 are rotated outwardly in radial direction 12 around the swivel axis 40. Now, the device 2 has to be placed above the opening 6 of the container 8 so that the rolls 38 are arranged beside and surround the edge 4 of the opening 6, respectively.
Then, the actuation member 14 is moved in the axial direction 10 relative to and towards the support member 16 by applying an axial force 60 onto the actuation member, as can be seen in Fig. 2. In the shown in-
termediate position of the actuation member 14 the compression spring 48 is partly compressed. During the axial movement of the actuation member 14 the actuation rolls 26 are pushed against the outside of the swivel arms 36 of the moveable parts 34. Thus, the swivel arms 36 are forced to rotate around the respective swivel axis 40 inwardly against the reset force of the compression springs 54 in the radial direction 12 as indicated by arrows 62. Due to the rotation of the swivel arms 36 the rolls 38 of the moveable parts 34 are pressed against the side of the edge 4 of the opening 6 of the container 8 thereby bending the edge 4 inwardly.
The outlines 64 of the cylindrical actuation rolls 26 are supported on the outside of the swivel arms 36 so that the actuation rolls 26 are rotated around their rotation axis 28 as indicated by arrows 66. Thus, the actuation rolls 26 roll along the swivel arms 36. Accordingly, the outlines 68 of the cylindrical rolls 38 are supported on the outside of the container 8 and the edge 4, respectively, so that the rolls 38 are rotated around their rotation axis 44 as indicated by arrows 70. Thus, the rolls 38 roll along the container 8.
During the movement of the actuation member 14 from the first position (Fig. 1) via the intermediate position (Fig. 2) to the second position (Fig. 3) the move- able parts 34 are concentrically moved from the outer position to an inner position which is shown in Fig. 3. In the inner position the moveable parts 34 have completely bent the edge 4 of the container 8. Now, the inwardly bent edge 4 engages behind the component assembly 58 of the solenoid so that the component assembly 58 is fastened inside the container 8, i.e. the component assembly 58 could not be removed from the container 8 through opening 6 any longer. Now, the solenoid comprising the
component assembly 58 and the container 8 constituting the case of the solenoid is completed.
Even though there is only shown a container 8 with a continuous edge 4 there might also be provided a container with an edge comprising axially protruding tabs. In such a case, only the tabs have to be bent inwardly by the moveable parts 34 in order to fasten the component assembly 58 inside the container 8.
List of reference numbers
2 device
4 edge 6 opening
8 container
10 axial direction
12 radial direction
14 actuation member 16 support member
18 bottom
20 circumferential wall
22 inner chamber
24 slots 26 actuation rolls
28 rotation axis (actuation rolls)
30 arrows
32 cavities
34 moveable parts 36 swivel arm
38 roll
40 swivel axis
42 arrows
44 rotation axis (-rolls) 46 arrows
48 compression spring
50 recess
52 recess
54 compression springs 56 support
58 component assembly
60 axial force
62 arrows
64 outline (actuation rolls)
66 arrows
68 outline (rolls)
5 70 arrows