****

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a hemming head for metal sheets, of the type comprising:

- a supporting structure, carrying a first roller and a second roller, which, during operation, set themselves in opposed positions with respect to the edge of the metal sheet to be bent and which are freely rotatable about a first axis and a second axis, respectively, said first and second axes being both contained in one and the same plane; and

- a device configured for regulating the inclination of said first axis, with respect to said second axis, in said plane.

Prior art

A hemming head of the type referred to above is, for example, described in the German patent No. DE101 1 1374BA4.

This type of hemming head presents first of all the advantage of being able to operate without the need of any base designed to keep the edges of the metal sheets fixed in position thanks to the presence of the second roller referred to, which, during operation, sets itself in a position opposed to the hemming roller, with respect to the edges of the metal sheet, and travels together therewith so as to define locally a contrast element for the aforesaid edges.

Furthermore, thanks to the possibility of regulating the inclination of the hemming roller, the hemming head in question provides the further advantage of simplifying the hemming operations since the head may be kept substantially with one and the same orientation in space, in the multiple passes that the entire hemming operation envisages along the perimetral edges of the metal sheet, by simply varying the inclination of the hemming roller.

Object and summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to improve the solution discussed above.

In particular, the object of the present invention is a new method for operating a hemming head of the type referred to above that will be able to guarantee a better machining quality.

Furthermore, the present invention proposes, for the type of hemming head in question, a new structural configuration that is advantageous both from the constructional standpoint and from the functional standpoint.

Specifically, the present invention regards a method for operating a hemming head according to Claim 1 .

The present invention also regards a hemming head according to Claim 7.

The claims form an integral part of the technical teaching provided herein in relation to the invention.

Brief description of the drawings and detailed description of the invention

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from the ensuing description, with reference to the annexed drawings, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:

- Figure 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the hemming head described herein, according to a side view;

- Figure 2 is a schematic illustration, provided by way of example, of different operative positions of the rollers of the hemming head described herein;

- Figure 3 is a perspective view of the front side of the hemming head of Figure 1 ;

- Figure 4 corresponds to the view of Figure 1 , from which some elements of the device for regulating inclination of the hemming roller have been removed in order to illustrate the internal elements of said device;

- Figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of the front portion of the hemming head of Figure 1 , from which some elements of the device for regulating the inclination of the hemming roller have been removed in order to illustrate the internal elements of said device;

- Figure 6 is an axonometric view of the hemming head of Figure 1 taken from beneath; and

- Figures 7A-C are schematic illustrations of various examples of operation of the hemming head of Figure 1 . In the ensuing description various specific details are illustrated aimed at providing an in-depth understanding of the embodiments. The embodiments may be obtained without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, or materials, etc. In other cases, known structures, materials, or operations are not illustrated or described in detail so that various aspects of the embodiment will not be obscured.

The references used herein are provided merely for convenience and hence do not define the scope of protection or the scope of the embodiments.

As mentioned above, the hemming head described herein is of the type comprising:

- a supporting structure carrying a first roller and a second roller, which, during operation, set themselves in opposed positions with respect to the edge of the metal sheet to be bent and which are freely rotatable about a first axis and a second axis, respectively, said first and second axes being both contained in one and the same plane; and

- a device configured for regulating the inclination of said first axis with respect to said second axis in said plane.

Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of mode of operation of the two rollers of the hemming head described herein, during hemming of two metal sheets L1 , L2.

The hemming roller, designated by the reference 101 , assumes a position such that its outer cylindrical surface sets itself in contact with the edge K - already partially bent - of the outer metal sheet L1 .

The contrast roller 102 sets itself, instead, in a position opposed with respect to the hemming roller 101 in such a way as to support with its outer cylindrical surface the respective portions of the two metal sheets L1 , L2 immediately adjacent to the edge K. The roller 102 has, in particular, the function of keeping these portions fixed in position so as to prevent them from undergoing deformation and moreover guarantee that the action of the hemming roller results in the edge being bent with the desired geometry.

In a hemming head of the type described herein, thanks to the aforementioned device for regulating inclination (which will be described in detail hereinafter), the hemming roller 101 can be oriented with different inclinations with respect to the roller 102 in order to vary the angle of bending that the two rollers 101 and 102 come to form between the edge K and the portions T1 and T2 of the two metal sheets.

In this connection, the hemming operation envisages guiding the hemming head along the perimetral portions of the two metal sheets to be hemmed, for a number of passes, and reducing, between one pass and the next, the inclination of the hemming roller 101 with respect to the roller 102 so as to bring, in a gradual way, in the course of the above passes, the edge K from a condition substantially orthogonal to the portions T1 and T2 to a condition in which it is bent against the aforesaid portions so that it is oriented parallel thereto.

The procedure so far described is in itself already known in the art. Now, in the light of the foregoing, it will be noted that the geometry of the portions T1 and T2 and of the edge K basically depends upon the mutual positions assumed by the two rollers 101 and 102 in the course of the various passes envisaged during the hemming operation.

As in the prior art, these positions can be determined beforehand and then kept fixed during the entire machining process. In particular, it is possible, during a step of setting-up of the entire hemming system to identify, for each pass, the so-called optimal orientation for the hemming roller of the head, and then assume said datum as operating parameter. The opposed roller is in turn set in a pre-set position with respect to the hemming roller and kept permanently in this position. Clearly, also known in the art is the possibility of making adjustments during maintenance of the system in order to recover any possible play created on account of wear of the materials.

The present applicant has, however, found that it is possible to obtain better machining results as compared to the known art by regulating the vertical position (see Figure 2) of the roller 102 dynamically with respect to the roller 101 , during movement of the head along the edges of the metal sheet subjected to the hemming operation.

The present applicant has in fact noted that morphological discontinuities that may be encountered over one and the same path along the aforesaid edges (for example, variations of thickness, variations of the position of the bending line, local deformations, etc.), as likewise sudden variations of direction defined by the path itself, can cause locally, in the areas concerned, a bending of the edge of the metal sheet that is not optimal or is even ineffective.

The present applicant has thus found that it is instead possible to solve this problem by envisaging variation of the vertical position of the roller 102 with respect to the roller 101 - in the direction Y in the example of Figure 2 - as a function of a signal indicating the force exerted by the roller 102 on the metal sheet and/or as a function of a signal indicating the position of the head along the path followed by the latter during the hemming operation.

The main purpose of this type of regulation is to ensure that the roller 102 always keeps the metal sheets in a position appropriately referenced with respect to the roller 101 , as a function of any lack of homogeneity or structural peculiarities that characterize the pieces being machined so that the roller 101 will be set always in the condition of carrying out a correct operation of bending of the metal sheets.

The result obtained is a substantially uniform quality of bending of the metal sheet throughout perimeter concerned.

In various preferred embodiments, the method described herein moreover envisages dynamic variation, during the individual passes of the head along the hemming path, also of the inclination of the roller 101 with respect to the roller 102. In preferred embodiments, this is done only as a function of a signal indicating the position of the head along the hemming path; it is in any case possible to envisage a control based also upon a signal indicating the force exerted by the roller 101 on the metal sheet, as already discussed above with reference to the roller 102.

Figures 7A-C are schematic illustrations of some examples of operation of a hemming head according to the method described herein.

Starting from Figure 7A, this is a schematic illustration of the side of a motor-vehicle body on which the hemming head 10 described herein carries out a hemming operation, around the door opening, to join together the two metal sheets constituting the side. The head 10 is carried by a manipulator robot, and a control unit 100 governs the operations of the robot and of the head.

In this figure, designated by the reference T is the path followed by the head 10 during this operation.

Identified on this path are stretches T and T" that differ from one another in that the former are curved stretches with a considerable curvature, whereas the latter are substantially rectilinear stretches or in any case ones with just a slight curvature.

As regards this example of application, the method described herein hence envisages associating to the various stretches T and T" differentiated positions of the roller 101 and, possibly, also of the roller 102.

It should now be noted that experimental tests have highlighted that in general, where the curvature of the path is more accentuated, to perform an action of effective bending on the metal sheet, it is necessary to bring the roller 101 into a more inclined position with respect to the roller 102.

On the basis of the foregoing, the method described herein will hence envisage associating to the stretches T positions of the axis X1 with a greater angle of inclination than in the case of the stretches T". According to the particular geometry of the metal sheet, there may then become necessary for the stretches T also an adjustment of the position of the roller 102, for example moving it towards, or away from, the roller 101 , with respect to the position that is assumes along the other stretches T". During operation, the hemming head 10 will hence set the rollers 101 and 102 in different positions on the bases of the stretch on which it is located.

Furthermore, within one and the same stretch, the hemming head is pre-arranged for further regulating the position of the roller 102 as a function of the force exerted by this on the metal sheets, in particular so that the force will be controlled and maintained at a given pre-set value irrespective of the specific conditions of the metal sheets that the head may find during its movement and that could, instead, cause the amount of force exerted by the roller 102 to depart from the above pre-set value. For instance, in the case where the head encounters a localized increase of thickness of one or both of the metal sheets, a circumstance that may be such as to increase the value of force exerted by the roller 102, the control described herein envisages moving the roller 102 away from the roller 101 by a distance such as to compensate for the effects deriving from the local increase in thickness of the metal sheets.

It should be noted that the aforesaid parameters, namely, the different positions of the rollers 101 and 102 on the various stretches T, T" and the pre-set value of force for each of these stretches, may be derived empirically in a step of setting-up of the machining cycle, by verifying, via various experimental tests conducted in a scenario identical to the one in which the real machining cycle will be carried out, what are the values of these parameters that enable optimal bending of the edge of the metal sheet.

The values obtained can then be stored in the control unit 100.

The unit 100 will govern the robot and the head 10 using these parameters and on the basis of the signals mentioned above indicating the force exerted by the roller 102 and the position of the hemming head. In this connection, it should be noted that these signals are clearly obtained via sensor means associated to the robot and to the head 10. In particular, the position of the hemming head may clearly correspond to the end- effector position controlled and governed by the unit 100 through the aid of the various encoders associated to the joints of the robot. The aforementioned signal indicating the position of the hemming head will comprise data identifying co-ordinates within a reference system, for example, a cartesian reference system, a cylindrical reference system, etc.

The unit 100 may be of any type that is conventionally used for operating and controlling automated machining systems. It will comprise both the control modules for the various actuators, which contain, for example, the inverters for governing the electric motors and the programming modules for setting and controlling the actions of the various operating members of the system. Obviously, these modules may also be physically separate according to the specificities and requirements of the various applications.

As illustrated in Figure 7B, along the path T of the example of Figure 7 A it is also possible to encounter stretches T" in which the metal sheet has, on the inside or on the outside, undercut portions, which would render particularly problematical the use of the roller 102, as a result of the risk of interference between the roller and these portions. In this case, the method described herein envisages association to the stretch T" of a position of the roller 102 completely retracted and set at a distance from the roller 101 , in which the roller 102 becomes practically inoperative. As soon as the head then moves onto the next stretch T", the roller 102 will automatically set itself once again in contact with the metal sheet.

Figure 7C illustrates, instead, the operation of hemming of two metal sheets of a generic component of the bodywork or of the body of a motor vehicle, which is characterized in that the band of joining of the two metal sheets has along its direction of extension two areas of different thickness.

The method described herein envisages distinguishing on the path T that the hemming head will follow, two different stretches T and T that identify these areas.

The method will hence envisage associating to the stretches T and

T" differentiated positions of the roller 102, along the axis Y, appropriately regulated on the basis of the different thicknesses of the two areas in question.

Similarly to what has been described above, the method disclosed herein will moreover envisage further regulating the position of the roller 102 as a function of the force exerted by this on the metal sheet, to cause this force to be controlled and maintained at a given pre-set value.

In all the cases described above, the result obtained by the hemming operations conducted according to the method disclosed herein will be a joining that is homogeneous throughout its extension, with constant thicknesses - where obviously the metal sheets have a constant thickness - whatever the profile and the curvatures of the hemming path, and irrespective of any lack of morphological homogeneity and/or geometrical homogeneity, at localized points, on the metal sheet.

As regards what has been said above, it should again be noted that the stretches T, T", and T" referred to may in some cases also correspond to single points.

With reference now to the hemming head, this is characterized, as compared to the hemming heads of the known art, precisely in that the axis of rotation of the roller 102 is defined by a member that is pre- arranged for varying the position of this axis during movement of the head along the edges of the metal sheets undergoing the hemming operation.

In various preferred embodiments, the above member is represented by the mobile element of a linear actuator.

In any case, aside from the aspect regarding adjustment of the position of the roller 102, in general the hemming head described herein is characterized as a whole by a series of structural characteristics that render it particularly advantageous.

In this connection, with reference to Figures 1 to 6, the hemming head 10 comprises a supporting structure 20 on which the rollers 101 and 102 are mounted, in the modalities that will be described in detail hereinafter, and which is equipped with a connection portion 22 for fixing of the head to an automated-movement device such as a manipulator robot, as in the application illustrated in Figure 7.

The connection portion 22 defines a reference axis R, which, during operation, will represent an operative axis of the hemming system, with reference to which the control unit of the system can control the position and orientation in space of the head 10.

The supporting structure 20 has a main body 24, which extends in cantilever fashion from the connection portion 22 along the axis R or in any case parallel thereto.

Preferably, the body 24 is in the form of a box-like body made of sheet metal, having various portions prepared for fixing of the other components of the head thereon, as will be seen in what follows.

In various preferred embodiments, as in the one illustrated, fixed on the end, or else on a side of said body, is a plate 26 that is oriented parallel to the axis R and projects at the front, with a portion 26A thereof, from the body 24; the latter has a main direction of extension that is characterized by a curvilinear development.

Mounted on the supporting structure 20 just described is the device mentioned previously designed to regulate the inclination of the hemming roller 101 .

In particular, as is represented schematically in Figure 2, this device is configured for varying the inclination of the roller 101 , i.e., of its axis X1 , substantially through a movement of rotation of this axis about a reference axis O, which is located on the outer surface of the roller and, in the example illustrated, passes through the vertex of the section of the roller that is located closest to the bending line defined on the metal sheet L1 (see Figure 2); this specific modality of movement guarantees the best condition of contact between the cylindrical surface of the roller and the edge of the metal sheet, for any position assumed by the roller.

With reference to the constructional details of the above device, in various preferred embodiments, as in the one illustrated, it envisages a guide system that comprises two pairs of bars 32, 34 fixed on the two opposite sides of the projecting portion 26A. Furthermore, the device comprises a carriage 42, which carries the hemming roller 101 .

The carriage 42 defines as a whole a box-like body open on two opposite ends that are traversed by the portion 26A. Specifically, the body is defined by two plates 44 that are oriented parallel to one another and to the portion 26A and are set with respect to the latter in opposed positions. The plates 44 are joined together by the transverse plates 46, 48, which are set, respectively, at the two opposite lateral edges of the portion 26A. The roller 101 is rotatably mounted about the axis X1 on the plate 48, which is located on the side of the reference axis O.

The bars 32 and 34 have a polygonal, preferably rectangular, cross section and extend longitudinally according to a curvilinear development, like the projecting portion 26A.

The bars 32 are set in an internal region of the respective side of the portion 26A and in practice constitute the two rails on which the carriage 42 travels. For this purpose, the opposite longitudinal edges of each bar 32 have curvilinear profiles that have a common centre of curvature positioned along the reference axis O referred to above. These opposite edges are engaged by an array of opposed wheels 52, which are mounted on the corresponding plate 44, facing the bar 32, of the carriage 42.

The bars 32 hence have the function of guiding the carriage 42 in a movement in an ideal plane defined by the portion 26A itself, along a curvilinear path, the centre of curvature of which is positioned on the reference axis O. The roller 101 is positioned on the carriage 42 in such a way that to the movement of translation of the carriage there approximately corresponds a rotation of its axis X1 about the reference axis O.

The bars 34 constitute, instead, guides for lateral containment of the carriage, i.e., to keep the latter in a fixed position in the direction transverse to the plane of movement. For its own part, the carriage 42 has, once again on the inner sides of the plates 44 on which also the wheels 52 are fixed, sliding blocks 54 designed to engage the outer faces 34' of the bars 34. Preferably, the sliding blocks 54 are mounted on the plates 44 according to a configuration that enables variation of their position with respect to the plates themselves, for example via screw fixing members and interposition of interchangeable shims in order to enable adjustment of the lateral position of the carriage, as well as recover any possible play.

Again, in various preferred embodiments, the guide system of the device described herein is pre-arranged for enabling adjustment of the radial distance (with reference to the curvilinear path defined by the bar 32) between the wheels 52 that engage the opposite edges of one and the same bar 32 in order to facilitate installation of the carriage 42 on the plate 26A and moreover, also in this case, to enable compensation of any possible play. In various preferred embodiments, for this purpose, the system envisages that the wheels 52 that engage one of the two opposite sides of the bar 32 will be mounted on the plate 44 via interposition of a connection member having an eccentric profile.

The device in question further comprises a linear actuator 62, which is mounted with its basic casing on the supporting structure 20, in particular on the body 24 or else on the plate 26, in such a way as to be able to oscillate in a plane parallel to the plane of movement of the carriage 42. The end of the mobile member of the actuator is in turn connected to the carriage 42, preferably at one of the two plates 44, also in this case in such a way that the member can oscillate with respect to the carriage.

With reference now to Figures 1 and 2, it will be understood that actuation of the above actuator from the condition of minimum extension to the condition of maximum extension, brings about displacement of the carriage 42 from an end position adjacent to the body 24 of the supporting structure 20 (towards the left as viewed in Figure 1 A) to an end position towards the tip of the projecting portion 26A (towards the right as viewed in Figure 1 A).

With reference to the roller 101 , this movement of the carriage will correspond to passage of the roller from a maximum inclination with respect to the roller 102 to a zero inclination. The carriage 42, and consequently the roller 101 , may assume all the intermediate positions comprised between these end positions.

With reference to the inclination device, it should again be noted that mounted on one or both of the opposite sides of the portion 26A are corresponding end-of-travel members 121 for the two end positions referred to above of the carriage, which are arranged at the opposite ends of the bars 32 and 34. The members in question envisage threaded elements for precise adjustment of the end-of-travel position.

The linear actuator referred to is preferably constituted by a screw actuator governed by an electric motor. Alternatively, it is in any case possible to envisage actuators of some other type, for example pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders.

This actuator will be controlled for governing the roller 101 according to the modalities discussed above. In particular, during the hemming operation, it will govern the roller 101 in a series of pre-set inclined positions, each of which is associated to the various passes of the head along the hemming path, in order to perform gradual bending of the edge of the metal sheet. Furthermore, as has been seen above, during the individual passes, the roller 101 will instead be adjusted in a finer way as a function of the position of the head along the hemming path in order to adapt its position to the possible peculiarities of the join being made .

With reference now to the roller 102, as has been seen above, in the hemming head described herein it is carried by a mobile member, like the roller 101 . With reference to Figure 2, it should be noted that in the case of the roller 102 its direction of movement is orthogonal to the axis of rotation X2 and is contained in the same plane defined by the two axes X1 and X2.

In various preferred embodiments, as in the one illustrated, this member is constituted by the mobile element of a linear actuator 68, which is mounted on the supporting structure 20, in particular on the body 24 of this structure, with the aid of anchoring brackets, and is oriented so that its operative axis is parallel and/or aligned to the aforesaid direction of movement of the roller 102. In various embodiments, the mobile member of the actuator is associated to one or more linear guides (not illustrated), which engage it preferably at its portion that projects outwards, in order to prevent phenomena of slewing of this member and hence guarantee precise transverse positioning of the roller 102 with respect to the direction Y, whatever its position along the direction.

Also the aforesaid actuator will be governed according to the modalities already discussed above, i.e., in order to vary the position of the roller 102 as a function of a signal indicating the force exerted by this roller on the metal sheet and/or as a function of a signal indicating the position of the head along the pre-set path that this must follow during the hemming operation.

In this connection, it should be noted that the control unit described above may be configured for deriving the signal indicating the force exerted by the roller 102, and hence by the actuator, from the supply current of the actuator. Alternatively, the head 10 may be equipped with a force sensor associated to the mobile member of the actuator.

In the light of the foregoing, it may once again be noted - see in particular Figure 1 - that the hemming head 10 is characterized in that the two linear actuators 62 and 68 are both oriented with their own longitudinal direction substantially parallel (or possibly aligned) to the reference axis R. In particular, the linear actuator 62 is set so that, albeit oscillating, its operative axis is either parallel/aligned to the axis R, for one or more positions of the carriage along the bars 32, 34 - in the example illustrated, in the end position of the carriage on the right - or anyway, in the other positions of the carriage, inclined with respect to the reference axis R according to an angle that it is never greater than 30°, and is preferably 15°.

Furthermore, both of the two actuators 62 and 68 are set with their own basic casing in the proximity of the connection portion 22, and they act both on the same side in a direction away from the aforesaid portion to bring the two respective rollers towards one another. The characteristics highlighted above are such that the head has a prevalent development in the direction of the axis R and a lateral encumbrance that is, instead, very small. Advantageously, the centroid of the head is close to the connection portion 22 and, likewise, the electrical connectors of the two actuators are easy to reach.

The present applicant has been able to note that the configuration illustrated above offers from the operative standpoint greater possibility of manoeuvre of the head, above all in those applications in which the space available is particularly limited.

Of course, without prejudice to the principle of the invention, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to what has been illustrated herein purely by way of non- limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the annexed claims.