U.S. patent number 3,885,300 [Application Number 05/478,636] was granted by the patent office on 1975-05-27 for method of making a panel corner.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Arvin Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Layton L. Hinson, Frank A. Hoffman.
United States Patent |
3,885,300 |
Hoffman , et al. |
May 27, 1975 |
Method of making a panel corner
Abstract
A method of making a corner for a panel from a piece of
sheet-metal by cutting said metal to provide a panel surface having
a pair of edges disposed at an angle to each other with a cut-out
formed in the corner thereof. The metal is then bent to form a pair
of skirts extending downwardly from said edges with the adjacent
ends of the skirts in spaced relation. An adhesive filler is
applied to the inner skirt faces and fills the space between the
adjacent skirt ends.
Inventors: |
Hoffman; Frank A. (Columbus,
IN), Hinson; Layton L. (Columbus, IN) |
Assignee: |
Arvin Industries, Inc.
(Columbus, IN)
|
Family
ID: |
23900750 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/478,636 |
Filed: |
June 12, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
29/527.1;
264/267; 29/DIG.29; 29/460; 264/295 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B21D
53/00 (20130101); B29C 45/14475 (20130101); Y10S
29/029 (20130101); Y10T 29/4998 (20150115); Y10T
29/49888 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B29C
45/14 (20060101); B21D 53/00 (20060101); B23p
017/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;156/211,245
;264/267,295 ;29/460,527.1,527.2,527.4,DIG.29
;113/116A,116F,116G,116Y,116R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lanham; C. W.
Assistant Examiner: Reiley, III; D. C.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Trask, Jenkins & Hanley
Claims
We claim:
1. A method of making a corner for a panel, comprising the steps of
cutting a sheet of metal to form a pair of first edges at an angle
to each other, a pair of second edges extending inwardly from said
first edges at points equally spaced from what would otherwise be
the juncture of said first edges, a pair of their edges extending
inwardly from points adjacent the inner ends of said second edges,
said third edges being offset from said second edges and having
their inner ends interconnected by an arc segment; bending said
sheet along a pair of first bend lines parallel to said first edges
and extending longitudinally from the offsets between said second
and third edges, and along a pair of second bend lines parallel
with said first bend lines and extending longitudinally from the
ends of said arc segment whereby the metal between said first and
second bend lines defines a pair of skirts whose adjacent ends
defined by said third edges are in spaced relation, and the metal
between said first bend lines and first edges defines a pair of
flanges whose adjacent ends defined by said second edges are in
abutting relation; placing said metal in a mold; injecting an
adhesive filler into said mold to fill the space between said
skirts and bridge across the adjacent ends of said skirts and
flanges, and curing said adhesive filler into a rigid state.
2. A method of making a corner as set forth in claim 1 in which
said third edges are joined to said offsets on arcs having the same
radii of curvature as said arc segment.
3. A method of making a corner as set forth in claim 1 in which
said arc segment is the center of a circle whose center is defined
by the intersection of projections of said second bend lines, and
said third edges are joined to said offsets on arcs having the same
radii of curvature as said arc segment.
4. A method of making a corner as set forth in clam 1 in which the
included angles between adjacent ones of said first and second
edges and between adjacent ones of said second and third edges are
135.degree. and the included angle between said first edges is
90.degree., and said metal is bent 90.degree. about the axis of
each of said first and second bend lines.
5. A method of making a corner for a panel, comprising the steps of
cutting a sheet of metal to form a pair of first edges at an angle
to each other and a pair of second edges extending inwardly from
said first edges at points equally spaced from what would otherwise
be the juncture of said first edges whereby said second edges
define a cut-out portion at the corner of said sheet, said cutting
operation defining an arcuate segment in said sheet interconnecting
the adjacent ends of said second edges; bending said sheet along a
pair of bend lines parallel to said first edges and extending
longitudinally from the ends of said arc segment whereby the metal
between said bend lines and first edges forms a pair of skirts
whose adjacent ends are in spaced relation and are defined by said
second edges; placing said metal in a mold; injecting an adhesive
filler into said mold to fill the space between said second edges
and bridge across the adjacent ends of said skirts; and curing said
adhesive filler into a rigid state.
6. A method of making a corner as set forth in claim 5 in which
said arc segment is the segment of a center whose center is defined
by the intersection of projections of said bend lines.
7. A method of making a corner as set forth in claim 5 in which the
included angles between said first edges, between said second edges
and between said first and second edges are 90.degree., and said
metal is bent 90.degree. about the axes of said bend lines.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In forming a right angled corner for a sheet-metal panel having a
depending skirt, it has been the common practice to make a simple
right angled cut-out at the corner of a sheet of metal. The sheet
is then bent along a pair of angularly disposed bend lines to form
the skirts at the panel corner. Because of the right angled cut-out
at the corner at the sheet, the adjacent edges of the skirts will
be disposed in abutting relation at the corner of the panel.
Lack of precision in such bending operations and in making the cut,
however, frequently results in misalignment of the adjacent edges
of the skirts. This results in sharp edges and raw metal being
present at the corner. To correct this, the corners have been
formed, then welded, then ground down, and finally painted. This is
a laborious and expensive procedure.
It is an object of this invention, to provide a method of making a
corner for a panel which will overcome these difficulties and
disadvantages. More specifically, it is an object of the invention
to provide a method of making such a corner in which the metal is
cut in a manner to provide a predetermined spacing between certain
of the corner components of the panel which can be filled with a
decorative material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one form of the invention, as it is employed to
form a right angled panel corner having underlying stiffening
flanges, a piece of sheet-metal is cut to define a pair of first
edges normal to each other. At points spaced equal distances from
what would otherwise be the juncture of the first edges, a second
pair of edges are cut which extend inwardly at a 45.degree. angle
from said first edges. A third pair of edges normal to each other
are cut to extend inwardly from points adjacent the inner edges of
the second edges. Each of said third edges is offset from the
adjacent second edge longitudinally away from the corner to be
formed.
After the cutting operation, the metal is bent along a pair of
first bend lines parallel with said first edges and spaced inwardly
therefrom so as to terminate at the offsets between said second and
third edges. The metal is then bent along a pair of second bend
lines parallel with said first bend lines and spaced inwardly
therefrom so as to terminate at the juncture of said third edges.
Each of said bending operations bends the metal through a
90.degree. angle so that the edges of the panel surface are defined
by the second bend lines, a pair of skirts extend downwardly from
the panel surface between the first and second bend lines, and
inwardly projecting flanges extend under the panel surface from the
first bend lines. Because of the configuration of the second and
third edges, the ends of the flanges will abut each other, but the
ends of the skirts will be disposed in spaced relation to one
another.
After the corner has been cut and bent, it is placed in a mold, and
a thermoplastic adhesive filler is injected against the inwardly
presented faces of the skirts and flanges. The adhesive filler is
allowed to cure into a rigid state to bind the ends of the skirts
and flanges together and form a decorative bead filling the space
between the ends of the skirts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such
drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective of a panel corner made according to the
invention, but with portions thereof being broken away;
FIG. 2 is a metal blank cut to form the corner shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the blank shown in FIG. 2 bent to
form the corner shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a horizontal section through a mold showing the addition
of the adhesive filler to the corner;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the panel corner
shown in FIG. 1 and made according to the invention;
FIG. 6 is a metal blank cut to form the corner shown in FIG. 5;
and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the blank shown in FIG. 6 bent to
form the corner shown in FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in FIG. 1, a panel having a right angled corner made
according to the invention comprises a supporting surface 10 having
a pair of skirts 11 and 12 extending downwardly therefrom. Flanges
14 and 15 project inwardly from the lower ends of skirts 11 and 12,
respectively, in parallelism with the surface 10. The apex of the
corner is defined by a decorative plastic bead 16 extending between
the adjacent ends of the skirts.
The panel is formed from a sheet-metal blank which, as shown in
FIG. 2, is cut to define a pair of edges 18 and 19 normal to each
other, said edges constituting the inner edges of flanges 14 and 15
in the finished corner. During the cutting operation, a second pair
of edges 21 and 22 are formed which project inwardly at 45.degree.
angles from points equally spaced from what would otherwise be the
juncture of the edges 18 and 19. The adjacent ends of the edges 21
and 22 are offset, as at 24 and 25, longitudinally away from the
inner ends of edges 21 and 22. The cutting operation also forms a
third pair of edges 27 and 28 which extend inwardly from the
offsets 24 and 25 and define the ends of the skirts 11 and 12,
respectively, in the finished corner. As shown, the edges 27 and 28
are at an angle of 90.degree. with respect to each other, and the
included angle between each of said third edges and its associated
second edge is 135.degree..
After the blank has been cut, it is bent along two pairs of bend
lines 30 and 31 and 32 and 33. The lines 30 and 31 are parallel
with the edges 18 and 19 and extend longitudinally from the offsets
24 and 25. The bend lines 32 and 33 are parallel with the bend
lines 30 and 31, respectively, and extend longitudinally from the
edges 27 and 28 adjacent their juncture. During such bending, the
metal is bent 90.degree. about the axis of each bend line so that
bend lines 30 and 31 define the junctures of the skirts and
flanges, and the lines 32 and 33 define the junctures between the
skirts and the panel surface 10.
As is shown in FIG. 2, the edges 27 and 28 are cut such that their
juncture 35 is the arc of a circle. The center of the circle of
which the juncture 35 is a segment is the juncture of projections
of the bend lines 32 and 33 and is indicated in FIG. 2 at point A.
The junctures of the offsets 24 and 25 with edges 27 and 28 also
constitute the arcs of circles which have the same radii as the arc
juncture 35. Thus, when the blank is bent into the corner
configuration shown in FIG. 3, the edges 21 and 22 will abut each
other, but the edges 27 and 28 will be spaced apart throughout
their lengths by a distance equal to the length of a chord
extending across the arc juncture 35.
After the blank has been bent into the corner configuration shown
in FIG. 3, it is placed in a mold 40, as shown in FIG. 4, with the
surface 10, skirts 11 and 12, and flanges 14 and 15 abutting the
mold faces. An adhesive filler material 42 is then injected as by a
nozzle 43, into the mold against the inner faces of the skirts 11
and 12, flanges 14 and 15 and bottom face of the panel surface 10.
The material 42 fills the space between the skirts 11 and 12 and
bridges across said skirts as well as the flanges 14 and 15. As
shown in FIG. 1, after the material 42 has been cured, the panel is
removed from the mold, with said material forming the bead 16
closing the space between the skirt edges.
The adhesive filler material 42 is a thermoplastic material which
can be injected into the mold in a fluid state and then will cure
into a rigid state to form the bead 16. Examples of such materials
are resins of the polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, and vinyl
copolymers. As will be understood, the adhesive filler material can
be color treated and the mold cavity can be contoured to give the
bead 16 and desired appearance and configuration.
The panel corner illustrated in FIG. 5 is like that illustrated in
FIG. 1 except that it does not have the flange 14 and 15. Thus, it
is provided with a panel surface 10' having skirts 11' and 12'
depending from the edges thereof.
The panel is formed from a sheet-metal blank which, as shown in
FIG. 6, is cut to define a pair of edges 18' and 19' normal to each
other, said edges constituting the bottom edges of the skirts in
the finished corner. During the cutting operation, a second pair of
edges 27' and 28' are formed which project inwardly at 90.degree.
angles from the edges 18' and 19'. As with the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1-4, the edges 27' and 28' are cut such that their juncture
35' is on the arc of a circle. The center of that circle, indicated
at A' in FIG. 6, is the juncture of projections of bend lines 32'
and 33' which are parallel to the edges 18' and 19' and define the
interconnections of the skirts with the panel surface 10'.
After the blank has been cut, it is bent through an arc of
90.degree. around the bend lines 32' and 33' so that the skirts 11'
and 12' project downwardly from the edges of the panel surface 10',
as shown in FIG. 7. As shown, the edges 27' and 28' of the skirt
are disposed in spaced parallel relation, the spacing being equal
to the length of a chord across the arc segment 35'.
After the bending operation, the panel is placed in a mold, and an
adhesive filler is injected therein between the edges 27' and 28'
to fill the space therebetween and bridge across the adjacent skirt
edges in the manner previously described in connection with FIG. 4.
This forms the bead 16' between the skirt ends.
While each of the embodiments has been shown and described in
connection with the manufacture of a panel having a right angled
corner, it is to be understood, of course, that the corner may have
any desired angle.
* * * * *