DIELESS SHEET FORMING APPARATUS WITH FLEXIBLE ROLLERS
Disclosed is a dieless sheet forming device including: two forming rollers rotatably disposed up and down to correspond with each other and bent to various curvatures; and a plurality of roller adjustment members whose one ends are fixed to each forming roller in such a manner as to be adjusted in length to adjust the curvatures of the forming rollers and the distances between the two forming rollers, wherein the curvatures of the forming rollers and the distances between the forming rollers through which a sheet to be formed is passed are adjusted to change the forming shape of the sheet. According to the present invention, the forming shapes of the sheet can be easily corrected if the desired shape is changed, so that the sheet forming device can be applied for small quantity batch production, does not generate dimples or wrinkles, can form even the edge portions of the sheet, and can form the sheet without having the limitation on the thickness or size of the sheet.
The present invention relates to a dieless sheet forming device, and more particularly, to a dieless sheet forming device that is provided with flexible forming rollers whose curvatures are adjustable, thus being adequate for small quantity batch production.
BACKGROUND ARTSo as to form a thick or thin sheet, generally, upper and lower dies 1 corresponding to a desired forming shape of a sheet 3 are made, as shown in
In this case, the conventional sheet forming device using the dies can produce sheets having the same curved shapes as each other in large quantities, but if a desired forming shape is corrected or changed, new dies should be made, so that the die designing cost and the production cost of the final product are all increased, thus being not adequate for small quantity batch production. Besides, even though the desired forming shape is not corrected, additional costs for keeping, maintaining and discarding the dies are needed when the dies are being not used temporarily or permanently.
So as to solve the above-mentioned problems, accordingly, there has been proposed Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1034592 wherein a multi-point sheet forming device includes an upper die 11a and a lower die 11b each having a plurality of punches movable up and down independently of each other, as shown in
So as to solve the above-mentioned problems, accordingly, elastic pads 25 made of for example an urethane material are disposed between forming punches 21a and 21b and a sheet 23, respectively, as shown in
Further, the conventional die forming device and the conventional multi-point forming device using the plurality of punches are restricted in the size of the final forming shape in accordance with the sizes of the dies, and so as to form a large-sized sheet, therefore, the final forming shape is sectionalized and formed. Next, the sectionalized forming shapes are bonded through additional mechanical process and welding to produce the final product, and otherwise, heat is directly applied to the sheet to form the curved surface of the sheet by using residual stress generated by the heat. However, such additional processes increase the forming cost and period of the sheet.
DISCLOSURE Technical ProblemAccordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a dieless sheet forming device that is simple in configuration to allow a forming shape to be easily corrected even if a desired forming shape is changed, while dimples or wrinkles are being not formed on the formed sheet, thus being adequate for small quantity batch production.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dieless sheet forming device that can form even the edge portions of a sheet, without having the limitation on the thickness or size of the sheet.
Technical SolutionTo accomplish the above-mentioned objects, the present invention proposed a dieless sheet forming device including: two forming rollers rotatably disposed up and down to correspond with each other and bent to various curvatures; and a plurality of roller adjustment members whose one ends are fixed to each forming roller in such a manner as to be adjusted in length to adjust the curvatures of the forming rollers and the distances between the two forming rollers, wherein the curvatures of the forming rollers and the distances between the forming rollers through which a sheet to be formed is passed are adjusted by means of the roller adjustment members to change the forming shape of the sheet.
According to the present invention, that is, the sheet is formed between the two forming rollers disposed up and down, which makes the configuration of the device simple and allows the sheet to be formed without having any limitation on the lengthwise size thereof. Further, the curvatures of the forming rollers and the distance between the forming rollers are adjusted by means of the roller adjustment members, which make the forming shape easily corrected, so that the device of the invention is adequate for small quantity batch production.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, each roller adjustment member includes an external member having an internal screw thread and an internal member having an external screw thread and is adjusted in length in accordance with the screw-coupled length between the external member and the internal member.
According to the present invention, like this, the curvatures of the forming rollers are differently adjusted by means of the length adjustment of the roller adjustment members, which produces sheets having a single curvature, a double curvature, a multi curvature, a twisted shape and the like.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the external member is fixed to one of two forming rollers, and the internal member is connected to the motor, so that the length of each roller adjustment member can be adjusted through the rotation of the motor. Each roller adjustment member may be connected to a separate motor, and otherwise, the plurality of roller adjustment members may be adjusted in lengths through the movement of a single motor or a plurality of motors. Like this, the lengths of the roller adjustment members can be easily adjusted through the motors.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the end of the external member fixed to one of two forming rollers is rotatably provided with a roller guide, which has a recess having a shape of major arc (an arc bigger than a semicircle), into which the forming roller is fittedly inserted. That is, while each forming roller is being fittedly mounted into the rotatable recesses of the roller guides thereof, the roller adjustment members are adjusted in lengths to easily change the various curvatures of the forming roller.
According to the present invention, the sheet to be formed is inserted between the two forming rollers and pulled so as to be passed through between the forming rollers, thus completing the forming operation of the sheet. One of the forming rollers may be connected and rotated at both ends thereof to roller rotation motors, and otherwise, both of the forming rollers may be drove by the roller rotation motors. In this case, the sheet engaged with the forming rollers is pushed and formed through the rotation of the roller rotation motors.
Each forming roller is made of steel having high modulus of elasticity. Solid bar-type rollers can be treated through heat treatment allowing an adequate elastic behavior during forming procedure. Alternatively, each forming roller is wound by a plurality of steel wires, and at this time, desirably, the steel wire wound on the outer peripheral surface of each forming roller becomes flat on an outside surface contacted with the sheet, through grinding. Otherwise, the steel wire wound on the outer peripheral surface of each forming roller has an oval section to allow the outside surface contacted with the sheet to be flat. Like this, the sheet is formed along the continuously curved surfaces of the forming rollers having flat outer peripheral surfaces, thus providing the sheet having a smooth formed surface on which no local dimples or wrinkles exist.
Advantageous EffectsThe dieless sheet forming device according to the present invention can adjust the shapes of the upper and lower forming rollers and the distance between them to form a sheet, and can be accordingly simple in configuration and relatively small in installation area, thus greatly reducing the die production cost, the die storing cost and the die maintenance cost.
The curvatures of the forming rollers and the distances between them can be adjusted by means of the roller adjustment members, thus performing various changes in the forming shapes, so that the device can be adequate for small quantity batch production and can form a large-sized sheet, without having any limitation on the length of the sheet, thus needing no additional mechanical process.
The sheet can be formed along the continuous curved surfaces of the forming rollers, without having any punches, so that even the edges of the sheet can be formed and no dimples or wrinkles is formed even on a thin sheet.
Hereinafter, an explanation on a dieless sheet forming device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be in detail given with reference to the attached drawings.
Each of the forming rollers 101a and 101b is equipped with a plurality of roller adjustment members 103 so as to adjust the curvature.
So as to easily adjust the length of the roller adjustment member 103, as shown in
The respective internal members 107 are rotated by means of the single motor or the plurality of motors, thus adjusting the lengths of the roller adjustment members 103, and accordingly, the shape of the forming roller connected to one ends of the external members 105 and the distance between the upper and lower forming rollers 101a and 101b can be adjusted.
Returning to
Further, as shown in
Like this, since the sheet 102 is formed through the adjustment of the shapes of the forming rollers 101a and 101b and the distance between them, the forming shapes of the sheet 102 can be simply corrected in accordance with the changes of the desired forming shapes of the sheet 102. Further, the forming rollers 101a and 101b providing the continuous forming surfaces are rotated while interposing the sheet 102 therebetween, thus forming the sheet 102, so that no dimples or wrinkles exist.
Hereinafter, examples of forming the sheet through the dieless sheet forming device according to the present invention will be in detail explained.
In the dieless sheet forming device 100 according to the present invention, the forming shapes of the sheet 102 are determined upon the curvatures of the two forming rollers 101a and 101b corresponding up and down with each other and the distance between them. That is, a length of the formed sheet 102 becomes longer as the gap between the forming rollers 101a and 101b is narrower, and contrarily, a length of the formed sheet 102 is shorter as the gap between the forming rollers 101a and 101b is wider. Under the above principle, the curved surface of the sheet 102 is formed.
For example, as shown in
Further, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
The curvatures and distances of the forming rollers 101a and 101 are adjusted to various sheets by means of the length adjustment of the roller adjustment members 103, and accordingly, the sheet 102 can be formed to various shapes. Therefore, the sheet forming device according to the present invention can be applied for small quantity batch production, can form even the edge portions of the sheet, and can form the sheet without having the limitation on the length of the sheet.
While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. A dieless sheet forming device comprising: wherein the curvatures of the forming rollers and the distances between the forming rollers through which a sheet to be formed is passed are adjusted by means of the roller adjustment members to change the forming shape of the sheet.
- two forming rollers rotatably disposed up and down to correspond with each other and bent to various curvatures; and
- a plurality of roller adjustment members whose one ends are fixed to each forming roller in such a manner as to be adjusted in length to adjust the curvatures of the forming rollers and the distances between the two forming rollers,
2. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 1, wherein each roller adjustment member comprises an external member having an internal screw thread and an internal member having an external screw thread and is adjusted in length in accordance with the screw-coupled length between the external member and the internal member.
3. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 2, wherein the external member is fixed to one of the forming rollers, and the internal member is connected to the motor, so that the length of each roller adjustment member is adjusted through the rotation of the motor.
4. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 2, wherein the external member is fixed to one of the forming rollers, and each roller adjustment member has a roller guide disposed rotatably at the end of the external member fixed to the forming roller, the roller guide having a recess of a major arc shape, into which the forming roller is fittedly inserted.
5. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet to be formed is inserted between the two forming rollers and pulled so as to be passed through between the forming rollers, thus completing the forming of the sheet.
6. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 1, wherein one or both forming rollers are connected at both ends thereof to roller rotation motors, so that the sheet engaged with the forming rollers is pushed and formed through the rotation of the roller rotation motors.
7. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 1, wherein each forming roller is wound by steel wires on the outer peripheral surface.
8. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 7, wherein the steel wire wound on an outmost surface of each forming roller contacted with the sheet becomes flat through grinding.
9. The dieless sheet forming device according to claim 7, wherein the steel wire wound on an outmost surface of each forming roller contacted with the sheet has an oval section.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 27, 2013
Publication Date: Aug 4, 2016
Inventors: Beom-Soo KANG (Busan), Jun-Seok YOON (Gyeongsangnam-Do)
Application Number: 14/361,674