Patents by Inventor Brian D. Hudock

Brian D. Hudock has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Apparatus and method for joining sheet metal layers
    Patent number: 6052887
    Abstract: A method for joining together two superimposed sheet metal layers includes clamping the sheet metal layers together on a base and positioning a resiliently deformable hemming bead adjacent the superimposed layers. One of the layers includes an outer peripheral flange that extends beyond the outer peripheral edge of the other layer. An anvil has a lower face that follows the bead around the periphery of the superimposed layers and presses against the bead to deform the bead toward the flange. Deformation of the hemming bead causes the peripheral flange of the one layer to bend around the peripheral edge of the other layer in a single operation to thereby join the superimposed sheet metal layers together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2000
    Assignee: Tower Automotive
    Inventors: Lawrence M. Dziadosz, Brian D. Hudock