Wallboard trim and building components and methods for making same

Abstract

A metal corner bead having a pair of flanges oriented in an L-shape and having a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge that each have been frictionally deburred. Other embodiments of the present invention comprise apparatuses and methods for forming such a metal corner bead.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to building construction components and, more particularly, to metal corner beads and other metal trim and building components with deburred edges and methods and apparatuses for making the same.

2. Description of the Invention Background

Interior walls are commonly formed from wallboards or drywall sheets that are attached to a series of vertically extending wall studs. The edges of the sheets are abutted next to each other and are attached to the studs by nails, screws, adhesive, etc. In those inside and outside corner areas, strips of metal trim commonly known in the construction industry as “corner beads” are attached to the drywall or wallboard and serve to form a rigid corner area between the adjoining pieces of wallboard. Corner beads essentially comprise L-shaped rigid strips of steel. Each corner bead has a pair of flanges that extend generally perpendicularly from each other.

In use, the corner beads are manually supported along a corner formed by two adjoining sheets of drywall or wallboard so that the metal side flanges overlap the adjacent drywall sheet. Nails or screws are driven through each of the flanges into the drywall sheets securing the corner bead in place along the corner edge. A covering layer of joint compound, spackle or the like is then applied over the corner bead and then feathered smooth over the flanges with the adjacent drywall to conceal the flanges and provide a sharply defined and aesthetically pleasing finished corner.

Conventional corner beads are commonly fabricated from coiled steel. As the steel is uncoiled, it is passed into slitting devices that slit the metal into strips having desired widths. Such slitting devices normally cut approximately forty percent of the way through the material. The material then breaks or shears apart along the cut line. Such action, however, can leave burrs and sharp areas along the edges of the slit strips. The slit strips are then passed into conventional rollforming dies that ultimately bend the strips into the desired shape. The shaped corner bead is then cut to length and then loaded into boxes for shipment to the consumer. The burrs and sharp edges can be hazardous to the purchasers and/or installers as they are removed from their shipping containers and installed on the drywall.

The above-mentioned problems are not uniquely associated with metal corner beads. Such problems may be encountered with virtually any building component that is formed from metal material that is slit utilizing conventional slitting methods and equipment.

Thus, as can be appreciated from the forgoing discussion, there is a need for a corner bead that has “safe” deburred edges and methods for economically making the same.

There is an equally important need for a variety of different metal building comments and trim components that have “safe” deburred edges and methods for economically making the same.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a metal corner bead comprising a first flange and a second flange integrally formed with the first flange and protruding therefrom. The first flange has a first substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge and the second flange has a second substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge. Another embodiment of the present invention comprises metal trim having a first portion that has a first substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge and a second portion that is integrally formed with the first portion. The second portion has a second substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises an apparatus for manufacturing a metal corner bead from metal material having an upper surface and a lower surface. One embodiment includes a slitter for slitting the metal material into a strip having a desired width and a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge. This embodiment also includes a deburring tool for frictionally removing at least one burr from at least one of the first and second lateral edges. The apparatus also includes a rollforming apparatus for bending the material into a substantially L-shape and a cutter for cutting the bent material into desired lengths.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention comprises a method of manufacturing a corner bead from metal material having a first side and a second side. The method includes slitting the metal material into a strip having a desired width such that the metal material has a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge and frictionally removing at least one burr from at least one of the first and second lateral edges of the strip of metal material. The method further includes bending the strip of metal material into a desired shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying Figures, there are shown present embodiments of the invention wherein like reference numerals are employed to designate like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a corner bead embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the corner bead of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a slitting arrangement for slitting a coil of metal into strips which may be used to form corner beads of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of the present invention for forming a corner bead of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of a deburring apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a right side elevational view of the deburring apparatus of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the deburring apparatus of FIGS. 5 and 6 with some components omitted for clarity;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged portion of the front elevational view of the deburring apparatus of FIGS. 5-7 with the second support member moved to an open position prior to insertion of the slit material between the first and second deburring assemblies;

FIG. 9 is another enlarged portion of the front elevational view of the deburring apparatus of FIGS. 5-8 showing the slit material in cross-section between the first and second deburring assemblies;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the present invention for forming a corner bead of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of a deburring apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the deburring apparatus of FIG. 11 with some components omitted for clarity;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged portion of the front elevational view of the deburring apparatus of FIGS. 11 and 12 with the second support member moved to an open position prior to insertion of the slit material between the first and second deburring assemblies;

FIG. 14 is another enlarged portion of the front elevational view of the deburring apparatus of FIGS. 11-13 showing the slit material in cross-section between the first and second deburring assemblies;

FIG. 15 is an end view of a piece of corner bead that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is an end view of another corner bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is an end view of another corner bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is an end view of another corner bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is an end view of another corner bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is an end view of another corner bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is an end view of a trim bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is an end view of another trim bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 23 is an end view of another trim bead embodiment that may be manufactured utilizing various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings for the purposes of illustrating the present embodiments of the invention only and not for the purposes of limiting the same, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate one corner bead embodiment 10 of the present invention that has a corner 12 and a first flange 14 and a second flange 15. The first flange 14 and the second flange 15 are oriented such that when the corner bead 10 is viewed from an end (FIG. 2), the corner bead has a substantially V-shape or L-shape. That is, the first and second flanges may be configured such that they are substantially perpendicular to each other (angle “α”=90° in FIG. 2) or somewhat less than perpendicular to each other angle “α”<90°) such that when the corner bead 10 is installed, the flanges 14, 15 are somewhat biased into contact with the adjacent sheets of drywall or wallboard to which they are ultimately attached. In other embodiments, however, the angle “α” between the first flange 14 and the second flange 15 could be greater than 90°.

The first flange 14 has a first lateral edge 16 and the second flange 15 has a second lateral edge 18. The first and second lateral edges 16, 18 each have been frictionally deburred and dulled utilizing methods and apparatuses of the present invention. As used herein, the term “burr” refers to “a rough or sharp edge or area remaining on the lateral edges of the metal material after it has been slit.” Thus, the term “deburred” as used herein refers to “the portion of the metal material wherein the rough or sharp edge or area formed on the metal material by the slitting process has been removed, smoothened or sufficiently dulled to eliminate or substantially reduce the likelihood of injury should one grip that area or otherwise brush a portion of his or her body against that area.” The term “substantially deburred” as used herein means that “most, if not all of the burrs formed into the lateral edges of the material during slitting have been removed, smoothened or sufficiently dulled such that the likelihood of injury resulting from handling or otherwise contacting the burrs has been minimized or completely eliminated.”

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a series of fastener-receiving holes 17 may also be provided in each flange 14, 15 for attaching the flanges 14, 15 of the corner bead 10 to adjacent pieces of drywall or wallboard utilizing conventional fasteners. In one embodiment, the flanges 14, 15 may each be provided with a series of shallow ridges 19 or other embossments to further facilitate retaining engagement between the corner bead 10 and the drywall/wallboard during installation.

FIG. 3 illustrates one manufacturing method of the present invention that may be used to fabricate a corner bead embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen in that Figure, the material 20 from which the corner bead 10 is fabricated may initially be provided in large rolls or coils 22. For example, such material may comprise carbon steel sheet that has been coated with zinc utilizing methods such as electrogalvanizing, electrogalvanizing/hot dipping, painting/hot dipping and galvannealing processes. The various materials employed may have a variety of different thicknesses (i.e., 0.007 inches-0.015 inches). As can be seen in that Figure, the coil 22 is supported on a conventional stand/de-coiler 24 that decoils the material 20. Such de-coiling apparatuses 24 are known in the art and therefore will not be described in detail herein.

As the material 20 is uncoiled, it is passed through a conventional slitter 26 that serves to cut the material 20 into one or more strips 30 having a desired width. For example, in one embodiment, each strip 30 has a width equal to approximately 2.50 inches. Strips 30 having such widths may be used to form a corner bead 10 for example that has flanges 14, 15 that are approximately 1.25 inches wide (distance “a” in FIG. 1). However strips having other widths may be formed. Such conventional material slitters are well known in the art and therefore will not be described in detail herein.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, the slit strips 30 are recoiled on a conventional recoiling stand 32 or stands to form discrete coils 34 of slit material having the necessary width for forming corner beads having desired final dimensions and widths. Such conventional recoiling stands 32 are known in the art and therefore will not be described in great detail herein. After the slit material 30 has been recoiled into discrete coils 34, those coils 34 may then be transferred for use in connection with rollforming apparatus of the type and arrangement depicted in FIG. 4 and collectively designated as 40 therein. In the alternative, the slit material 30 may be fed directly into corresponding rollforming apparatus after it has been slit into desired widths to thereby avoid the recoiling step described above.

Turning now to FIG. 4, one embodiment of the rollforming apparatus of the present invention may include a conventional decoiling 42 stand that is constructed to support a coil 34 of slit material 30 and facilitate the controlled uncoiling thereof. As the material 30 is uncoiled, it fed into a series of conventional side guiding mechanisms 44 and, for those embodiments wherein fastener holes are required, the material 30 then enters the conventional rotary punch die 46 wherein the desired number and arrangement of holes 17 are punched through the material 30. The construction and operation of such rotary die punches 46 are well known in the art and therefore will not be discussed in great detail herein. In this embodiment, the holes 17 are punched prior to the deburring operation. In other embodiments, the holes 17 may be punched in the material after the material has been deburred, but prior to entry into rollforming equipment wherein the material is formed into a desired shape.

After the punched strip of material 30′ exits the rotary die, it is passed through another guide arrangement 47. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, the guide arrangement 47 comprises a conventional cam follower guide assembly which horizontally aligns the material 30′. The construction and operation of the cam follower guide 47 is known in the art. Thus, the construction and operation thereof will not be discussed in great detail herein. Other types of guide mechanisms could also be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

After the punched material 30′ passes through the guide mechanism 47 wherein it is aligned and oriented in a desired orientation, the punched material is passed into one embodiment of a deburring apparatus or deburring tool 50 of the present invention. The operation and construction of the deburring apparatus embodiment 50 will be described in further detail below. In one embodiment, pressurized air 49 may be blown onto the material 30″ as it exits the deburring tool 50. Pressurized air could also be blown onto the strip of material prior to its entering into the deburring tool or both prior to entry and after it exits the deburring tool 50.

After passing through the deburring tool 50, the punched and deburred material 30″ then passes through another conventional guide arrangement 100 wherein the material 30″ is aligned and oriented in a desired orientation for entry into conventional rollforming equipment, generally designated as 110 wherein it is formed into the shape depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. The formed material then passes through another conventional guide 120 prior to entry into a conventional cutting equipment 130 wherein it is cut into desired lengths. Thereafter, the cut lengths of corner bead 10 may then enter a conventional stacking apparatus 140 for packaging purposes.

FIGS. 5-9 illustrate one embodiment of the deburring apparatus or tool 50 of the present invention. As can be seen in those Figures, the deburring apparatus 50 includes a base 52 that may be attached to a stand or other structure by fasteners that extend through fastener holes 54 provided through the base 52. In alternate embodiments, the base 52 may form an integral part of the rollforming apparatus 40. In this embodiment, the base 52 is fabricated from steel. However, other suitable materials could conceivably be employed.

Attached to the base 52 is a first support member 56. The first support member 56 is also fabricated from steel. However it could also be fabricated from other suitable materials. In this embodiment, the first support member 56 is removably attached to the base 52 by threaded fasteners 58. In alternative embodiments, the first support member 56 may comprise an integral part of the base 52 or it may be attached to the base 52 by suitable fastening methods (i.e., adhesive, welding, rivets, etc.).

The deburring apparatus 50 of the present invention also includes a second support member 60 that is movably supported on the base 52 for movable (i.e., sliding travel) towards and away from the first support member 54 as evidenced by arrows “A” and “B”. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the second support member 60 may be movably attached to the base 52 by a threaded fastener 64 that extends through an elongated hole 62 in the second support member 60. The second support member 60 is also slidably supported relative to the first support member 56 by an elongated fastener 66. The elongated fastener 66 extends through an elongated hole 68 that extends longitudinally through the second support member 60 and has a threaded end 67 that is received within a threaded hole 59 in the first support member 56. A portion 69 of the fastener 66 protrudes outwardly from the second support member 60 for receiving a spring 72 or other resilient biasing member thereon. In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 5 and 7, the spring 72 extends between the second support member 60 and the head 70 of the fastener 66 to apply a biasing force to the second support member 60 in the “A” direction. In one embodiment, the spring or biasing member 72 applies an approximate force of 3-5 lbs. against the second support member 60 to urge the deburring assemblies (described below) into frictional contact with the first lateral edge 16 and the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 as it passes through the deburring tool 50.

In this embodiment, a first deburring assembly designated as 170 is attached to or otherwise supported on the first support member 56 and a second deburring assembly, generally designated as 180 is attached to or otherwise supported on the second support member 60 for frictionally deburring the first lateral edge 16 and the second lateral edge 18, respectively of the slit material 30 as it passes in frictional contact therewith. See FIG. 8.

One embodiment of the deburring assembly 170 comprises a first lower insert 74, a first upper insert 76 and a first central insert 78. As can be seen in that Figure, a material opening space 80 is provided between the first upper insert 76 and the first lower insert 74 for receiving the slit material 30 therebetween. In one embodiment wherein the slit material 30 has a thickness of 0.007 inches, the first material opening space 80 will be approximately 0.100 inches. However, the magnitude of the first material opening space 80 would be dependent upon the thickness of the slit material 30 being passed therebetween. In one embodiment, the first material opening space 80 will be approximately 0.090 inches greater than the thickness of the slit material.

Likewise, a second lower insert 82, a second upper insert 84 and a second central insert 86 are attached to the second support member 60 as shown in FIGS. 5, 8, and 9. A second material opening space 88 is also provided between the second upper insert 84 and the second lower insert 82 and is the same in magnitude as the first material opening space 80.

In one embodiment, the inserts employed are substantially square and have four deburring ends. The inserts are removably attached to their respective first or second support member by threaded fasteners 90 or the like. As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 8, insert 74 has deburring ends 74A, 74B, 74C, and 74D. Insert 76 has deburring ends 76A, 76B, 76C, and 76D. Insert 78 has deburring ends 78A, 78B, 78C, and 78D. Insert 82 has deburring ends 82A, 82B, 82C, and 82D. Insert 84 has deburring ends 84A, 84B, 84C, and 84D. Insert 86 has deburring ends 86A, 86B, 86C, and 86D. Such arrangement enables the user to rotate each insert to orient an unused deburring end for contact with the slit material 30 as each end of the insert becomes worm. Thus, in this embodiment, each insert 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86 may be rotated four times to utilize each end before it becomes necessary to replace the insert. In one embodiment, inserts 74, 76, 78, 82, 84, 86 may comprise those ¾ inch square by ¼ inch thick carbon inserts manufactured by Kennametal Inc. of Latrobe, Pa. However, sizes and types of inserts or other deburring objects (i.e., deburring wheels, etc.) manufactured by other suppliers could conceivably be employed.

This embodiment of the deburring apparatus 50 of the present invention may be used as follows. The slit material 30 is introduced into the deburring apparatus by initially moving the second support member away from the first support member (in the “B” direction) by applying an opening force to the second support member 60 as shown in FIG. 8. To facilitate the application of this opening force to the second support member 60, a handle member 90 is attached to the second support member 60. In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 5-7, the handle 92 comprises a screw 94. Other means and mechanisms may be employed to manually or automatically move the second support member 60 to an open position. After the second support member 60 is moved a sufficient distance away from the first support member 56 in the “B” direction, the slit material 30 is inserted between the end 78B of the first central insert 78 and the end 86B of the second central insert 86. See FIG. 8. As can be seen in that Figure, a portion of the upper surface 31 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent the first lateral edge 16 is oriented adjacent to the first central insert 78. A portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the first lateral edge 16 is oriented adjacent to the deburring end 74A of the first lower insert 74. A portion of the upper surface 31 of the slit material that is adjacent to the first lateral edge 16 is oriented adjacent to the deburring end 76A of the first upper insert 76. Thereafter, the second support member 60 is permitted to move toward the first support member 56 under the biasing force of the spring 72. Such action serves to bring the first lateral edge 16 of the slit material into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 78B of the first central insert 78 and the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 86B of the second central insert 86. Likewise, a portion of the upper surface 31 of the slit material that is adjacent to the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 84A of the second upper insert 84 and a portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 82A of the second lower insert 82.

As can be seen in FIG. 9, as the first lateral edge 16 of the slit material 30 is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 78B of the first central insert 78, the burrs thereon will be removed or substantially smoothened or dulled. Likewise, a portion of the upper surface 31 of the slit material that is immediately adjacent the first lateral edge 16 of the slit material will be in frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 76A of the first upper insert 76 to remove or substantially smoothen or dull any burrs in that area. Similarly, a portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the first lateral edge 16 of the slit material 30 will be in frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 74A of the first lower insert 74 to remove or substantially smoothen or dull any burrs in that area.

The same frictional/abrading action is applied to the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30. In particular, as the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 86B of the second central insert 86, the burrs thereon will be removed or substantially smoothened or dulled. Likewise, a portion of the upper surface 31 of the slit material 30 that is immediately adjacent the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 will be in frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 84A of the second upper insert 84 to remove or substantially smoothen or dull any burrs in that area. Similarly, a portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 will be in frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 82A of the second lower insert 82 to remove or substantially smoothen or dull any burrs in that area. In one embodiment, pressurized air 249 may be blown onto the material 30″ as it exits the deburring tool 250. Pressurized air could also be blown onto the strip of material prior to its entering into the deburring tool or both prior to entry and after it exits the deburring tool 250.

After the material 30″ exits the deburring tool 50, it passes into the conventional rollforming apparatus 110. The rollforming apparatus 110 serves to pull the strip of material 30′ through the deburring tool 50. To initially load the deburring tool 50, the material 30′ is manually fed through the deburring tool 50 in the manner described above, with the second support member 60 being moved to the open position (FIG. 8). The slit material 30′ is manually pulled through the deburring tool 50 until a sufficient amount of material 30′ protrudes from the tool to enable the free end thereof to be fed into the rollforming apparatus 110 wherein it can be grabbed and pulled therethrough by the rollforming equipment 110 in a known manner. After a sufficient amount of material 30′ has been pulled or otherwise passed through the deburring tool 50, the second support member 60 is released to the closed position (FIG. 9) to enable the deburring and forming operations to commence.

Another embodiment of the deburring tool of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 10-14. This embodiment of a deburring tool 250 of the present invention is substantially similar to the deburring tool 50 described above, except that the deburring tool 250 lacks a first upper insert and a first lower insert as will be explained in further detail below. As can be seen in FIG. 10, however, the deburring tool 250 may be located and operated in the manner described above with respect to the deburring tool 50.

The deburring apparatus 250 includes a base 252 that may be attached to a stand or other structure by fasteners that extend through fastener holes 254 provided through the base 252. See FIG. 12. In alternate embodiments, the base 252 may form an integral part of the rollforming apparatus 110. In this embodiment, the base 252 is fabricated from steel. However, other suitable materials could conceivably be employed.

Attached to the base 252 is a first support member 256. The first support member 256 is also fabricated from steel. However it could also be fabricated from other suitable materials. In this embodiment, the first support member 256 is removably attached to the base 252 by threaded fasteners 258. In alternative embodiments, the first support member 256 may comprise an integral part of the base 252 or it may be attached to the base 252 by suitable fastening methods (i.e., adhesive, welding, rivets, etc.).

The deburring apparatus 250 of the present invention also includes a second support member 260 that is movably supported on the base 252 for movable (i.e., sliding travel) towards and away from the first support member 254 as evidenced by arrows “A′” and “B′”. As can be seen in FIG. 11, the second support member 260 may be movably attached to the base 252 by a threaded fastener 264 that extends through an elongated hole 262 in the second support member 260. The second support member 260 is also slidably supported relative to the first support member 256 by an elongated fastener 266. The elongated fastener 266 extends through an elongated hole 268 that extends longitudinally through the second support member 260 and has a threaded end 267 that is received within a threaded hole 259 in the first support member 256. A portion 269 of the fastener 266 protrudes outwardly from the second support member 260 for receiving a spring 272 or other resilient biasing member thereon. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 11, the spring 272 extends between the second support member 260 and the head 270 of the fastener 266 to apply a biasing force to the second support member 260 in the “A′” direction. In one embodiment, the spring or biasing member 272 applies an approximate force of 3-5 lbs. against the second support member 260 to urge the deburring assemblies (described below) into frictional contact with the first lateral edge 16 and the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 as it passes through the deburring tool 250.

In this embodiment, a first deburring assembly designated as 370 is attached to or otherwise supported on the first support member 256 and a second deburring assembly, generally designated as 380 is attached to or otherwise supported on the second support member 260 for frictionally deburring the first lateral edge 16 and the second lateral edge 18, respectively of the slit material 30 as it passes in frictional contact therewith. See FIG. 14.

One embodiment of the deburring assembly 370 comprises a first lower insert 274 and a first central insert 278. As can be seen in FIG. 14, a material opening space 280 is provided between a central portion 255 of the first support member 254 and the first lower insert 274 for receiving the slit material 30 therebetween. In one embodiment wherein the slit material 30 has a thickness of 0.007 inches, the first material opening space 280 will be approximately 0.100 inches. However, the magnitude of the first material opening space 280 can be dependent upon the thickness of the slit material 30 being passed therebetween. In one embodiment, the first material opening space 280 will be approximately 0.090 inches greater than the thickness of the slit material.

Likewise, a second lower insert 282 and a second central insert 286 are attached to the second support member 260 as shown in FIG. 11. A second material opening space 288 is also provided between a central portion 261 of the second support member 260 and the second lower insert 282 and is the same in magnitude as the first material opening space 280.

In one embodiment, substantially square inserts are employed. Each insert has four deburring ends and is attached to its respective first or second support member by threaded fasteners 290 or the like. As can be seen in FIGS. 11-13, insert 274 has deburring ends 274A, 274B, 274C, and 274D. Insert 278 has deburring ends 278A, 278B, 278C, and 278D. Insert 282 has deburring ends 282A, 282B, 282C, and 282D. Insert 286 has deburring ends 286A, 286B, 286C, and 286D. Such arrangement enables the user to rotate each insert to orient an unused deburring end for contact with the slit material 30 as each end of the insert becomes worm. Thus, in this embodiment, each insert 274, 278, 282, 286 may be rotated four times to utilize each end before it becomes necessary to replace the insert. In one embodiment, inserts 274, 278, 282, 286 may comprise those ¾ inch square by ¼ inch thick carbon inserts manufactured by Kennametal Inc. of Latrobe, Pa. However, sizes and types of inserts or other deburring objects (i.e., deburring wheels, etc.) manufactured by other suppliers could conceivably be employed.

This embodiment of the deburring apparatus 250 of the present invention may be used as follows. The slit material 30 is introduced into the deburring apparatus 250 by initially moving the second support member 260 away from the first support member 256 (in the “B′” direction) by applying an opening force to the second support member 260 as shown in FIG. 13. To facilitate the application of this opening force to the second support member 260, a handle member 290 is attached to the second support member 260. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 11, the handle 292 comprises a screw 294, lock washer 295 and nut 296. Other means and mechanisms may be employed to manually or automatically move the second support member 260 to an open position. After the second support member 260 is moved a sufficient distance away from the first support member 256 in the “B′” direction, the slit material 30 is inserted between the end 278B of the first central insert 278 and the end 286B of the second central insert 286. See FIG. 13. As can be seen in that Figure, a portion of the upper surface 31 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent the first lateral edge 16 is oriented adjacent to the first central insert 278. A portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the first lateral edge 16 is oriented adjacent to the deburring end 274A of the first lower insert 274. A portion of the upper surface 31 of the slit material that is adjacent to the first lateral edge 16 is oriented adjacent to central portion 255 of the first support member 256. Thereafter, the second support member 260 is permitted to move toward the first support member 256 under the biasing force of the spring 272 to bring the first lateral edge 16 of the slit material into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 278B of the first central insert 278 and the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 286B of the second central insert 286. Likewise, a portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the first lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 274A of the first lower insert 274 and the portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 282A of the second lower insert 282.

As can be seen in FIG. 14, as the first lateral edge 16 of the slit material 30 is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 278B of the first central insert 278, the burrs thereon will be removed or substantially smoothened or dulled. Likewise, a portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the first lateral edge 16 of the slit material 30 will be in frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 274A of the first lower insert 274 to remove or substantially smoothen or dull any burrs in that area.

The same frictional deburring action is applied to the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30. In particular, the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 is brought into frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 286B of the second central insert 286, the burrs thereon will be removed or substantially smoothened or dulled as the material is pulled through the tool 250. Likewise, a portion of the lower surface 33 of the slit material 30 that is adjacent to the second lateral edge 18 of the slit material 30 will be in frictional/abrading contact with the deburring end 282A of the second lower insert 282 to remove or substantially smoothen or dull any burrs in that area as the material is pulled through the tool 250.

After the material 30″ exits the deburring tool 250 it passes into the conventional rollforming apparatus 110. The rollforming apparatus 110 serves to pull the strip of material 30′ through the deburring tool 50. To initially load the deburring tool 50, the material 30′ is manually fed through the deburring tool 250 in the manner described above, with the second support member 260 being moved to the open position (FIG. 13). The slit material 30′ is manually pulled through the deburring tool 250 until a sufficient amount of material 30′ protrudes from the tool to enable the free end thereof to be fed into the rollforming apparatus 110 wherein it can be grabbed and pulled therethrough by the rollforming equipment 110 in a known manner. After a sufficient amount of material 30′ has been pulled or otherwise passed through the deburring tool 250, the second support member 260 is released to the closed position (FIG. 14) to enable the deburring and forming operations to be started.

The deburring apparatuses and methods of the present invention may also be used to deburr various other types and configurations of metal trim and building components without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate alternate corner bead shapes that could be formed utilizing the deburring apparatuses and methods of the present invention. The corner bead 400 in FIG. 14 may have an angle “α” of approximately 82° and the corner bead 500 of FIG. 15 may have an angle α of approximately 120°. Likewise, FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate in end view pieces of metal trim known in the industry as “bull nose corner bead”. The corner bead 600 of FIG. 17 may have an angle “α” of approximately 82° and the bull nose corner bead 700 of FIG. 18 may have an angle “α” of approximately 120°. Such bull nose corner beads 600 and 700 may be effectively manufactured with deburred edges utilizing the apparatuses and methods of the present invention.

Other types of bull nose corner beads could also be manufactured utilizing the various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 19 illustrates in end view a corner bead 800 known in the industry as a “kerf bull”. The angle “α” of such corner bead is commonly approximately 82°. FIG. 20 illustrates another corner bead 900 that is commonly referred to as a “J Round Bull Nose corner bead” wherein the angle “α” is approximately 82°. The various embodiments of the present invention could be effectively employed to manufacture these corner beads with deburred edges.

FIG. 21 illustrates a metal trim bead 1000, commonly referred to as a “J” bead. FIG. 22 illustrates a metal trim bead 1100, commonly referred to as a “U” bead and FIG. 23 illustrates a metal trim bead 1200 commonly referred to as an “L” bead. The various embodiments of the present invention may be effectively employed to manufacture the trim beads 10, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200 with deburred edges without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The term “trim” as used herein encompasses all of the above-mentioned beads and their variations. In addition, the various embodiments of the subject invention could also be effectively used to manufacture a variety of different types of metal building components that are formed from slit metal without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

As can be appreciated from the foregoing description, the unique and novel deburred corner beads, trim and building components and the deburring apparatus and methods of the present invention may provide a variety of advantages over prior corner beads and trim and methods of making the same. In particular, the corner beads, trim and metal building components of the present invention substantially lack burrs and sharp edges which may exist on other corner bead and trim arrangements. The deburring apparatus of the present invention may be easily incorporated and used in connection with conventional rollforming equipment commonly employed to form corner beads, trim and other metal building components.

The invention which is intended to be protected is not to be construed as limited to the particular embodiments disclosed. The embodiments are therefore to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is expressly intended that all such equivalents, variations and changes which fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims be embraced thereby.

Claims

1. A metal corner bead, comprising:

a first flange having a first substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge; and

a second flange integrally formed with said first flange and protruding therefrom, said second flange having a second substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge.

2. The metal corner bead of claim 1 wherein at least one of said first and second flanges has at least one fastener hole therethrough.

3. The metal corner bead of claim 1 wherein at least one of said first and second flanges has a plurality of ridges formed therein.

4. Metal trim, comprising:

a first portion having a first substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge; and

a second portion integrally formed with said first portion and protruding therefrom, said second portion having a second substantially burr-free, frictionally formed lateral edge.

5. The metal trim of claim 4 wherein at least one of said first and second portions has at least one fastener hole therethrough.

6. The metal trim of claim 4 wherein said metal trim is selected from the group of metal trim consisting of: square corner bead, bull nose corner bead, kerf bull nose corner bead, J-round bull nose corner bead, J-trim, U-trim and L-trim.

7. Apparatus for manufacturing a metal corner bead from metal material having an upper surface and a lower surface, comprising:

a slitter for slitting the metal material into a strip having a desired width and a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge;

a deburring tool for frictionally removing at least one burr from at least one of said first and second lateral edges;

a rollforming apparatus for bending said material into a desired shape; and

a cutter for cutting the bent material into desired lengths.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said deburring tool comprises:

a base member;

a first support member attached to said base member;

a second support member spaced from said first support member and slidably supported on said base member for selective slidable travel towards and away from said first support member;

a first deburring assembly attached to said first support member and oriented such that when said first lateral edge is brought into moving contact therewith, said first deburring assembly frictionally removes at least one burr therefrom; and

a second deburring assembly attached to said second support member and oriented such that when said first lateral edge is in contact with said first deburring assembly, said second lateral edge is in contact with said second deburring assembly to frictionally remove at least one burr therefrom.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said first deburring assembly comprises:

a first lower deburring insert attached to said first support member such that a portion of the lower surface of the metal material adjacent the first lateral edge is in frictional contact with said first lower deburring insert as the metal material passes through said deburring tool; and

a first central deburring insert attached to said first support member such that the first lateral edge of the metal material is in frictional contact therewith as the metal material passes through the deburring tool.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said second deburring assembly comprises:

a second lower deburring insert attached to said second support member such that a portion of the lower surface of the metal material adjacent the second lateral edge is in frictional contact with said second lower deburring insert as the metal material passes through said deburring tool; and

a second central deburring insert attached to said second support member such that the second lateral edge of the metal material is in frictional contact therewith as the metal material passes through the deburring tool.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein at least one of said first lower deburring insert, said first central deburring insert, said second lower deburring insert, and said second central deburring insert has multiple deburring ends that can be selectively oriented in a deburring orientation.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said first lower deburring insert, said first central deburring insert, said second lower deburring insert and said second central deburring insert each has four deburring ends.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said first deburring assembly comprises:

a first lower deburring insert attached to said first support member such that a portion of the lower surface of the metal material adjacent the first lateral edge is in frictional contact with said first lower deburring insert as the metal material passes through said deburring tool;

a first upper deburring insert attached to said first support member and spaced from said first lower deburring insert such that a portion of the upper surface of the metal material adjacent the first lateral edge thereof is in frictional contact with said first upper deburring insert as the metal material passes through said deburring tool; and

a first central deburring insert attached to said first support member such that the first lateral edge of the metal material is in frictional contact therewith as the metal material passes through the deburring tool and wherein said second deburring assembly comprises:

a second lower deburring insert attached to said second support member such that a portion of the lower surface of the metal material adjacent the second lateral edge is in frictional contact with said second lower deburring insert as the metal material passes through said deburring tool;

a second upper deburring insert attached to said second support member and spaced from said second lower deburring insert such that a portion of the upper surface of the metal material adjacent the second lateral edge thereof is in frictional contact with said second upper deburring insert as the metal material passes through said deburring tool; and

a second central deburring insert attached to said second support member such that the second lateral edge of the metal material is in frictional contact therewith as the metal material passes through the deburring tool.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein at least one of said first lower deburring insert, said first upper deburring insert, said first central deburring insert, said second lower deburring insert, said second upper deburring insert and said second central deburring insert has multiple deburring ends that can be selectively oriented in a deburring orientation.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said first lower deburring insert, said first upper deburring insert, said first central deburring insert, said second lower deburring insert, said second upper deburring insert and said second central deburring insert each has four deburring ends.

16. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said second deburring assembly is biased against the second lateral edge of the metal strip as it passes through the deburring tool.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising:

an elongated fastener extending through a hole in said second support member such that said second support member is slidably jounaled thereon, said elongated fastener having a first end attached to said first support member and a head portion on a second end protruding from said second support member; and

a biasing member between said second support member and said head portion of said elongated fastener.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said biasing member comprises a coil spring journaled on said portion of said elongated fastener protruding from said second support member.

19. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising a handle attached to said second support member.

20. A method of manufacturing trim from metal material having a first side and a second side, comprising:

slitting the metal material into a strip having a desired width such that the metal material has at least one lateral edge;

frictionally removing at least one burr from the at least one lateral edge of the strip of metal material; and

bending the strip of metal material into a desired shape.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the metal material has at least one first lateral edge and at least one second lateral edge and wherein said frictionally removing further comprises frictionally removing at least one burr from at least one of said first lateral edges and frictionally removing at least one other burr from at least one of said second lateral edges.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising cutting the bent strip of material into desired lengths.

23. The method of claim 20 further comprising forming ridges into the strip of metal material prior to said bending.

24. The method of claim 20 further comprising forming holes in the strip of metal material prior to said bending.

25. The method of claim 20 wherein the metal material is in a coil prior to said slitting and wherein said method further comprises:

uncoiling the metal material from the coil;

slitting the uncoiled metal material into discrete strips of metal material having desired widths;

recoiling the discrete strips of metal material into discrete coils;

uncoiling the discrete coils of strips of metal material one at a time for said frictionally removing burrs.

26. The method of claim 20 wherein the metal material is in a coil prior to said slitting and wherein said method further comprises uncoiling the metal material from the coil prior to said slitting.

27. The method of claim 20 wherein said frictionally removing burrs from at least one lateral edge comprises movably contacting the at least one lateral edge with a deburring assembly.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein said frictionally removing at least one burr from the first lateral edge and at least one other burr from the second lateral edge comprises:

movably contacting the first lateral edge with a first deburring assembly; and

movably contacting the second lateral edge with a second deburring assembly.