APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SLEEVE OR SHEET CORRUGATION
An apparatus and method for the forming of corrugations in cylindrical objects or plain sheets, which include but no limited to two or more rotating spline or keyed shafts with internally grooved sliding wheels. Springs or collars with elastic properties are located between sliding wheels to allow them to keep predetermined distance which varies under axial forces.
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This application is based upon U.S. Patent Application No. 60/762,889, filed on Jan. 30, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated-by-reference thereto in its entirety and the priority of which is claimed under 35 USC 119(e).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for forming a tube or sheet with corrugations. Such sheets or tubes/sleeves can be made of metal or other materials suited for the method and apparatus described herein.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
The equipment used for corrugating of sheets is equipped with plural roll stands in their progressive line. This kind of progressive rollformers with different but fixed distance between wheels in each stand is represented, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,311.
There are different solutions to produce corrugated pipe. Almost all of them have intricate kinematics and need complicated adjustments to fit pipe diameter or to change pitch dimension. Moreover, most of these apparatus stretch corrugating workpiece, and thus create undesirable stresses in the material. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,690,137; 4,619,131; 5,056,348; 6,073,473; 6,282,939; 6,550,300; 6,789,318.
An apparatus such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,691 includes sliding wheels. However, displacement of these wheels needs very fine adjustment. Moreover, making more than two corrugated waves at the same time needs too intricate kinematics and operation complexity. Finally, the changing of pitch dimension is fully impossible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and method to fabricate corrugated sleeves and or sheets, which enables:
-
- Use one set of two or more rotating shafts with the needed quantity of sliding wheels to make plural quantity of corrugating waves;
- Easily change pitch of corrugations;
- Make different pitches and shapes of corrugation in the same workpiece;
- Easily change length and diameter of the corrugated sleeves;
- Easily change width and length of the corrugated sheets;
- Minimize material stretching because of automatically adjusted distance between sliding wheels.
In accomplishing the above object, the invention relates to an apparatus for the forming of corrugations in sleeves or sheets, which includes the following: a mechanism for shafts rotating, two or more rotating shafts with longitudinal grooves or keys, sliding in axial direction wheels with internal grooves located on the said shaft, springs or collars with elastic properties placed between sliding wheels.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, which follows, when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:
Shown in
The aforementioned apparatus operates in the manner described below.
First, the apparatus for the forming corrugations in sleeves or sheets is provided with the certain quantity of sliding wheels 3 and 4 and with certain length of elastic collars 9. Double wheels 5 flanks in position depend on initial width of the workpiece 6. Restricting wheels 7 and 8 are fixed on the shaft 1 and 2. The distance between said wheels 8 slightly bigger than the initial width of the workpiece 6. At the same time, said wheels 7 and 8 compress respective set of the collars 9 with the small initial force.
In the case (see
Now, workpiece 6 is placed between shafts 1 and 2, and rotation of the shafts 1 and 2 is started. At the same time, said shafts start to displace toward each other, and said wheels 3 and 4 start to corrugate workpiece 6 by mostly collecting material of said workpiece along said shafts.
Claims
1. An apparatus for corrugating sleeves and/or sheets, said apparatus comprising:
- at least two rotatable shafts having longitudinal grooves or keys to transfer rotational movement
- a mechanism to rotate said two shafts;
- a plurality of wheels adapted to slide in an axial direction with internal grooves or keys located on said shafts; and
- elastic collars placed between said sliding wheels.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
- said at least two rotatable shafts comprise more than two rotatable shafts.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
- some of said sliding wheels comprise at least one annular groove.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
- said sliding wheels have different thicknesses and diameters.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
- some of said sliding wheels are provided with a variable width of said annular groove.
6. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
- restricting wheels fixed on said shafts.
7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
- said elastic collars are provided with different axial lengths.
8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
- said elastic collars are made from different elastic materials.
9. A method of corrugating a sleeve and/or a sheet using the apparatus of claim 1.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 29, 2007
Publication Date: Aug 2, 2007
Applicant: LINK-PIPE, INC. (Richmond Hill)
Inventors: Lembit Maimets (Richmond Hill), Garry Gladstein (Richmond Hill)
Application Number: 11/668,262
International Classification: B21B 31/18 (20060101);