US3901064A

US3901064A - Apparatus for bending material in the edgewise plane

Info

Publication number: US3901064A
Application number: US534447A
Authority: US
Inventors: James J Jacobson
Original assignee: James J Jacobson
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
Priority date: 1974-12-19
Filing date: 1974-12-19
Publication date: 1975-08-26
Anticipated expiration: 1992-08-26

Abstract

A combination hand-powered bending apparatus and edge bending radius pin assembly specifically adapted to bend flat stock in the edgewise plane. This combination provides a means whereby flat stock of varying thickness and width can be clamped in the apparatus by the edge bending radius pin assembly element and bent in the edgewise plane to varying angles.

Description

United States Patent Jacobson 1 1 Aug. 26, 1975 [541 APPARATUS FOR BENDING MATERIAL IN 2,153,935 4/1939 Ncukirch 72/217 THE EDGEWISE PLANE 2,266,912 12/1941 Shaw, Jr. 72/219 X 3,729,975 5/1973 Monica 72/458 [76] lnventor: James J. Jacobson, 410 E. 6th St.,

N Y k, N.Y. 10009 ew or Primary ExaminerMilton S. Mehr [22] Filed: Dec. 19, 1974 App1. No.: 534,447

US. Cl. 72/388; 72/319; 72/219 Int. Cl. 1. B21D 11/00 Field of Search 72/217, 219, 149, 157,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1904 Budd 72/219 5 7 ABSTRACT A combination hand-powered bending apparatus and edge bending radius pin assembly specifically adapted to bend flat stock in the edgewise plane. This combination provides a means whereby flat stock of varying thickness and width can be clamped in the apparatus by the edge bending radius pin assembly element and bent in the edgewi'se plane to varying angles.

12 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTED 18251975 SE'ZET 2 [IF 2 APPARATUS FOR BENDING MATERIAL IN THE EDGEWISE PLANE Hand-bending apparatuses are well known in the art. Such benders, however, have necessarily been extremely heavy, difficult to set up, complex and expensive, unsuited for forming many shapes and incapable of conveniently bending fiat or ribbon-like material in the primary or edgewise plane. The primary plane is the plane parallel to the broad, flat surface of the material.

Prior art benders typically have been fabricated from cast and machined parts and are extremely heavy. For example, one such hand bender is constructed from multiple circular plates, concentrically mounted on a cast iron base. The topmost plate contains mounting holes for detachable clamping means for holding the material to be bent. Since the clamping means must vary with the size, shape and configuration of the particular material, a large assortment of clamps must be utilized requiring the user to purchase many complex accessories.

Typically, the middle plate of the bender incorporates a pivot means about which an operating arm rotates allowing the forming end of the arm to bend the material clamped to the top plate around a radius pin. The bottommost plate contains holes in which a stop rod may be inserted to limit the extent of travel of the operating arm. The mounting base is integral with this bottommost plate.

Such benders weigh 50 pounds or more and must either be permanently mounted on a base or work bench or moved into position by more than one worker.

Such benders are difficult to set up requiring a multiplicity of complex clamping means and various costly bending tools and radius pins. Further, if multiple parts are desired to the same drawing or specification, the various stops and gauges require laborius trial and error set up until the interrelated functions are satisfactory.

Other types of prior art hand benders have similar drawbacks, particularly, weight, size and complexity. In addition, they are costly to equip completely requiring many specialized clamps, radius pins and complex forming tools.

Most significantly, a common deficiency of all such hand benders is the inability to bend the material in the edgewise plane without requiring the use of a large assortment of expensive forming rollers and collars, each set being particularly suited to bending material of one particular thickness to a particular predetermined radius.

The combination of a bender and radius pin assembly disclosed in this application avoids these limitations of the prior art devices. The primary objective of this inventionis, therefore, to provide a simple hand-powered apparatus for bending flat material in the edgewise plane without requiring complex, single purpose accessories and tooling.

It is a further objective of this invention to perform the bending in the edgewise plane by using a handpowered bender that is easily portable and of such construction that it will be light in weight and inexpensive.

It is yet a further objective of this invention to provide a bending apparatus that can perform the edgewise bending operation by moving the bending arm clockwise or counterclockwise to make complex bends without requiring several different setups.

It is also an objective of this invention to provide a simple hand-powered bender that can perform bends in the edgewise plane in material of different widths and thickness without requiring extensive tooling.

Finally, it is a still further objective of this invention to provide a means whereby multiple pieces may be bent in the edgewise plane to the same specification without requiring the measuring of each piece.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects and features of the present combination invention, there is provided a simple mechanism comprising a bending apparatus element in combination with an edge bending radius pin assembly. The bending apparatus contains a body portion upon which is mounted a slidable clamping block adapted to hold the material to be bent against the radius pin assembly element. Once the material is firmly held between the clamping block and the radius pin assembly element on the body portion, a forming lever pivotally mounted on the body portion is rotated in a plane parallel to the material. This causes a forming pin which projects upwardly from the forming lever to engage the material. As the forming lever is further rotated, the material is bent to the desired angle.

When material is bent in the primary or edgewise plane, the combination of the compression of the material on the inside of the bend and the tension of the material on the outside of the bend causes the material to tend to deflect out of the plane. Consequently, the specific subject of this invention is to provide, in combination with a bending apparatus as described, a simple edge bending radius pin assembly which functions to hold such flat material in its primary plane while accommodating material of varying dimension, without the need for custom and varied assemblies during the bending operation. Specifically, when the material is held between the clamping block and radius pin, its flat position is maintained by a plane guiding means which is part of the edge bending radius pin assembly. Since the material along the inner surface of a bend in the edgewise plane undergoes compression and resultant thickening, the plane guiding means contains a provision to maintain pressure on the material during the bending operation while compensating for the increase in thickness. The plane guiding means contains a plane guiding plate fitting over the radius pin on top of the material so that the material is held at the sides by the clamping block and radius pin and at the bottom and top by the body portion of the bender and the plane guiding plate, respectively. The plane guiding plate is held in position against the material by a resilient clamping means creating a moderate compressive force during the bending operation to prevent the material from deflecting out of plane but allowing the plane guiding plate to move away from the body portion of V the bender to compensate for the increase in thickness of the material incident to the bending operation. Conventional hardware is utilized in the applicants invention to perform the guiding, compressing and clamping functions avoiding the necessity for complex and expensive tooling.

By utilizing a single bend locating gauge in conjunction with a bend limiting pin, duplicate bends can be formed in multiple pieces of material.

The apparatus of this combination invention is simple in structure, lightweight and easily portable. By utilizing the slidable clamping block in cooperation with the edge bending radius pin assembly, material of varying shape and cross section can be firmly held during the bending operation.

The above description as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present combination invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description of the presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bending apparatus showing the components of the edge bending radius pin assembly;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the bending apparatus containing the edge bending radius pin assembly;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the bending apparatus prior to the edge bending operation;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the bending apparatus during the edge bending operation;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top view of material bent to an angle of approximately 90.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the bent material taken substantially along line 66 in FIG. 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the bending apparatus showing large radius bending of material in the secondary or conventional plane;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of flat and round material showing conventional bends formed therein;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a coil formed by the bending apparatus;

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of the bending apparatus taken along the line l010 in FIG. 7 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 1 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the bending apparatus during small radius bending of material in the secondary or conventional plane;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary top plan view of the bending apparatus showing sharp radius bending of material bent in the secondary or conventional plane;

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of an alternate, small diameter radius pin such as that utilized in FIG. 1 l; and

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of an alternate, conventional radius pin.

This application is related to the combination of the hand bender apparatus element with an edge bending radius pin assembly specifically adapted to hold the material in the necessary orientation to enable bends to be formed in the primary or edgewise plane of the material. To fully set forth the details of this invention, it is necessary to also describe the bending apparatus and its use without the edge bending radius pin assembly to perform the conventional bending operation on material in the secondary or conventional plane.

Referring now specifically to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, the bending apparatus device, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, is comprised of a base portion 12 adapted to be fastened to a work surface by fasteners through holes 14 or to or to be held in a vise (not shown) wherein the vise jaws hold the base portion 12. The base portion 12 contains a vertical member 16, an upper horizontal body portion 18 and a lower horizontal body portion 20. A clamping block 22 is movably mounted on the top surface of the upper horizontal body portion 18 and contains side guide extensions 24 extending downwardly on either side of the upper horizontal body portion 18 in such manner that the block can only move axially along the top surface of the upper horizontal body portion 18. To keep the clamping block 22 in contact with that top surface, the side guide extensions 24 contain projections engaging the axial guideway 26 formed at the intersection of the upper and lower

horizontal body portions

18, 20 respectively. The clamping block 22 is moved axially by the rotation of a lead screw 28 engaging the threaded hole 30 in the vertical member 16. Clockwise rotation of the lead screw 28 by knob 32 causes the clamping block 22 to advance toward its clamping position and counterclockwise rotation to its release position along the upper body portion 18. The clamping block 22 can be locked in the desired position by tightening locknut 34 against vertical member 16, preventing lead screw 28 from turning.

The bending apparatus further consists of a replaceable radius pin 36 projecting vertically from the upper horizontal body portion 18. The radius pin 36 shown in FIG. 1 is the threaded radius pin assembly 62. Material M is placed between the radius pin 36 and the clamping block 22. The knob 32 of the lead screw 28 is rotated in the clockwise direction and the clamping block 22 is advanced toward the radius pin 36 causing the material M to be held tightly between the radius pin 36 and the clamping block 22 for the bending operation.

The bending apparatus further contains a forming lever 40 having a hole at the end fitting between the upper horizontal body portion 18 and the lower horizontal body portion 20 and adapted so that the hole in the forming lever 40 is aligned with the hole for radius pin 36 whereby the radius pin 36 is the pivot about which the forming lever 40 rotates. The forming lever, however, can be adapted to rotate about any point on the body portion of the bender adjacent to the axis of the radius pin 36. The forming lever 40 contains several holes 42, each adapted to receive a forming pin 44 in such manner that the forming pin 44 projects vertically upward from the top surface of the forming lever 40 and engages the material M when the forming lever 40 is rotated. Further rotation of the forming lever 40 results in bending of the material M.

In operation, forming lever 40 is rotated until a pre determined position is reached. This position is indicated by a bend limiting pin 46 that limits the travel of the forming lever 40. The bend limiting pin 46 projects vertically upward from one of the several holes 48 formed in the lower horizontal body portion 20. The particular hole 48 for the stop in 46 is preselected to result in a bend of a desired angle. The forming lever 40 is rotated until it engages the stop pin 46, which prevents further rotation of the forming lever and results in a bend in the material 38 of the desired angle.

As shown in FIG. 2 the edge bending radius pin 36 is held in position in the bender apparatus 10 by a fastener, in this case, a screw 50, which holds the radius pin 36 against vertical movement. The material M is placed on the top surface of the upper horizontal body portion 18 in the area between the radius pin 36 and the clamping block 22. A plane guiding plate 52 is selected from the assortment of plane guiding plates each having a different outer diameter. Each plane guiding plate 52 has a fiat portion 54 (see FIG. 3). The plane guiding plate 52 is placed over the radius pin 36 and oriented such that the flat portion 54 is on the side adjacent to the clamping block 22. The plane guiding plate 52 is selected by taking the largest diameter plate that will allow a space 56 to remain between the flat portion 54 of the clearance washer 52 and the clamping block 22 when the clamping block 22 is tightened against the material M, as shown in FIG. 3. A compression-type, lock washer 58 is placed on top of the clearance washer 52 and an elongated clamping nut 60 is used to complete the edge bending radius pin assembly 62. The material M is held in the edge bending radius pin assembly 62 with the bottom surface of the material against the upper horizontal body portion 18 and the top surface against the plane guiding plate 52. The combination of the compression-type, lock washer 58 and the elongated clamping nut 60 places a moderate compressive load on the material M to prevent deflection of the material out of the primary plane during bending. The compression of the compression-type, lock washer 58 accommodates the increase in the thickness of the material M along the inside edge of the bent material incident to bending.

After the material M has been captivated in the edge bending radius pin assembly 62 and clamped firmly between the radius pin 36 and the clamping block 22 the bending operation can be performed. The material M is bent by rotating the forming lever 40 from the position shown in FIG. 3 to that shown in FIG. 4. The forming pin 44 projecting vertically upward from the hole 42 in the forming lever 40 contacts the material M and forms the bend of the desired angle. FIG. 4 shows the rotation of the lever arm 40 to produce a right angle bend in the material M as shown in FIG. 5. A bend of greater than 90 is achieved by continuing to rotate the forming arm 40 beyond the position shown in FIG. 4.

In order to make identical bends in consecutive pieces of material M, a bend locating gauge 64 is provided whereby each piece of material M is placed in the edge bending radius pin assembly 62 in a corresponding position so each piece will be bent at the same location relative to one end of the material 38. The bend locating gauge 64 is comprised of a J-shaped piece of metal adapted to pass through the hole 66 in the clamping block 22. The gauge is held in position by a set screw 68 on top of the clamping block 22. The bend locating gauge 64 positions the end of the material M relative to the radius pin 36 assuring that the bend in each successive piece of material will correspond to the location of the bend in all the others. By utilizing the bend locating gauge 64 in combination with the bend limiting pin 46, it is possible to produce multiple pieces of material bent in precisely the same manner without further set up. The bend locating gauge 64 can be reversed to allow bending to be performed in either direction by moving the forming arm in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner.

As shown in FIG. 6, when material is bent, the material along the outer edge becomes thinner and the material along the inner edge becomes thicker. As a result, provision must be made in the edge bending radius pin assembly 62 to accommodate the increased thickness. When the material M is placed in the edge bending radius pin assembly 62, the elongated clamping unit 60 is only made finger tight and the lock washer 58 is engaged but not compressed. Consequently, when the thickness of the material M increases incident to to the bending operation, the resultant compression of the look washer provides a clearance for the thickening of the material M.

To perform conventional bending in the secondary plane, the edge bending radius pin assembly 62 is removable by unfastening the screw 50 and sliding the threaded radius pin 36 out of the upper horizontal body portion 18 of the bender apparatus 10. Once this pin is removed, a one-half inch diameter unthreaded radius pin 36' is inserted in its place. This radius pin 36' fits between the upper horizontal body portion 18 and the lower horizontal body portion 16 and provides the pivot for the forming lever 40. The radius pin 36' need not be fastened in place by a set screw since, unlike the threaded radius pin 36 for the edge bender assembly 62, the radius pin 36' will not be subject to a vertical or tensile load. As shown in FIG. 13 the radius pin 36' may be formed from a rod that has an upper portion of different diameters. The radius pin 36" of FIG. 13 will allow bends to be made of sharper radius than the onehalf inch diameter rod 36' of FIG. 14. Conventional bending is formed in the secondary or conventional plane by placing the flat surface material M between the radius pin 36" and the clamping block 22, as shown in FIG. 11. The clamping block 22 is caused to clamp the material M against the radius pin 36" by turning the knob 32 (not shown in FIG. 11) until the material M is tightly held. The bend is formed by rotating the forming lever 40 in the direction shown causing the forming pin 44 to bend the material M in much the same manner as the edge bending operation.

FIG. 7 shows the use of a circle die 74 about which the material M is bent. The circle die 74 is utilized by slipping the collar 76 of the circle die 74 over the radius pin 36'. Material M is clamped between the clamping block 22 and the circle die 74 and bending is accomplished by moving the forming lever 40 in the direction shown by the arrow. The material M is deflected by the forming pin 44 located in outer hole 42 on the forming lever 40. In such large radius bending thinner material can also be bent by hand instead of utilizing the forming lever 40.

A partial section view of FIG. 10 shows material M held between clamping block 22 and the circle die 74. The set screw 68 holds the bend locating gauge 64 in the position shown in FIG. 7 allowing multiple pieces having the same bend to be formed in rapid succession.

FIG. 8 shows the flat and wire material M and M" bent on the conventional apparatus described herein. These shapes can be formed by rotating the forming lever 40 the necessary amount. Due to the spring back of such material, it is generally necessary to overbend the material so that when the forming lever 40 is released and the material springs back, a bend of the desired angle remains.

HG. 9 shows the coil of material formed by the conventional bender. The inside diameter of the coil 78 is slightly greater than the diameter of the radius pin 36" around which the coil 78 is formed. Coil 78 is formed by clamping the material M between the clamping block 22 and the radius pin 36" of the desired diameter. A bend of approximately from the straight piece is formed by rotating the forming lever 40 in the direction shown in FIG. 11. Next, the forming lever 40 is returned to its initial position and clamping block 22 is released. The material M is rotated about the radius pin 36" and clamped by block 22 in the new position. The material M is further bent while in the new position by the rotation of the forming lever 40 and the above steps repeated until a coil 78 of the desired number of turns is formed.

Sharp bends can be formed in the material in the conventional plane as shown in FIG. 12. A sharp angle bending block 80 is placed over the radius pin 36. Sharp angles are formed by clamping the material M between the clamping block 22 and the sharp angle bending block 80. The bend is formed by the rotation of the forming lever 40 in the direction shown by the arrow. By utilizing the sharp angle bending block 80 it is possible to form small radius bends of greater than 90.

This invention relates to the combination of the bender apparatus 10 with an edge bending radius pin assembly 62. The procedure for forming the bending operation on the material in the edgewise plane is best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 and is substantially as follows:

The bend locating gauge 64 is adjusted into position and held in place by set screw 68. The material M is placed on the top surface of the upper horizontal body portion 18 in the area between the clamping block 22 and the threaded radius pin 36. Next, a plane guiding plate 52 of the proper width is selected as described above and placed over the threaded radius pin 36 so that it rests on top of the flat surface of material M. A compression-type, lock washer 58 is placed over the plane guiding plate 52 and an elongated clamping nut 60 (partially cut away in FIGS. 3 and 4) is threaded onto the threaded radius pin 36. The elongated clamping nut 60 is tightened until the assembly is just snug. The material M is clamped between the radius pin 36 and the clamping block 22 by turning the knob 32 in the clockwise direction.

Next, a forming pin 44 is placed in the innermost hole 42 in the top surface of the forming lever 40. After determining what amount of bend will be formed in the material M, a bend limiting pin 46 is placed in the corresponding hole 48 in the lower horizontal body poition 20. Finally, the bend is formed by rotating the forming lever 40 from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the appropriate position, such as that shown in FIG. 4 for a right angle bend.

Since the bend locating gauge 64 and the bend limiting pin 46 are each reversible and fully adjustable, the bending apparatus can be utilized to form bends by rotating the forming lever clockwise or counterclockwise. Similarly, it is possible to form multiple bends in the same piece of material in the edgewise and/or narrow planes by the successive bending operations using various radius pins and dies and utilizing the capability of performing the bending operation by rotation in the clockwise or counterclockwise directions.

Conventional bending in the narrow plane is performed by utilizing a radius pin 36 corresponding to the approximate radius of curvature desired in the ultimate bend. Material M is placed between the clamping block 22 and the radius pin 36' and the clamping block tightened by rotating the knob 32. Depending on the size of the radius pin 36' or circle die 74, the forming pin 44 is placed in the appropriate hole 42 on the top surface of the forming lever 40 and the material bent by rotating the forming lever 40. The direction of rotation will either be clockwise or counterclockwise depending upon the manner in which the material M is placed between the clamping block 22 and the radius pin 36' or the circle die 74.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: 1. A bender apparatus for bending material in the edgewise plane comprising a base, an edge bending radius pin assembly affixed to said base, clamping means mounted on said base and movable toward said radius pin assembly for clamping material and away from said radius pin assembly to a clearance position, a forming lever rotatably mounted on said base and having means for engaging said material when said material is clamped between said radius pin assembly and said clamping means to bend said material to a desired configuration about said radius pin assembly, said radius pin assembly including a pin of a radius complementary to the radius to be formed on the material, and plane guiding means retaining the material in the edgewise plane, said plane guiding means including a plane guiding plate coaxially positioned about said pin and clamping means engaged with said pin resiliently clamping said pin guiding plate on said pin clamping said material against said base.

2. The apparatus recited in claim 1 wherein said pin and said clamping means are cooperating to rigidly and adjustably position said clamping means at a selected position along the height of said pin.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said pin is comprised of a rod having a threaded upper portion.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said resilient clamping means is comprised of a conventional split ring lock washer coaxially positioned on said rod and a nut having a thread adapted to engage said threaded portion of said rod.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the plane guiding plate is comprised of an annular ring, the width of said annular portion greater than the width of said material, said annular ring further having a truncated portion, the width of said portion less than the width of said material.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said movable forming lever is pivoted on said base about said pin.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the means for engaging said material is comprised of a forming pin projecting vertically from said forming lever, said pin being engageable with material to be formed and said forming lever being mounted for rotation in a clockwise and a counterclockwise direction for bending said material.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said base has formed therein a plurality of holes adjacent said pin, stop means sized to be received in a selected one of said holes and engageable with said rotatable forming lever at a predetermined position during bending to selectively limit the degree of bending.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein said stop means is a pin.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said base has formed therein two or more holes for mounting said bending apparatus.

plate coaxially placed about said radius pin, a resilient means concentric to said plane guiding plate about said radius pin and a clamping nut threaded on said radius pin, said nut, when threaded on said radius pin, applying compressive force on said material through said resilient means and said plane guiding plate holding said material in the edgewise plane throughout the bending operation and preventing deflection of said material out of said plane.

Claims

1. A bender apparatus for bending material in the edgewise plane comprising a base, an edge bending radius pin assembly affixed to said base, clamping means mounted on said base and movable toward said radius pin assembly for clamping material and away from said radius pin assembly to a clearance position, a forming lever rotatably mounted on said base and having means for engaging said material when said material is clamped between said radius pin assembly and said clamping means to bend said material to a desired configuration about said radius pin assembly, said radius pin assembly including a pin of a radius complementary to the radius to be formed on the material, and plane guiding means retaining the material in the edgewise plane, said plane guiding means including a plane guiding plate coaxially positioned about said pin and clamping means engaged with said pin resiliently clamping said pin guiding plate on said pin clamping said material against said base.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein said stop means is a pin.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said clamping means is comprised of a block, a threaded rod adapted to move said block along said base when rotated, and means for rotating said threaded rod.

12. A bender apparatus for bending material in the edgewise plane comprising a base, a threaded radius pin projecting from said base, a clamping block slidably mounted on said base clamping said material between said radius pin and said clamping block, a forming lever rotatably mounted about said radius pin having means for engaging said clamped material, a plane guiding plate coaxially placed about said radius pin, a resilient means concentric to said plane guiding plate about said radius pin and a clamping nut threaded on said radius pin, said nut, when threaded on said radius pin, applying compressive force on said material through said resilient means and said plane guiding plate holding said material in the edgewise plane throughout the bending operation and preventing deflection of said material out of said plane.