Telescopic louvered cover with flexible plastic element
Patent Information
- Application Number
- DE202024002283
- Authority / Receiving Office
- DE · DE
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-02
- Publication Date
- 2025-03-20
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-12-31
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
field of technology
[0001] The technical solution involves a telescopic louvered cover with a flexible plastic element for cladding moving parts of production machines, especially for maintenance and to extend the service life of the machines. State of the art
[0002] Telescopic lamellar guards are used in some applications as a cost-effective and energy-saving replacement for standard telescopic guards. They also serve to trap dirt and debris from the manufacturing process. This prevents contamination of the machine axis motion system and thus damage to expensive components such as ball screws, ball screw nuts, rolling and sliding linear guides, and position measuring devices. Depending on the machine design, chips and swarf can be carried away by the machining fluid or fall freely and adhere to the housing segments.The liquid-tightness of the cover is ensured either by mounting the louvers on a sewn / glued bellows that channels any liquid that penetrates the louvers away from the protected area, or by the orientation of the louvered cover, where the cover is angled so that the liquid flows over it like a roof, ensuring that the upper louver always overlaps the one below. Louvered covers are also used in areas where liquid seeping under the cover is not harmful and the cover is only needed to catch larger mechanical particles.
[0003] The movement of the individual slats relative to each other during the extension or retraction of the cover is not mechanically bound in the sense of a fixed mechanical linkage that defines the exact position of the slat in relation to the adjacent slats at a given time. A fixed mechanical connection is primarily used in standard telescopic housings, where it is achieved through scissor mechanisms or chain / belt high-speed modules. The connection of the individual elements in the slat assembly is ensured by a sewn fabric bellows located beneath the slats. The fabric bellows, which is created by folding the liquid-tight fabric into an accordion shape, is fitted with clamps along the outer fold edges to which the individual slats are attached. The fabric bellows is also used where its use is unnecessary due to the position of the slatted cover, or where the ingress of small amounts of liquid is not harmful because at least some mechanical connection is required. The nature of the technical solution
[0004] The essence of the technical solution lies in the creation of a flexible plastic element from a chemically and mechanically resistant and tough thermoplastic film or sheet. Modified through appropriate plastic deformation, this element serves as a support for the protective steel lamellae, replacing the impermeable material. The flexible plastic element provides a flexible connection between the protective steel lamellae, to which it is mechanically attached. The stiffness of the flexible element can be varied and determined prior to manufacturing.
[0005] A telescopic louvered cover, equipped with a flexible plastic element according to the technical solution, consists of a flexible plastic element to which at least three identical, mutually displaceable louvers are attached. Each louver is made from a single piece of spring steel made of stainless steel with a thickness of 0.3 to 0.5 mm and a rectangular shape, forming a protective surface of the louver from above. One of the longitudinal sides of the louver is bent twice in the direction of the flexible element. The protective surface of the louver transitions by a first fold into an auxiliary surface of the louver, which transitions by a second fold into a connecting surface of the louver. The auxiliary surface of the louver has an angle α of less than 180° with the protective surface of the louver, and the connecting surface of the louver has an angle δ of less than 180° with the auxiliary surface of the louver.On the other longitudinal side of the lamella, the lamella protection surface closes with a cutting edge, which is formed by bending the longitudinal edge of the blade towards the attachment at an angle β of less than 180° to the blade surface.
[0006] The starting material of the flexible plastic element is a sheet or film with a thickness of 0.3 to 1.0 mm, which is formed by plastic deformation into regular, successive folds of equal height and length, forming an accordion (spring) shape. The edge of every second fold of this element is reinforced along its entire length by a 5 to 7 mm high rim of the plastic element, which forms a surface for the mechanical connection of the lamella to the flexible plastic element. This reinforcing edge is produced by welding the adjacent surfaces of the magazine along its longitudinal edge.
[0007] The auxiliary surface of the lamella is provided with at least two holes forming recesses, with two holes below each recess on the lamella's connecting surface forming recesses for the connecting clip. Each lamella is mechanically connected to the flexible plastic element at the edge of its second bearing by a steel connecting clip in the shape of the letter C. The reinforced edge gives the entire cover greater strength, increases longitudinal stiffness, and reduces the load on the connecting clip. The connecting clip joins the lamella to the edge of the nearest portion of the flexible plastic element via the connecting surface. A relief punch is used to insert the tool for securing the clip. The connection of each lamella to the flexible plastic element is thus achieved via a clamp located in each of the two projections on the lamella's connecting surface.By connecting the louvers to the flexible plastic element, a preload is applied to each louver. As the machine moves and the cover length changes, the preloaded louvers are gradually extended and move relative to each other. The maximum distance they can move closer together or further apart is determined by twice the height of the plastic element. The preload on each louver ensures that the enclosure is sufficiently tight to prevent the ingress of chips from the machining process and also channels away a greater portion of the coolant—completely in the case of vertical enclosures. Any residual coolant that penetrates behind the louvers is channeled away by the plastic element. When the louvers are attached to the flexible plastic element, each louver slides over the protective surface of the next, as the louvered cover is compressed and its edges fit snugly against the louver.
[0008] The louvered cover is not equipped with any other sliding elements that determine the cover's position. Between the edge of the louver's protective surface and the edge of the double flange, a cutout for cover guides is provided at both ends of the louver. The cover guides are fixed and located on both sides of the cover along its entire length, between the louvers and the flexible plastic element. The guides on both sides of the cover extend to the machine's working surface. Short title of the drawings Fig. Telescopic louvered cover - side view Fig. Telescopic louvered cover - perspective view Fig. : Telescopic louvered cover - Detail A from Fig. Fig. Flexible plastic element Fig. Flexible plastic element - Detail B of Fig. Fig. a) Louver cover in retracted position - L min (C); b) Louvered cover in extended position - L max (D) Fig. a) Clamp before compression - front view; b) Clamp before compression - side view Fig. a) Clamp after compression - front view; b) Clamp after compression - side view Fig. : Positioning of the slatted cover between the guides on both sides of the lid Fig. : Positioning of the guides between the flexible plastic element and the lamella - Detail C of Fig.
[0009] The technical solution is described below using an exemplary embodiment, which in no way restricts other possible embodiments within the scope of the protection requirements. Examples of the implementation of technical solutions: Example 1: Telescopic louvered cover with a flexible plastic element
[0010] According to the technical solution, the louvered cover consists of twenty-five identical, mutually extendable louvers 1, each louver 1 being made from a single piece of 0.4 mm thick stainless steel spring steel, having a rectangular shape and rectangular cutouts in two corners forming a recess h for guiding the cover. Each louver 1 is divided longitudinally by bends into four surfaces – a, b, c, d. The bends divide the surface of the louver 1 into an upper protective surface a, which is closed off on one longitudinal side by a cutting edge b exposed to cutting fluids and chips from machining, and on the other side the bends divide it into an auxiliary surface c and a connecting surface d.The cutting edge b is formed by bending the longitudinal side of the protective surface and the lamella 1 at an angle β = 1° to 10° relative to the protective surface a, at a distance of 10 mm from the edge of the flexible plastic element. On the other, opposite side, the longitudinal curvature of the protective surface and the lamella 1 transitions into an auxiliary surface c, which forms an angle α = 35° with the protective surface and the lamella. The auxiliary surface c of the lamella transitions by a second longitudinal curvature into the connecting surface d, which forms an angle δ = 63° with the auxiliary surface and the lamella. Fig. 1, Fig. 2) The second to twenty-fourth lamellae 1 have at least two sets of three cutouts, wherein in the auxiliary surface c of the lamella a rectangular cutout forming a relief cutout e is provided, and under each relief cutout e in the connecting surface d two square cutouts forming cutouts f are formed for the connecting clip 3 to connect the lamella 1 to the hem m of the flexible plastic element 2 ( Fig. 3).
[0011] The individual lamellae 1 can move relative to each other in such a way that their connecting surfaces d remain parallel to each other and the distance between them is smallest in the retracted state C (L min ) and in the extended state D is largest (Lmax) ( Fig. The cutting edge b of each knife 1 slides over the protective surface a of the adjacent lamella 1, and the preload created by the bending of the surfaces a, d of the lamellae 1 by an angle δ generates a pressure at the contact point between the cutting edge b and the protective surface a, which prevents the passage of liquids and contaminants between the cutting edge b and the protective surface a. The working position of the cover is such that the auxiliary surfaces c of the lamellae are perpendicular to the ground in the direction of the y-axis or the z-axis ( Fig. 6).
[0012] The flexible plastic element 2 is made of polypropylene and is assembled into k stacks of equal height 1 and length by mechanical deformation. Every second stack of this element 2 is additionally welded along its longitudinal edge by the application of heat and clamping force over the entire length of the stack up to a distance of 7 mm from the edge of the stack, thus forming a flange m for the mechanical connection of the lamella 1. The connection of the lamella 1 to the flexible plastic element 2 is effected by means of a C-shaped steel clamp 3 in the projections f for the connecting clamp ( Fig. ) and the hem m of the flexible plastic element 2 ( Fig. The louvered cover is not equipped with additional sliding elements that define the position of the cover on the machine guide.
[0013] Between the edge of the protective surface a and the lamella 1 and the edge of the double fold, a cutout h for the cover guide 4 is provided at both ends of the lamella 1 ( Fig. The cover guide 4 is fixed and located on both sides of the cover between the slats 1 and the flexible plastic element 2. It consists of a rectangular, elongated sheet metal approximately 3 mm thick, which is inserted along the entire length of the cover from the side of the cover into the cutout h at a distance of 10 mm to 15 mm between the slats 1 and the flexible plastic element 2. The cover guide 4 extends with one surface across the side of the cover and simultaneously reaches the working surface of the machine with the longitudinal edge of the other surface ( Fig. 9, Fig. 10).
[0014] When the louvered cover is extended and the first louver 1 moves, the flexible plastic element 2 is stretched in bends, thereby generating a force that moves the adjacent louver 1 via a mechanical linkage. This movement occurs with a louvered cover that is positioned so that the x-axis or z-axis is perpendicular to the ground ( Fig. ), simultaneously in all lamellae 1 and the movement of each lamella 1 thus appears synchronized to the outside ( Fig. ). Industrial applicability
[0015] The telescopic cover, equipped with a flexible plastic element according to its technical specifications, features a smooth, synchronous movement thanks to the mechanical connection of the pre-tensioned slats, eliminating the need for bellows beneath the slats. It is suitable for certain applications as a cost-effective and energy-saving replacement for conventional telescopic covers. Similarly, it is used to collect waste and debris from the manufacturing process, as well as in areas where the primary purpose of the enclosure is to trap larger mechanical particles. List of reference symbols: 1 telescopic cover strip 2 flexible plastic elements 3 Connecting clamp 4. Guide the cover A slatted cover in the folded position B. Slatted cover in extended position a protective surface of the lamella b slat edge c Auxiliary surface of the lamella d Connecting surface of the lamellae e Relief die-cutting f Punching for the connecting clamp h Punching for the cover line k Storage of the flexible plastic element j Height of the storage for the flexible plastic element 5 at the hem of the flexible plastic element x, y, z, coordinate system α, β, δ Span angle of the lamellar surfaces
Claims
[1] Telescopic slatted cover with a flexible plastic element (2), characterized by that it comprises a flexible plastic element (2) to which at least three identical, mutually displaceable slats (1) are attached, - each slat (1) consisting of a single piece of stainless steel spring sheet with a thickness of 0.3 to 0.5 mm in rectangular shape, forming an upper protective surface (a) of the slat, one of the longitudinal sides of the slat (1) being folded twice towards the flexible plastic element (2), - wherein the protective surface (a) of the slat merges by a first fold into an auxiliary surface (c) of the slat, which merges by a second fold into a connecting surface (d) of the slat, wherein the protective surface (a) of the slat has an angle (α) of less than 180° with the auxiliary surface (c) of the slat and the auxiliary surface (c) of the slat has an angle (δ) of less than 180° with the connecting surface (d), - wherein on the other longitudinal side of the slat, the protective surface of the slat is closed by a cutting edge formed by bending the longitudinal edge of the slat (1) towards the connecting element (2) at an angle (β) of less than 180° with respect to the protective surface (a) of the slat, - the flexible plastic element has a flat, rectangular shape with a thickness of 0.3 to 1.0 mm, formed into regular, successive stacks of equal height (j) and length, the edge of every second stack being reinforced over its entire length by a seam (m) of the plastic element with a height of 5 to 7 mm, - wherein the auxiliary surface of the slat is provided with at least two holes forming relief cutouts (e), wherein below these cutouts (e) two holes forming cutouts (f) for the connecting clamp (3) are provided in the connecting surface (d) of the strip, - each slat (1) being attached to the nearest edge (m) of the flexible plastic part (2) by a C-shaped connecting clamp (3) made of steel, which connects the cutouts (f) for the connecting clamp (3) to the edge (m) of the flexible plastic part (2), - and between the edge of the protective surface (a) of the slat and the edge of the folds at each end of the slat (1) there is formed a cutout (h) for the fixed guide (4) of the cover, which is arranged on both sides of the cover over its entire length between the slats (1) and the flexible plastic element (2), consisting of an elongated rigid film element which is inserted from the side of the cover into the cutout (h) between the slats (1) and the flexible plastic element (2), the guide (4) of the cover extending over the side of the cover.