Compact device for crimping edges of metal sheets, associated crimping unit and method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device (20) for crimping edges of metal sheets by folding one of said edges onto another one of said edges. The crimping device comprises a support member (22), and a blade holder (24) movable relative to the support member and carrying at least one crimping blade (26). The crimping device is characterised in that it further comprises an intermediate support member (28) pivotably mounted on the support member, in that the blade holder is mounted so as to be translatable on the intermediate support member and in that said device comprises an actuator (30) comprising a cylinder (25) connected to the blade holder and a sliding rod provided with a spherical distal end facing the crimping blade and configured to engage with a bearing part on a die (12) for receiving the edges of metal sheets.

Description

technical field

[0001] The invention of the present application relates to the field of assembling bodywork elements of motor vehicles by folding their edges.

[0002] The invention relates in particular to the crimping of the bottom of windows of openings or sunroofs of motor vehicles. Previous technique

[0003] Crimping is a cold assembly technique involving the bending of sheet metal, used particularly in the automotive industry for shaping bodywork components such as doors, fenders, wheel arches, and hoods. It constitutes a major step in the vehicle manufacturing process, as it generally completes the assembly of exterior bodywork elements directly visible to the customer and / or user.

[0004] The crimping of automotive vehicle openings is generally carried out either by robots using a roller, or by mechanical crimping units.

[0005] Crimping with a roller is performed using a programmable robot equipped with a crimping roller that moves along the edge of the body panel to be assembled. The main drawback of this type of crimping is its slow speed, due in particular to the need for multiple passes to perfect the assembly. However, current manufacturing requirements demand shorter production cycle times.

[0006] Another drawback of these robots is their size, which limits the available space in the assembly area. Indeed, to reduce production cycle times, it is common practice to increase the number of robots used. However, the number of robots is limited by their dimensions and their accessibility relative to the area to be assembled. In fact, some areas of the body panels to be assembled are inaccessible or difficult to reach with robotic arms. This type of problem can be encountered, for example, on the lower parts of the window frames.

[0007] To solve this problem, open-table crimping is commonly used. However, this type of crimping machine requires a die and blades specifically designed for crimping a particular type of body panel. Consequently, the main drawback of this process is its lack of flexibility, as only one type of body panel can be crimped. This is incompatible with current manufacturing needs, which require greater versatility.

[0008] Similarly, to improve versatility, crimping tools are generally mounted on mobile platforms. However, crimping on an open table generates significant mass and bulk, which are incompatible with the movements of mobile platforms.

[0009] These same problems are encountered with current crimping units, which are quite bulky and heavy, making them unsuitable for installation on rotating platforms. Furthermore, these units are expensive.

[0010] The published patent document FR 3 089 831 A1 discloses a crimping unit for crimping the bottom of automotive window openings. However, this unit is heavy and bulky. Furthermore, the forces applied by this type of machine, i.e. The electric motor or cylinder operating a connecting rod-crank system, during the crimping phase, is taken up by the crimping die and its support, on the other hand, the said connecting rod-crank system has limitations due to the absence of guidance, this imposes a significant dimensioning.

[0011] US patent document 2007 / 193325 A1 discloses the features of the preamble to claim 1. Description of the invention

[0012] One aim of the invention is in particular to correct all or part of the disadvantages of the prior art by proposing a solution allowing to reduce the size of the crimping unit.

[0013] To this end, the invention relates to a device for crimping the edges of metal sheets by folding one of said edges onto another of said edges, comprising: a support; a blade holder movable relative to the support and carrying at least one crimping blade; remarkable in that the crimping device also includes: an intermediate support pivotally mounted on the support, the blade holder being movable in translation on the intermediate support; an actuation cylinder comprising a cylinder linked to the blade holder and a sliding rod having a spherical distal end opposite the crimping blade and configured to engage with a support piece on a receiving die for the edges of metal sheets.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the mobile translational mounting of the blade holder on the intermediate support is parallel to the sliding rod of the actuating cylinder.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the mobile translational mounting of the blade holder on the intermediate support comprises at least two sliding rails, each with a dovetail section.

[0016] In one embodiment, the crimping device further comprises at least one spring-loaded cylinder fixed to the intermediate support and exerting an elastic force on the blade holder in the direction of translation. Advantageously, the at least one spring-loaded cylinder is a gas spring.

[0017] According to one embodiment, each of the spring-loaded cylinders comprises a cylinder rigidly fixed to the intermediate support and a sliding rod in contact with the blade holder.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the crimping device is configured so that the crimping blade moves relative to the intermediate support, towards the spherical distal end of the sliding rod of the actuating cylinder, when the blade holder is moved in order to crimp the edges of metal sheets.

[0019] The invention also relates to a unit for crimping the edges of metal sheets by folding one of said edges onto another of said edges, comprising: a die with a receiving face for the edges of metal sheets; a device for crimping the edges of metal sheets against the die; the crimping unit being remarkable in that the crimping device is according to the invention.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the die has a rear face opposite the receiving face and receiving the support piece, the spherical distal end of the sliding rod of the actuating cylinder coming against said support piece during the crimping of the edges of metal sheets.

[0021] Another object of the invention is a method for crimping the edges of metal sheets by folding one of said edges onto another of said edges, said method being remarkable in that it is implemented by a crimping unit according to the invention and in that it comprises: a pivoting action of the intermediate support; and a sliding action of the blade holder relative to the intermediate support.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the process, the pivoting action of the intermediate support causes the crimping blade to enter a window well of a motor vehicle opening and the sliding action of the blade holder relative to the intermediate support forms a bottom of the window of said opening. Brief description of the drawings

[0023] [ Fig 1 ] represents the crimping of a vehicle window bottom using a metal sheet edge crimping unit according to the invention; [ Fig 2] is a side view of the crimping unit of the figure 1 ; Fig 3 ] represents two perspective views of the crimping device according to the invention of the crimping unit of figures 1 and 2 ; Fig 4 ] is a cross-sectional view of the crimping unit at a first crimping stage according to the invention; [ Fig 5 ] corresponds to the figure 4 at a later stage; Fig 6 ] corresponds to the figure 5 at a later stage; Detailed description

[0024] The right side of the figure 1 illustrates the crimping of a bottom of a window of a motor vehicle opening using a crimping unit 10 according to the invention. The opening, in this case a vehicle door, includes an opening intended to receive a window.

[0025] The left side of the figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the right side of the figure 1 following section A-A'.

[0026] With reference to the left side of the figure 1 The operation of crimping the bottom of a window pane consists of folding one open sheet metal edge flat towards another sheet metal edge by inserting a crimping blade 26 into the window opening. The crimping is carried out against a receiving face of the sheet metal edges of a fixed die 12 of the crimping unit 10, using a blade holder 24.

[0027] In one embodiment, the crimping operation is performed after a pre-crimping operation of the edge of the sheet metal to be folded against the other edge of the sheet metal. During the pre-crimping operation of the edge of the sheet metal, said edge of the sheet metal is partially folded towards the other edge of the sheet metal.

[0028] Cross-sectional view AA' of the figure 1, represents the sheet metal edge intended to be bent before its crimping operation 2 and after its crimping 4 onto the other sheet metal edge. In this embodiment, a pre-crimping operation has been previously performed so that the angle formed by the sheet metal edge after pre-crimping and the sheet metal edge against which the pre-crimped sheet metal edge will be bent has a predetermined value. For example, the predetermined value of the angle is 45°.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the crimping unit 10 is fixed on a frame 40 intended to receive bodywork elements 15 made of metal sheets, the edges of which are to be crimped.

[0030] The crimping unit 10 for metal sheet edges, by folding one edge onto another, comprises the die 12 and a crimping device 20 according to the invention. The crimping operation is performed by the crimping device 20 against the die 12.

[0031] The receiving face of the metal sheet edges is designed to cooperate with a working face 27 of the crimping blade 26 during the crimping operation. During this operation, the sheet edge is pressed against the other sheet edge between the receiving face 14 of the sheet edges of the die 12 and the working face 27 of the crimping blade 26.

[0032] The crimping unit 10 according to the invention can be used to crimp a relatively linear area, such as for example a sunroof or the bottom of a sunroof window of a motor vehicle.

[0033] With reference to figures 2 And 3 , the crimping device 20 for metal sheet edges by folding one of said edges onto another of said edges includes a support 22, a blade holder 24 movable relative to the support 22 and carrying at least one crimping blade 26.

[0034] In one embodiment, the support 22 is intended to fix the crimping device 20, for example, onto a frame 40 arranged specifically to receive bodywork elements 15 with edges to be crimped. The fixing can be achieved by means of screws, which makes it possible to remove the crimping device 20 from the frame 40.

[0035] An intermediate support 28 is pivotally mounted on the support 22, this is achieved by means of the pivoting cylinder 34, the distal part 35 of the rod of the cylinder 34 is articulated on an axis 6 of the intermediate support 28, stops 28.1 and 28.2 belonging to said intermediate support 28 respectively ensure the repeatability of the high and low positions of said intermediate support 28.

[0036] The blade holder 24 is mounted movably in translation on the intermediate support 28, said mounting includes at least two slide rails 29 with, each, a dovetail section.

[0037] With reference to the figure 4 , the crimping device 20 includes an actuating cylinder 30 comprising a cylinder 25 linked to the blade holder 24 and a sliding rod 31 having a spherical distal end 32 opposite the crimping blade 26 and configured to engage with a support piece 16 on a die 12 for receiving the edges of metal sheets.

[0038] According to one embodiment, the mobile translational mounting of the blade holder 24 on the intermediate support 28 is parallel to the sliding rod 31 of the actuating cylinder 30.

[0039] According to one embodiment, the crimping device 20 further comprises at least one spring-loaded cylinder 38 fixed to the intermediate support 28 and exerting an elastic force on the blade holder 24 in the translational direction, said spring-loaded cylinder 38 may be of several types and is preferably a gas spring.

[0040] For this purpose, each of the spring cylinders 38 comprises a cylinder 37 rigidly fixed to the intermediate support 28 and a sliding rod 39 in contact with the blade holder 24.

[0041] According to one embodiment, the crimping device 20 is configured so that the crimping blade 26 moves relative to the intermediate support 28, towards the spherical distal end 32 of the sliding rod 31 of the actuating cylinder 30, during a movement of the blade holder 24 in order to crimp the edges of metal sheets.

[0042] To allow the loading of the metal sheet edges onto the die 14, the intermediate support 28 is in the lowered position, i.e. the pivot cylinder rod 34 is retracted and the stop 28.2 is in direct contact with the support 22, the rod 31 of the actuating cylinder 30 is retracted.

[0043] Simultaneously, at least one of the pre-stressed spring cylinders 38 exerts an elastic force on the blade holder 24, said spring cylinders 38 ensure contact of the stops 36 belonging to the blade holder 24, with the intermediate support 28.

[0044] In this configuration, the spring-loaded cylinders 38 exert sufficient force to overcome the gravity of the assembly formed by the blade holder 24 and the intermediate support 28, which would naturally be positioned low relative to the intermediate support 28.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the first movement of the crimping device 20 is a tilting of the intermediate support 28 around a common axis of rotation 8 with the support 22, said tilting is activated by the extension of the rod of the cylinder 34, the stop 28.1 is then in the upper position in contact with the support 22.

[0046] This allows the crimping blade 26 to be above the edge of the sheets to be crimped and its working face 27 to be opposite the edge of the sheets to be crimped, the crimping blade 26 is considered to be in a deployed position before crimping.

[0047] In the context of crimping a bottom of a window opening, the pivoting of the intermediate support 28 around its axis of rotation 8 allows the crimping blade 26 to be moved in (or out of) the window opening according to the direction of pivoting.

[0048] The distal spherical end 32 includes a crimping force take-up face 33, said crimping force take-up face 33 is opposite the rear face 17 belonging to the support piece 16 of the die 12 without these two faces 33, 17 being in contact.

[0049] There figure 5represents a configuration of the crimping unit 10 just before the crimping action. The sliding rod 31 advances until its spherical distal end 32 is positioned against the support piece 16, the crimping force-bearing face 33 is then in direct contact with the rear face 17.

[0050] The support piece 16 has a height-adjustable position by means, for example, of a sliding fixing system mounted on the rear face 13. Advantageously, the spherical contact between the crimping force-bearing face 33 and the rear face 17, combined with the possibility of height adjustment of the position of the support piece 16, ensures good support between the spherical distal end 32 and said support piece 16, this helps to limit the forces in the surrounding parts and to overcome a possible problem of parallelism between the support piece 16 and the distal end 32 in the case where their respective faces 17, 33 would have been flat.

[0051] The spherical contact between the crimping force-bearing face 33 and the rear face 17 is shown in cross-sectional view BB' of the figure 5 .

[0052] With reference to the figure 5, the spring-loaded cylinders 38 always maintain the elastic force exerted on the blade holder 24. At the same time, the crimping blade 26 is held relative to the die 12 in the same position as before.

[0053] There figure 6 represents the crimping unit 10 during the crimping operation. Pressure is applied inside the actuating cylinder 30 to extend its sliding rod 31 from the cylinder 25. The actuating cylinder 30 being positioned on the blade holder 24 and on the sliding guides 29, the extension of its rod generates a relative movement between the blade holder 24 and the sliding guides 29.

[0054] Since the crimping force-bearing face 33 of the distal spherical end 32 is in contact with the rear face 17 of the support piece 16, the rod 31 of the actuating cylinder 30 can no longer advance but continues to extend from the cylinder 25 of the actuating cylinder 30. Therefore, the blade holder 24 slides on the intermediate support 28, reducing the space between the crimping blade 26 and the die 12. The blade holder 24 leaves its extended position. The sheet metal edges are then folded between the working face 27 of the crimping blade 26 and the receiving face 14 of the metal sheet metal edges of the die 12. The crimping of the metal sheet edges is achieved by a relative movement between the rod of the actuating cylinder 30 and its cylinder 25.

[0055] During the crimping operation, it can be noted that the direction of the force exerted by the actuating cylinder 30 on its sliding rod 31 is reversed compared to the situations previously described.

[0056] Analyzing the chain of forces, we observe that these forces are closed in a "C"-shaped loop, without passing through the supports of the crimping unit 10 or the frame 40 supporting the die 12 and the bodywork elements 15, some of whose edges are to be crimped. Advantageously, the transfer of the crimping force at the rear face 17 of the "C"-shaped support piece 16 limits deformation of the crimping unit 10.

[0057] The method of crimping metal sheet edges by folding one of said edges onto another of said edges according to the invention therefore includes a pivoting action of the intermediate support 28 and a sliding action of the blade holder 24 relative to the intermediate support 28 in order to press the metal sheet edges against each other.

[0058] Advantageously, the construction of the crimping device 20 according to the invention, with simple pivoting and translational movements, reduces the mass and size of the edge crimping unit 10 for sheet metal compared to existing units. Indeed, the bending force is provided by a pure translation, which can be easily achieved with a hydraulic cylinder. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to use a motor driving a complicated connecting rod and crank system. This simplification of the mechanical parts also reduces the cost of the crimping unit.

[0059] Advantageously, working with an action / reaction system limits stress in surrounding parts and ensures the rigidity of the crimping unit despite its small size.

Claims

1. Device (20) for crimping sheet edges metal by folding one of said edges onto another of said edges, comprising: - a support (22) ; - a blade holder (24) movable in report with the support (22) and carrying at least one crimping blade (26) ; - an intermediate support (28) pivotally mounted on the support (22), the gate blade (24) being mounted so as to be movable in translation on the intermediate support (28) ; characterised in that the crimping device (20) further comprises : an actuating jack (30) comprising a cylinder (25) connected to the blade holder (24) and a sliding rod (31) provided with a spherical distal end (32) facing the crimping blade (26) and configured to engage with a bearing component (16) on a receipt die (12) of the sides of the blade. sheet metal.

2. Crimping device (20) according to claim 1, in which the assembly line movable in translation of the blade holder (24) on the intermediate support (28) is parallel to the sliding rod (31) of the actuating jack (30).

3. Crimping device (20) according to one of the claims 1 and 2, wherein the translationally movable assembly line of the blade holder (24) on the intermediate support (28) comprises at least two slideways (29) with, each, a dovetail section.

4. Crimping device (20) according to one of the claims 1 to 3, further comprising at least one spring jack (38) fixed to the intermediate support (28) and exerting an elastic force on the blade holder (24) in the translation management.

5. Crimping device (20) according to Claim 4, in which each of the spring jacks (38) comprises a cylinder (37) rigidly fixed to the intermediate support (28) and a sliding rod (39) made of contact with the blade holder (24).

6. Crimping device (20) according to one of the previous claims, in which said crimping device (20) is configured so that the crimping blade (26) moves by report to the intermediate support (28), towards the spherical distal end (32) of the sliding rod (31) of the actuating jack (30), during a movement of the blade holder (24) in order to crimp the edges of the sheets metallic.

7. Unit for crimping (10) metal sheet edges by folding one of said edges onto another of said edges, comprising : - a die (12) with a receipt face (14) of the metal sheet edges ; - a device (20) for crimping the edges of metal sheets against the die (12); characterised in that the crimping device (20) is according to one of claims 1 to 6.

8. Crimping Unit (10) according to Claim 7, in which which die (12) has a rear face (13) opposite the face of receipt (14) and receiving the bearing component (16), the spherical distal end (32) of the sliding rod (31) of the actuating jack (30) coming against said bearing component (16) during the crimping of the edges of metal sheets.

9. Process for crimping edges of metal sheets by bending one of said edges onto another of said edges, said process being wherein it is implemented by a crimping unit (10) according to one of claims 7 and 8, and in that it comprises a pivoting task of the intermediate support (28); and sliding task of the blade holder (24) by report with the intermediate support (28).

10. Process according to the previous claim in which the pivoting task of the intermediate support (28) causes the entry of the crimping blade (26) into a window pit of a motor vehicle opening leaf and the sliding task of the blade holder (24) by report with the intermediate support (28) forms a window base of said opening leaf.

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