Expanding apparatus for manufacturing micro-expanded metal mesh foil sheets

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the manufacture of expanded metal and to an expanding apparatus for expanding very thin metal foil sheets (12.5 μm to 100 μm thickness). The subject thin foils will be expanded with sub-millimeter size tooth blades for very small pore sizes, and advanced in small increments for uniform hole or pore distribution. The expanding blade may comprise between 400 and 1440 teeth per inch which may provide a range of pore sizes from roughly 5-6 μm up to about 48-50 μm. The expanding apparatus generally comprises a polymer concrete machine base, a granite expander frame atop the base, stationary lower blade mount and fixed blade mount, an upper blade actuator assembly including piezo actuator driven reciprocating blade assembly which moves up and down and side to side cooperating with the fixed blade to expand metal passing through the head.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a non-provisional filing of, and claims the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63 / 746,928 , filed Jan. 18, 2025, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE(1) Field of the Invention

[0002] The instant invention generally relates to the manufacture of expanded metals, and more particularly to a novel metal-mesh micro-expanding apparatus for use in expanding sub-100 micron thickness metal foil sheets.(2) Description of Related Art

[0003] Metal expanding is a metal forming process initially developed in 1884 in which a blade with defined tooth pitch reciprocates up and down and left and right, to create predictable, repeatable well-defined openings as the metal sheet advances through the expander (see FIG. 1).

[0004] Expanded metal has diverse applications as structural components, energy absorbing materials, filters, electrodes for battery applications, etc.

[0005] Properties include high strength and rigidity, mass efficiency, and high porosity. Expanded metal is highly economical due to its production directly from sheet metal with near zero waste material.

[0006] For these reasons, in addition to the predictable, repeatable nature of expanded metal openings, components utilizing metal foam, porous sinters, conventional metal mesh or woven metal wire are often replaced by expanded-metal components when possible. However, current expanding technologies are limited by expanding blades and apparatus that accommodate a tooth pitch down to only about 1 mm.

[0007] As metal expanding techniques progress to smaller pore sizes and thinner metal sheets and foils, there is a need for a precision expanding apparatus that can handle the unique dynamic characteristics of advancing and expanding very thin metal foils.SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0008] The instant invention relates to the manufacture of expanded metal, and more particularly to a novel expanding apparatus for expanding very thin metal foil sheets (12.5 μm to 100 μm thickness). As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the subject thin foils will be expanded with sub-millimeter size tooth blades for very small pore sizes, and advanced in small increments for uniform hole or pore distribution. In the present disclosure, it is contemplated that the expanding blade may comprise between 400 and 1440 teeth per inch. A 1400 tooth per inch pitch equals a tooth spacing of 18 μm with a tooth depth of about 38 μm. Reciprocating travel of the expanding blade is limited to about ⅔ of the depth of the teeth to prevent breakage, wherein the exemplary teeth may provide a range of pore sizes from roughly 5-6 μm up to about 12-13 μm (representing about ⅔ of the blade pitch). Scaling the tooth sizes up to 400 teeth per inch would result in a pitch of about 63 μm and a tooth depth of about 133 μm with a flat end of about 12-17.6 μm and providing a range of pore sizes from about 12-13μm to about 48-50 μm. As one in the art can appreciate, the scale of the present system is roughly 10× smaller than previously attempted.

[0009] The expanding apparatus generally comprises a machine base, an expander frame atop the base, stationary lower blade mount and fixed blade mount, an upper blade actuator assembly including a reciprocating blade assembly which moves up and down and side to side (see arrows) cooperating with the fixed blade to expand metal passing through the head, and a feed and guide assembly for guiding the thin foils into the expanding blades.

[0010] It is contemplated that the expanding head may operate at speeds of up to 3000 cycles per minute creating significant vibration. The machine base is formed from solid polymer concrete for superior vibration damping. The base includes damping and leveling feet.

[0011] The expanding frame comprises 4 separate slabs of solid granite including a bottom, left and right side walls and a top. The expanding frame is secured to the machine base with appropriate fasteners and an epoxy adhesive to ensure vibration from the expanding head propagates through to the base.

[0012] The feed and guide system may comprise a lower drive roller paired with an upper follower roller, upper and lower forward guide platens cooperating to define a forward guide channel forward of the roller pair, and upper and lower rearward guide platens cooperating to define a rearward guide channel leading into the roller pair.

[0013] The lower blade mount and lower blade are secured to the frame bottom slab. The upper blade actuator assembly is secured to the frame top slab hanging down over the bottom blade in alignment for cooperation with the bottom blade. In order to achieve critical high speed, accurate and consistent repeatable movement of the upper blade, the actuator mechanisms use piezo electric actuators capable of precise micron level movements of the head both vertically and horizontally. Piezo magnetic actuators are also contemplated.

[0014] The upper blade actuator assembly includes a mounting ring assembly which hangs from the top frame slab, a vertical actuator assembly concentrically coupled within the ring assembly with two spaced spring steel flex plates and a horizontal actuator and upper blade assembly mounted to the vertical actuator assembly.

[0015] The mounting ring assembly comprises three stacked mounting rings which hang from the top frame. The flex plates are captured between the upper and middle rings and middle and lower rings.

[0016] The vertical actuator assembly comprises an upper piezo receiver body, a main pusher body, and a lower blade mount support. As noted earlier, the vertical actuator assembly is concentrically coupled within the mounting rings with the spring steel flex plates. On the actuator side, the flex plates are captured between the upper receiver body and main pusher body, and main pusher body and lower blade mount support.

[0017] The vertical piezo actuator is received within an axial bore in a central hub of the upper receiver body. At both the upper and lower ends of the piezo ball are ball mounts and sockets to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator within the bore. A further top frame mounting plate is received and secured between the upper ball socket mount and the top frame. Cyclic operation of the piezo actuator thus pushes against the top frame forcing the entire upper blade actuator assembly downward against the spring steel flex plates, which cyclically return the assembly back to original position. The noted motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo is only captured on the top and bottom ends. A thermal paste is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator and the inner walls of the bore. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo to the central hub which is internally water cooled with blind cooling bores extending into the central hub downwardly from the top thereof.

[0018] The horizontal actuator and upper blade assembly is secured between mounting arms extending downwardly from the periphery of the lower blade mount support. The assembly generally comprises an upper blade mount assembly which is coupled between the mounting arms with two spaced spring steel flex plates (similar to the vertical arrangement but on a smaller scale) and opposing left and right clamp assemblies.

[0019] The upper blade mount assembly comprises a blade mount body, the upper toothed expanding blade (shown in two segments), and associated blade holders. The blade holders clamp the blades into the blade mount body. The blade mount body is water cooled and includes blind cooling bores extending inwardly from one end.

[0020] The left side flex plate is captured between an outward facing seat in the left side mounting arm and a left clamp assembly comprises a plate clamp and housing. The left side of the blade mount assembly is secured to the flex plate with a blade mount support. The right side flex plate is captured between an outward facing seat in the right side mounting arm and a right clamp assembly comprises a plate clamp and housing which receives the horizontal piezo actuator.

[0021] The horizontal piezo actuator comprises ball mounts and ball sockets at both the inner and outer ends thereof to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator within the bore. The inner ball socket is secured to the right side flex plate and the blade mount assembly. Both the left and right clamp assemblies include end plates. Cyclic operation of the horizontal piezo actuator pushes against the right side end plate forcing the upper blade mount leftward against the spring steel flex plates, which cyclically return the blade mount assembly back to original position. The noted motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo is only captured on the ends thereof. A thermal paste is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator and the inner walls of the bore. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo to the piezo housing.

[0022] In operation, the combined vertical and horizontal motions of the head, combined with feed of the foil in as small as 10 μm increments is capable of creating an offset expanded pore pattern of 12 μm pores with an 18 μm horizontal pitch and a 10 μm offset pitch in feed direction.

[0023] While there is shown and described herein certain specific structures embodying various embodiments of the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0024] While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming particular embodiments of the instant invention, various embodiments of the invention can be more readily understood and appreciated from the following descriptions of various embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0025] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a metal mesh expanding apparatus;

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of an expanding apparatus for manufacturing micro-expanded metal mesh foil sheets in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 3 is another perspective illustration thereof from the back;

[0028] FIG. 4 is a front view thereof;

[0029] FIG. 5 is a rear view thereof;

[0030] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6 -6 of FIG. 2;

[0031] FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-section view of the expanding head as seen in FIG. 6;

[0032] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8 -8 of FIG. 2;

[0033] FIG. 9 is a top perspective illustration of the upper blade actuator assembly;

[0034] FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective illustration of the upper blade actuator assembly and the lower fixed blade mount;

[0035] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper blade actuator assembly taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 9;

[0036] FIG. 12 is another cross-sectional view of the upper blade actuator assembly taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 9;

[0037] FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the horizonal piezo actuator assembly;

[0038] FIG. 14 is an enlarge cross-sectional view of the vertical piezo actuator assembly;

[0039] FIG. 15 is an exploded view of the upper blade actuator assembly;

[0040] FIG. 16 is an exploded view of the vertical piezo actuator;

[0041] FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the horizontal piezo actuator assembly;

[0042] FIG. 18 is an exploded illustration of the blade mount assembly; and

[0043] FIG. 19 is an exploded illustration of the horizontal piezo actuator.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0044] Certain exemplary embodiments will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the device and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the devices and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting exemplary embodiments and that the scope of the present invention is defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, in the present disclosure, like-numbered components of the embodiments generally have similar features, and thus within a particular embodiment each feature of each like-numbered component is not necessarily fully elaborated upon. Additionally, to the extent that linear or circular dimensions are used in the description of the disclosed systems, devices, and methods, such dimensions are not intended to limit the types of shapes that can be used in conjunction with such systems, devices, and methods. A person skilled in the art will recognize that an equivalent to such linear and circular dimensions can easily be determined for any geometric shape. Further, to the extent that directional terms like top, bottom, up, or down are used, they are not intended to limit the systems, devices, and methods disclosed herein. A person skilled in the art will recognize that these terms are merely relative to the system and device being discussed and are not universal.

[0045] Unless otherwise specified, when referring to a numerical value, the term “about” is intended to be construed as including a range of values within + / −10% of the value being referred to.

[0046] The instant invention relates to the manufacture of expanded metal, and more particularly to a novel expanding apparatus for expanding very thin metal foil sheets 11(12.5 μm to 100 μm thickness). As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the subject thin foils will be expanded with sub-millimeter size tooth blades 22 for very small pore sizes, and advanced in small increments for uniform hole or pore distribution. In the present disclosure, it is contemplated that the expanding blade(s) 22 may comprise between 400 and 1440 teeth per inch.

[0047] An exemplary 1400 tooth per inch pitch equals a tooth spacing of 18 μm with a tooth depth of about 38 μm. Reciprocating travel of the expanding blade 22 is limited to about ⅔ of the depth of the teeth to prevent breakage, wherein the exemplary teeth may provide a range of pore sizes from roughly 5-6 μm up to about 12-13 μm (representing about ⅔ of the blade pitch). Scaling the tooth sizes up to 400 teeth per inch would result in a pitch of about 63 μm and a tooth depth of about 133 μm with a flat end of about 12-17.6 μm and providing a range of pore sizes from about 12-13 μm to about 48-50 μm. As one in the art can appreciate, the scale of the present system is roughly 10× smaller than previously attempted.

[0048] An arrangement of an exemplary expanding apparatus 10 in accordance with the teachings herein, is illustrated in various views in FIGS. 2-19. The expanding apparatus 10 generally comprises a machine base 12, an expander frame 14 atop the base 12, a stationary lower blade mount 16, a fixed lower expanding blade 18, an upper blade actuator assembly 20 including a reciprocating blade assembly 78 which moves up and down and side to side (see arrows) cooperating with the fixed blade 18 to expand a metal foil 11 passing through the expanding head, and a feed and guide assembly 24 for guiding the thin foils 11 into the expanding blades 18 and 22.

[0049] It is contemplated that the expanding head assembly 20 may operate at speeds of up to 3000 cycles per minute creating significant vibration. In this regard, the machine base 12 is formed from solid polymer concrete for superior vibration damping. The machine base 12 includes damping / leveling feet 26.

[0050] Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the expanding frame 14 comprises 4 separate slabs of solid granite including a bottom 28, left and right side walls 30, 32 and a top wall 34. The expanding frame 14 is secured to the machine base 12 with appropriate fasteners and an epoxy adhesive (not shown) to insure vibration from the expanding head and frame 14 propagates through to the base 12.

[0051] The feed and guide system 24 may comprise a lower drive roller 36 paired with an upper follower roller 38, upper and lower forward guide platens 40, 42 cooperating to define a forward guide channel forward of the roller pair, and upper and lower rearward guide platens 44, 46 cooperating to define a rearward guide channel leading into the roller pair (See FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 7).

[0052] Referring to the cross-sectional views in FIGS. 6-8, the lower blade mount 16 and lower fixed blade 18 are secured to the frame bottom slab 28. The upper blade actuator assembly 20 is secured to the frame top slab 34 and hangs down over the bottom blade 18 in alignment for reciprocating cooperation with the bottom blade 18.

[0053] In order to achieve critical high speed, accurate and consistent repeatable movement of the upper blade(s) 22, the actuator mechanisms use piezo electric actuators 66, 104 capable of precise micron-level movements of the expanding head assembly 78 both vertically and horizontally. Piezo magnetic actuators are also contemplated.

[0054] Turning now to FIGS. 9-19, the upper blade actuator assembly 20 includes a mounting ring assembly 48 which hangs from the top frame slab 34, a vertical actuator assembly 50 concentrically coupled within the ring assembly 48 with two spaced spring steel flex plates 52, 54 and a horizontal actuator assembly 56 mounted to the vertical actuator assembly 20.

[0055] The mounting ring assembly 48 comprises three stacked mounting rings 48A, 48B, 48C which are suspended from the top frame 34. The flex plates 52, 54 are captured between the upper and middle rings 48A, 48B and middle and lower rings 48B, 48C (best seen in FIGS. 9-12 and 15).

[0056] The vertical actuator assembly 20 further comprises an upper piezo receiver body 60, a main pusher body 62, and a lower blade mount support 64. As noted earlier, the vertical actuator assembly 20 is concentrically coupled within the mounting rings 48A, 48B, 48C with the spring steel flex plates 52, 54. On the actuator side, the flex plates 52. 54 are captured between the upper receiver body and main pusher body 60, 62, and main pusher body and lower blade mount support 62. 64.

[0057] The vertical piezo actuator 66 is received within an axial bore in a central hub of the upper receiver body 60 (best seen in FIGS. 6, 8, 11, 12, 14). At both the upper and lower ends of the piezo actuator 66 are ball mounts 68 and sockets 70 to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator 66 within the bore. A further top frame mounting plate 72 is received and secured between the upper ball socket mount 70 and the top frame 34. Cyclic operation of the piezo actuator 66 thus pushes against the top frame 34 forcing the entire upper blade actuator assembly 20 downward against the spring steel flex plates 52, 54 which cyclically return the assembly back to original position (See FIG. 14). The noted motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo actuator 66 is only captured on the top and bottom ends. A thermal paste (not shown) is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator 66 and the inner walls of the bore. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo actuator 66 to the receiver body 60 which is internally water cooled with blind cooling bores 74 extending into the central hub downwardly from the top thereof (best seen in FIGS. 6 and 11).

[0058] Referring to FIGS. 12 and 17-19, the horizontal actuator 56 is secured between mounting arms 76 extending downwardly from the periphery of the lower blade mount support 64. The assembly generally comprises an upper blade mount assembly 78 which is coupled between the mounting arms 76 with two spaced spring steel flex plates 80, 82 (similar to the vertical arrangement but on a smaller scale) and opposing left and right clamp assemblies 84, 86.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 18, the upper blade mount assembly 78 comprises a blade mount body 88, the upper toothed expanding blades 22 (shown in two segments), and associated blade holders 90. The blade holders 90 clamp the blades 22 into the blade mount body 88. The blade mount body 88 is water cooled and includes blind cooling bores 92 extending inwardly from a manifold 93 on one end. The water cooling inputs 92 are best seen in FIGS. 8 and 12).

[0060] Turing back to FIG. 17, the left side flex plate 80 is captured between an outward facing seat in the left side mounting arm 76 and a left clamp assembly 84 comprises a plate clamp 94 and housing 96. The left side of the blade mount assembly is secured to the flex plate 80 with a blade mount support 98. The right side flex plate 82 is captured between an outward facing seat in the right side mounting arm 76 and a right clamp assembly 86 comprises a plate clamp 100 and housing 102 which receives the horizontal piezo actuator 104.

[0061] Turning to FIG. 19, similar to the vertical piezo actuator 66, the horizontal piezo actuator 104 includes ball mounts 106 and ball sockets 108 at both the inner and outer ends thereof to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator within the bore of the housing 102. The inner ball socket 108 is secured to the right side flex plate 82 and the blade mount body 88. Both the left and right clamp assemblies 84, 86 include end plates 110.

[0062] Cyclic operation of the horizontal piezo actuator 104 pushes against the right side end plate 110 forcing the upper blade mount body 88 leftward against the spring steel flex plates 80, 82 which cyclically return the blade mount assembly 78 back to original position.

[0063] The noted side motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo actuator 104 is only captured on the ends thereof. A thermal paste (not shown) is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator 104 and the inner walls of the housing 102. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo actuator 104 to the piezo housing 102.

[0064] In operation, the combined vertical and horizontal motions of the blade head 78, combined with feed of the foil 11 in as small as 10 μm increments is capable of creating an offset expanded pore pattern of 12 μm pores with an 18 μm horizontal pitch and a 10 μm offset pitch in feed direction.

[0065] While there is shown and described herein certain specific structures embodying various embodiments of the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0044]Certain exemplary embodiments will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the device and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the devices and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting exemplary embodiments and that the scope of the present invention is defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, in the present disclosure, like-numbered components of the embodiments generally have similar features, and thus within a particular embodiment each feature of each like-numbered component i...

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a non-provisional filing of, and claims the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63 / 746,928 , filed Jan. 18, 2025, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE(1) Field of the Invention

[0002] The instant invention generally relates to the manufacture of expanded metals, and more particularly to a novel metal-mesh micro-expanding apparatus for use in expanding sub-100 micron thickness metal foil sheets.(2) Description of Related Art

[0003] Metal expanding is a metal forming process initially developed in 1884 in which a blade with defined tooth pitch reciprocates up and down and left and right, to create predictable, repeatable well-defined openings as the metal sheet advances through the expander (see FIG. 1).

[0004] Expanded metal has diverse applications as structural components, energy absorbing materials, filters, electrodes for battery applications, etc.

[0005] Properties include high strength and rigidity, mass efficiency, and high porosity. Expanded metal is highly economical due to its production directly from sheet metal with near zero waste material.

[0006] For these reasons, in addition to the predictable, repeatable nature of expanded metal openings, components utilizing metal foam, porous sinters, conventional metal mesh or woven metal wire are often replaced by expanded-metal components when possible. However, current expanding technologies are limited by expanding blades and apparatus that accommodate a tooth pitch down to only about 1 mm.

[0007] As metal expanding techniques progress to smaller pore sizes and thinner metal sheets and foils, there is a need for a precision expanding apparatus that can handle the unique dynamic characteristics of advancing and expanding very thin metal foils.SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0008] The instant invention relates to the manufacture of expanded metal, and more particularly to a novel expanding apparatus for expanding very thin metal foil sheets (12.5 μm to 100 μm thickness). As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the subject thin foils will be expanded with sub-millimeter size tooth blades for very small pore sizes, and advanced in small increments for uniform hole or pore distribution. In the present disclosure, it is contemplated that the expanding blade may comprise between 400 and 1440 teeth per inch. A 1400 tooth per inch pitch equals a tooth spacing of 18 μm with a tooth depth of about 38 μm. Reciprocating travel of the expanding blade is limited to about ⅔ of the depth of the teeth to prevent breakage, wherein the exemplary teeth may provide a range of pore sizes from roughly 5-6 μm up to about 12-13 μm (representing about ⅔ of the blade pitch). Scaling the tooth sizes up to 400 teeth per inch would result in a pitch of about 63 μm and a tooth depth of about 133 μm with a flat end of about 12-17.6 μm and providing a range of pore sizes from about 12-13μm to about 48-50 μm. As one in the art can appreciate, the scale of the present system is roughly 10× smaller than previously attempted.

[0009] The expanding apparatus generally comprises a machine base, an expander frame atop the base, stationary lower blade mount and fixed blade mount, an upper blade actuator assembly including a reciprocating blade assembly which moves up and down and side to side (see arrows) cooperating with the fixed blade to expand metal passing through the head, and a feed and guide assembly for guiding the thin foils into the expanding blades.

[0010] It is contemplated that the expanding head may operate at speeds of up to 3000 cycles per minute creating significant vibration. The machine base is formed from solid polymer concrete for superior vibration damping. The base includes damping and leveling feet.

[0011] The expanding frame comprises 4 separate slabs of solid granite including a bottom, left and right side walls and a top. The expanding frame is secured to the machine base with appropriate fasteners and an epoxy adhesive to ensure vibration from the expanding head propagates through to the base.

[0012] The feed and guide system may comprise a lower drive roller paired with an upper follower roller, upper and lower forward guide platens cooperating to define a forward guide channel forward of the roller pair, and upper and lower rearward guide platens cooperating to define a rearward guide channel leading into the roller pair.

[0013] The lower blade mount and lower blade are secured to the frame bottom slab. The upper blade actuator assembly is secured to the frame top slab hanging down over the bottom blade in alignment for cooperation with the bottom blade. In order to achieve critical high speed, accurate and consistent repeatable movement of the upper blade, the actuator mechanisms use piezo electric actuators capable of precise micron level movements of the head both vertically and horizontally. Piezo magnetic actuators are also contemplated.

[0014] The upper blade actuator assembly includes a mounting ring assembly which hangs from the top frame slab, a vertical actuator assembly concentrically coupled within the ring assembly with two spaced spring steel flex plates and a horizontal actuator and upper blade assembly mounted to the vertical actuator assembly.

[0015] The mounting ring assembly comprises three stacked mounting rings which hang from the top frame. The flex plates are captured between the upper and middle rings and middle and lower rings.

[0016] The vertical actuator assembly comprises an upper piezo receiver body, a main pusher body, and a lower blade mount support. As noted earlier, the vertical actuator assembly is concentrically coupled within the mounting rings with the spring steel flex plates. On the actuator side, the flex plates are captured between the upper receiver body and main pusher body, and main pusher body and lower blade mount support.

[0017] The vertical piezo actuator is received within an axial bore in a central hub of the upper receiver body. At both the upper and lower ends of the piezo ball are ball mounts and sockets to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator within the bore. A further top frame mounting plate is received and secured between the upper ball socket mount and the top frame. Cyclic operation of the piezo actuator thus pushes against the top frame forcing the entire upper blade actuator assembly downward against the spring steel flex plates, which cyclically return the assembly back to original position. The noted motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo is only captured on the top and bottom ends. A thermal paste is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator and the inner walls of the bore. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo to the central hub which is internally water cooled with blind cooling bores extending into the central hub downwardly from the top thereof.

[0018] The horizontal actuator and upper blade assembly is secured between mounting arms extending downwardly from the periphery of the lower blade mount support. The assembly generally comprises an upper blade mount assembly which is coupled between the mounting arms with two spaced spring steel flex plates (similar to the vertical arrangement but on a smaller scale) and opposing left and right clamp assemblies.

[0019] The upper blade mount assembly comprises a blade mount body, the upper toothed expanding blade (shown in two segments), and associated blade holders. The blade holders clamp the blades into the blade mount body. The blade mount body is water cooled and includes blind cooling bores extending inwardly from one end.

[0020] The left side flex plate is captured between an outward facing seat in the left side mounting arm and a left clamp assembly comprises a plate clamp and housing. The left side of the blade mount assembly is secured to the flex plate with a blade mount support. The right side flex plate is captured between an outward facing seat in the right side mounting arm and a right clamp assembly comprises a plate clamp and housing which receives the horizontal piezo actuator.

[0021] The horizontal piezo actuator comprises ball mounts and ball sockets at both the inner and outer ends thereof to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator within the bore. The inner ball socket is secured to the right side flex plate and the blade mount assembly. Both the left and right clamp assemblies include end plates. Cyclic operation of the horizontal piezo actuator pushes against the right side end plate forcing the upper blade mount leftward against the spring steel flex plates, which cyclically return the blade mount assembly back to original position. The noted motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo is only captured on the ends thereof. A thermal paste is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator and the inner walls of the bore. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo to the piezo housing.

[0022] In operation, the combined vertical and horizontal motions of the head, combined with feed of the foil in as small as 10 μm increments is capable of creating an offset expanded pore pattern of 12 μm pores with an 18 μm horizontal pitch and a 10 μm offset pitch in feed direction.

[0023] While there is shown and described herein certain specific structures embodying various embodiments of the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0024] While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming particular embodiments of the instant invention, various embodiments of the invention can be more readily understood and appreciated from the following descriptions of various embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0025] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a metal mesh expanding apparatus;

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of an expanding apparatus for manufacturing micro-expanded metal mesh foil sheets in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 3 is another perspective illustration thereof from the back;

[0028] FIG. 4 is a front view thereof;

[0029] FIG. 5 is a rear view thereof;

[0030] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6 -6 of FIG. 2;

[0031] FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-section view of the expanding head as seen in FIG. 6;

[0032] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8 -8 of FIG. 2;

[0033] FIG. 9 is a top perspective illustration of the upper blade actuator assembly;

[0034] FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective illustration of the upper blade actuator assembly and the lower fixed blade mount;

[0035] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper blade actuator assembly taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 9;

[0036] FIG. 12 is another cross-sectional view of the upper blade actuator assembly taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 9;

[0037] FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the horizonal piezo actuator assembly;

[0038] FIG. 14 is an enlarge cross-sectional view of the vertical piezo actuator assembly;

[0039] FIG. 15 is an exploded view of the upper blade actuator assembly;

[0040] FIG. 16 is an exploded view of the vertical piezo actuator;

[0041] FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the horizontal piezo actuator assembly;

[0042] FIG. 18 is an exploded illustration of the blade mount assembly; and

[0043] FIG. 19 is an exploded illustration of the horizontal piezo actuator.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0044] Certain exemplary embodiments will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the device and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the devices and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting exemplary embodiments and that the scope of the present invention is defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, in the present disclosure, like-numbered components of the embodiments generally have similar features, and thus within a particular embodiment each feature of each like-numbered component is not necessarily fully elaborated upon. Additionally, to the extent that linear or circular dimensions are used in the description of the disclosed systems, devices, and methods, such dimensions are not intended to limit the types of shapes that can be used in conjunction with such systems, devices, and methods. A person skilled in the art will recognize that an equivalent to such linear and circular dimensions can easily be determined for any geometric shape. Further, to the extent that directional terms like top, bottom, up, or down are used, they are not intended to limit the systems, devices, and methods disclosed herein. A person skilled in the art will recognize that these terms are merely relative to the system and device being discussed and are not universal.

[0045] Unless otherwise specified, when referring to a numerical value, the term “about” is intended to be construed as including a range of values within + / −10% of the value being referred to.

[0046] The instant invention relates to the manufacture of expanded metal, and more particularly to a novel expanding apparatus for expanding very thin metal foil sheets 11(12.5 μm to 100 μm thickness). As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the subject thin foils will be expanded with sub-millimeter size tooth blades 22 for very small pore sizes, and advanced in small increments for uniform hole or pore distribution. In the present disclosure, it is contemplated that the expanding blade(s) 22 may comprise between 400 and 1440 teeth per inch.

[0047] An exemplary 1400 tooth per inch pitch equals a tooth spacing of 18 μm with a tooth depth of about 38 μm. Reciprocating travel of the expanding blade 22 is limited to about ⅔ of the depth of the teeth to prevent breakage, wherein the exemplary teeth may provide a range of pore sizes from roughly 5-6 μm up to about 12-13 μm (representing about ⅔ of the blade pitch). Scaling the tooth sizes up to 400 teeth per inch would result in a pitch of about 63 μm and a tooth depth of about 133 μm with a flat end of about 12-17.6 μm and providing a range of pore sizes from about 12-13 μm to about 48-50 μm. As one in the art can appreciate, the scale of the present system is roughly 10× smaller than previously attempted.

[0048] An arrangement of an exemplary expanding apparatus 10 in accordance with the teachings herein, is illustrated in various views in FIGS. 2-19. The expanding apparatus 10 generally comprises a machine base 12, an expander frame 14 atop the base 12, a stationary lower blade mount 16, a fixed lower expanding blade 18, an upper blade actuator assembly 20 including a reciprocating blade assembly 78 which moves up and down and side to side (see arrows) cooperating with the fixed blade 18 to expand a metal foil 11 passing through the expanding head, and a feed and guide assembly 24 for guiding the thin foils 11 into the expanding blades 18 and 22.

[0049] It is contemplated that the expanding head assembly 20 may operate at speeds of up to 3000 cycles per minute creating significant vibration. In this regard, the machine base 12 is formed from solid polymer concrete for superior vibration damping. The machine base 12 includes damping / leveling feet 26.

[0050] Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the expanding frame 14 comprises 4 separate slabs of solid granite including a bottom 28, left and right side walls 30, 32 and a top wall 34. The expanding frame 14 is secured to the machine base 12 with appropriate fasteners and an epoxy adhesive (not shown) to insure vibration from the expanding head and frame 14 propagates through to the base 12.

[0051] The feed and guide system 24 may comprise a lower drive roller 36 paired with an upper follower roller 38, upper and lower forward guide platens 40, 42 cooperating to define a forward guide channel forward of the roller pair, and upper and lower rearward guide platens 44, 46 cooperating to define a rearward guide channel leading into the roller pair (See FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 7).

[0052] Referring to the cross-sectional views in FIGS. 6-8, the lower blade mount 16 and lower fixed blade 18 are secured to the frame bottom slab 28. The upper blade actuator assembly 20 is secured to the frame top slab 34 and hangs down over the bottom blade 18 in alignment for reciprocating cooperation with the bottom blade 18.

[0053] In order to achieve critical high speed, accurate and consistent repeatable movement of the upper blade(s) 22, the actuator mechanisms use piezo electric actuators 66, 104 capable of precise micron-level movements of the expanding head assembly 78 both vertically and horizontally. Piezo magnetic actuators are also contemplated.

[0054] Turning now to FIGS. 9-19, the upper blade actuator assembly 20 includes a mounting ring assembly 48 which hangs from the top frame slab 34, a vertical actuator assembly 50 concentrically coupled within the ring assembly 48 with two spaced spring steel flex plates 52, 54 and a horizontal actuator assembly 56 mounted to the vertical actuator assembly 20.

[0055] The mounting ring assembly 48 comprises three stacked mounting rings 48A, 48B, 48C which are suspended from the top frame 34. The flex plates 52, 54 are captured between the upper and middle rings 48A, 48B and middle and lower rings 48B, 48C (best seen in FIGS. 9-12 and 15).

[0056] The vertical actuator assembly 20 further comprises an upper piezo receiver body 60, a main pusher body 62, and a lower blade mount support 64. As noted earlier, the vertical actuator assembly 20 is concentrically coupled within the mounting rings 48A, 48B, 48C with the spring steel flex plates 52, 54. On the actuator side, the flex plates 52. 54 are captured between the upper receiver body and main pusher body 60, 62, and main pusher body and lower blade mount support 62. 64.

[0057] The vertical piezo actuator 66 is received within an axial bore in a central hub of the upper receiver body 60 (best seen in FIGS. 6, 8, 11, 12, 14). At both the upper and lower ends of the piezo actuator 66 are ball mounts 68 and sockets 70 to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator 66 within the bore. A further top frame mounting plate 72 is received and secured between the upper ball socket mount 70 and the top frame 34. Cyclic operation of the piezo actuator 66 thus pushes against the top frame 34 forcing the entire upper blade actuator assembly 20 downward against the spring steel flex plates 52, 54 which cyclically return the assembly back to original position (See FIG. 14). The noted motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo actuator 66 is only captured on the top and bottom ends. A thermal paste (not shown) is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator 66 and the inner walls of the bore. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo actuator 66 to the receiver body 60 which is internally water cooled with blind cooling bores 74 extending into the central hub downwardly from the top thereof (best seen in FIGS. 6 and 11).

[0058] Referring to FIGS. 12 and 17-19, the horizontal actuator 56 is secured between mounting arms 76 extending downwardly from the periphery of the lower blade mount support 64. The assembly generally comprises an upper blade mount assembly 78 which is coupled between the mounting arms 76 with two spaced spring steel flex plates 80, 82 (similar to the vertical arrangement but on a smaller scale) and opposing left and right clamp assemblies 84, 86.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 18, the upper blade mount assembly 78 comprises a blade mount body 88, the upper toothed expanding blades 22 (shown in two segments), and associated blade holders 90. The blade holders 90 clamp the blades 22 into the blade mount body 88. The blade mount body 88 is water cooled and includes blind cooling bores 92 extending inwardly from a manifold 93 on one end. The water cooling inputs 92 are best seen in FIGS. 8 and 12).

[0060] Turing back to FIG. 17, the left side flex plate 80 is captured between an outward facing seat in the left side mounting arm 76 and a left clamp assembly 84 comprises a plate clamp 94 and housing 96. The left side of the blade mount assembly is secured to the flex plate 80 with a blade mount support 98. The right side flex plate 82 is captured between an outward facing seat in the right side mounting arm 76 and a right clamp assembly 86 comprises a plate clamp 100 and housing 102 which receives the horizontal piezo actuator 104.

[0061] Turning to FIG. 19, similar to the vertical piezo actuator 66, the horizontal piezo actuator 104 includes ball mounts 106 and ball sockets 108 at both the inner and outer ends thereof to accommodate any slight off axis movement of the actuator within the bore of the housing 102. The inner ball socket 108 is secured to the right side flex plate 82 and the blade mount body 88. Both the left and right clamp assemblies 84, 86 include end plates 110.

[0062] Cyclic operation of the horizontal piezo actuator 104 pushes against the right side end plate 110 forcing the upper blade mount body 88 leftward against the spring steel flex plates 80, 82 which cyclically return the blade mount assembly 78 back to original position.

[0063] The noted side motion may cycle at up to 3000 cycles per minute (50 cycles per second). The piezo actuator 104 is only captured on the ends thereof. A thermal paste (not shown) is filled in the small tolerance gap between the outer walls of the piezo actuator 104 and the inner walls of the housing 102. The thermal paste transfers heat from the piezo actuator 104 to the piezo housing 102.

[0064] In operation, the combined vertical and horizontal motions of the blade head 78, combined with feed of the foil 11 in as small as 10 μm increments is capable of creating an offset expanded pore pattern of 12 μm pores with an 18 μm horizontal pitch and a 10 μm offset pitch in feed direction.

[0065] While there is shown and described herein certain specific structures embodying various embodiments of the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0044]Certain exemplary embodiments will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the device and methods disclosed herein. One or more examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the devices and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting exemplary embodiments and that the scope of the present invention is defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, in the present disclosure, like-numbered components of the embodiments generally have similar features, and thus within a particular embodiment each feature of each like-numbered component i...

Claims

1. An expanding apparatus for expanding metal foil comprising:a machine base;an expanding frame mounted on the machine base;a lower fixed expanding blade mounted on a bottom wall of the expanding frame;an upper blade actuator assembly mounted on a top wall of the expanding frame;an upper expanding blade mounted on the upper blade actuator assembly,said upper blade actuator assembly being configured for reciprocating vertical and horizontal movement of the upper expanding blade in cooperation with the lower fixed expanding blade to expand a metal foil sheet advanced through the expanding blades,wherein the upper blade actuator assembly comprisesa mounting ring assembly including an upper mounting ring, a middle mounting ring and a lower mounting ring, the mounting ring assembly being mounted to the top wall of the expanding frame;a vertical actuator assembly including an upper receiver body, a middle pusher body, and a lower blade mount support body, the vertical actuator assembly being concentrically suspended within the mounting ring assembly with two spaced annular spring steel flexure plates respectively captured between the mounting rings and the actuator bodies, and a vertical piezo actuator received in a bore in the upper receiver body and captured between the upper receiver body and the top wall of the expanding frame, anda horizontal actuator assembly including a blade mount suspended between opposing downwardly depending support arms of the lower blade mount support body with opposing left and right spring steel flexure plates captured between the opposing support arms and respective plate clamping assemblies,wherein one of said plate clamping assemblies includes a horizontal piezo actuator received in a housing of the clamping assembly and captured between the housing of the clamping assembly and the respective flexure plate, andwherein the upper expanding blade is mounted on the blade mount body.

2. The expanding apparatus of claim 1 wherein the machine base comprises polymer concrete.

3. The expanding apparatus of claim 1 wherein the expanding frame comprises granite slabs.

4. The expanding apparatus of claim 2 wherein the expanding frame comprises granite slabs.

5. The expanding apparatus of claim 1 wherein the vertical and horizontal actuators comprise piezo electric actuators.

6. The expanding apparatus of claim 2 wherein the vertical and horizontal actuators comprise piezo electric actuators.

7. The expanding apparatus of claim 3 wherein the vertical and horizontal actuators comprise piezo electric actuators.

8. The expanding apparatus of claim 4 wherein the vertical and horizontal actuators comprise piezo electric actuators.

9. The expanding apparatus of claim 5 wherein the upper receiver body and the clamping assembly housing are water cooled with internal blind bores.

10. The expanding apparatus of claim 6 wherein the upper receiver body and the clamping assembly housing are water cooled with internal blind bores.

11. The expanding apparatus of claim 7 wherein the upper receiver body and the clamping assembly housing are water cooled with internal blind bores.

12. The expanding apparatus of claim 8 wherein the upper receiver body and the clamping assembly housing are water cooled with internal blind bores.

13. The expanding apparatus of claim 9 wherein the upper receiver body and the clamping assembly housing are water cooled with internal blind bores.

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