Roll Former With Three-Dimensional Sweep Unit
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a roll former with rolls constructed to form sheet material into a structural beam defining a longitudinal line level; and
a sweep unit in-line with the roll former and constructed to selectively sweep the beam away from the longitudinal line level in both vertical and horizontal directions during continuous operation of the roll former.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus includes, in combination, a roll former with rolls configured to form a structural beam from sheet material, and a sweep unit for longitudinally sweeping a beam in any of vertical, horizontal, or combination directions. The sweep unit has a first pair of forming rolls positioned to engage first opposing sides of the structural beam and has a second pair of forming rolls positioned to engage second opposing sides of the structural beam. The sweep unit movably supports the first and second pairs of forming rolls so that any selected one of the forming rolls continuously engages an associated side of the structural beam while an associated one of the forming rolls opposing the selected one forming roll moves downstream and around the selected one forming roll. This provides a very stable beam-bending condition promoting dimensional stability during the sweeping process, and hence dimensional accuracy and repeatability.
81 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a roll former with rolls constructed to form sheet material into a structural beam defining a longitudinal line level; and a sweep unit in-line with the roll former and constructed to selectively sweep the beam away from the longitudinal line level in both vertical and horizontal directions during continuous operation of the roll former. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus comprising:
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a roll former with rolls constructed to form sheet material into a structural beam; and a sweep unit downstream of the roll former and including beam-deforming components constructed to selectively repeatedly sweep the beam along multiple different planes and with varying radii. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus including in combination:
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a roll former adapted to roll form a sheet into a continuous beam; and a sweep unit attached to the roll former with opposing rollers configured to impart a longitudinal sweep into the continuous beam in any direction vertically or horizontally or in-between. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. An apparatus including, in combination:
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a roll former with rolls configured to form a structural beam from sheet material; and a sweep unit having a first pair of forming rolls positioned to engage first opposing sides of the structural beam and having a second pair of forming rolls positioned to engage second opposing sides of the structural beam, the sweep unit movably supporting the first and second pairs of forming rolls so that any selected one of the forming rolls continuously engages an associated side of the structural beam while an associated one of the forming rolls opposing the selected one forming roll moves downstream and around the selected one forming roll.
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25. An apparatus for imparting a curve into a structural beam that defines a line level and a line level condition, comprising:
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a sweep unit including a beam-engaging first forming roll and an opposing beam-engaging second forming roll spaced a given distance from the first forming roll and configured to engage the continuous beam when the beam is linear and in the line level condition, and including support structure supporting the first and second forming rolls for movement in upstream and downstream directions; and a positioning mechanism constructed to move the first forming roll upstream while the first forming roll continuously engages the beam in the line level condition and also constructed to move the second forming roll downstream around a center point of the first forming roll.
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26. An apparatus for supporting a forming roll, comprising:
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at least one forming roll; a carrier carrying the forming roll; a support constructed to movably support the carrier while the forming roll is engaging a continuous beam to form the beam; and a mechanism for adjusting a position of the at least one forming roll so that, when moved in an upstream direction, a beam-engaging contact point of the at least one forming roll with the continuous beam continues to support the continuous beam but does not deform the continuous beam out of line level, but so that, when moved in a downstream direction, the beam-engaging contact point of the at least one forming roll moves along a path that forces the continuous beam to deform out of line level.
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Specification