Automatic channel letter bending machine
DCFirst Claim
1. A method of automatically bending channel letters from metal material, comprising the steps of:
- inputting a desired configuration for a channel letter shape to be formed into a control computer;
feeding the metal material under the control of the control computer along a feed path through a metal material bending machine that includes a notching station, a flanging station, a cutting station and a bending station that are arranged along the feed path for the metal material, with the notching station and the flanging station being located upstream of the bending station along the feed path;
when a flange is desired based on the desired configuration for a channel letter shape for the attachment of a back of the channel letter,a) notching the metal material at lo cations on the metal material corresponding to the position of the flange and positions of bends at the notching station under the control of the control computer, andb) forming the flange on the bottom of the metal material at desired flange positions on the metal material at the flanging station under the control of the control computer;
when a flange is not desired based on the desired configuration for a channel letter shape, feeding the metal material to the bending station without notching and flanging the metal material;
bending the metal material at the positions of the bends into the desired configuration for a channel letter shape at the bending station under the control of the control computer; and
cutting the metal material at the cutting station after said bending.
1 Assignment
Litigations
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a machine for automatically bending a material into the outside skin of a channel letter, a desired configuration of the channel letter is input into a control computer. The computer controls the feed of the strip of metal into the machine for the bending of the metal into the outside skin. Feed assemblies feed the material along a material feed path of the machine. A notching station notches the edge of the material where necessary for purposes of forming flanges in the material and bending the material. A subsequent flange forming station forms the flanges on the edge of the material, when desired. A bending assembly bends the strip of material into the desired form, with the bending arm moving from one side to the other of the material as necessary. The material is cut at a cutting station immediately preceding the bending assembly when the length of the material needed for the formation of the outside skin has been fed to the appropriate point at the cutting station along the material feed path.
33 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of automatically bending channel letters from metal material, comprising the steps of:
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inputting a desired configuration for a channel letter shape to be formed into a control computer; feeding the metal material under the control of the control computer along a feed path through a metal material bending machine that includes a notching station, a flanging station, a cutting station and a bending station that are arranged along the feed path for the metal material, with the notching station and the flanging station being located upstream of the bending station along the feed path; when a flange is desired based on the desired configuration for a channel letter shape for the attachment of a back of the channel letter, a) notching the metal material at lo cations on the metal material corresponding to the position of the flange and positions of bends at the notching station under the control of the control computer, and b) forming the flange on the bottom of the metal material at desired flange positions on the metal material at the flanging station under the control of the control computer; when a flange is not desired based on the desired configuration for a channel letter shape, feeding the metal material to the bending station without notching and flanging the metal material; bending the metal material at the positions of the bends into the desired configuration for a channel letter shape at the bending station under the control of the control computer; and cutting the metal material at the cutting station after said bending. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of automatically bending a metal material, comprising the steps of:
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inputting a desired configuration for a shape to be formed into a control computer; feeding a strip of metal material from a supply of the metal material to a notching station; feeding the strip of material from the notching station to a flange forming station; bending the strip of material at a bending station into the desired configuration for a shape to be formed with the bending station under the control of the control computer; cutting the strip of material from the supply of the metal material; and notching the strip of material at the notching station, comprising forming a wedge-shaped notch along an edge of the strip of material by the control computer controlling a punch and die set of the notching station to punch the notch along the edge of the material; wherein the wedge-shaped notch has a notch angle at least the same as a wedge angle of the punch, and wherein said notching comprises driving the punch toward the die a second time after the punch and die are rotated relative to the strip of material when the notch angle is greater than the wedge angle of the punch.
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8. A channel letter bending machine for automatically bending channel letters from metal material to be bent, comprising:
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a computer control system for receiving a desired configuration for a channel letter shape to be formed; a material feeding mechanism controlled by said computer control system disposed along a path of travel of the metal material to be bent; a notching station disposed along the path of travel for notching the metal material fed by said feeding mechanism along the path of travel; a flange forming assembly disposed along the path of travel for forming a flange along one edge of the material; a cutting station disposed downstream of said flange forming assembly and along the path of travel of the material for cutting the material; and a bending station disposed along the path of travel for bending the material under the control of said computer control system into the desired configuration for the channel letter shape, wherein said notching station and said flange forming assembly are disposed upstream of said bending station. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A channel letter bending machine for automatically bending channel letters from metal material to be bent, comprising:
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a computer control system for receiving a desired configuration input for a channel letter shape to be formed; a material feeding mechanism controlled by said computer control system disposed along a path of travel of the metal material to be bent; a cutting station disposed along the path of travel of the material for cutting the metal material; and a bending station disposed along the path of travel for bending the material under the control of said computer control system into the desired configuration for the channel letter shape, aid bending station comprising a bending arm having a first end fixed with respect to a first rotatable base and a second end that is removably connected to a second rotatable base. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification