Abstract
An apparatus for forming a round or oval shaped duct for all AC systems in one continuous operation where two driving rolls advance a flat metal sheet to at least one multi-positioning bending roll, where the at least one bending roll is moveable to a bending position for different curvatures and a non-bending position. The driving rolls advance the sheet through while the bending roll bends the sheet to form the curved sides, and the bending roll in the non-bending position form the flat sides of the oval shaped duct. A position sensor detects the position of the flat metal sheet in the rolls to control the location along the sheet where the bending roll is moved to either of the bending or non-bending positions while the driving rolls are stopped. An adhesive dispenser joins both ends of the sheet, resulting in a complete duct.
Claims
1. An apparatus for forming a round or oval-shaped HVAC duct comprising: a flat surface; an upper driving roll and a lower driving roll located adjacent to one end of said flat surface; a plurality of motors; wherein said upper and lower driving rolls are operatively connected to a first motor from said plurality of motors; at least one bending roll located adjacent to said upper and lower driving rolls; wherein said bending roll is operatively connected to a second motor from said plurality of motors; at least one sensor; an adhesive dispenser operatively connected to a third motor from said plurality of motors; and a computer numerical control machine operatively connected to said plurality of motors, comprising; a processor; at least one memory module; program instructions stored on said one or more memory modules for execution by said processor, the instructions comprising: instructions to start or stop movement of said upper and lower driving rolls; instructions to move said bending roll in a vertical manner; and instructions to move said adhesive dispenser.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said upper driving roll comprises a plurality of annular male forming beads and said lower driving roll comprises a plurality of female grooves.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an end of said upper and lower driving rolls comprises a crimped surface that forms a ring around said end of said upper and lower driving rolls.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said computer numerical control machine is manually operated.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said computer numerical control machine is programmable to be automatically operated.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor is an infrared sensor.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS PREAMBLE
(1) FIG. 1 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with the flat metal sheet in position to be pulled through the two drive rolls.
(2) FIG. 2 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with a first flat side being formed.
(3) FIG. 3 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention at the beginning of the first curved section of the sheet being formed.
(4) FIG. 4 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with a first half of the first curved end of the duct being formed.
(5) FIG. 5 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with the first curved end of the duct being formed.
(6) FIG. 6 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with the second flat side of the duct being formed.
(7) FIG. 7 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with a start of the second curved end of the duct being formed.
(8) FIG. 8 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with a first half of the second curved end of the duct being formed.
(9) FIG. 9 shows a cross section side view of the oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with the second curved end of the duct being formed.
(10) FIG. 10 shows a cross section side view of an oval-shaped duct formed by the apparatus and process of the present invention.
(11) FIG. 11 shows a cross section view of a flat sheet in position to be formed into a circular shaped duct of the present invention.
(12) FIG. 12 shows a cross section view of the circular shaped duct beginning to be formed of the present invention.
(13) FIG. 13 shows a cross section view of the first quarter section of the circular duct being formed of the present invention.
(14) FIG. 14 shows a cross section view of the first half section of the circular duct being formed of the present invention.
(15) FIG. 15 shows a cross section view of the ths section of the circular duct being formed of the present invention.
(16) FIG. 16 shows a cross section view of the first three quarters section of the circular duct being formed of the present invention.
(17) FIG. 17 shows a cross section view of the full circular duct formed of the present invention.
(18) FIG. 18 shows a section of the two rolls that form beadings and a crimp end of each of the ducts formed by the rolls of the present invention.
(19) FIG. 19 shows the two rolls with the bead forming raised rings and depressed slots and the crimping beads of the present invention.
(20) FIG. 20 shows an enlarged section of two ducts formed with a crimped end that fits within a non-crimped end of an adjacent duct of the present invention.
(21) FIG. 21 shows two full ducts secured together with the crimped end inside a non-crimped end of the present invention.
(22) FIG. 22 shows two ducts secured together with a crimped end within a non-crimped end and a seal bead applied to one end of one of the ducts of the present invention.
(23) FIG. 23 shows a duct with a crimped end having two seal beads applied to the crimped end for sealing to an adjacent duct of the present invention.
(24) FIG. 24 shows a panoramic view of the circular and oval-shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention with the flat metal sheet in position to be pulled through the two drive rolls and two bending rolls.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(25) To provide an overall understanding of the invention, certain illustrative embodiments and examples will now be described. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The compositions, apparatuses, systems and/or methods described herein may be adapted and modified as is appropriate for the application being addressed and that those described herein may be employed in other suitable applications, and that such other additions and modifications will not depart from the scope hereof.
(26) As used in the specification and claims, the singular forms a, an and the include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term a transaction may include a plurality of transaction unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used in the specification and claims, singular names or types referenced include variations within the family of said name unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting.
(27) The present invention is for an apparatus that can fabricate all sizes and thicknesses of round and oval ducts that may be required for any air distribution system designed for the HVAC systems within a building or other enclosures or similar applications. These are machines that will automatically fabricate a complete set of round ducts and a complete set of oval shaped HVAC ducts in one continuous process and on one machine for a minimal cost, with reinforced flat material, and with a crimped end and two sealing beads placed on the crimped end all in one pass through the machine.
(28) An oval shaped duct has two straight sides with two sides that are rounded that form a racetrack shaped duct automatically like that shown in FIG. 10. The apparatus and process of forming an oval shaped duct, as well as a round duct must be capable of forming each duct with a high precision so that sections of ducts can be assembled to form a continuous duct line or assembly with no leakage of air. The apparatus and process of forming the oval shaped duct of the present invention can take a flat sheet or a bead-reinforced sheet of metal and form the two straight sides and the two rounded sides in one continuous operation using two rolls that advance the sheet metal through and a third roller in the 3 roll machine that bends the rounded semi-circular ends. The round ducts are formed in the same machine also in one continuous operation at a much faster pace than the oval duct since the bending roll keeps the same position throughout the total bending process for these ducts. Further embodiments of the present invention comprise 4-roll and 5-roll machines that use two bending rolls instead of one bending roll.
(29) FIG. 1 shows the basic apparatus that will provide the oval shaped duct and includes a bed 11 on which a flat sheet of metal 12, or a bead reinforced sheet of metal of the thickness required is placed that will be formed into the oval shaped or the round duct. Two drive rolls are located on one end of the bed 11 that are connected to a motor to pull the flat or bead reinforced sheet of metal 12 through and include an upper drive roll 13 and a lower drive roll 14. Both drive rolls 13 and 14 can be adjusted to pull the various gages or thicknesses of sheet metal required in the HVAC industry for air distribution designed for buildings or other enclosures. A third roll or is an adjustable positioning bending roll 15 that will form the curved ends of the oval shaped duct or the total circular form for the round duct. For the oval ducts the bending roll is moveable in a vertical direction to one of two positions that include a non-bending position and a bending position. The bending position with be at a position to provide a specific curvature in the two rounded ends for the oval shaped duct, or for a specific curvature for the round duct. The positioning of the bending roll 15 must be accurate enough that the curved sections of the duct are reproduced for each size of the oval shaped ducts, and for the round duct formed by the apparatus, so that sections can be connected together to form a complete duct line assembly without any leakage of air. A sensor is required to determine how far the flat sheet 12 has moved through the rolls so that the bending roll 15 is moved at the proper time, ensuring that each of the flat sides are formed consistently and the curved sides are formed just as consistently for each oval shaped duct so that sections of ducts can be assembled without any leakage of air. The same requirement for consistent fabrication exists for the round ducts as for the oval ducts. The 4 and 5-roll machines use two bending rolls, synchronized, for still more accurate bends.
(30) A sensor will be used on one of the driving rolls 13 and 14 that can determine the amount of sheet metal passed through for purposes of controlling the length of the flat sides and the start and ending of the formation of the curved sides. The sensor can detect the movement of the sheet through the rollers or the rotation of one or both rollers in order to determine the position of the sheet through the machine. Other sensors can be used to detect the length of movement of the metal sheet through the rolls in order to form the flat and curved sections with the required precision to form oval shaped ducts. Another sensor may be used to ensure the metal sheet corners are properly aligned, in order to ensure that they are properly joined. A rack and pinion mechanism or similar mechanisms may be used for this purpose.
(31) FIG. 2 shows the two driving rolls 13 and 14 pulling the flat sheet through. After a specific length of the flat sheet has been pulled through, the driving rolls 13 and 14 are stopped and the bending roll 15 is moved up into place to begin forming the curvature in the duct. FIG. 3 shows the beginning of the curvature being formed. FIG. 4 shows the first half of the first curved side of the duct formed. FIG. 5 shows the first curved side of the duct totally formed.
(32) After the first curved side of the duct is formed (FIG. 5), the two driving rolls 13 and 14 are stopped and the bending roll 15 is moved to the flat forming position. Then, the two driving rolls 13 and 14 pull the sheet through to form the second flat side of the duct (FIG. 6). After the first flat side of the duct is formed, the two driving rolls 13 and 14 are stopped and bending roll 15 is moved into the bending position. Then, the two driving rolls pull the sheet through to form the beginning of the second curved side of the duct as seen in FIG. 7. The two driving rolls 13 and 14 continue to pull the sheet through with the bending roll 15 in the bending position to form the first half of the second curved side of the duct (FIG. 8) and then form the second half of the second curved side of the duct (FIG. 9). At this point, the two driving rolls 13 and 14 are stopped and the bending roll 15 is moved to the non-bending position. Then, the two driving rolls 13 and 14 pull the flat side of the duct through (FIG. 10) to where the two side ends of the duct are located. At this point, an adhesive dispenser installed on the apparatus may be used to join the two side ends of the duct.
(33) FIGS. 1-10 show the various positions of the sheet metal being formed into an oval shaped duct with two curved sides and two flat sides that are symmetric. The two driving rolls 13 and 14 pull the sheet through the apparatus and the bending roll 15 is moved into and out of the bending position to form the curved sides of the duct. Each flat side and each curved side of the duct must have lengths and curvatures formed with such precision that the shape of all ducts can be duplicated so that several of the oval shaped ducts can be joined together to form a duct line assembly for an HVAC system. The oval shaped duct in FIGS. 1-10 is formed in one continuous automatic operation. The proposed machine has the capacity required to form round and oval ducts automatically for all sizes and thicknesses required for any air distribution system in the HVAC industry since the machine is designed and built for such purpose.
(34) The oval shaped duct forming apparatus and process of the present invention can also form a circular shaped duct. FIGS. 11 through 17 shows the various stages of the formation of such circular shaped duct. The structure of the duct forming apparatus to form the circular shaped duct is the same as that in the oval shaped duct forming apparatus, except that the bending roller stays in the bending position the entire time without stopping the driving rolls. FIG. 11 shows the flat sheet metal being pulled through by the two driving rolls 13 and 14. FIG. 12 shows the bending roll 15 in the bending position with the two driving rolls 13 and 14 pulling the sheet through to start forming the circular shaped duct. FIG. 13 shows the first quarter section of the circular shaped duct formed. FIG. 14 shows the first half section of the circular shaped duct formed. FIG. 15 shows the first ths of the circular shaped duct formed. FIG. 16 shows the first s of the circular shaped duct formed. FIG. 17 shows the entire circular shaped duct formed. In the circular shaped duct forming apparatus and process, the bending roll 15 is always in the bending position as the two driving rolls 13 and 14 are pulling the sheet through. As seen in FIG. 24, another embodiment of the present invention comprises a set of two bending rolls 15 and 15a, each one located at opposite sides of said driving rolls 13 and 14. This embodiment operates similarly to the one shown in FIGS. 1-10 and 11-17, except an additional bending roll 15a is located adjacent to the driving rolls 13 and 14 on the opposite side to where the first bending roll 15 is located. This additional bending roll 15a helps in forming the second half of the second curved side of the oval-shaped duct (FIGS. 8-9) or maintaining the circular shape of the circular duct once the first s of the sheet have been formed by the apparatus (FIGS. 15-16).
(35) FIG. 18 shows the two driving rolls with structure to form beads on the duct and crimps on one end of the duct. The driving roll 13 has a number of annular raised rings 16 while the driving roll 14 has an equal number of annular depressions or slots 17 opposite to the rings 16. The driving roll 13 is a male beading roller while the driving roll 14 is a female beading roller. The beading rings 16 and depressions 17 are positioned in one embodiment along the rolls every 5 1/16 inches or other adequate distance. Each set of rolls 13, 14 and 15 are at least 3 feet in length but no more than 5 feet in length in order to form a standard length duct between three to five feet. As the two driving rolls 13 and 14 pull the sheet through to form the oval or circular shaped duct, the beading rings 16 and depressions 17 will form beading 18 in the sheet that add stiffness to the sheet and therefor to the finished duct piece, so that lighter gage material can be used in accordance with SMACNA and ASHRAE requirements.
(36) FIG. 19 also shows the two driving rolls 13 and 14 to have crimping rings 19 and 21 on one end of both rolls that together from a crimp on one end of the duct. The bending roll will also have the same female grooves as roll 14 so that the beads on the reinforced metal sheet will not be deformed while being formed into its round curvature. FIG. 19 shows two rolls 13 and 14 in the full length with the crimp rings 19 and 21 on one end.
(37) The crimped end of the duct will form a smaller diameter end such that the crimped end of one duct can be inserted into another duct downstream of the former one and into its non-crimped end. FIG. 21 shows two ducts 22 secured together with one open end having the crimped form 23 that is inserted into the non-crimped end of a second duct 22. FIG. 20 shows an enlarged view of sections of two ducts 22 with the crimped end 23 inserted into the non-crimped end of the second duct 22. The beading and the crimping can be done on both the oval shaped ducts as well as on the circular shaped ducts during the single continuous pass that forms the round or oval shaped duct. A sealing bead 24 is automatically placed in two rings around the crimped end to assure proper sealing in the transverse joints between adjacent duct pieces. Installers are advised to place an additional sealing ring 24 between the crimped end and the bead next to it upon the installation of each duct piece for further assurance against air leaks in the duct line assembly. FIG. 22 shows two ends of two ducts 22 with a sealing ring 24 applied or added on the crimped end 23 of one of the ducts. FIG. 23 shows a duct in which the crimped end 23 has two sealing rings 24 applied or added to provide a greater seal than would one ring. The sealing rings may be achieved using products such as Mastech, Henkel or Loctite.
(38) The present invention may also comprise four-rolls, with the same number of drive rolls but with two bending rolls instead of one.
(39) Thus, the apparatus and process of forming oval shaped ducts, and round ducts of the present invention can take any gauge of flat sheet metal, or bead reinforced sheet metal that is used to form HVAC ducts, and form an oval shaped duct having two straight sides and two curved sides by advancing the flat sheet through the pinch rolls to form first a flat side, then moving the Bending Roll or Rolls to form the first curved side, then advancing the sheet metal through to form the second flat side, and then further advancing the sheet metal through to form the second curved side, and then joining the end of the first flat side together with that of the last flat side to form the oval shaped duct. By controlling the precise location of bending of the two curved sides, an oval shaped duct can be formed with high precision so that the succeeding sections can be secured together without any air leakages.
(40) The apparatus and process of the present invention can also be used to form a circular shaped duct without modifying the structure of the oval shaped duct forming apparatus. Only the controls need to maintain the bending roll in the bending position to form the full circular shaped duct. Adding the circular shaped duct forming capability to the oval shaped duct forming apparatus and process will allow for both oval and circular shaped ducts to be formed using the same machine for all sizes and thickness of material required for air distribution systems in the HVAC Industry. Also, a crimped end can be formed during the single continuous pass duct forming process with a sealing ring applied or added to the crimped end. The benefit of an apparatus that can form both oval and circular shaped ducts for all sizes and thicknesses required in this industry is that circular shaped ducts can be formed wherever a building has enough space to fit a circular shaped duct, and the apparatus can form the oval shaped ducts where the building space is too small to fit the circular shaped duct. With the round and oval shaped duct forming apparatus of the present invention, customized shapes and sizes for ducts can be formed at the job site with a minimal cost and effort over the prior art apparatus, and also provide the ducts with zero leakage capability with the crimped ends and ring seals can be applied during the duct forming process on site as well as at the shop.
(41) The apparatus and process of the present invention disclose that the oval shaped duct is formed with the two ends that are to be joined to form the oval shaped duct are at a middle of one of the flat sides. However, the two ends that are to be joined together can be located anywhere along the sides or the round ends of the ducts without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The two ends that are to be joined can be joined within the apparatus that formed the oval shaped or circular shaped duct using an installed adhesive dispenser, or can be joined later by hand or by a second machine for a more economical machine price initially.
(42) To form the oval shaped duct, the driving rolls are stopped at a desired position of the flat metal sheet so that the bending roll can be moved into or out of position. This stopping and starting of the two driving rolls is required to precisely form the curved sections and the flat sections with proper lengths (flat or arc lengths) so that the duct shape can be repeated and that several ducts can be assembled together with enough precision to avoid air leakage at the joints of the HVAC ducting. However, these stops are of such short a duration that the driving rolls can be almost continuously operated without stopping while the bending roll is moved into and out of the bending position. The advancement of the flat metal sheet through the three rolls can form the sides of the duct with an accuracy such that several ducts can be easily and quickly assembled to form the ducting assemblies.
(43) The invention is not limited to the precise configuration described above. While the invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention after considering this specification together with the accompanying drawings. Accordingly, all such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by this invention as defined in the following claims and their legal equivalents. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses, if any, are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.
(44) All of the patents, patent applications, and publications recited herein, and in the Declaration attached hereto, if any, are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein. All, or substantially all, the components disclosed in such patents may be used in the embodiments of the present invention, as well as equivalents thereof. The details in the patents, patent applications, and publications incorporated by reference herein may be considered to be incorporable at applicant's option, into the claims during prosecution as further limitations in the claims to patentable distinguish any amended claims from any applied prior art.
