Patent Application
20200061692
The present disclosure relates to a notching device and, more particularly, to a notching device including a two-tier die set and methods of operating the notching device, for use in notching a drive cleat.
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (“HVAC system”) are formed by connecting a number of metal ducts. A common method for connecting the metal ducts is the use of a drive cleat. A drive cleat is normally formed by taking a thin and malleable piece of metal and bending it so that two ends are positioned adjacent to one another, which thereby forms a long, slender rectangle with two layers that includes a gap or channel between the two ends. Two metal ducts are connected by sliding/positioning a drive cleat over each end of the two separate metal ducts.
Typically, drive cleats are mass produced with a standard width and an adjustable length. Most HVAC systems require adjustment of the drive cleat. These adjustments are usually done on the job site and not during mass production. Usually, the length of the drive cleat must be modified to correspond to the length of the metal ducts of the HVAC system.
Additionally, another common adjustment made to the drive cleat is the formation of notches at each end of the drive cleat. The addition of these notches reduces a friction between the drive cleat and the metal ducts when the drive cleat is positioned upon the metal ducts. Currently, the creation of these notches requires a skilled worker to use a type of machinery that is dangerous and has limited mobility. Also, the current method produces a mangled drive cleat, having jagged edges that are potentially harmfully to the person positioning the drive cleat over the metal ducts and/or may be unusable. Further, current machinery creates the notch through both layers of the drive cleat, which is not required for positioning the drive cleat.
Therefore, there exists a need for a notching device that can better create a notch within a drive cleat.
A notching device provided in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure includes a base, a stand, a lever assembly, a notching assembly, and die set. The stand is coupled to the base. The lever assembly is coupled to the stand and the notching assembly is coupled to the lever assembly. The die set includes a two-tier upper shoe and a lower shoe. The two-tier upper shoe has a first tier and a second tier separated by a gap and the lower shoe includes a notch, wherein the two-tier upper shoe fits within the lower shoe. The notch of the lower show includes a sharp edged perimeter. The height of the gap is 0.06 inches.
In an aspect of the present disclosure, the notch of the lower shoe has a triangular profile, and the first and second tier of the upper shoe each have a triangular profile.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the notch of the lower shoe has a half-circle profile, and the first and second tier of the upper shoe each have a half-circle profile.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the lever assembly includes a lever and a spring, wherein the spring is compressed by a transition of the lever of the notching assembly from a vertical position to a notching position. Additionally, the lever assembly includes a first lever, a second lever, and a vertical post. The first lever, second lever, and vertical post are interconnected to transition the lever assembly from a resting position to a vertical position. The transition of lever assembly from the resting positon to the vertical position transitions the notching assembly from a vertical position to a notching position.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the stand includes at least one wall and a wedging piece, wherein the wedging piece is disposed upon the at least one wall and extends perpendicularly therefrom.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the notching device includes a cutting member. The cutting member is coupled to the two-tier upper shoe of the die set and extends perpendicularly therefrom.
In another of aspect of the present disclosure, a method of operation of a notching device includes disposing a lower shoe onto a base of a notching device, securing a two-tier upper shoe in a notching assembly of the notching device, placing a first layer of a drive cleat between an upper tier and a lower tier of the two-tier upper shoe, and transitioning a lever of the notching device from a vertical position to a resting position, wherein the two-tier upper shoe transitions from a respective vertical position to a notching position in contact with the lower shoe to create a notch within the first layer of the drive cleat.
The method further includes placing a wedging piece in between the first layer and a second layer of the drive cleat, and hammering the drive cleat farther upon the wedging piece. Also, placing a metal jacket over the wedging piece and then placing the wedging piece in between the first layer and the second layer of the drive cleat, and hammering the drive cleat farther upon the wedging piece.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method includes selecting a notcher of the two-tier upper shoe, the notcher having a shape selected from the group consisting of a triangular shaped, squared shaped, half-circular shaped, and a rectangular shaped.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method includes securing the base of the notching device to a stable location so as to fix a location of the notching device.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method includes positioning the drive cleat under a cutting member coupled to the two-tier upper shoe of the notching assembly and cutting the drive cleat at a desire length.
Various aspects and features of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to the drawings wherein:
The present disclosure is directed to a notching device including a two-tier die set and methods of operating the notching device. In particular, the present disclosure presents a notching device including a die set with a two-tier upper shoe and a lower shoe. In this way, the notching device may create a notch in only one layer of a drive cleat. As a result, a notch in the drive cleat may be quickly and precisely formed.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are now disclosed in detail with reference to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate corresponding elements in each of the several views. Throughout this description, the term “proximal” will refer to the portion of the device or component thereof that is closer to the user and the term “distal” will refer to the portion of the device or component thereof that is farthest from the user. Also, all the components of notching device 10 may be manufactured using any appropriate metal, such as steel.
Turning to
Further, base 12 may include attachable L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b. The L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b may be connected to the bottom surface of base 12, wherein a horizontal piece of each of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b extends below the bottom surface of base 12. Each of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b may be positioned parallel to one another and adjacent to a proximal parameter of the base 12. The spacing between each of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b my range between about 4 inches to 8 inches, and in some embodiments the spacing may be about 6 inches. The horizontal piece of each of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b is connected to a vertical piece of each of the L-shaped hook 18a, 18b in a manner so that the horizontal pieces may translate, relative to the respective vertical piece, from a first position to a second position. The first position of the horizontal piece of each of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b being closer to base 12 and the second position being farther from the base 12. Each of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b may include a locking mechanism (not shown), which allows the horizontal pieces thereof to be locked in the first position, second position or any position between the first and second position. Each horizontal piece of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b may be connected to each vertical piece by a hinge or another mechanism that allows the horizontal piece to be folded adjacent to the vertical piece. Each vertical piece of the L-shaped hooks 18a, 18b may be connected to the bottom surface of the base 12 by a hinge or another mechanism that allows each vertical piece to be folded adjacent to the bottom surface of the base 12.
With continued reference to
The stand 20 also includes a wedging piece 26. The wedging piece 26 may be positioned on either one of the walls 22a, 22b. The wedging piece 26 is positioned perpendicularly to the walls 22a, 22b. The wedging piece 26 is about 1/16″ to ⅛″ thick, about 2.0″ long, and about 1.0″ wide. Wedging piece 26 is a tampering wedge piece whose function is to ensure the end of the metal slip or drive cleat 90 will more easily enter the notching assembly 70, and more precisely, between the first tier 80a and the second tier 80b of the notcher 80. In some embodiments, an additional metal jacket 28 may be placed over the wedging piece 26 to increase the thickness of the wedging piece 26.
With reference to
The lever 32 is positioned adjacent to the vertical post 34 including spring 38 in a manner that allows the user to apply a downward force (e.g., first direction) on the vertical post 34 by applying a downward force on the lever 30. The lever 30 is connected to a proximal end of the support structure 44 by a hinge 42. The hinge 42 allows the lever 32 to transition from a first position signified by “P1” to a second position signified by “P2.” In first position “P1,” the lever 32 is not in contact with the vertical post 34, while in second position “P2,” the lever 32 contacts the vertical post 34 and fully compresses spring 38.
As illustrated in
As stated above, the transition of the lever assembly 50 actuates the notching assembly 70. The transitioning of the distal end 53b of the first lever 52 from a resting position signified by “R1,” to a vertical position signified by “V1,” initiates the transition of the lever assembly 50. When the first lever 52 is in the resting position “R1,” the horizontal post is also in a resting position signified by “R2,” and when the first lever 52 is in the vertical position “V1,” the horizontal post is also in a vertical position signified by “V2.” When the horizontal post transitions from the resting positioning “R2” to the vertical position “V1”, the vertical post 56 also transitions from a resting position, signified by “R3” to a vertical position, signified by “V3.” Further, when the vertical post 56 transition from the resting position “R3” to the vertical position “V3,” the notching assembly 70 transitions from the notching position “N” to the vertical position “V4,” this transition will be discussed in further detail below.
With reference to
As stated above, the lower shoe 82 is interchangeably connected to the die plate 72. The lower shoe 82 can be connected to the die plate 72 in a manner that allows the lower shoe 82 to be easily connected and disconnected to the die plate 72. The user can exchange the lower shoe 82 based on the requirements of the user's project. In some embodiments, the body 84 of the lower shoe 82 will take the form of a rectangle or square and the notch 86 will take the form of a triangle.
The two-tier upper shoe 76 includes a body 78 and a notcher 80. The notcher 80 is formed by two tiers, namely a first tier 80a and a second tier 80b. The first tier 80a and the second tier 80b are separated by a gap 81. The height of the gap 81 can range from about 0.01 inches to about 0.1 inches and in some embodiment the height of the gap 81 will be about 0.06 inches. The body 78 of the two-tier upper shoe 76 can also take any appropriate shape.
The notcher 80 of the upper shoe 76 can take the form of a triangle, a half circle, a square, a rectangle or any other appropriate shape. The shape of the two-tier upper shoe 76 will mirror the selected shape of the lower shoe 82, and the notcher 80 of the upper shoe 76 will mirror the selected shape of the notch 86 of the lower shoe 82. The notcher 80 may be located on a proximal end of the body 78 of the two-tier upper shoe 76 so that it is aligned and/or in registration with the notch 86 of the lower shoe 82. The notch 86 of the lower shoe 82 acts as a female component of the notching assembly 70 receiving the second tier 80b of the two-tier upper shoe 76, and thus the lower tier 80b of the two-tier upper shoe 76 acts as the male component of the notching assembly 70 by being received by the notch 86 of the lower shoe 82.
The cutting member 40 of lever assembly 30 or of lever assembly 50 is attached to a bottom surface of the body 78 of the two-tier upper shoe 76. The cutting member 40 extends perpendicularly from the body 78 of the two-tier upper shoe 76. Use of the cutting member 40 to cut the drive cleat 90 will be further discussed below.
Referring back to
Thereafter, the user may cut the drive cleat 90 to a desired length. To do so, user may insert the drive cleat 90 through either aperture 24a, 24b of the stand 20. During insertion, drive cleat 90 may pass under the body 78 of the two-tier upper shoe 76 of the notching assembly 70. The user may then align the drive cleat 90 under the cutting member 40 at the desired length of the drive cleat 90. Once the drive cleat 90 is appropriately placed, the lever assembly 30 (or lever assembly 50) may be actuated to cut the drive cleat 90. In some embodiments, the lever 32 of lever assembly 30 may transition from the first position “P1” to the second position “P2” (
Thereafter, the user must prepare the drive cleat 90 for notching by first widening an end of the drive cleat 90 that will be notched. Briefly moving to
Thereafter, following the widening of the end of the drive cleat 90, the user selects a particular die set 74. In selecting the die set 74, the user should select the lower shoe 82 and the two-tier upper shoe 76 that are mirror images of one another, such as, for example, if the user selects the lower shoe 82 with a triangular shaped notch 86 then the user should also select the two-tier upper shoe 76 with a triangular shaped notcher 80. In some embodiments, the die set 74 is selected prior to the widening of the drive cleat 90. The selected lower shoe 82 is disposed in the die plate 72 of the notching assembly 70 and the two-tier upper shoe 76 is disposed within the notching assembly 70. Both the lower shoe 82 and the two-tier upper shoe 76 is disposed/positioned in a manner to allow the notcher 80 of the two-tier upper shoe 76 to fit within the notch 86 of the lower shoe 82. Upon the full assembly of the notching device 10, the widened end of the drive cleat 90 may be notched.
Next, the user may notch the widened end of drive cleat 90. As indicated above, in some embodiments, while the lever 32 of the lever assembly 30 is positioned in resting position “P1” (
In other embodiments, while the first lever 52 of the lever assembly 50 is disposed in the resting position “R1” (
In some embodiments, once the drive cleat 90 is appropriately placed within the notching assembly 70, the user may transition the lever 32 from first position “P1” to second position “P2.” This transition of the lever 32 applies a downward force upon the vertical post 34, which compresses the spring 38, and forces the vertical post 34 to move downwards. This transition also moves the two-tier upper shoe 76 from vertical position “V4” to notching position “N.” When the spring 38 is fully compressed the second tier 80b of the two-tier upper shoe 76 comes in contact with the notch 86 of the lower shoe 82. Once the second tier 80b of the upper shoe 76 is full situated within the notch 86, a notch 98 is created in the widened end of the drive cleat 90 (
In other embodiments, after the drive cleat 90 is appropriately situated within the two-tier upper shoe 76, the user may transition the first lever 52 of lever assembly 50 from the vertical position “V1” to the rested position “R1,” which simultaneously transitions the horizontal post of first level 52 from the vertical position “V2” to the resting position “R2,” the vertical post 56 of the second lever 54 from the vertical position “V4” to the resting position “R3,” and two-tier upper shoe 76 from the vertical position “V4” to the notching position “N.” Similar to the above described method of operation of notching device 10, once the first lever 52 is fully transitioned from the vertical position “V1” to the resting position “R1” the second tier 80b of the two-tier upper shoe 76 comes in contact with the notch 86 of the lower shoe 82. Once the second tier 80b of the two-tier upper shoe 76 is fully situated within the notch 80, a notch 98 is created in the widened end of the drive cleat 90 (
Although embodiments have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings for the purpose of illustration and description, it is to be understood that the inventive processes and apparatus are not to be construed as limited thereby. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications to the foregoing embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
