Patent Application
20230173569
This disclosure relates to tools for folding pieces of sheet metal. More particularly, this disclosure relates to tools for folding pieces of sheet metal to be used, for example, in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) applications.
Some pieces of sheet metal can be folded at manufacturing facilities to create various standardized three-dimensional shapes. However, in many cases, those pieces need to be folded or modified infield or onsite to create customized segments for specific applications during installation or repair. For example, those pieces of sheet metal may need to be folded onsite to create plenum end caps or odd-sized segments for ducts used in HVAC systems to conduct conditioned air. Conventional techniques for folding such pieces of sheet metal are cumbersome, time-consuming, laborious, and require expertise with multiple tools (e.g., a standard folding tool and a handbrake), which are limited in functionality, thereby resulting in folds that may be misaligned or have poor quality.
This disclosure enables various tools for folding pieces of sheet metal and methods of manufacture and use thereof. For example, some of such tools include a first pair of jaws spaced apart from each other at a first distance, a second pair of jaws spaced apart from each other at a second distance greater than the first distance, and a body spanning between the first pair of jaws and the second pair of jaws. By having the second distance being greater than the first distance, a user may use the body to form a primary bend (e.g., a hem) on a piece of sheet metal via bending the piece of sheet metal via the first pair of jaws, or vice versa, and then a secondary bend of the primary bend to form a desired shape (e.g., an S-shape) on the piece of sheet metal via the second pair of jaws, or vice versa. This structure and modality of operation may be used infield or onsite to create customized segments of certain pieces of sheet metal for specific applications during installation or repair. For example, those pieces of sheet metal may be folded onsite to create plenum end caps or odd-sized segments for ducts used in HVAC systems to conduct conditioned air in a manner that is not cumbersome, not time-consuming, not laborious, or does not require expertise with multiple tools (e.g., a standard folding tool and a handbrake), thereby resulting in folds that are not misaligned or not having poor quality.
In an embodiment, a device comprising: a first pair of jaws spaced apart from each other at a first distance such that an edge portion of a piece of sheet metal is receivable therebetween and the first pair of jaws is configured to form a hem on the piece of sheet metal via the edge portion being bent when the first pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa; a second pair of jaws spaced apart from each other at a second distance greater than the first distance such that the hem is receivable therebetween and the second pair of jaws is configured to bend the piece of sheet metal containing the hem when the second pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa; and a body spanning between the first pair of jaws and the second pair of jaws.
In an embodiment, a method comprising: causing a user to access a tool including a first pair of jaws, a second pair of jaws, and a body, wherein the first pair of jaws is spaced apart from each other at a first distance such that an edge portion of a piece of sheet metal is receivable therebetween and the first pair of jaws is configured to form a hem on the piece of sheet metal via the edge portion being bent when the first pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa, wherein the second pair of jaws is spaced apart from each other at a second distance greater than the first distance such that the hem is receivable therebetween and the second pair of jaws is configured to bend the piece of sheet metal containing the hem when the second pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa, wherein the body spans between the first pair of jaws and the second pair of jaws; causing the user insert the edge portion into the first pair of jaws to form the hem on the piece of sheet metal via the edge portion being bent as the first pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa; and causing the user to insert the hem into the second pair of jaws to bend the piece of sheet metal containing the hem as the second pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa.
In an embodiment, a method comprising: supplying a tool to a user, wherein the tool includes a first pair of jaws, a second pair of jaws, and a body, wherein the first pair of jaws is spaced apart from each other at a first distance such that an edge portion of a piece of sheet metal is receivable therebetween and the first pair of jaws is configured to form a hem on the piece of sheet metal via the edge portion being bent when the first pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa, wherein the second pair of jaws is spaced apart from each other at a second distance greater than the first distance such that the hem is receivable therebetween and the second pair of jaws is configured to bend the piece of sheet metal containing the hem when the second pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa, wherein the body spans between the first pair of jaws and the second pair of jaws; and instructing the user to: insert the edge portion into the first pair of jaws to form the hem on the piece of sheet metal via the edge portion being bent as the first pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa; and insert the hem into the second pair of jaws to bend the piece of sheet metal containing the hem as the second pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa.
In an embodiment, a method comprising: manufacturing a tool including a first pair of jaws, a second pair of jaws, and a body, wherein the first pair of jaws is spaced apart from each other at a first distance such that an edge portion of a piece of sheet metal is receivable therebetween and the first pair of jaws is configured to form a hem on the piece of sheet metal via the edge portion being bent when the first pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa, wherein the second pair of jaws is spaced apart from each other at a second distance greater than the first distance such that the hem is receivable therebetween and the second pair of jaws is configured to bend the piece of sheet metal containing the hem when the second pair of jaws is moved relative to the piece of sheet metal or vice versa, wherein the body spans between the first pair of jaws and the second pair of jaws.
Various embodiments of tools for folding pieces of sheet metal are described herein with reference to the drawings, wherein:
Various embodiments of this disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. These drawings depict some embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope.
As explained above, this disclosure enables various tools for folding pieces of sheet metal and methods of manufacture and use thereof. For example, some of such tools include a first pair of jaws spaced apart from each other at a first distance, a second pair of jaws spaced apart from each other at a second distance greater than the first distance, and a body spanning between the first pair of jaws and the second pair of jaws. By having the second distance being greater than the first distance, a user may use the body to form a primary bend (e.g., a hem) on a piece of sheet metal via bending the piece of sheet metal via the first pair of jaws, or vice versa, and then a secondary bend of the primary bend to form a desired shape (e.g., an S-shape) on the piece of sheet metal via the second pair of jaws, or vice versa. This structure and modality of operation may be used infield or onsite to create customized segments of certain pieces of sheet metal for specific applications during installation or repair. For example, those pieces of sheet metal may be folded onsite to create plenum end caps or odd-sized segments for ducts used in HVAC systems to conduct conditioned air in a manner that is not cumbersome, not time-consuming, not laborious, or does not require expertise with multiple tools (e.g., a standard folding tool and a handbrake), thereby resulting in folds that are not misaligned or not having poor quality.
This disclosure is now described more fully with reference to the drawings, in which some embodiments of this disclosure are shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as necessarily being limited to various embodiments disclosed herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and complete, and fully conveys various concepts of this disclosure to skilled artisans. Note that like numbers or similar numbering schemes can refer to like or similar elements throughout.
Various terminology used herein can imply direct or indirect, full or partial, temporary or permanent, action or inaction. For example, when an element is referred to as being “on,” “connected” or “coupled” to another element, then the element can be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements can be present, including indirect or direct variants. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.
As used herein, a term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. For example, X includes A or B can mean X can include A, X can include B, and X can include A and B, unless specified otherwise or clear from context.
As used herein, each of singular terms “a,” “an,” and “the” is intended to include a plural form (e.g., two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, tens, hundreds, thousands, millions) as well, including intermediate whole or decimal forms (e.g., 0.0, 0.00, 0.000), unless context clearly indicates otherwise. Likewise, each of singular terms “a,” “an,” and “the” shall mean “one or more,” even though a phrase “one or more” may also be used herein.
As used herein, each of terms “comprises,” “includes,” or “comprising,” “including” specify a presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude a presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof.
As used herein, when this disclosure states herein that something is “based on” something else, then such statement refers to a basis which may be based on one or more other things as well. In other words, unless expressly indicated otherwise, as used herein “based on” inclusively means “based at least in part on” or “based at least partially on.”
As used herein, terms, such as “then,” “next,” or other similar forms are not intended to limit an order of steps. Rather, these terms are simply used to guide a reader through this disclosure. Although process flow diagrams may describe some operations as a sequential process, many of those operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of operations may be re-arranged.
As used herein, a term “response” or “responsive” are intended to include a machine-sourced action or inaction, such as an input (e.g., local, remote), or a user-sourced action or inaction, such as an input (e.g., via user input device).
As used herein, a term “about” or “substantially” refers to a +/−10% variation from a nominal value/term.
As used herein, relative terms such as “below,” “lower,” “above,” and “upper” can be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the set of accompanying illustrative drawings. Such relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of illustrated technologies in addition to an orientation depicted in the set of accompanying illustrative drawings. For example, if a device in the set of accompanying illustrative drawings were turned over, then various elements described as being on a “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of other elements. Similarly, if a device in one of illustrative figures were turned over, then various elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” other elements. Therefore, various example terms “below” and “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below.
Although various terms, such as first, second, third, and so forth can be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, or sections, note that these elements, components, regions, layers, or sections should not necessarily be limited by such terms. Rather, these terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another element, component, region, layer, or section. As such, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section, without departing from this disclosure.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have a same meaning as commonly understood by skilled artisans to which this disclosure belongs. These terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in context of relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.
Example embodiments of this disclosure are described herein with reference to illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of this disclosure. As such, variations from various illustrated shapes as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, various example embodiments of this disclosure should not be construed as necessarily limited to various particular shapes of regions illustrated herein, but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing.
Features or functionality described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined and sub-combined in or with various other embodiments. Also, different aspects, components, or elements of embodiments, as disclosed herein, may be combined and sub-combined in a similar manner as well. Further, some embodiments, whether individually or collectively, may be components of a larger system, wherein other procedures may take precedence over or otherwise modify their application. Additionally, a number of steps may be required before, after, or concurrently with embodiments, as disclosed herein. Note that any or all methods or processes, as disclosed herein, can be at least partially performed via at least one entity or actor in any manner.
As used herein, a term “or others,” “combination”, “combinatory,” or “combinations thereof” refers to all permutations and combinations of listed items preceding that term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of a item or term, such as BB, AAA, AB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. Skilled artisans understand that typically there is no limit on a number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.
Any or all elements, as disclosed herein, can be formed from a same, structurally continuous piece, such as being unitary, or be separately manufactured or connected, such as being an assembly or modules. Any or all elements, as disclosed herein, can be manufactured via any manufacturing processes, whether additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, or any other types of manufacturing. For example, some manufacturing processes include three dimensional (3D) printing, laser cutting, computer numerical control routing, milling, pressing, stamping, vacuum forming, hydroforming, injection molding, lithography, and so forth.
Hereby, all issued patents, published patent applications, and non-patent publications that are mentioned or referred to in this disclosure are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes, to a same extent as if each individual issued patent, published patent application, or non-patent publication were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. To be even more clear, all incorporations by reference specifically include those incorporated publications as if those specific publications are copied and pasted herein, as if originally included in this disclosure for all purposes of this disclosure. Therefore, any reference to something being disclosed herein includes all subject matter incorporated by reference, as explained above. However, if any disclosures are incorporated herein by reference and such disclosures conflict in part or in whole with this disclosure, then to an extent of the conflict or broader disclosure or broader definition of terms, this disclosure controls. If such disclosures conflict in part or in whole with one another, then to an extent of conflict, the later-dated disclosure controls.
As used herein, terms “trailing” and “leading” are to be taken as relative to a user of a tool for folding a piece of sheet metal. “Trailing” is to be understood as relatively close to the user and “leading” is to be understood as relatively farther away from the user.
Each of the first pair of jaws 120 and the second pair of jaws 130 respectfully includes two opposing elongated members cantileveredly extending from the body 105, while being spaced apart from each other at a distance, such that the first pair of jaws 120 is defined by an upper portion 121a and a lower portion 121b, and the second pair of jaws 130 is defined by an upper portion 131a and a lower portion 131b.
The upper portion 121a and the lower portion 121b have an identical longitudinal length J1W (width) measured from the body 105, although this is not required. The upper portion 131a and the lower portion 131b have an identical longitudinal length J2W (width) measured from the body 105, although this is not required. The upper portion 121a and the upper portion 131a may have an identical longitudinal length measured from the body 105 in opposing directions from the body 105 (J1W=J2W), although this is not required. The lower portion 121b and the lower portion 131b may have an identical longitudinal length measured from the body 105 in opposing directions from the body 105 (J1W=J2W), although this is not required.
The distance between the upper portion 121a and the lower portion 121b is labeled as J1T (thickness) and the distance between the upper portion 131a and the lower portion 131b is labeled as J2T (thickness), where the J1T is not equal to the J2T. For example, the J1T is greater than J2T. The tool 100 may have a width W1 measured end-to-end between the first pair of jaws 120 and the second pair of jaws 130. The tool 100 may have a length L1 measured end-to-end on the body 105 traversing the width W1. For example, the tool 100 may include a length L1 of between 6″ and 36″. In at least some examples, the tool 100 may have a length L1 of 12″, 18″ or 24″. For example, the tool 100 may also have a width W1 of between 2″ and 8″. In at least some examples, the tool 100 has a width W1 of 3.25″. Each of the first pair of jaws 120 and the second pair of jaws 130 may have certain dimensions configured and arranged to allow folding of a piece of sheet metal for specific applications. In some examples, the first pair of jaws 120 has a width J1W of ½″ and a thickness J1T of ¼″, and the second pair of jaws 130 has a width J2W of ½″ and a thickness J2T of 1/16″. In at least some examples, the first pair of jaws 120 has a thickness J1T that is ⅛″, 3/16″, ¼″ or 7/16″. In at least some examples, the second pair of jaws 130 has a thickness J2T that is 1/32″, 1/16″, or 3/32″. The second pair of jaws 130 may be used to fold a piece of sheet metal as a hem, as further explained below.
The first pair of jaws 120, the body 105, and the second pair of jaws 130 form a polygonal shape (e.g., a rectangle, a square), although this is not required. For example, the upper portion 121a and the lower portion 121b may be shaped as flat or planar sheets opposing each other in the first pair of jaws 120. Likewise, the upper portion 131a and the lower portion 131b may be shaped as flat or planar sheets opposing each other in the second pair of jaws 130. Similarly, the body 105 may be shaped as a flat or planar piece spanning between the first pair of jaws 120 and the second pair of jaws 130.
The tool 100 may have a set of holes or apertures 140, where such holes or apertures 140 are positioned at the body 105 or a set of areas from which the upper portion 121a and the lower portion 121b extend from the body 105 or the upper portion 131a and the lower portion 131b extend from the body 105. The holes or apertures 140 provides visual access into the first pair of jaws 120 or the second pair of jaws 130, as further explained below.
The holes or apertures 140 may be arranged with two holes or apertures 140 along each major side of the tool 100, i.e., two holes or apertures 140 in proximity of the first pair of jaws 120 and two holes or apertures 140 in proximity the second pair of jaws 130, whether laterally opposing each other or not, although less than two or more than holes or apertures 140 extending along per major side of the tool 100 is possible. In this example, the holes or apertures 140 are disposed adjacent the ends of the jaw widths J1W, J2W so that a piece of sheet metal respectively inserted by the user into the first pair of jaws 120 or the second pair of jaws 130 can be respectively seen by the user within the first pair of jaws 120 or the second pair of jaws 130, indicating that the piece of sheet metal is contacting the body 105 within the first pair of jaws 120 or the second pair of jaws 130 or is ready for bending, as further explained below. Though the holes or apertures 140 are shown as circles, this is not required and the holes or apertures 140 may be triangular, square or other any other suitable shape. Additionally, though two holes or apertures 140 are shown per each major side of the tool 100, this is not required and a single aperture may be disposed per each major side of the tool 100, or that three, four or more holes or apertures 140 may be disposed per each major side of the tool 100, and separated from one another by a predetermined gap or be randomly or unequally spaced relative to the opposing holes or apertures 140. Alternatively, the tool 100 may be formed with no holes or apertures 140 at all, or with holes or apertures 140 adjacent to only one of the first pair jaws 120 or the second pair of jaws 130.
The tool 100 may have a set of holes or apertures 150. For example, the body 105 may have the holes or apertures 150 positioned between the first pair of jaws 120 and the second pair of jaws 130. The holes or apertures 140 may be positioned between the holes or apertures 150. The holes or apertures 150 may be positioned towards the minor sides of the tool 100 for manufacturing purposes or for hanging the tool 100 onto a post, a hook, a nail, a screw, or another suitable device, although such positioning is not required and can vary.
The tool 100 may be formed to be unitary as a single monolithic piece structured as shown in
The tool 100 may be formed to be an assembly (e.g., joining, attaching, connecting) two separate plates (or flat or planar portions) of equal (or unequal) size or shape such that these plates contact each other or rest on each other. In such cases, the end portions of one of those plates that oppose each other may be structured to include the upper portion 121a and the upper portion 131a, and the end portions of another of those plates that oppose each other may be structured to include the lower portion 121b and the lower portion 131b, with terms “upper” or “lower” being used for relative consistency in context of
One example of the tool 100 being formed according to this method of assembly is shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The tool 100 can be used to make certain types of sheet metal locks, such as a Pittsburgh lock, to join two pieces of sheet metal. As shown in
Variations of the tool 100 are possible. For example,
In
Note that the pairs of jaws 720, 730 share a portion (cantileveredly extending from the body 105), whether upper or lower, depending on that respective jaw, with opposite surface of that respective jaw functioning for that respective jaw. For example, an upper surface of the lower portion of the pair of jaws 720 is used for the pair of jaws 720, whereas the lower surface of the lower portion of the pair of jaws 730 is used for the pair of jaws 730. Similar applies to the pairs of jaws 740, 750. Likewise, note that such portions may or may not have an identical longitudinal length measured from the body 105. Similarly, note that the pairs of jaws 720, 730 may be identical to each other in thickness, although this is not required, whereas the pairs of jaws 740, 750 may not be identical to each other in thickness, although this is not required.
The user may be supplied (or provided or sent by mail or courier in a package or not in a package) the tool 100 (or its variations or its components) and then instructed on its manufacture or use. For example, such form of instruction may include a printed manual, a presentation, a PDF file, a wizard, a webpage, a mobile app, a video content, an audio content, an augmented reality (AR) content, an or another suitable instructional form factor.
Although various embodiments have been depicted and described in detail herein, skilled artisans know that various modifications, additions, substitutions and the like can be made without departing from this disclosure. As such, these modifications, additions, substitutions and the like are considered to be within this disclosure
This patent application claims a benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/286,901 filed on 7 Dec. 2021, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63286901 | Dec 2021 | US |
