Description:‘A FIXTURE FOR BENDING HEATED PLATE TO PREDETERMINED ANGLES DURING MANUFACTURE OF PLATE LIFTING CLAMPS’

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the manufacture of plate lifting clamps. More particularly the invention relates to a fixture for bending the heated plate to predetermined angles during the manufacture of plate lifting clamps.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

During manufacture of plate lifting clamps there are several steps starting from cutting of plates for the clamps to welding of eye rings for attachment of the suitable sling. The plates to be used in the manufacture of the clamps are to be heated and bent to predetermined angles as per lifting requirement. The bending process was done manually using a rudimentary fixture which required more manpower and resulted in clamps with inconsistent angles of bend. The plate also slipped while bending. Hence there is a need to design a better fixture to address the above shortcomings in the existing method of working.

In view of the above, the present invention has been proposed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:

Primary object of the present invention is to propose a new fixture for bending of plates during manufacture of plate lifting clamps.

Another object of the invention is to propose a new fixture for bending of plates during manufacture of plate lifting clamps, which obviates shortcomings of the prior art(s).

Yet further object of the present invention is to propose a new fixture for bending of plates during manufacture of plate lifting clamps in which mechanical plate bending is facilitated with a guide stopper for regulation of bending angles.

At the outset of the description that follows, it is to be understood that the ensuing description only illustrates a particular form of this invention. However, such a particular form is only an exemplary embodiment and is not intended to be taken restrictively to imply any limitation on the scope of the present invention.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred form of the present invention is illustrated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One or more drawbacks of conventional systems and process are overcome, and additional advantages are provided through the apparatus/composition and a method as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be part of the claimed disclosure.

Accordingly, there is designed a fixture for mechanical bending of plates during manufacture of plate lifting clamps. According to the invention, the fixture is designed for securely arresting the heated plate in position while bending. The bending force is applied from the hook of an Electric Overhead Travelling crane vide a system of pulleys to an offset reversible bending tool with provision for hook attachment on both sides which holds the free end of the plate. The plate is bent till right angle with the bending tool in position and then it is reversed for further bending to avoid slipping from the plate. A stopper guide of pre-set angle limits the bending according to the angle of bending required.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The illustrated embodiments of the subject matter will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments of devices, systems, and processes that are consistent with the subject matter as claimed herein, wherein:-
Figure 1 shows: Constructional features of the plate clamp bending fixture according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows: The fixture of the present invention in action.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

While the embodiments of the disclosure are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof have been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described below. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

The present invention makes a disclosure regarding a technology pertaining to invention directing to a fixture for bending the heated plate to predetermined angles during the manufacture of plate lifting clamps.

Reference may be made to Figure 1 illustrating the line diagram of a plate bending fixture. The fixture’s basic structure comprises a base plate (1), Side support plates (2) with lifting eyes (10) for handling the fixture, the mounting structure for bolting the interchangeable pre-set angle stopper plate, and structure (6) with mechanism for clamping the job (14). Depending on the job length and position of the bend on the job, pedestal (07) of suitable height is placed in the slot. Then the suitable pre-set angle stopper guide plate (3) is mounted and clamped in position by means of the clamping bolts (5 & 13). Thereafter, the pre-heated job (14) is placed on the pedestal (7) and clamped in position by a lever (11) operated mechanism which includes a screw rod (04) mounted flange plate (08). Then the offset reversible bending tool (15) is inserted onto the top end of the job plate (14). The tool (15) is connected to the rope from the crane by means of a pin. The bending load is applied through the rope vide a pulley system (09) to carry out the bending operation.

ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION

• Higher productivity – The present invention has increased work output by over 200%;

• Improved safety – The angular offset on the reversible bending tool (15) enables optimal efficiency where the bending force is applied effectively to the job without any chance of the tool being pulled off the job by the bending load;

• Eliminates worker fatigue – The present invention eliminates manual labour in bending process since the bending force is applied by means of an overhead crane;

• Improved quality – The present invention has improved the quality of bends in two aspects:

-The angle of bending has become more precise due to the design of the fixture with stopper;

-The cycle time reduction and uniform application of bending force has eliminated the possibility of crack formation while bending.

WORKING OF THE INVENTION
For the manufacture of the plate lifting clamps, the heated plate is kept in the fixture.

Then the bending tool is fixed to the heated plate.

The bending tool has provision for attaching hooks on both sides.

The bending tool is then connected to the hook of an Electric Overhead Traveling crane through a system of pulleys on the floor.

These set of pulleys convert the vertical lifting force of the crane hook into force acting at an angle to the heated plates clamped in the fixture.

This force is used to bend the heated plates using the bending tool.

After the plate has been bent to 900, the bending tool is then reversed and the plates are bent further.

The mechanical stopper guide limits the bending of the plate to the required angle.

TEST RESULT
During a trial, in a single shift the present invention has resulted in below improvements:

-Productivity increased by 200% from earlier method;
-The cycle time has reduced around 65%;
-The angle of the plate clamps are precise without any deviations between clamps;
-Worker fatigue is eliminated;
-Worker morale has improved.

Each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the "invention" may in some cases refer to certain specific embodiments only. In other cases, it will be recognized that references to the "invention" will refer to subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.

Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all groups used in the appended claims.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particulars claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogues to “at least one of A, B and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B”.

The above description does not provide specific details of manufacture or design of the various components. Those of skill in the art are familiar with such details, and unless departures from those techniques are set out, techniques, known, related art or later developed designs and materials should be employed. Those in the art are capable of choosing suitable manufacturing and design details.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into other systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may subsequently be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as encompassed by the following claims.

The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
, Claims:We Claim:

1. A fixture for bending of plates during the manufacture of plate lifting clamps, comprising

- a base plate (1), side support plates (2) with lifting eyes (10), stopper guide mounting structure and job clamping mechanism mounting structure (6),

-a screw rod (4) mounted flange (8) for arresting the plate (1) in position,

- an offset reversible bending tool (15) to hold the plate (1) and apply the bending force to the plate,

- an interchangeable stopper guide (3) for various pre-set angles to limit the
bending angles,

- a pulley system (9) to transfer the lifting force of an EOT crane to the fixture
and utilise it for plate bending.

2.The fixture for bending of plates as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structure (6) with mechanism is provided for clamping the job (14).

3. The fixture for bending of plates as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein depending on the job length and position of the bend on the job, pedestal (07) of suitable height is placed in slot.

4. The fixture for bending of plates as claimed in claims 1-3, wherein the pre-set angle stopper guide plate (3) is mounted and clamped in position by clamping bolts (5 & 13).

5. The fixture for bending of plates as claimed in claims 1-4, wherein the pre-heated job (14) is placed on the pedestal (7) and clamped in position by a lever (11) operated mechanism which includes said screw rod (04) mounted flange plate (08).

6. The fixture for bending of plates as claimed in claims 1-5, wherein the offset reversible bending tool (15) is inserted onto the top end of the job plate (14).

7. The fixture for bending of plates as claimed in claims 1-6, wherein the tool (15) is connected to the rope from the crane.

8. The fixture for bending of plates as claimed in claims 1-7, wherein the bending load is applied through rope vide the pulley system (09) to carry out the bending operation.