DESC:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of mechanical engineering, and more particularly, to tools for reforming a sheet metal.
BACKGROUND
A vehicle hood has a latch that engages and clinches onto a hood striker. The hood latch includes a primary latching mechanism and a secondary latching mechanism. The primary latching mechanism is operated from within the vehicle, normally from under the dashboard, and a secondary latching is only operable from outside the vehicle.
A hood release switch of the latch is disengaged when a hood latch is actuated. Conventionally, during the hood disengagement operation, the hood release switch does not open completely, thereby affecting disengagement operation of the hood. The problem associated with the above mentioned configuration is the insufficient space between the hood of the vehicle and the hood release switch. The space between the hood of the vehicle and the hood release switch is adjusted by reforming a part of a sheet metal associated with the hood. A reforming tool is used to reform the part of the sheet metal, thereby providing sufficient spacing between the hood of the vehicle and the hood release switch. The conventional reforming tools use hydraulic press, or mechanical punch and press assembly which makes the reforming process very costly and time consuming.
Therefore, there is felt a need of a tool for reforming a sheet metal that alleviates the above mentioned drawbacks of the conventional reforming tools.

OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
It is an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide an useful alternative.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a tool for reforming a sheet metal that requires less manufacturing time.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a tool for reforming a sheet metal that is light in weight.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a tool for reforming a sheet metal that is simple in design.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a tool for reforming a sheet metal that is less costly.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a tool for reforming a sheet metal. The reforming tool of the present disclosure reforms the sheet metal to provide a sufficient gap between a hood and a hood release switch of the vehicle. The tool disclosed in the present disclosure comprises a die assembly and a punch. The die assembly has operative top surface, bottom operative surface. The die assembly comprises a support member and a support slab. The operative top surface of the die has contour shaped cavity configured thereon. At least one support member is connected to the operative bottom surface of the die. The support slab is secured to the operative bottom surface of the die. The support slab is configured to support the die during reforming operation. The punch has a profile complementary to the contour configured on the operative top surface of the die. The contour configured on the operative top surface of the die is circular in shape and has a depth of 3 mm and a diameter of 25 mm. The support member of the die assembly has at least one aperture configured to facilitate fastening of the die assembly. The die assembly is secured to support structure using a nut and bolt assembly. The reforming operation is carried out by hammering the punch against the contour.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A reforming tool will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a top view of a die assembly of a reforming tool in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a front view of a punch of a reforming tool in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates an isometric view of a base and support legs of the die assembly of the Figure 1 and the punch of the Figure 2; and
Figure 4 illustrates a schematic representation of the die assembly of the Figure 1 and the punch of the Figure 2.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS USED IN DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND DRAWINGS
100 – Die Assembly
102 – Operative bottom surface
104 – Support leg
106 – Contour
108 – Support slab
110 – Aperture
200 – Punch
300 – Reforming tool
400 – Sheet metal

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure envisages a tool that reforms a part of a sheet metal to create the required gap between a hood and a hood release switch.
A preferred embodiment of a tool for reforming a sheet metal (hereinafter referred to as “reforming tool”) of the present disclosure is now described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. The preferred embodiment does not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The reforming tool, of the present disclosure, is now described with reference to Figure 1 through Figure 4.
The reforming tool (300) is used for reforming the part of the sheet metal (400). The reforming tool (300) includes a die assembly (100) and a punch (200). The die assembly (100) comprises a die having an operative top surface and an operative bottom surface. The operative top surface of the die has a contour configured thereon. The die further comprises at least one support member (104) secured to the operative bottom surface (102) of the die at one end. The one support member, also known as support leg (104), is used to support the structure at the other end.
In an embodiment, the die assembly (100) comprises two support members (104) attached to the operative bottom surface of the die. The die further comprises a support slab (108) secured to the operative bottom surface of the die (102). The support slab (108) is configured to support the die assembly (100) during the reformation operation of the sheet metal (400).
In an embodiment, the support slab (108) is fixedly attached to the operative bottom surface of the die (102) to support the die (100) during the hammering operation. In another embodiment, the support slab (108) is welded to the operative bottom surface of the die (102).
The punch (200) has a profile complementary to the contour configured on the operative top surface of the die. In an operative configuration, the punch (200) is configured for performing hammering operation on the sheet metal (400).
The operative top surface of the die has a contour (106) of the predetermined dimensions. In an embodiment, the contour on the operative top surface of the die is circular shape cavity and has a depth of 3 mm and a diameter of 25 mm.
The part of the sheet metal (400) to be reformed is restrained against the lower operative bottom of the die (102), and the punch (200) is advanced into the contour (106) to draw the part of the sheet metal (400) into the contour (106) and over the surface of the punch (200).
In an embodiment, there is at least on one aperture (110) configured on the support member (104) to facilitate fastening of the said die assembly (100).
In an operative configuration, the die assembly (100) is attached to the sheet metal (400) on which reforming operation is to be performed. The die assembly (100) is secured to support structure using a nut and bolt assembly, fasteners, and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, M6 bolt and nut fixture is used for fastening the die assembly (100) with the sheet metal (400). The reforming operation is carried out by hammering the punch (200) against the contour (106). The part of the sheet metal (400) exposed to the contour (106) gets reformed by the hammering of the punch (200).
The reforming tool (300) having the die assembly (100) and the punch (200) of the present disclosure reforms the sheet metal (400) to provide a sufficient gap between the hood and the hood release switch (not shown in the figures). In an embodiment, a gap of 4 mm is provided between the hood and the hood release switch. The proper release operation of the hood release switch facilitates proper opening of the hood. In an embodiment, the hood is made of the sheet metal (400).
The reforming tool (300) of the present disclosure successfully eliminates the use of hydraulic press, or conventional punch and press, thereby making the reforming process using the reforming tool (300) of the present disclosure light in weight, simple in design, and less costly compared to the conventional reforming process.

TECHNICAL ADVANCES AND ECONOMICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a reforming tool that:
• requires less manufacturing time;
• is light in weight;
• is simple in design; and
• is less costly.
The disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A tool (300) for reforming a metal sheet, said tool (300) comprising:
• a die assembly (100) comprising:
o a die having an operative top surface and an operative bottom surface, said operative top surface having a contour (106) configured thereon;
o at least one support member (104) secured to said operative bottom surface (102) of said die at one end and secured to a support structure at the other end thereof;
o a support slab (108) secured to said operative bottom surface of said die (102) and configured to support said die assembly(100); and
• a punch (200)
o having a profile complimentary to said contour (106) configured on said operative top surface of said die; and
o for performing hammering operation on said metal sheet (400) in an operative configuration.
2. The tool (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contour (106) is circular in shape and has a depth of 3 mm and a diameter of 25 mm.
3. The tool (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one aperture (110) is configured on said support member (104) to facilitate fastening of the said die assembly (100).

4. The tool (300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said die assembly (100) is secured to said support structure using a nut and bolt assembly.