Unova IP Corp.

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Lamb Technicon Corp.

James D Scannell

Philip V Wiens

Wilbert D Beck

Michael G Yocum

Jimmie B Fletcher

Mark D Stapels

David L Stapels

Gary A Aman

Gregory A Stapels

A rotary welding apparatus for joining two metallic workpieces together by forming a semi-circular weld at a semi-circular interface formed at mating surfaces of the workpieces. A turntable is rotated by a turntable drive. The turntable supports and indexes three lower tools around a circular path between a load station and a weld station. Each lower tool supports two workpieces to be welded together. A workpiece rotary drive connects to whichever of the lower tools is at the weld station then rotates that lower tool about a workpiece axis. A laser emitter supported adjacent the weld station directs a laser beam at a circular or semi-circular interface between respective mating surfaces of the two workpieces and welds the workpieces together as the workpiece rotary drive rotates them. The laser emitter is supported on a laser emitter mount near the weld station in a position directing a laser beam at the interface of the workpiece mating surfaces. The laser emitter mount has two support points spaced radially from each other relative to the laser emitter to stabilize the laser emitter for improve welding accuracy.

Laser welding apparatus

A hemming apparatus has a stand which is axially and rotatably adjustable, a carrier pivotally connected to the stand and a hemming tool adjustably received on a slide assembly which in turn is slidably received on the carrier. The hemming tool can be rotatably adjusted relative to the carrier to properly orient the hemming tool on the slide assembly for engagement with a flange of a sheet metal panel to hem the flange. Further, the stand can be axially and rotatably adjusted and the carrier can be pivotally adjusted relative to the stand to vary the orientation and path of travel of the slide assembly and hence the hemming tool relative to the sheet metal panels. Desirably, this readily adjustable and versatile hemming apparatus can be used to form or hem the flange of substantially any sheet metal panel having contours or corners of substantially any configuration or orientation.

Adjustable mechanically operated hemming apparatus

A 'lift and carry' transfer apparatus is provided for transferring or 'indexing' a workpiece between successive work stations in a multi-operation process. The transfer apparatus includes a modular support structure from which a generally elongated shuttle assembly is horizontally supported. A first drive mechanism is provided for generating a predetermined amount of reciprocable rectilinear vertical movement of the shuttle assembly through a predetermined range of motion. The transfer apparatus further includes structure for selectively indexing the workpiece along a horizontal plane relative to the shuttle assembly. In particular, a second drive mechanism is provided for generating rectilinear horizontal motion of the workpiece. A programmable controller is provided for selectively controlling the actuation of the first and second drive mechanisms.

Lift and carry mechanism and method

A loader for relatively long, flexible strips of sheet stock has a pair of parallel, generally vertically extending arms having vertically slotted upper ends. The lower ends of the arms are pivotally connected with vertically guided slide blocks. Each arm is pivotally connected intermediate its ends with a mechanism for moving the upper slotted ends of the arms in an elliptical path lying in a vertical plane. The elliptical path is such that, at one position therein, a strip of sheet stock slid off the top of a stack of such strips gravitates edgewise into the slots in said arms and, in another position, the strip in the slotted ends of the arms is deposited edgewise into vertical slots in the rails of a strip conveyor.

Machine loader

Growing community of inventors

Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, United States of America

James D Scannell