US1583787A - Method for the production of expanded-sheet-metal structural members - Google Patents

Description

May 11,1926.

- H. M. GERSMAN METHOD FOR THE! PRCDUCTION OF EXPANDED SHEET METAL STRUCTURAL MEMBERS Filed Jurie 26, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v H. M. GERSMAN METBOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF EXPANDED SHEET METAL STRUCTURAL MEMBERS Filed June 26, 1924 2 Sheets-Shee t 2 Patented May :11, 1926.

UNITED STATES A a 1,583,787 PATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY M. 'GERSMAN, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK, AssIGnon 'ro KALMAN STEEL com- PANY, INC., on CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A conroRATIoN on DELAWARE METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF EXPANDEDQSHEET-METAL STRUCTURAL MEMBERS.

7 Application filed June 26, 1924.: Serial No. 722,613.

This invention relates to a method for the production of expanded sheet-metal structural members. The method is herein dis: closed as applied to the production of corner heads but in itsbroader aspects is also applicable to the production of other structural members, for example load bearing members.

The object of the invention is to provide a method which may be economically practiced and which effects a .saving of metal while producinga structural member which has requisite strength and stiffness and is otherwise well adapted for building purposes.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the practice of the method in connection with the production of a corner bead which'forms the subject of my co-pending application,

Figures 9 and 10 bottom plan views show- .ing different stages of the operation indicated by Figure 7, the stages which these views illustrate being shown by the 'lines 9-'-9 and 10-1O of Figure 7.

' stage in the course of manufacture,- and Figure 14 a cross section of the completed bead.

The head includes the apical nose 1 and the wings 2 which extend divergingly from the nose. The wings are of expended metal construction and include parallel, pref er ably horizontal, strands 3 and planar edge portions or flanges 4. The strands 3 extend between'the nose 1 and the flanges 4 and are presented edgewise, their. fiat faces being; in horizontal or substantially horlzontal planes. The nose 1 is of ,tu-

-bular form and may have any. desired cross sectional outline but preferably has a transversely elliptical cross section so as to present a relatively wide rounded metal surface at the corner of the'finishedwall.

directly behind the nose, the twisted por- I tions providing what, for convenience, may

be called an expanded metal neck connecj tion between the nose and the wings, such neck being relatively narrow and located centrally of the rear side of the nose. The

directly up to the flanges 4 to. whichf 'the strands are joined by portions 6 twisted into substantially vertical planes and disposed.

By ref-- erence to Figure 3 it will be noted that the I outer edges of the strands of each wing lie at the outer sides of said flanges.

in a plane indicated by the line X which 4 is located well behind a parallel plane indicated by the line Y touching the adjacent side of the nose 1, that the plane of the flange 4 forms a continuation of the plane of the inner edges of the strands to which said flange is joined, and that the common plane of the axes of the strands of each expansion of the wings 2 is also continued wing, as indicated by the line A, is parallel to the plane of the,cor'responding flange 4. In the preferred construction, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and '3,the strands of the 'opposite wings have their corresponding ends extended in the same direction, that is to say, with reference to the drawing, the ends adj a cent the nose extended downward and the ends adjacent the flanges 4 extended upward; and as thus formed the strands of one wing are staggered with relation to the strands of the other wing. These features of form and arrangement permit an advanta eous nesting of the ends of the strands ad acent the nose, as best shown in Figure 3;

thus it will be seen that the inner ends-of the strands of one wing overlie the inner ends of the strands of the other wing and that the twisted portions connect with or join the rear side of the nose at or very close to a line longitudinally central of such rear side. Figure 3 shows the corner head in use with its flanges 4 secured by nails or otherwise suitably to the wall W to which the layer of finishing plaster P has beenapplied. It will be noted that (due to the 'relation of the strands to the nose of the bead) a plaster layer of substantial thickness at all points lies at the outer side of each wing whereby liability otcracking is minimized, that the flanges 4 are available for lining up the bead regardless of the angle of the wall corner to which they are secured and that the plaster is keyed to, the wings right up to the nose, thereby providing a full monolithic corner reinforced by expanded metal and having an exposed continuous metaled e. The method which constitutes the present invention is exemplified schematically in Figures 4 to 11 inclusive; Theblank with which the operation is started is illustrated in. Figures 4 and 5 and consists of a rectangular strip of suitable extent which is formed with two rows of diagonal slits 3, an imperforateportion 1 intermediate the rows ofslits and imperforate edge portions 4 at the outer sides of the rows of slits. In

the finished product the material between the.

'two wings in the same direction, as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and as above described.

The firststeps in the production of the bead are the bending 01* the edge portions P at right angles to the strand bearing portion and at the same side of the plane of the blank, as ,shown in Figure 6 and the bending of the strand" bearing portions at.

right angles to the intermediate imperforate portion 1 and at the same side thereof but in a direction such that the portions 4* and 1 project at opposite sides from the strand bearingportions. As a result of these bending operations the blank has the cross sectional form illustrated-"by full lines in Figure 7, 'that' is to say it has a channelled cross section with the portions 4? projecting laterally outward from the strand bearing portions which form the sides of the channel.

The blank having thus been brought into the form shown in Figure 7 is next brought to the form shown in Figure 8. This is accomplished by bending and expanding movements which are simultaneously performed. In the bending ,movements the strand bearing portions are brought back into a common plane while the portions 4: are held throughout in a common plane and direction, the portion 1 being relativelymoved in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the portions P and the directions, of these movements being opposite to the directions in which the slits 3 extend. Thus, referring to Figure 5, the slits 3 are shown as extending upward to the portions 4 and downward to the-portion li, and in the expanding planar movements of these portions, the portions l are moved downward and the portion 1 is moved upward as shown by the arrows in Figures 9 and 10. The above mentioned relative planar movement of the portion 1 opposite to the planar movement of the portions 4? may consist either of an absolute opposite movement of the portion 1 or itmay consist in holding the portion 1 stationary during the planarmovements of the portions 4*, the effect, as regards the form produced, being the same in either case.

As a resultof the relatively opposite planar movements of the portions 1* and 4 performed simultaneously with the above described bending operations (whereby the strand bearing portions are brought into a common plane) the webs of material between the slits 3 are gradually or pro gressively turned into planes at corresponding angles to the common plane with which the operation started and are also graduall or progressively brought into substantia ly perpendicular relation to the portions 1 and 4* between which they extend, so

that when the movements described are completed, as shown in Figure 8, the webs of material between the slits 3 occupy parallel planes at substantial'right angles to their original common plane and have their longitudinal axes at substantial right angles to the longitudinal axes of the portions 'l n and 4 which in turn lie at opposite sides of the webs, that is to say the portion 1 is co-planar with the-common plane of the edges of the webs at one side of the expanded blank and the portions 4* are co -planar with the edges of the"wel s atthe opposite side of the expanded blank. Figures 9 and 10 considered comparatively exemplify the change in the relations of the webs between the slits. Figure 9 assumes a stage after the movements have commenced but prior to the completed stage which is .shown by Figure 10. Figure 9 shows the webs as lying in'parallel planes extending obliquely less than right angleswith the longitudinal axes of the imperforate portions but ap-' proach nearer in degree to right angles than the angles which obtained when the operation was started. Figure 10 shows the webs as lying in parallel planes disposed at right angles to the common planes of the imperforate portions and as extending along axes at right angles to the longitudinal axes of the imp'erforate portions. It will be noted that as the bending and expanding movements progress the strand bearing portions are gradually increased in width as will appear from the several stages indicated by broken lines in Figure 7 and also by a comparison of Figures 9 and 10 and that, as shown in these later figures, the voids between the webs progressively increase in area and progressively approach rectangular outlines as delimited by the webs and the imperforate portions.

The final step in the production of the corner bead involves the change of the form of the expanded blankas shown in Figure 8 whereby to provide the nose 1 and the wings 2 of the completed corner bead as shown by Figure 11 in which the webs between the slits 3 constitute the strands 3. The nose 1 is provided by the intermediate portion 1 which is deformed in any suit- I able manner, as by rolling, from its straight cross section as shown in Figure 8 to its' tubular cross section as shown in Figure 11. The conversion of the expanded blank into the form of the completed corner bead is effected solely by and incidentally to the formation of the nose 1, that is to say as the nose is formed the expanded portions are bent at angles to one another, each expanded portion maintaining the same relation to the adjacent imperforate edge portions 4* which it had in the expanded blank prior to the formation of the nose. When the nose has been completely formed the expanded portions have the angular relation by which the corner head is adapted for use in the manner described.

Figures '12, 13 and 14 relate to a construction in which the strands of the two wings have their adjacent end portions oppositely directed and the ends adjacent the nose are not nested as in the previous embodiment. I the modified form, this blank difierin'g from the blank of Figure 5 in that the slits 3 of both rows extend in the same directions. The procedure is the same as in the vpreceding embodiment except that in effecting the expansion of the slitted portions the imperforate edge portions, here designated 3, have thelr planar movements in opposite directions and the imperforate intermediate portion, here designated 1 held Figure 12 shows the blank for stationary, that is to say against planar movement, The expanded blank has the form shown in Figure 13 and is transformed into the completed corner head as shown in Figure 14a in the same way as in the previous embodiment, that is to say by and incidentally to the formation of the nose from the intermediate imperforate portion 1". i

ing portions thereby being brought into substantially parallel planes, and the imperforate edge portions are utilized to provide the other chord, these edge portions being bent back into co-planar relation and spot welded to one another along their inner adjacent edges.

Having fully described my invention, I

claim 1 In the construction of structural members, providing a flat rectangular blank with parallel rows of parallel inclinedslits,

the slits terminating short of the edges of the blank, thereby to leave imperforate edge portions and the slits of one row terminatmg short of the slits of the other row, thereby to leave an imperforate intermediate portion, bending the blankto bring the imperforate edge portions into a common plane paralle to the plane of the interme diate imperforate portion and to cause each of the co-planar imperforate edge portions to project outward from the slitted portion by which it is carried, and thereafter bending the slitted portions in. di-' rections the reverse of the previous bending while simultaneously effecting relative planar movements of the imperforate portions to produce the expansion of the slitted portions.

2. In the construction of structural members, providing a flat rectangular blank with parallel rows of parallel inclined slits, the slits terminating short of the edges of the blank, thereby to leave imperforate edge portions and the slits of one row terminating short of the slits of the other row, thereby to leave an imperforate intermediate portion, bending the blank to bring the imperforate edge portions into a common plane parallel to the plane of the intermediate imperfor'ate portion and to cause each of the 'co-planar imperforate edge portions to project outward from the slitted portion by which it is carried, thereafter bending the slitted portions in directions the reverse of the prevous bending while simultaneously effecting relative planar movements of the imperforate portions to produce the expansion of the slitted portions, and then deforming the intermediate imperforate portion into tubular cross section, thereby causing the expanded portions to project "rearward from the intermediate imperforate portion.

3. In the construction of structural members, providing a flat rectangular blank with parallel rows of parallel inclined slits, the slits terminating short of the edges of the blank, thereby to leave imperforate edge i portions and the slits of one row terminating short of the slits of the other row, thereby to leave an imperforate intermediate portion, bending the blank to bring the imperforate edge portions into a common plane parallel to the plane of the intermediate inperforate portion and to cause each of the co-planar imperforate edge portions to project outward from the slitted portion by which it is carried and thereafter bending the slitted portions in directions the reverse of the previous bending while maintaining the imperforate edge portions in a common plane and simultaneously effecting relative planar movements of the imperforate portions to reduce the expansion of the slitted portions.

4, In the construction of structuralmembers, providing a flat rectangular blank with parallel rows of parallel inclined slits, the slits terminating short of the edges of the blank, thereby to leave imperforate edge portions and the slits of one row terminat ing short of the slits of the other row, there by to leave an imperforate intermediate portion, bending the blank to bring the imperforate edge portions into a common plane parallel to the plane of the intermediate imperforate portion and. to cause each of the coplanar imperforate edge portions to project outward from the slitted portion by Which it v iscarried, thereafter bending the slitted portion by which it is carried, thereafter bending the slitted portions in directions the reverse of the previous bending while maintaining the imperforate edge portions in a common plane and simultaneously effecting relative planarmovements of the imperforate portions to produce the expansion of the slitted portions, and then deforming the intermediate portion into-tubular cross section, thereby causing the expanded portions to project rearward from the intermediate imperforate portion.

5. In the construction of structural mem-' bers providing a rectangular blank having parallel rows of parallel slits and imperforate edge portions and another imperforate portion intermediate the rows of slits, bend ing the slitted portions relatively to the intermediate portion and reversing the bending movements of the slitted portions ,while.

simultaneously effecting relative. planar movements of the imperforate portions to produce the expansion ofthe slitted portions.

6. In the construction of structural mem-' bers providing a rectangular blank having parallel rows of parallel slits and imper-- forate edge portions and another imperfo rate portion intermediate the rows of slits, bending the slitted portions relatively to the intermediate portion, reversing the bendsimultaneously effecting relative planar movements of the imperforate portions to produce the expansion of the slitted portions,

'in g movements of the slitted portions While and then deforming the intermediate portion into tubular cross section, thereby causingthe imperforate portions and causing the edge portions to occupy planes parallel to the plane of the intermediate portion and reversing the bending movements of the slitted portions While maintaining the edge portions in planes parallel to the plane of the intermediate portion and simultaneously effecting relative planar movements of the imperforate portions to produce the expansion of slitted portions.

'8. In the construction of structural members providing a rectangular blank having parallel rows of parallel slits and imperforate edge portions and another imperforate portion intermediate the rows ofslits, bend the ing the slitted portions relatively to the imperforate portions and causing the edge portions to occupy planes parallel to the plane of the intermediate portion, reversing the bending movements of the slitted portions while maintaining the edge portions in planes parallel to the plane of the intermediate portion and simultaneously effect-ing relative planar movements of the imperforate portions to produce the expansion of the slitted portions, and then deforming the intermediate portion into tubular cross section, thereby causing the expanded portions to project rearward from the intermediate imperforate portion.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature. i

HARVEY M. GERSMAN.

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