Patent ID: 6170314
Filing Date: 2001-01-09
Classification: B21D

Abstract:
A bending press which forms at least one bend in an edge of a metal sheet of which at least one lateral edge perpendicular to an edge to be bent has already been bent into a channel-shape, comprising:a pair of opposed blank-holders, said blank-holders including a movable blank-holder and a fixed blank-holder, and at least one bending blade cooperating with the movable blank-holder,wherein the movable blank-holder includes a series of segments movable along the blank-holder and equipped with a pair of motor-driven carriages, movable in a horizontal direction, each of which has an entraining member which can selectively engage and release the segments in order to move the segments for rearrangement purposes,wherein each of two segments situated at opposite ends of the series includes a shoe-holder body which supports a respective shoe by means of inclined guides converging towards the fixed blank-holder,wherein the two shoes have projections extending in opposite directions for insertion in respective channel-shaped bends which have already been formed,wherein each carriage can bring about a movement of a respective shoe along its inclined guides in a direction towards a centre of the press, towards said segments and towards the fixed blank-holder whilst the movable blank-holder is moving away from the fixed blank-holder after formation of the bend, andwherein the shoes have respective means for resiliently biasing the shoes away from the centre of the press and from the movable blank-holder,wherein each shoe-holder body carries a respective slide movable parallel to the direction of movement of the respective carriage,wherein each slide has a driving portion and each shoe has a driven portion, the driving and driven portions having facing, cooperating pressure and sliding surfaces arranged in a manner such that a movement of the slide towards the centre of the press is converted by the cooperation of the facing surfaces with pressure and sliding into an oblique movement of the respective shoe along the respective inclined guide towards the centre of the press and towards the fixed blank-holder,wherein each carriage includes an entraining member and each slide includes an entrained member which can be engaged by the entraining member of the respective carriage in order to move the slide selectively towards the centre of the press, andwherein the two carriages are movable simultaneously in opposite directions upon command in order to simultaneously to bring about the aforementioned movements of the shoes by means of the slides.