EDGE FINISHING TOOL

Abstract: An apparatus to trim an edge surface of a panel, and also to apply a finishing material thereto and cure the same. There is a housing structure (10) defining a work area, and this has a rotatable trimming device (66), a blower (86), and a material applicator (94) positioned rearwardly of the trimming device and the blower. Further, there is a heating coil (58) to cure the applied finishing material.

Description: EDGE FINISHING TOOL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tool to trim a work piece, such as an edge surface of a panel, and also to apply a finishing material and to cure the same. BACKGROUND ART Quite commonly, floor panels and sandwich panels, such as those used in the aircraft industry, have tiberglass or graphite face sheets and a honeycomb core. When these panels are cut to size, the honeycomb core forms a rather ragged edge. It is necessary to treat these edges, not simply to improve appearance, but also to create a smooth surface for a sealant to adhere thereto. Without the treated edges, the sealant would form cavities, encourage leakage and would fill the open core cells which would cause the panel to be damaged when it was removed. The common prior art method of treating the edges is largely a multistage manual operation. First, a routing tool is applied to the edge of the core to cut away a portion of the honeycomb material at the edge surface so as to form a uniform edge. Next, a potting compound is manually applied to the edge portion of the panel, and this is permitted to cure overnight. Finally, the compound which has cured is manually sanded to form a smooth surface. Each of these steps is performed separately , and largely by hand. The end result is a process that is labor intensive, and therefore quite expensive, and also time consuming. SUMMARY * OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the present invention is adapted to trim a surface of a work piece, such as an edge surface of a panel, and to apply a finishing material thereto and cure the same. This apparatus comprises a housing structure having a working area to receive the work piece. The working area has a longitudinal working axis with a forward end and a rear end. There is guide means positioned at spaced locations along the axis for work piece engagement to locate and align the work piece and the apparatus relative to one another, and to permit relative movement therebetween along said axis. There is a material trimming device mounted to the housing structure at a forward material trimming location on the axis for material removal at the work piece surface. Further, there is an applicator device mounted to said housing structure at an intermediate material applying location on the axis to apply a finishing material at the intermediate applicator location rearwardly of the material removal location. There is also a heating device mounted to the housing structure at a rear curing location proximate the axis at the rear end thereof to apply heat to the finishing material that is applied at the material applying location. In the preferred form, the apparatus further comprises an airblowing device mounted to the housing structure and positioned at the working area rearwardly of the trimming device to direct a material clearing airstream toward the work piece. A motor is mounted to the housing and it has a drive connection to the trimming device and to the air blowing device. The air blowing device further comprises a fan which is driven by the motor. There is a finishing material storing device mounted to the housing, and in the preferred form shown herein, the storing device has power means to remove the material therefrom to the applicator device. As a ■ further specific feature, there is a drive connection between the motor and the storing device. This drive connection has selectively operable clutch means to cause selective engagement and disengagement of the . drive connection between the motor and the supply device. In the preferred form, there is a power input and selectively operable switch means to connect the input to the heating device. Further, there is a selectively operable motor switch connected to the power input. Desirably, the switch for the heating device has a second connecting position to connect to a power input to the motor, whereby closing of the motor switch also causes power to be delivered to the heating device. OMPI DESCRIITION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is an isometric view illustrating the tool of the present invention being applied to a panel; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the tool of Figure 1, with the housing cover removed for purposes of illustration? Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2 and illustrating the drive assembly for the router and for the material dispenser; Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4, and illustrating the blower of the tool of the present invention; and Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 and illustrating the material applicator of the tool of the present invention. O PI_ Y y, IPO ^ ATIO DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to Figure 1, there is shown a tool 10 in its operating position relative to a work piece, which is a floor panel 12. The panel 12 is or may be one that is typically used for aircraft. As shown herein, the panel 12 comprises upper and lower face sheets 14 and 16, respectively, and a honeycomb core 18. Such panels 12 are commonly cut into rectangular sections by a saw or other suitable cutting device to form an edge surface 20 made up of the upper and lower straight parallel edge portions 22 and 24 of the upper and lower face sheets 14 and 16, respectively, and the edge surface 25 of the honeycomb core 18. While the panel edge portions 22 and 24 are cut to reasonably close tolerances, the honeycomb core surface 26 is somewhat ragged. The tool 10 of the present invention was created to perform an operation on the edge surface 20. More specifically, this tool 10 is designed to trim the edge surface 20 so as to remove a portion of the honeycomb core 18 so as to form a uniform honeycomb edge surface 24; blow away the excess panel material that is cut from the honeycomb core 18; apply a finishing material (i.e. a potting compound) to fill the cavity at the edge surface 20; and to cure the potting compound by applying heat thereto. All of these functions are accomplished as an integrated operation by the single tool 10. The tool 10 comprises a substantially closed housing 26 having a generally rectangular box-like configuration. More specifically, it comprises a top wall 28, left and right side walls 30 and 32, a bottom wall 34, and front and rear end walls 36 and 38, respectively. The left side wall 32 has a depending skirt 40 which extends downwardly a short distance from the left edge of the bottom wall 34. The forward and rear edges of the skirt 40 reach inwardly a short distance to form flanges at 42 and 44, respectively, and with the skirt 40, define a semi-enclosed, elongate working area 46. For purposes of description, this working area 46 can be considered as having a longitudinal working axis 48 extending from the front flange 42 to the rear flange 44. Positioned at spaced locations along the longitudinal axis 44 are five main working elements, namely: a) a cutter 50; b) a blower 52; c) a material applicator 54; d) a smoothing element 56; and, e) a heating coil 58. In addition, there is a plurality of guide elements, which, in the preferred embodiment, are vertically aligned cylindrical indexing rollers, namely a front roller 60, an intermediate roller 62, and a rear roller 64. The five operating elements 50-58 are spaced along the working axis 48 in a front-to-rear direction in the same order as given above. Thus, as the tool 10 is moved forwardly in its operating position relative to the panel edge surface 20, each of these operating elements, while functioning simultaneously, in effect, perform their respective operations in sequence relative to the panel edge surface 20. The cutter 50 comprises a routing element 66 rigidly connected to an upwardly extending vertical _OMPI shaft 68 for rotation about a vertical axis. The outer circumferential cutting surface 70 of the routing element 66 is outwardly rounded (i.e. convexly rounded) so that, as it cuts into the honeycomb edge surface 25, it makes a concave groove 72 in that surface 25. The upper end of the shaft 68 is connected to a drive pulley 74 which, through a belt 76, is connected to a pulley 78 which is in turn connected to a forwardly extending drive shaft 80 of an electric motor 82. The blower 52 comprises an elongate air tube 84, having an end exhaust nozzle 86 which is directed against the panel edge surface 20 at a moderate slant to that surface 20. With tne exhaust end 86 being positioned rearwardly of the routing element 66, the pressurized air discharged from the nozzle 86 blows away the material which is being cut from the honeycomb core by the routing element 66. To supply pressurized air to the tube 86, there is provided at the rear end of the motor 82 a fan 88, powered from a rearwardly extending shaft 90 of the motor 82. The applicator 54 comprises an elongate rigid tube 92 which has a discharge nozzle 94 shaped to apply a potting compound 96 in a proper pattern into the concave groove 72 made by the cutter 66. The opposite end 98 ot the tube 92 connects to the discharge end of a cylindrical container 100. Mounted in the container 100 is a feed piston 102, which defines with the container side wall 104 and end wall 106 a supply chamber 108 to contain the compound 96. Connected to and extending forwardly from the piston 102 is a drive screw 110. Engaging the screw 110 OMPI ,. VIPO 5* in driving relationship is a threaded drive element 112 fixedly connected to a forwardly extending drive shaft 114. The forward end of the drive shaft 114 is in turn ixedly connected to a pulley 116 which engages the right end of a drive belt 118. The left end of the drive belt 118 is engaged by a second pulley 120 that is in turn tixedly connected to the forwardly extending drive shaft 80 of the motor 82. There is a pivotally mounted clutch lever 122 having a clutch roller 124 which can selectively engage the belt 118. This lever 122 is manually operated from a handle 126 which extends upwardly through an opening in the top wall 28. The lever 122 is pivotally mounted at 128. As can be seen in Figure 3, by moving the handle 126 from the full line position of Figure 3 to the broken line position, the roller 124 deflects the upper portion of the belt 118 to pull the belt 118 snuggly against the two pulleys 116 and 120 so that the drive pulley 116 of the motor 82 comes into drive engagement with the pulley 120. When the lever 122 is moved to the left to disengage the roller 124, this causes the belt 118 to go out of driving engagement. Although not specifically shown herein, it is to be understood that the lever 122 could be provided with a suitable holding element, such as a snap member or an overcenter device so that it is releasably maintained in both its engaged and disengaged positions. The smoothing element 56 is or may be of conventional design. As shown herein, it is simply a stationary element having a material engaging surface 130, the rear portion of which is located so as to come in contact with (or in very close proximity with) the panel edge portions 22 and 24. This surface 130 extends forwardly at a moderate outward slant (i.e. slightly to the left) so that it is able to engage the material 96 dispensed from the nozzle 94 and press it into the groove 72, leaving a finished material surface coplanar with the panel edges 22 and 24. The heating coil 58 is shown somewhat schematically, and can be seen to be an electric heating element, extending along the rear portion of the longitudinal working axis 48. This coil 58 is located so that, with the tool 10 in its working position, the coil 58 is close enough to the panel edge 20 so that sufficient heat is applied to the compound 96 to cure the same. Electric power is applied to the tool 10 through a wire 132 which is connected through a switch 134 to the motor 82. When the switch 134 is closed, the motor 82 rotates to power the fan 88 and to rotate the routing element 66. There is a second switch 136 having an intermediate disconnect position and two connect positions at 138 and 140. At the connect position 138, the switch 136 delivers power directly from the main inlet wire 132 to the coil 58. When the switch 134 is connected at 140, it connects to the power input to the . motor 82, with the result that power is delivered to the coil 58 when the motor switch 134 is closed. The line to the coil 58 can further be provided with a variable power switch 14 to control the amount of current delivered to the coil 58. IPO The coil 58 can, if desired, be further enclosed by forward and rear walls 144, and also by a bottom wall if desired. This would enhance the application of the heat toward the potting compound 96 applied in the groove 72. Also, the bottom wall 34 of the housing 26 has a plurality of rollers or wheels 146 to engage the top face sheet of the panel 12. To describe the operation of the tool 10, let it be assumed that the panel 12 has been cut to form an unfinished edge surface 20, and that the panel 12 is positioned so that the top face sheet 14 and the edge surface 20 are exposed so that the tool 10 can be placed in its operation position. This is done by placing the bottom rollers 146 against the upper face sheet 14, and the lateral guide rollers 60, 62 and 64 against the edge surf ce 20 so that these come into engagement with the upper and lower panel edges 22 and 24. The housing 26 has a raised middle portion 148 which can conveniently be grasped by the operator's hand to move the tool 10 in a forward direction parallel to the edge surface 20. To cause the tool 10 to perform its full operation, the motor switch 134 is closed to cause the motor 82 to turn. This immediately causes the routing element 66 to begin to rotate, and also causes the fan 88 to deliver pressurized air through the air exhaust nozzle 86. The switch 136 would normally be connected to the contact 140 so that the coil 58 is heated only when the motor 82 is operating. Also, in this operating mode, the clutch lever 122 is moved to its engaged position (shown in broken lines in Figure 3) to cause the drive element 126 to rotate and move the screw 110 and the piston 102 rearwardly to discharge the potting compound through the discharge nozzle 94. The tool 10 is moved forwardly at a controlled rate so that the proper amount of potting compound is delivered into the groove 72. As the tool 10 continues to move forwardly, the smoothing element 156 presses against the applied potting compound 96 to form a smooth surface over the panel edge portion. The coil 58, which follows the smoothing element 56 applies sufficient heat to the applied potting compound 96 to cause it to cure. In an alternate mode of operation, the clutch lever 122 can be moved to its disengaged position, and the coil switch 136 can be moved to its disengaged position. In .this operating mode, only the cutter 50 and the fan 88 are powered, so that only a cutting operation is accomplished. This operating mode would be used, for example, only in a material removal operation, with the potting compound 96 to be applied at a later time. It is to be understood that the various operating components shown herein have been shown somewhat schematically with respect to the mountings for the same. For example, it is to be understood that the shaft 68 for the routing element 66 would be suitably mounted in a bearing mounted to, for example, the bottom wall 34. .Also, the indexing rollers 60, 62 and 64 would have suitable bearing mounts in the housing 26. Further, various modifications could be made without departing from the broader scope of the present invention. For example, while the cylindrical container 100 for the potting compound 96 is shown as _ OMPI having a positive drive feed (i.e. the drive screw 110 with the drive element 112) , other means could be used to discharge the compound 96. For example, there could be a spring loaded discharge device having a valve to control the rate of discharge of the compound. Also, the cylindrical container 100 could be arranged so that a preloaded disposable package of the potting compound 96 could be inserted into the tool 10. Further, within the broader aspects of the present invention, while the tool 10 is shown to be portable, it could also be made as a stationary tool with a support platform for the panel 12.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An apparatus to trim a surface of a work piece, such as an edge surface of a panel, and to apply a finishing material thereto and cure the same, said apparatus comprising: a) a housing structure having a working area to receive said work piece, said working area having a longitudinal working axis with a forward end and a rear end; b) guide means positioned at spaced locations along said axis for work piece engagement to locate and align said work piece and said apparatus relative to one another, and to permit relative movement therebetween along said axis; c) a material trimming device mounted to said housing structure at a forward material trimming location on said axis for material removal at said work piece surface; d) an applicator device mounted to said housing structure at an intermediate material applying location on said axis to apply a finishing material at said intermediate applicator location rearwardly of said material removal location; e) a heating device mounted to said housing structure at a rear curing location proximate said axis at the rear end thereof to apply heat to the finishing material that is applied at the material applying location. 2. The apparatus as -recited in Claim 1, further comprising an air blowing device mounted to said housing structure and positioned at said working area rearwardly of the trimming device to direct a material clearing air stream toward said work piece. 3. The apparatus as recited in Claim 2, further comprising a motor mounted to said housing and having a drive connection to the trimming device and to the air blowing device, so that said motor is able to simultaneously operate said trimming device and supply pressurized air to said blowing device. 4. The apparatus as recited in Claim 3, further comprising a finishing material storing device mounted to said housing, said storing device having power means to remove material therefrom to said applicator device. 5. The apparatus as recited in Claim 4, further comprising a drive connection between said motor and said storing device, said drive connection having selectively operable clutch means to cause selective engagement and disengagement of said drive connection between said motor and said supply device. 6. The apparatus as recited in Claim 1, further comprising a power input and selectively operable switch means to connect said input to said heating device. . The apparatus as recited in Claim 6, further comprising a motor mounted to said housing and having a drive connection to said trimming device, said motor having a selectively operable motor switch connected to said power input, the switch means for the heating device having a second connecting position to connect to a power input to said motor, whereby closing of the motor switch also causes power to be delivered to said heating device. 8. An apparatus to trim a surface of a work piece, such as an edge surface of a panel, and to apply a finishing material thereto and cure the same, said apparatus comprising: a) a housing structure having a working area to receive said work piece, said working area having a longitudinal working axis with a forward end and a rear end; b) guide means positioned at spaced locations along said axis for work piece engagement to locate and align said work piece and said apparatus relative to one another, and to permit relative movement therebetween along said axis; c) a rotatably mounted material trimming device mounted to said housing structure at a forward material trimming location along said axis for material removal at said work piece surface; d) an air blowing device mounted to said housing structure and positioned at said working area rearwardly of the trimming device to direct a material clearing airstream toward said work piece; e) a fan to supply pressurized air to said blowing device; f) a motor mounted to said housing and having a drive connection to the trimming device and to the fan, so that said motor is able to simultaneously operate said trimming device and said fan; g) an applicator device mounted to said housing structure at an intermediate material applying location OMPI on said axis to apply a finishing material at said intermediate applicator location rearwardly of said material removal location; h) a heating device mounted to said housing structure at a rear curing location proximate said axis at the rear end thereof to apply heat to the finishing material that is applied at the material applying location. 9. The apparatus as recited in Claim 8, further comprising a finishing material storing device mounted to said housing, said storing device having means to discharge material therefrom and direct said material to said applicator device. 10. The apparatus as recited in Claim 9, comprising selectively operable motor switch means connected to a power input of said device, said switch means being capable of selectively transmitting power to said motor and to said heating device.

Inventors: BARD RONALD EUGENE, GORGES FRIEDRICH JOSEF, BARD, RONALD, EUGENE, GORGES, FRIEDRICH, JOSEF
Applicants: BOEING CO, THE BOEING COMPANY
Application year: 1983
Main classification: B05C17
IPC codes: B05C17, B29C47, B31F7