Patent ID: 8333093

Claim:
A method for producing bent spring elements from a spring steel strip ( 14 ), the method comprising providing a device with a feed unit ( 16 ) delivering the spring steel strip ( 14 ) from a supply roll ( 12 ) to a bending unit ( 32 ) having at least three bending rollers ( 34 ) and a reverse bending roller ( 36 ), of which at least one bending roller ( 34 ) and the reverse bending roller ( 36 ) can be adjusted transversely with respect to the spring steel strip ( 14 ) by bending roller movement devices, and with the bending unit ( 32 ) being connected to a cutting unit ( 44 ) which cuts the spring steel strip ( 14 ) into individual spring elements by means of cutting tools ( 46 , 48 ; 76 , 78 ), characterized in that the cutting tools ( 46 , 48 ; 76 , 78 ) can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the spring steel strip ( 14 ) in a numerically controlled fashion and are synchronized with the feed movement of the spring steel strip ( 14 ) during the cutting process, the cutting unit ( 44 ) having an upper cutting tool ( 46 ) and a lower cutting tool ( 48 ), between which the spring steel strip ( 14 ) is guided, the cutting tools ( 46 , 48 ; 76 , 78 ) being adjustable relative to the spring steel strip ( 14 ) in the longitudinal direction ( 52 ) of the feed movement of said spring steel strip ( 14 ), and using an electronic control unit ( 42 ) to synchronize the adjusting movement of said cutting tools ( 46 , 48 ; 76 , 78 ) with the feed movement of the spring steel strip ( 14 ) during the cutting process, wherein some guide rollers ( 50 ) in the region of the cutting tools ( 46 , 48 ; 76 , 78 ) can be varied in terms of their position with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction ( 52 ) in such a way that their spacings to one another are increased or decreased as a function of the movement of the cutting tools ( 46 , 48 ; 76 , 78 ) in the longitudinal direction ( 52 ).