EP0249946A2 - Method and device for the fabrication of a spacing frame for insulating glass panes - Google Patents

Abstract

A process is disclosed in which a rectangular spacer frame (16) for insulating glass is automatically manufactured in that a tubular bar is repeatedly bent in a common bending plane (5) and its free ends (19, 20) are joined. One or both end portions of the tubular bar are deflected out of the bending plane (5) during the final bending operation so that the free ends (19, 20) are moved to such positions that said extremities are laterally spaced apart and extend alongside each other. The end portions (17, 18) of the tubular bar are then gripped and moved to positions in which they are axially aligned and spaced apart. The free ends of said end portions are subsequently joined to each other to form the spacer frame (16), which is subsequently transferred to an overhead conveyor (69) in an automatic operation.

Description

The invention relates to a method and a device for producing a spacer frame for insulating glass with the features specified in the preamble of claim 1 and in the preamble of claim 6. Such a method and such a device are known from DE-PS 32 23 881.

The known device has a plate inclined by 10 ° to 15 °, on the upper edge of which two bending tools displaceable along this edge and a holder for the hollow profile bar to be bent are provided. The holder is located between the bending tools and includes some support angles on which the hollow profile bar can be placed, and a pair of jaws for fixing the hollow profile bar. The bending tools essentially consist of an abutment which guides and supports the hollow section rod and of a cooperating pressure roller actuated by a toggle lever arrangement, which acts on the hollow section rod and bends it around a bending edge of the abutment. The swivel axis of the pressure roller runs at right angles to the plate, the top of which coincides with the bending plane; during the _' bending process, the bent legs slide over the plate which supports them.

The two bending tools are used simultaneously: First, by simultaneously bending at two bending points, the hollow profile strip is formed into a U, and then the hollow profile strip is bent twice so that a rectangular frame is formed, the third and fourth bending points lying between the first and second bending points. Accordingly, the two bending tools are moved towards each other between the two double bending processes.

After all four corners of the spacer frame are bent, the free ends of the hollow profile strip touch, but are still not connected. The semi-finished spacer frame is lifted out of the bending tools and the holder located between them by a mechanical ejector after the bending processes and slides down along the plate. There it is picked up by hand and closed by inserting a rod-shaped connecting element into the two free ends of the hollow profile strips and fed to its further use.

A disadvantage of the known device is that it only allows the bending processes to be carried out automatically, but the frames must be closed by hand or can only be carried out after being transferred manually to a separate closing device, but in any case takes place outside the bending device. A further disadvantage is that the two free ends of the bent but not yet closed spacer frame spring back elastically after loosening the bending tools, so that the two frame legs on which the free ends of the hollow profile strip are no longer align, but enclose an angle with each other. As a result, there is a constant tension in the spacer frame after it is closed. In addition, the angled position which the free ends of the hollow profile rod assume after the bending tools have been released is a very unfavorable prerequisite for the desired automatic closing of the spacer frame.

The invention has for its object to provide a method which is particularly suitable for the automatic bending and closing of spacer frames in one and the same device. Furthermore, such a device for performing this method is to be specified, which largely eliminates manual tasks.

This object is achieved by a method with the features specified in claim 1 and by a device with the features specified in independent claim 6. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, the two ends of the hollow profile rod are guided by deflecting one or both ends from the bending plane, preferably in the course of the last bending process, into a position in which they lie laterally offset next to one another. This makes it possible to overbend the hollow profile rod at the intended bending points to compensate for an elastic spring back of the bent hollow profile rod to such an extent that all four The corner angle of the spacer frame after the elastic springback is exactly 90 °, without the two free ends of the spacer frame meeting each other during the last bending process and when springing back. If, as usual, the two ends of the hollow profile rod were only guided in the bending plane during the bending process, they would meet and possibly deform undesirably. The effect of a lateral offset of the ends of the hollow profile rod is particularly advantageous if, from the beginning of the bending process, a connector is inserted in one of the two ends of the hollow profile rod, with which the finished bent spacer frame is finally closed by the still protruding end of the connector is also inserted into the opposite end of the hollow profile rod: Because of the outstanding connector, it would not be possible without a lateral offset to bend the hollow profile rod by a full 90 ° during the last bending process, let alone to bend it over 90 °.

Due to the provided lateral offset of the two ends of the hollow profile rod, however, overbending is easily possible even if a plug connector is already inserted into one of its ends. If after the completion of the bending process the bending tools detach from the hollow profile rod, its two ends therefore remain side by side and are thus in an ideal starting position, in which they are gripped by machine, positioned opposite one another in alignment and then can be connected to one another. The connecting can be done by soldering, welding or inserting a connector, the latter variant being preferred. The connector could be inserted after the completion of the bending processes, but it is preferably inserted into one of the two ends before the beginning of the bending processes and then in the opposite end of the hollow profile rod after the bending processes have been completed. In this workflow, the mechanical handling required for automation is particularly easy to implement.

Since the lateral offset of the two ends of the hollow profile rod is only required at the end of the last bending process, it is preferably also produced only in the last phase of the last bending process. In this way, even if spacer frames of different sizes follow one another, the easiest way to achieve a consistently large lateral offset, and in the phases of the bending process preceding the deflection of one end, one can in the bending plane for the relatively unstable hollow profile bars by one with the bending plane collapsing support wall realize a lateral guide that prevents unwanted flutter of the hollow profile bars during the bending processes.

The device according to the invention has a horizontally or inclined support wall, which can be formed by one or more plates. The plates can have recesses. At the edge of the support wall there is a holder for the hollow profile bars to be bent. This bracket can, for example, be a contact strip or be a series of contact fingers, to which the hollow profile bars are individually applied by hand or by a mechanical insertion device before bending. The holder further expediently comprises an end stop which can be displaced along the holder for positioning the hollow profile bars in their longitudinal direction and a clamping device for clamping the hollow profile bars positioned in this way.

The support wall serves to support the hollow profile bars during the bending process. The bending tools are therefore arranged relative to the supporting wall in such a way that the bending plane (this is the plane in which the bent legs of the hollow profile rod move during the bending process) coincides with the top of the supporting wall. In the case of an inclined support wall, the holder for the hollow profile bars is preferably arranged along its lower edge. In principle, the holder could also be arranged elsewhere, in particular along the upper edge of the support wall, as described in DE-PS 32 23 881; the arrangement of the holder along the lower edge of the support wall facilitates automatic removal of the spacer frame from the device (development of the invention according to claim 16).

The device has at least one, preferably two bending tools. If there is only one bending tool, the four corners of the spacer frame are bent in succession and the bending tool must be For this purpose, it can be longitudinally displaceable along the holder of the hollow profile bar or the hollow profile bar, for example by means of the abovementioned stop, so that the bending tool can be brought up to the intended bending points of the hollow profile bar. In the preferred use of two bending tools, these are expediently allowed to work simultaneously by first forming the hollow profile strip into a U by turning twice, then bringing the two bending tools closer to one another (for which purpose at least one must be arranged displaceably, but preferably both can be moved along the holder ) and then bends the hollow profile last two more times so that a rectangular spacer frame is created, which can then be closed by connecting its two ends.

To close the frame, a frame locking tool is provided according to the invention, which can be displaced parallel to the supporting wall and thereby changed in its distance from the holder and the bending tools, which has means for deflecting one end of the hollow profile bar from the bending plane while the two ends of the hollow profile bar are approaching each other. By deflecting one end, the hollow profile bar can be bent to compensate for the elastic springback so that the two free legs of the bent spacer frame i.w. after loosening the bending tools. lie parallel next to each other.

The fact that the means for deflecting the hollow profile rod end are arranged in the frame closing tool means that the hollow profile rod end in question is deflected only in the last phase of the last bending process affecting it, so that, moreover, the supporting wall provided for guiding and supporting the frame legs pivoted during bending can also perform their support and management functions. To adapt to spacer frames of different sizes, the distance of the frame closing tool from the holder provided on the supporting wall for the hollow profile bars can be changed by moving the frame closing tool parallel to the supporting wall; the movement is advantageously carried out at right angles to the bracket mentioned or to the edge of the support wall on which this bracket is located. If two bending tools are provided, their connecting line runs at right angles to the movement path of the frame closing tool, the two bending tools lying on different sides of the movement path of the frame closing tool, preferably maintaining the same distances from one another.

The frame closing tool is moved into the appropriate spacing position before or during the bending of a spacer frame. After completing the bending processes, the two legs of the spacer frame to be connected to one another lie with the intended lateral offset in a common, to hold the hollow profile bars parallel plane. At this level, the frame closing tool is best equipped with one or more stops, against which the frame legs to be connected lie against the inside of the frame after completing the bending processes (the inside of the frame is understood to mean the side that points into the inside of the bent frame). These stops are a means for positioning the ends of the hollow profile rod, which takes place before these ends are connected to each other. The overbending made possible by the lateral offset of the two ends of the hollow profile rod means that the two frame legs to be connected usually do not lift off their stop again after the bending tools have been released; Nevertheless, it is advisable to provide hold-down devices, in particular hold-down rollers, on the closing tool, which can be swiveled out of an ineffective end position behind the bending plane against the stop or stops and press the two frame legs to be connected against their stop during the further positioning steps.

To deflect a hollow profile rod end from the bending plane, a deflector, which can be retracted behind the bending plane, is preferably provided on the frame closing tool, with a sliding surface onto which the relevant frame leg slides in the course of the bending process; the sliding surface is oriented obliquely to the bending plane in such a way that it is the sliding frame lifts leg in the course of its sliding movement from the supporting wall and thus deflects out of the bending plane. The other free end of the hollow profile rod does not require any deflection, rather it should be supported and guided through the supporting wall during the entire bending process. However, since accidental deflections during bending cannot be ruled out, a guide with a sliding surface is preferably provided for the second end of the hollow profile rod on the closing tool, onto which the relevant frame leg slides during the bending process; the guide surface of the guide is oriented obliquely to the bending plane in such a way that it guides the sliding frame leg against the supporting wall. The guide and the deflector as well as the stops on the frame closing tool which limit the pivoting movement of the free frame legs together force a predetermined position of the two ends of the hollow profile rod at the end of the bending processes.

For further positioning of the ends of the hollow profile bar, the closing tool is equipped with a positioning device which transfers the ends of the hollow profile bar into a position in which they lie opposite one another in alignment. For this purpose, two distance-adjustable end stops for the two ends of the hollow profile rod are preferably provided on the closing tool. At the It is best to form the two end stops on the deflector and on or next to the deflector, in such a way that the two end stops face each other and the end stop for the first end of the hollow profile rod on or next to the deflector for the second end and the end stop is formed for the second end on the guide for the first end of the hollow profile rod. By actuating the two distance-adjustable end stops, the not yet closed spacer frame can be spread, the hold-down rollers preferably provided preventing the two ends from pivoting. The two ends of the not yet closed spacer frame are spread until they no longer overlap; If the spacer frame is closed by a plug connector, which is preferably inserted into one of the ends of the hollow profile rod before the bending process begins, the spacer frame must be spread until there is no longer any overlap even with the plug connector inserted. The two ends are now in a position in which they can be moved laterally into a position in which they face each other in alignment. To make this possible, the deflector can be moved back into an ineffective position lying behind the bending plane; the deflection of one end of the hollow profile rod that is forced during bending can now be reversed. A pestle could be used for this purpose be provided. However, this is preferably done by closing a gripper which has a first clamping jaw coinciding with the bending plane and a second clamping jaw which can be moved from the front against the bending plane and which presses and clamps the frame leg deflected up to that point from the bending plane against the first clamping jaw. For the opposite end of the hollow profile rod, a further gripper is provided, which likewise has a first clamping jaw, the clamping surface of which coincides with the bending plane, and a second clamping jaw, which can be moved from a position in front of the support wall against the first clamping jaw. Preferably, the movable clamping jaw, when viewed from the closing tool against the edge of the support wall on which the bending tools are located, is arranged behind the guide, so that the guide guides the relevant frame leg into the gripper. The movable clamping jaws can, for example, be the guide itself, which is displaceable and is designed with a corresponding clamping surface parallel to the supporting wall.

If the two grippers have firmly gripped the two free frame legs, they are moved towards one another, and in the case of using connectors, the piece of the connector protruding from one end of the hollow profile rod is inserted into the other end of the hollow profile rod. To fix the connector in the hollow profile rod, the latter is expediently notched over a recess provided in the connector.

For this purpose, a notching tool is preferably provided on the closing tool between the grippers and can be pivoted out of an ineffective end position lying behind the bending plane against the hollow profile rod held by the grippers.

If it is intended to connect the hollow profile rod ends to one another by soldering or welding, the two grippers are moved towards one another until the two hollow profile rod ends abut one another and then a welding or soldering tool is brought in, e.g. by swiveling it from an ineffective position lying behind the bending plane into a working position lying in front of the bending plane.

The finished spacer frame can be removed from the device after opening the two grippers and after swiveling up the hold-down rollers that are preferably provided. The removal could be done by hand. However, the removal is preferably carried out by machine; the frame closing tool according to the invention namely has the advantage that it can be designed as a transfer tool for transferring the spacer frames to a conveyor which conveys the spacer frame out of the device with little effort. The necessary further development of the device according to the invention is expediently carried out in an embodiment in which the support wall is inclined, ins is arranged only a few degrees inclined to the vertical and the holder for the respective hollow profile bar to be bent and the bending tools are located at the lower edge of the support wall. With such a
The best way to arrange the device is to arrange it on the opposite, i.e. at the upper edge of the support wall and to design it as an upper-head conveyor, which conveys the spacer frames in a hanging manner. Since the closing tool can be moved up and down to change its distance from the lower edge of the supporting wall, all you have to do is make the path of movement of the closing tool so long that it can be moved into the area of action of the overhead conveyor, where in a predetermined end position of the closing tool Handover of the spacer frame to the top conveyor takes place. The closing tool could in principle be arranged in front of the support wall, but the movement path of the closing tool preferably runs in a cutout of the support wall that runs from bottom to top, so that the closing tool only partially projects into the area in front of the support wall, thereby unhindered removal of the spacer frames is easier possible. It is best if the movement path of the closing tool is not arranged in a stationary manner, but rather is designed to be movable, so that it and with it the closing tool can be moved behind the bending plane. This makes it possible for the spacer frames to be completely unobstructed after being transferred to the overhead conveyor not only transversely to their own plane, but even in their plane (parallel to the support wall), which is particularly advantageous because access to the device as a whole and to the bending tools is then possible, in particular at any time, without hindrance.

The overhead conveyor conveniently has hooks as a supporting element for the spacer frames, in which hooks the spacer frames are hung. In order to make the hanging of the spacer frames particularly easy, the hooks are preferably suspended with their tips swinging directly in front of the bending plane. The advantage of such hooks is that they are deflected by the upper leg of the spacer frame that moves up with the locking tool and then pivot automatically under the upper frame leg. The frame locking tool can then be lowered, placing the spacer frame on the hook.

• Figur 1 zeigt die Vorrichtung in der Vorderansicht,
• Figur 2 zeigt die Vorrichtung in der Seitenansicht gemäß Pfeil II in Fig. 1,
• Figur 3 zeigt die Vorrichtung in der Draufsicht,
• Figur 4 zeigt als Detail das Rahmenschließwerkzeug der Vorrichtung in einer Schrägansicht,
• Figur 5 zeigt eine Draufsicht auf den vorderen Teil des Rahmenschließwerkzeuges bei abgenommener Verkleidung, und zwar zu einem Zeitpunkt, zu dem der Biegevorgang zur Herstellung eines Abstandhalterrahmens abgeschlossen ist,
• Figur 6 zeigt eine Draufsicht auf das Rahmerschließwerkzeug wie in Fig. 5, jedoch mit bereits gespreiztem Abstandhalterrahmen,
• Figur 7 zeigt eine Draufsicht auf das Rahmenschließwerkzeug wie in Fig. 5, jedoch mit bereits geschlossenem Abstandhalterrahmen,
• Figur 8 zeigt als Detail aus dem Rahmenschließwerkzeug die Anordnung und Einwirkung eines Kerbwerkzeuges, und
• Figur 9 zeigt als Detail die Ausbildung und Anordnung von pendelnd aufgehängten Haken eines Überkopfförderers am oberen Rand der Vorrichtung.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown schematically in the accompanying drawings.

• FIG. 1 shows the device in front view,
• FIG. 2 shows the device in a side view according to arrow II in FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 shows the device in a top view,
• FIG. 4 shows in detail the frame closing tool of the device in an oblique view,
• FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the front part of the frame closing tool with the covering removed, at a point in time at which the bending process for producing a spacer frame has been completed,
• FIG. 6 shows a top view of the frame locking tool as in FIG. 5, but with the spacer frame already spread,
• FIG. 7 shows a top view of the frame closing tool as in FIG. 5, but with the spacer frame already closed,
• Figure 8 shows a detail from the frame closing tool, the arrangement and action of a notching tool, and
• FIG. 9 shows in detail the design and arrangement of pendulum-suspended hooks of an overhead conveyor at the upper edge of the device.

The device has a base frame 1 and on the rear side a centrally arranged column 2 rigidly connected thereto. The base frame 1 carries one by two Plate-formed support wall 3, which is arranged inclined to the rear by a few degrees with respect to the vertical and defines the bending plane 5 of the device with its front side. Along the lower horizontal edge of the plate 3 there is a holder 4 with a support surface 6 running at right angles to the bending plane 5. The holder 4 is used to hold hollow profile bars 7, which are to be bent to form spacer frames, and to bring the hollow profile bars to two bending tools 8 and 9, which are arranged horizontally displaceably along the lower edge of the plates 3 and are mounted on two slides 10 for this purpose . The type and structure of the bending tools are not the subject of the present invention, but rather state of the art and are therefore not shown in detail. Bending tools such as those described in DE-PS 32 23 881 can be used, for example. In the example shown, two bending webs 11 are shown, which can be pivoted up about a little more than 90 ° about axes 12 running at right angles to the bending plane 5 from a horizontal starting position and thereby bend a hollow profile rod lying on the holder 4. To prevent slipping in its longitudinal direction, the hollow profile rod can additionally be clamped in the middle between the bending tools 8 and 9, for example by means of a clamping jaw working from above against the holder 4, which is not shown in the drawing, however. The swivel angle of the bending cheeks 11 is slightly more than 90 ° in order to overbend the hollow profile bars to be able to compensate for their elastic springback.

The two plates 3 are arranged side by side with some distance. In the cutout 13 of the support wall that runs from bottom to top, two mutually parallel running rails 14 are arranged, which run behind the bending plane 5, parallel to the latter, from bottom to top. On these rails 14, a closing tool 15 is mounted movable up and down. When a spacer frame is bent, the closing tool is moved to such a height that the ends 19 and 20 of the two free legs 17 and 18 of the spacer frame which are to be connected to one another pivot into the closing tool 15. The two bending tools 8 and 9 are therefore arranged on both sides of the cutout 13 for the closing tool 15; Preferably, the bending tools 8, 9 are arranged and formed mirror-symmetrically to the vertical center plane 21 of the closing tool 15. This then leads to the bending points being symmetrical to the center of the hollow profile rod 7 and the two free legs 17 and 18 pivoting into the closing tool 15 being of equal length.

The two bending tools 8 and 9 expediently work simultaneously, as was explained in the general description part.

The frame closing tool 15 consists essentially of tools for positioning, gripping and connecting the two free legs 17 and 18 of a hollow profile rod and the associated actuating devices, which are accommodated in a housing 22 which has a stem 23 (FIG. 4). In the flat, front housing wall 24, cutouts 25 and 26 are provided above the stem 23, through which various machine elements can be led out of the housing 22 and moved back again.

On the stem 23 there are two stops 2 _' 7 and 27a with a stop surface running at right angles to the bending plane 5 and parallel to the holder 4 at a distance from one another. The stop surfaces of the two stops 27 and 27a are aligned with one another. Above the stop 27 there is a guide 28 with a flat sliding surface 29 which faces the bending plane 5 and forms an acute angle with it, the distance between the guide 28 and the bending plane 5 increasing from bottom to top. Above the stop 27a there is a deflector 31 which also has a flat sliding surface 32 which, however, in contrast to the sliding surface 29 of the deflector, faces away from the bending plane 5. In its effective position shown in FIG. 4, the sliding surface 32 extends at an acute angle β to the bending plane 5, the angle 4, in contrast to the angle α, opening from top to bottom. Preferably, as shown, the sliding plane 32 is also around a plane perpendicular to the bending plane 5 and intersecting it in a horizontal line Plane measured angle y inclined; the acute angle y opens in the direction of the deflector 28. The oblique sliding surface 32 intersects the bending plane 5. From the effective position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the deflector 31 can be inserted into the housing by means of a pneumatic cylinder 33 arranged in the housing 22 22 can be brought in (swiveled).

A vertical stop surface 34 extending perpendicular to the bending plane 5 is formed in front of the side of the deflector 28 adjacent to the deflector 31, and a further stop 35 with a stop surface parallel to the stop surface 34 is provided directly in front of the opposite side of the deflector 31. The stop 35 can be seen in Fig. 5, in Fig. 4 it is covered.

A free-running roller 36 is provided close to the deflector 31, which roller is pivotably mounted about a horizontal axis 38 by means of a pneumatic cylinder 37 and can be pivoted out of an inactive position in the housing 22 through the cutout 25. The roller 36 serves as a hold-down device, which can press the one free leg 18 of a spacer frame against the stop 27a, but displacement movements in the longitudinal direction of the leg 18 are still easily possible because of the free-running roller 36. Another roller 39 serving as a hold-down device is close to the guide 28 provided. The roller 39 can also be pivoted out of an inactive position in the housing 22 by means of a pneumatic cylinder 40 about a horizontal axis 41. It serves to press the other free leg 17 of the spacer frame against the stop 27.

The two stops 27 and 27a are part of two mutually parallel clamping carriages 42 and 43 which can be displaced horizontally in the housing 22 by pneumatic cylinders 85 and 86 to change their mutual distance. The clamping carriage 42 carries the stop 27 on its protruding into the stem 23 forming part of a arranged under the guide 28 clamping jaws 44. The clamping carriage 42 with the clamping jaw 44 can also be approximated to the front housing wall 24 and removed again by means of a pneumatic cylinder 46 which takes part in the displacement of the clamping carriage 42 caused by the pneumatic cylinder 85. The clamping jaws 44, which can be displaced perpendicularly to the bending plane 5 in this way, works together with a clamping jaws 47 located opposite it and fixed in the housing 22. In the clamping slide 42 there is a guide rod 49 which extends perpendicular to the bending plane 5 and which is guided through a slide bearing in the fixed jaw 47 and thus ensures a parallel guidance of the movable clamping jaw 44 relative to the fixed clamping jaw 47 in an elongated hole 48. The clamping surface of the fixed clamping jaw 47 lies in the working position of the closing tool 15 in the alignment of the bending plane 5. In the alignment of the bending level 5 or slightly behind, the front housing wall 24 of the closing tool 15 also lies.

In a corresponding manner, a clamping jaw 50 is formed on the part of the other clamping slide 43 which protrudes from the housing 22 and forms the stop 27a and which, together with the clamping slide 43, is actuated by actuating a pneumatic cylinder 52 which takes part in the displacement of the clamping slide 43 caused by the pneumatic cylinder 86 the front housing wall 24 can be approximated and removed from it. The clamping jaws 50, which can be displaced perpendicular to the bending plane 5 in this way, works together with a clamping jaw 53 arranged in the region of the front housing wall 24 behind the deflector 31, the clamping surface of which is always in the bending plane 5 and which is accessible after the deflector 31 by actuating its pneumatic cylinder 33 was pivoted into the housing 22. Also provided in the carriage 43 is an elongated hole 54 and in this a guide rod 55 running perpendicular to the bending plane 5, which is guided in a slide bearing formed on the fixed clamping jaws 53.

Above the clamping jaw 56, which is displaceable parallel to the bending plane 5, there is also an inclined surface 57 which, in the same way as the sliding surface 29 of the guide, faces the bending plane 5 and also serves as a guide; however, it is set steeper than the sliding surface 29.

Between the two clamping carriages 42 and 43, a notching tool 60 is also provided, which for reasons of Clarity is not shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, but only as a detail in Fig. 8. The notching tool 60 is located at the tip of a pivot lever 61, the pivot axis 62 of which is located at the end of a guide rod 63 running perpendicular to the bending plane 5, which is guided in a guide block 64 and is always moved with the movable clamping jaw 44 due to a connection, not shown, with the clamping slide 42, but only by half of its displacement, which ensures that when bending hollow profile bars 7 with changing widths Notching tool is automatically fed to the center of the hollow profile rod 7. The lever 61 is pivoted by means of a pneumatic cylinder 65 via a further guide rod 66 which is guided in the same guide block 64 and which is connected to the pivotable lever 61 via a link 67.

To remove the spacer frame 16, an overhead conveyor 69 is mounted along the upper edge of the two plates 3. The overhead conveyor consists of a horizontal frame 70, which is arranged along the upper edge of the plates 3, is supported on this and on the central column 2 and protrudes beyond the outer end of one of the two plates 3. On the frame 70, a running rail 71 is formed, which supports an endless roller chain 72, which with gears 77 to 82 with perpendicular Axis is deflected and tensioned. One of these gears, for example gear 82, is driven. At regular intervals, bearing blocks 73, in particular those made of plastic, are attached to chain bolts which are extended beyond the upper link plates. A hook 75 is suspended in an oscillating manner in each of these bearing blocks, the oscillating axis 74 being oriented horizontally in the running direction of the chain 72. The hooks 75 are suspended in such a way that their tips 76 abut the plates 3 in the front chain hoist and slide along them.

The device works as follows: A hollow profile rod 7 placed on the holder 4 at the lower edge of the plates 3 and preferably clamped there is first bent by 90 ° at two outer bending points by the two bending tools 8 and 9 and thereby formed into a U. Then the two bending tools 8 and 9 are moved towards each other and then the hollow section rod 7 is bent again at the two inner bending points by 90 °. When the last two corners are bent, which is preferably carried out simultaneously, the two legs 17 and 18 of the spacer frame 16 to be connected pivot with their ends 19 and 20 into the area of action of the closing tool 15 previously moved to the appropriate height. One limb 17 is brought close to the bending plane 5 coinciding with the front of the plates 3 by the guide 28, provided that it is not already in contact with the supporting wall formed by the plates. The front housing wall 24 of the closing tool lies throughout the bending operation in the alignment of the bending plane 5 or slightly behind.

The other free leg 18 of the spacer frame, on the other hand, slides onto the deflector 31 and is thereby removed from the front of the support wall 3 at the end of the bending process. In this way it is ensured that the two free ends 19 and 20 do not meet at the end of the bending process, in particular not even if a plug connector 58 is already inserted in one of the two ends 19. Figure 5 shows a typical arrangement of the two ends 19 and 20 at the end of the bending process. In this position, the two legs 17 and 18 are pressed against the two stops 27a and 27 by the hold-down rollers 36 and 39.

Now the clamping carriage 42 is moved towards the clamping carriage 43 and the clamping carriage 43 is simultaneously moved towards the clamping carriage 42. The guide 27 acts with the stop surface formed on it on the end 20 and the stop 35 attached to the clamping slide 43, initially lying next to the deflector 31, on the end of the connector 58, the spacer frame 16 being spread until its end 20 and the connector 58 no longer overlap each other. This position is shown in Fig. 6. Simultaneously or subsequently, by pressing the Pneumatic cylinder 33 of the deflector 31 pivoted into the housing 22. The path is now clear to bring the leg 18 of the spacer frame into alignment with the other leg 17. This is done by closing the gripper formed by the clamping jaws 50 and 53 by actuating the pneumatic cylinder 52. At the same time, the gripper formed by the clamping jaws 44 and 47 is closed by actuating the pneumatic cylinder 46 and clamps the leg 17. The two legs 17 and 18 are now flush with one another. Now the further protruding end of the connector 58 can be inserted into the one end 20 of the hollow profile rod by further bringing the two clamping slides 42 and 43 closer to one another, thereby closing the spacer frame. In principle, it does not matter whether only one clamping carriage or both clamping carriages 42 and 43 are moved. Preferably, only one clamping slide is moved, for example the clamping slide 43, the displacement path of which is expediently chosen to be somewhat larger than the insertion length of the connector 58, so that the connector is pushed in as far as it will go, which is usually provided in its center. The displacement path of the clamping slide 43 that extends beyond the insertion length manifests itself in a slip which is expediently made possible by the clamping surfaces of the clamping jaws 50 and 53 being made sufficiently smooth. With the other two clamps bake 44 and 47, however, a slip is not desirable; there it is conveniently avoided by corrugating the clamping surfaces. After the two legs 19 and 20 have been plugged together, the spacer frame 16 has the position shown in FIG. 7. In this position, the notching tool 60 is pivoted onto the upper side of the spacer frame by actuating the pneumatic cylinder 65, pressing it in on both sides of the gap 59 formed between the two ends 19 and 20. To make this possible, the plug connector 58 has a corresponding recess at this point.

As soon as the bending tools 8 and 9 have released the finished, but not yet closed spacer frame 16, and as soon as the hold-down rollers 36 and 39 press the legs 17 and 18 against the stops 27 and 27a, the closing tool 15 can begin as a whole, on the running rails 14 drive up along. The operations of positioning and closing the spacer frame can occur during this trip. Shortly before the closing tool 15 reaches its intended upper end position, the upper side of the spacer frame 16 meets the inclined surfaces 76a of the hooks 75 of the overhead conveyor 69. The hooks 75 automatically avoid the upwardly moving spacer frame 16 and fall when he has moved past the tip 76 of the hook, again against the support wall formed by the plates 3. The hold-down rollers 36 and 38 can now lift off the spacer frame 16 which has been put together and pivot back into the housing 22. At the same time, the jaws 44 and 47 and 50 and 53 can open and release the spacer frame 16. The transfer of the spacer frame to the overhead conveyor 69 takes place in that the closing tool 15 is moved down a piece, whereby the hooks 75 lift the spacer frame 16 out of the area of action of the closing tool. By actuating a pressure medium cylinder 83 engaging in the upper area on the running rails 14, the two running rails 14 are now pivoted backwards about a lower horizontal axis 84 to such an extent that the stem 23 of the closing tool disappears completely behind the bending plane 5. The spacer frame 16 can now be conveyed away without hindrance by the closing tool 15 in the direction parallel to the bending plane 5. As soon as the spacer frame 16 has moved out of the area of the closing tool, it can be swiveled forward again into its working position and moved into the appropriate height position for the next spacer frame to be produced.

Claims (21)

1. A method for producing a rectangular spacer frame for insulating glass by bending a hollow profile rod four times in a common bending plane and connecting its ends to one another, characterized in that the two ends of the hollow profile rod are guided into one position by deflecting one or both ends from the bending plane which they are laterally offset next to each other, and that the ends are then gripped, positioned opposite one another in an aligned manner and connected to one another. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that only one of the two ends is deflected. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in
that the end or both ends of the hollow profile rod are deflected in the course of the last bending process. 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in
that the end or both ends of the hollow profile rod are deflected in the last phase of the last bending process. 5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in
that the ends are connected by means of a plug connector which is inserted into one end before the bending process begins and also into the opposite end of the hollow profile rod after the bending and positioning of the two ends. 6. Device for producing a rectangular image stand frame for insulating glass by bending a hollow profile rod four times in a common bending plane and connecting its ends to each other, with a horizontally or inclined support wall, on the edge of which there is a holder for a hollow profile bar to be bent and one or more bending tools, the bending plane of which coincides with the top of the support wall, characterized in that a parallel to the support wall (3) displaceable and thereby in its distance from the Bracket (4) and the bending tools (8, 9) changeable frame closing tool (15) is provided, which means (31) for deflecting one end (20) of the hollow profile bar (7) from the bending plane (5) while the two ends ( 19, 20) of the hollow profile rod, that the closing tool (15) positioning devices (27,27a; 34,35; 44,47; 50,53) for positioning the ends (19,20) of the hollow profile rod so that they lie opposite one another in alignment, and has two grippers (44, 47; 50, 53) which can be moved parallel to the bending plane (5) and by means of which the ends (19, 20) of the hollow profile rod positioned in this way can be approached to one another. 7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in
that one or more stops (27, 27a) of the same height are provided on the closing tool (15), against which the frame legs (17, 18) to be connected lie against the inside of the frame after completion of the bending processes. 8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that
that two hold-down rollers (36, 39) are provided on the closing tool (15) for pressing the two frame legs (17, 18) to be connected to the stop (s) (27, 27a). lying inactive end position against the frame legs (17, 18) lying on the stops (27, 27a) can be pivoted. 9. The device according to claim 7, characterized in
that a notching tool (60) is provided on the closing tool (15) between the grippers (44, 47; 50, 53), which out of an ineffective end position lying behind the bending plane (5) against the stop (s) (27, 27a) is pivotable. 10. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that
that for deflecting one end (20) of the hollow profile rod (7) there is a deflector (31) which can be retracted behind the bending plane (5) and has a sliding surface (32) on which the frame leg (18) on which the end (20 ), slides in the course of the bending process, and that the sliding surface (32) extends obliquely to the bending plane (5) in such a way that it lifts the sliding frame leg (18) from the supporting wall (3). 11. The device according to claim 6, characterized in
that on the closing tool (15) there is a guide (28) with a sliding surface (29) on which the frame leg (17), on which the other end (19) of the hollow profile rod (7) is located, during the bending process on ^g conducts, and that the sliding surface (29) extends obliquely to the bending plane (5) in such a way that it counteracts the sliding frame leg (17) the retaining wall (3) leads. 12. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that
that on the closing tool (15) two mutually variable end stops (34, 35) are provided for the two ends (19, 20) of the hollow profile bar (7). 13. The apparatus of claim 10, 11 and 12, characterized ge
indicates that one end stop (34) is formed on the side of the deflector (28) adjacent to the deflector (31) and the other end stop (35) is arranged in front of the side of the deflector (31) adjacent to the deflector (28). 14. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that
that the two grippers (44, 47; 50, 53) are each formed by two pairs of clamping jaws, each of which has a jaw (47, 53) with its clamping surface in the bending plane (5), while the jaws (44, 50) lies at a variable distance in front of the bending plane (5). 15. The apparatus of claim 11 and 14, characterized ge
indicates that the guide is the movable clamping jaw or is in front of it - when looking from the closing tool (15) to the holder (4). 16. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the support wall (3) inclined and the holder (4) for the hollow profile rod (7) to be bent along the the lower edge of the support wall (3) is arranged, that an overhead conveyor (69) is provided along the opposite edge of the support wall (3) for conveying away the assembled spacer frames (16), and that the movement path (14) of the closing tool (15) extends for the purpose of transferring the spacer frames (16) to the overhead conveyor (69) up to the height of its conveyor path. 17. The apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in that the movement path (14) of the closing tool (15) runs in a cutout (13) of the support wall (3) running from the bottom upwards. 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in
that the movement path (14) of the closing tool (15) can be shifted behind the bending plane (5). 19. The apparatus according to claim 16, characterized in
net that the overhead conveyor (69) as supporting elements for the spacer frame (16) has pendulum-mounted hooks (75), the tip (76) of which rests on the support wall (3). 20. The apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in
that the support wall (3) is inclined only a few degrees against the vertical. 21. The apparatus of claim 14 and 18, characterized ge
indicates that the conveyor path of the overhead conveyor (69) runs parallel to the support wall (3).

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