Method for fabricating contour muntin bars from sheet material
US6651304B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 20, 2002 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 20, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/5145
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Method and apparatus for making a contoured muntin bar. A supply of sheet material having a finished surface on at least one side in the form of a coiled ribbon is unwound and fed along a strip path of travel to a punch station. At the punch station a ribbon punching mechanism punches the ribbon at a precisely predetermined locations along the ribbon to form one of a plurality notch patterns that define a portion of a contoured muntin bar. Downstream along the travel path from the punch station the ribbon is fed through a forming station having a succession of forming rolls that define a succession of forming roll nips to bend the ribbon and form a generally closed cross-sectional tube. The rolls form a number of bending stages to produce a muntin bar tube having a contoured shape with raised sides to provide an attractive appearance to a muntin grid.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.