PRESS

Abstract

A press tool for pressing a periphery of an aperture of a workpiece to at least partially undo deformative damage to the aperture.

Description

FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a press for undoing deformative damage to a workpiece. The press of the present disclosure may be suitable for pressing small, sheet metal workpieces.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Many vehicles experience road accidents and other incidents that result in damage to those vehicles. Since impacts occur on the outside of the vehicle it is common for the body or paneling of the vehicle to be damaged.

[0003] Damage to the body or paneling often takes the form of a dent. Skilled panel-beaters and technicians can repair the body or paneling by flattening the dent so that the body or panel returns substantially to its original shape.

[0004] Damage to the body or paneling is also often indicative of damage to other parts of the vehicle, such as engine mounts and other wiring and component attachment points and linkages (collectively referred to as "subcomponents"). Therefore, while the aesthetics of the vehicle can be restored by repairing damage to the body or paneling, a skilled technician will be able to see that the vehicle has been involved in an incident by scrutinizing the subcomponents.

[0005] Subcomponents can be difficult to access and are often unable to be repaired without first being removed from the vehicle. For many subcomponents removal requires other parts of the vehicle to be taken out or disengaged (e.g. wiring or, in some case, the engine). For this reason, the time required to remove subcomponents often makes repair of the subcomponents prohibitively expensive.

[0006] It would be useful to provide a tool for repairing damage to subcomponents.

SUMMARY

[0007] As used herein, unless context dictates otherwise:

[0008] the term `workpiece` refers to any relevant component of a vehicle that is usually located behind or within the body or paneling of the vehicle, and upon which the press of the present disclosure may operate to undo the visual effects of deformative damage;

[0009] the term `deformative damage` refers to any damage involving plastic deformation of a workpiece away from the shape it had when manufactured (i.e. the shape it held prior to the deformative damage occurring).

[0010] to `undo` deformative damage is to reshape a workpiece that has experienced deformative damage, so that the workpiece returns at least partially back towards the shape it had when manufactured.

[0011] the term "pressing operation" refers to an operation of the press to press a workpiece.

[0012] the term "highly polished" refers to a surface that has been machined, ground or otherwise polished so as to present a smoothened surface to a workpiece during a pressing operation.

[0013] The inventor noted that it is often considerably easier to identify that a vehicle has been in an incident or accident by noting deformation to apertures (e.g. fastener holes such as bolt holes) in subcomponents than it is to identify deformation to flat subcomponents. This is a result of difficulty in observing subcomponents from different angles due to their locations within the vehicle and thus small deviations surface flatness can be hard to observe. Contrastingly, since apertures, such as those for receiving fasteners, are typically nearly perfectly round any distortion from a rounded shape (e.g. to an elliptical shape) can be taken as an indication that the subcomponent has been damaged.

[0014] The present disclosure provides a press for pressing a periphery of an aperture of a workpiece to at least partially undo deformative damage to the aperture, the aperture being sized to receive a fastener, the press comprising:

[0015] a body;

[0016] a connector extending from the body and adapted to project, in use, through the aperture;

[0017] a first press member and an opposing, second, press member, the first press member being located on the body and the second press member being located on the connector and shaped to be moved, in use, through the aperture so that the workpiece is received between the press members; and

[0018] an actuator provided on the body and being operable to bring the press members together, against opposite surfaces of the periphery of the aperture, thereby to reshape the aperture to at least partially undo deformative damage to the workpiece.

[0019] The press members may press the entire periphery of the aperture in a single pressing operation. The press members may alternatively press only a portion of the periphery of the aperture upon operation of the actuator, wherein said portion is less than the whole of the periphery of the aperture.

[0020] Where the press members press only a portion of the periphery of the aperture upon operation, multiple pressing operations may be performed on the aperture. Those multiple pressing operations may be performed on overlapping portions of the periphery of the aperture.

[0021] At least one press member may be movable relative to the handle so the handle can remain in the same position relative to the aperture while operation of the actuator results in different portions of the periphery of the aperture being pressed.

[0022] The at least one press member may be rotatable relative to the handle. In this case, the different portions of the periphery of the aperture may extend substantially radially outwardly from an axis of rotation of the at least one press member. The different portions may be spaced apart. The different portions may overlap. The different portions may align side-by-side.

[0023] The movable (e.g. rotatable) press member may be the second press member.

[0024] One or both press members may be highly polished. In particular, each press member may include a press surface and the press surface of one or both press members may be highly polished. The press surface of both press members may be highly polished.

[0025] The press members may be different sizes. The press members may be different shapes. One press member may be larger than the other. One press member may be sized to bear against the entirety of the periphery of the aperture. The other press member may be sized to bear against only a portion of the periphery of the aperture, where the portion is less than the whole of the periphery.

[0026] If the other press member is sized to bear against only a portion of the periphery, the aperture may be reshaped in two or more pressing operations. The one press member may be the first press member and the other press member may be the second press member.

[0027] The other press member may be rotatable so as to press different portions of the periphery of the aperture while the actuator remains in a consistent position for each of the two or more pressing operations.

[0028] The first press member may comprise a substantially cylindrical bush projecting from the body. The bush may project perpendicularly from the body. The bush may form a cylinder around at least a portion of the connector. The connector may extend from both ends of the bush. The axis of the cylindrical bush and the axis of the connector may be collinear.

[0029] The first press member may taper inwardly at the end remote from the body of the press. The inward taper may be a substantially conical taper. The tapered end may terminate in a press surface. The tapered end may be frustoconical. The press surface may be highly polished.

[0030] The connector may comprise a substantially cylindrical shaft. The second press member may be located at one end of the shaft. The second press member may be releasably mounted to the shaft. The second press member may be fixedly mounted to the shaft. The second press member may be integrally formed with the shaft.

[0031] The connector may be movably received in the bush of the first press member. The connector may slide axially (e.g. longitudinally) within the first press member.

[0032] The press may further comprise an adjuster for changing the orientation of one press member relative to the other press member. The adjuster may rotate said one press member. Said one press member may be the second press member.

[0033] The adjuster may comprise a knob. The adjuster may be located at the end of the connector opposite the second bearing member.

[0034] The adjuster may be operable to adjust the distance between the first and second press members. In this manner, the adjuster may enable the distance between the first and second press members to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the workpiece.

[0035] At least one press member may comprise a flat press surface bordered by a rounded edge. The second press member may comprise a flat press surface bordered by a rounded edge. The flat press surface may be bordered by the rounded edge and a surface of the connector.

[0036] The second press member may be shaped to be rolled through the aperture. The second press member may have a rounded rear surface to facilitate rolling the second press member through the aperture. The second press member may have a convex rear surface to facilitate rolling the second press member through the aperture. The rounded edge may delineate a line of convergence between the flat press surface and the rear surface of the second press member.

[0037] The second press member may be substantially hook-shaped.

[0038] The present disclosure also provides a method for reshaping an aperture, the aperture being sized to receive a fastener, the method comprising:

[0039] inserting one of two press members of a press through the aperture so that a first portion of the periphery of the aperture is located between the two press members;

[0040] actuating an actuator of the press to press the first portion of the periphery of the aperture; and

[0041] rotating one of the press members relative to the other press member to receive a second portion of the periphery of the aperture between the press members.

[0042] The method may further comprise actuating the actuator to press the second portion of the periphery of the aperture.

[0043] The inserting step may comprise rolling said one of two press members through the aperture.

[0044] The press may comprise an adjuster and the rotating step may be performed by rotating the adjuster to adjust the orientation of one of the press members relative to the other press member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] The press of the present disclosure will now be described by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0046] FIG. 1 is a partial side perspective view of a press in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of an illustrative workpiece upon which the press of FIG. 1 may operate to restore or reshape the workpiece at least part way back to its original, manufactured shape; and

[0048] FIG. 3 is a close-up view of an aperture, showing examples of portions of the periphery of the aperture that could be pressed with a series of pressing operations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] In recognising of the ease with which damage to an aperture can be assessed, the present inventor devised a press 10 as shown in FIG. 1 for pressing the periphery 12 of a fastener aperture 14 of a workpiece 16 to undo deformative damage to the aperture 14. The periphery 12 is indicated as the region generally between the edge of the aperture 14 and the broken line as shown in FIG. 2.

[0050] The term `fastener aperture` is intended to mean an aperture sized for receiving a fastener.

[0051] The press 10 comprises a body 18, a connector 20, a first press member 22, a second press member 24 and an actuator 26.

[0052] The body 18 comprises a handle 28 by which an operator grasps the press 10, and the actuator 26 is pivotally connected by a pivot 30 near an end 32 of the body 18.

[0053] The actuator 26 extends in one direction from the pivot 30 to a pin 34. The pin 34 couples the actuator 26 with the connector 20.

[0054] The actuator 26 also extends in the opposite direction from the pivot 30 towards a grip (not shown). The grip (not shown) is squeezed together with handle 28 in order to bring the press members 22, 24 together against opposite surfaces of the periphery 12 of the aperture 14. In so doing, the actuator 26 is operable to press and thereby reshape the aperture 14 to at least partially undo deformative damage to the workpiece 16.

[0055] The shape and arrangement of the body 18 and actuator 26 of the device shown in FIG. 1 are similar to comparable handle components of a manual rivet gun. Accordingly, these components will be understood by the skilled person and need not be described herein in any greater detail.

[0056] The first press member 22 extends substantially perpendicularly away from the body 18. The first press member 22 comprises a substantially cylindrical bush that tapers inwardly at the end 36, being the end that is remote from the body 18.

[0057] When the actuator 26 is operated, press members 22 and 24 are brought together to press against opposite sides of a workpiece 16. The press force applied by the press members 22 and 24 to the workpiece 16 can be substantial. Consequently, any roughness in the surfaces of the press members 22 and 24 can score or mar the workpiece 16.

[0058] To reduce the likelihood of scoring or marring the workpiece 16, the tapered end 36 terminates in a highly polished press surface 38.

[0059] In order to press a workpiece 16, the first and second press members 22, 24 move relative to one another. To facilitate this movement, the second press member 24 is integrally formed on the end of the connector 20 and the connector 20 is movable relative to the first press member 22 to move the second press member 24 relative to the first press member 22.

[0060] The connector 20 is, in effect, a cylindrical shaft extending between an adjuster 40 and the second press member 24. The connector 20 is connected with the actuator 26 through a pin 34 to convert angular or pivoting movement of the actuator 26 into linear movement of the connector 20.

[0061] In the present embodiment, the connector 20 extends from the body 18 axially through the cylindrical bush of the first press member 22. The connector 20 is adapted to slide along its axis 42 within the cylindrical bush of the first press member 22 thereby to move the second press member 24 towards and away from the first press member 22 with movements of the actuator 26. Incidentally the axis of rotation 42 of the connector 20 is also the axis of rotation of the second press member 24.

[0062] In use, the connector 20 projects from the body 18 through the fastener aperture 14 in the workpiece 16. In so doing, it locates the second press member 24 on the opposite side of the workpiece 16 to the first press member 22.

[0063] The second press member 24 comprises a highly polished, flat press surface 44 that bears against the workpiece 16 on the opposite side thereof to the highly polished surface 38 of the first press member 22.

[0064] The press surface 44 of the second press member 24 is bordered by a rounded edge 45 that defines a line of convergence between the press surface 44 and a convex rear surface 46 of the second press member 24. The press surface 44 is also bordered by a line of intersection 47 between the press surface 44 and the connector 20. The edge 45 of the press surface 44 is rounded to ensure the press surface 44 does not score the workpiece 16 during pressing operations.

[0065] The rear surface 46 of the second press member 24 is shaped to be moved, in use, through the aperture 14. In this regard, the rear surface 46 has a convex, rounded shape to enable the second press member 24 to be "rolled" through the aperture 14.

[0066] The term "rolled" describes a process wherein:

[0067] the axis of the first press member 22 is at a non-perpendicular angle to the plane of the workpiece 16;

[0068] the point of the second press member 24--the `point` being the part of the second press member 24 at which the faces 44, 46 converge away from the connector 20--is inserted through the aperture 14; and

[0069] the press 10 is rotated to bring the first press member into a substantially perpendicular position relative to the plane of the workpiece 16 and, in so doing, the remainder of the second press member `rolls` through the aperture 14.

[0070] Accordingly, in general use of the press 10 of the present disclosure the skilled person would reshape a fastener aperture 14 by:

[0071] inserting one of two press members (presently second press member 24) of a press through an aperture so that a first portion of the periphery of the aperture is located between the two press members (an example of a first portion 55i is shown in FIG. 3);

[0072] actuating an actuator of the press to press the first portion of the periphery of the aperture; and

[0073] rotating one of the press members relative to the other press member to receive a second portion of the periphery of the aperture between the press members.

[0074] The second (and subsequent) portions of the periphery of the aperture 14 are illustrated by numerals 55ii-55iv in FIG. 3, and can be sequentially pressed by a series of pressing operations. With reference to the workpiece 16 in FIGS. 2 and 3, a sufficient amount of the periphery 12 of the aperture 14 will ultimately be pressed by the series of pressing operations to reshape the aperture 14 so that it looks as though it has not experienced deformative damage.

[0075] As mentioned above, the press members 22, 24 interact (i.e. move relative to one another) to press a workpiece 16 therebetween. In general, the second press member 24 will pull the periphery 12 of the aperture 14 towards the press surface 38 of the first press member 22 in the direction indicated by arrow X in FIG. 2. In so doing, the press 10 will draw the workpiece 16 from the deformed condition shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 at least partially back towards the original condition of the workpiece 16 as indicated in broken lines (reference numeral 48) in FIG. 2.

[0076] In order to fit through an aperture 14, the second press member 24 of the present example is necessarily shaped in a manner that will prevent it from pressing the entirety of the periphery 12 in a single pressing operation. Contrastingly, the flat press surface 38 of the first press member 22 is sized to bear against the entirety of the periphery 12 of the aperture 14. In other words, the press a surface 38 is at least marginally larger in diameter than the diameter of the aperture 14. The press surface 38 may in fact have the same diameter as the periphery 12 of the aperture 14, or may even have a larger diameter than the periphery 12 of the aperture 14.

[0077] Since the second press member 24 is smaller than the aperture 14, it cannot press the entirety of the periphery 12 of the aperture 14 in a single pressing operation. The press members 22, 24 thus only press a portion (less than the whole) of the periphery 12 of the aperture 14 upon operation of the actuator 26.

[0078] Two or more pressing operations are therefore necessary to press the entirety of the periphery 12 of the aperture 14. So that the second press member 24 does not continue to press the same portion of the periphery 12, the operator of the press 10 may rotate the press 10 so as to bring a different portion of the periphery 12 in between the first and second press members 22, 24.

[0079] In some cases, such as when working under the bonnet of a car, there is insufficient room to rotate the handle 28 of the press 10. It is also often easier to operate the actuator 26 when it is in a consistent position relative to the aperture 14 for all pressing operations performed on the aperture 14. To facilitate pressing of the entirety of the periphery 12 in these circumstances, the connector 20, and consequently the second press member 24 that is integrally formed on the end of the connector 20, are rotatable relative to the actuator 26 and the first press member 22.

[0080] In order to more clearly illustrate the effect of deformative damage, FIG. 2 shows an undamaged aperture 50 as well as deformed apertures 14, 52, 54. A skilled technician will realise that aperture 14 has been deformed since it has a generally elliptical shape rather than a substantially circular shape such as that of aperture 50. By returning aperture 14--and similarly, apertures 52 and 54--back to a circular shape, the operator of the press 10 will similarly reshape the workpiece 16 back towards its original manufactured condition 48.

[0081] It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

[0082] In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A press for pressing a periphery of an aperture of a workpiece to at least partially undo deformative damage to the aperture, the aperture being sized to receive a fastener, the press comprising: a body; a connector extending from the body and adapted to project, in use, through the aperture; a first press member and an opposing, second, press member, the first press member being located on the body and the second press member being located on the connector and shaped to be moved, in use, through the aperture so that the workpiece is received between the press members; and an actuator provided on the body and being operable to bring the press members together, against opposite surfaces of the periphery of the aperture, thereby to reshape the aperture to at least partially undo deformative damage to the workpiece.

2. A press according to claim 1, wherein the press members press only a portion of the periphery of the aperture upon operation of the actuator, wherein said portion is less than the whole of the periphery of the aperture.

3. A press according to claim 1, wherein one press member is rotatable relative to the other press member.

4. A press according to claim 2, wherein at least one press member is rotatable relative to the actuator.

5. A press according to claim 4, wherein the at least one rotatable press member is the second press member.

6. A press according to claim 1, wherein one or both press members are highly polished.

7. A press according to claim 1, wherein at least one press member comprises a flat press surface bordered by a rounded edge.

8. A press according to claim 7, wherein the second press member comprises a flat press surface bordered by a rounded edge.

9. A press according to claim 1, wherein one press member is sized to bear against the entirety of the periphery of the aperture and the other press member is comparatively smaller in size so that the aperture is reshaped in two or more pressing operations.

10. A press according to claim 9, wherein the one press member is the first press member and the other press member is the second press member.

11. A press according to claim 9, wherein the other press member is rotatable so as to press different portions of the periphery of the aperture while the actuator remains in a consistent position for each of the two or more pressing operations.

12. A press according to claim 1, wherein the second press member is shaped to be rolled through the aperture.

13. A press according to claim 12, wherein the second press member has a rounded rear surface to facilitate rolling the second press member through the aperture.

14. A press according to claim 1, further comprising an adjuster for changing the orientation of one press member relative to the other press member.

15. A press according to claim 14, wherein the adjuster rotates said one press member.

16. A press according to claim 14, wherein said one press member is the second press member.

17. A method for reshaping an aperture, the aperture being sized to receive a fastener, the method comprising: inserting one of two press members of a press through the aperture so that a first portion of the periphery of the aperture is located between the two press members; actuating an actuator of the press to press the first portion of the periphery of the aperture; and rotating one of the press members relative to the other press member to receive a second portion of the periphery of the aperture between the press members.

18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising actuating the actuator to press the second portion of the periphery of the aperture.

19. A method according to claim 17, wherein the inserting step comprises rolling said one of two press members through the aperture.