초록 ▼

A thin walled body such as a container (1) is gripped at a holding station and tooling (10) is engaged to deform the wall of the body at a predetermined zone. The predetermined wall zone is co-aligned with the tooling (10) by means of coordinated movement of the tooling (10) (typically by means of r

A thin walled body such as a container (1) is gripped at a holding station and tooling (10) is engaged to deform the wall of the body at a predetermined zone. The predetermined wall zone is co-aligned with the tooling (10) by means of coordinated movement of the tooling (10) (typically by means of rotation about a tooling axis) prior to engagement with the wall zone.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A method of deforming a thin walled body, the method comprising: a) providing an apparatus including i) a holding station for holding the body gripped securely, ii) a tooling station including tooling to deform the body at a predetermined wall zone on a wall of the body, and

What is claimed is: 1. A method of deforming a thin walled body, the method comprising: a) providing an apparatus including i) a holding station for holding the body gripped securely, ii) a tooling station including tooling to deform the body at a predetermined wall zone on a wall of the body, and iii) means for co-ordinated movement of the tooling to reconfigure the tooling to co-align with the predetermined wall; b) holding the body gripped securely at the holding station; c) engaging the tooling to deform the wall of the body at the predetermined wall zone, the tooling being provided at the tooling station which is adjacent the holding station during deformation; and d) operating the means for co-ordinated movement of the tooling such that the predetermined wall zone is co-aligned with the tooling prior to deformation, wherein the position of one or more pre-positioned marks on a surface of the body is compared with a datum situation and the tooling is reoriented with an appropriate adjustment made to the tooling to conform to the datum situation. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein co-alignment of the tooling with the predetermined wall zone is achieved by means of rotation of the tooling about a tooling rotation axis. 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the thin walled body comprises a cylindrical thin walled body, the predetermined wall zone comprising a predetermined wall zone on the circumference of the body. 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein co-alignment of the tooling with the body is achieved substantially entirely by co-ordinated movement of the tooling, the body remaining securely gripped and in a fixed orientation. 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the deforming tooling does not act to retain or secure the body during the deforming process. 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling is moved in a direction transverse to the centreline of axis of the body in order to engage with and effect deformation of the predetermined wall zone. 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling is advanced in the axial direction of the cylindrical body, to a position in which a tooling part lies adjacent the circumferential wall of the cylindrical body. 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling comprises an internal tooling part configured to be positioned internally of the body, and an external tooling part arranged to be positioned externally of the body. 9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the wall zone is clamped between the internal and external tooling parts to deform the wall zone, the internal tooling expanding from a collapsed insertion/retraction position. 10. A method according to claim 8, wherein the internal and external tooling parts are movable independently in a direction transverse to the body wall. 11. A method according to claim 8, wherein wall deforming force is applied to the internal and external tooling parts at force application zones spaced in an axial direction of the body on opposed sides of the zone of the wall to be deformed. 12. A method according to claim 8, wherein the internal and external tooling parts are supported at proximal zones relative to the tooling station, the distal ends of the respective tooling parts carrying the deforming elements, the deforming force being applied intermediate the distal and proximal ends of the respective tooling parts. 13. A method according to claim 1 wherein the deforming tooling does not effect deformation by rolling engagement with the wall. 14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling carries a predetermined relief or contoured profile for imparting a predetermined profiled deformation to the wall zone. 15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling comprises an internal tooling part, configured to be positioned internally of the body, and an external tooling part arranged to be positioned externally of the body, the tooling parts being correspondingly matingly profiled to ensure the desired deformation configuration pattern is produced in the wall zone. 16. A method according to claim 1 wherein the tooling is guided to move translationally into and out of register with the wall of the body to effect deformation of the wall zone. 17. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling includes a support substrate or surface curved correspondingly to lie contiguous with the body wall when the relief profile of the tooling is effecting deformation. 18. A method according to claim 1, wherein the position of one or more pre-positioned marks on a surface of the body is determined whilst the body is secured in the holding station, the tooling being reorientated at the tooling station. 19. A method according to claim 18, wherein an optical alignment system is utilised to determine the position of the one or more re-positioned marks on the surface of the body. 20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the optical alignment system comprises panoramic recognition arrangement. 21. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling is re-orientatable rotationally, the tooling being rotatable in both clockwise and anticlockwise rotational senses. 22. A method according to claim 1, wherein the position of one or more predisposed marks on the surface of the body is determined whilst the body is secured in the holding station, the position of the pre-positioned marks is compared with a datum situation and an appropriate rotational adjustment made to the tooling to conform to the datum situation, a determination is made concerning whether clockwise or anti-clockwise rotation to the datum is a shortest route, and rotation of the tooling in the shortest route sense is effected. 23. A method according to claim 1, wherein the tooling station comprises one station in a multi-station forming process, and other stations are adapted for performing one or more of necking, drawing, ironing, extruding, varnishing, surface printing, drawing in, and/or cutting to length of a cylindrical body. 24. A method according to claim 1, wherein the body, securely held in the holding station, is transferred between a plurality of forming stations arranged to deform the body wall to different deformed configurations. 25. Apparatus for deforming a thin walled body, the apparatus including: a) a holding station for holding the body gripped securely; b) a tooling station including tooling to deform the body at a predetermined wall zone on a wall of the body, the tooling station being positioned at a location adjacent the holding station during deformation; and c) means for co-ordinated movement to reconfigure the tooling to co-align with the predetermined wall zone prior to deformation; and d) determination means for determining the orientation of the body relative to a reference situation, wherein the determination means includes means for comparing the position of one or more predisposed marks with a datum reference situation and an appropriate adjustment is made to the orientation of the tooling to conform to the datum situation. 26. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the holding station is arranged to at least one of: i) grip the body so as to prevent rotation of the body whilst held at the holding station, and ii) grip a cylindrical thin walled body, and iii) maintain the secure grip on the body during deforming engagement of the tooling. 27. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the tooling is rotatable about a tooling rotational axis to be reconfigured into co-alignment with the predetermined wall zone. 28. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the determination means determines the position of one or more predisposed marks on the body. 29. Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the determination means determines whether clockwise or anticlockwise rotation of the tooling is a shortest route to the datum situation. 30. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the tooling station is provided in a multi-stage forming apparatus. 31. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein a multi-position tooling station is provided, including a plurality of different tooling stations for performing different operations on the body. 32. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein at least one of: i) the apparatus is indexed to deliver up a succession of cylindrical bodies to respective tooling stations, and ii) the apparatus is operated to configure the tooling and holding stations in an advanced orientation for the deforming operation and a retracted orientation before and after deforming. 33. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the thin walled body comprises a cylindrical thin walled body, the predetermined wall zone comprising a predetermined wall zone on the circumference of the body.