All The Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of forming end-supported louvers in a seam of a portion of structural steel decking comprising:
selecting a first and second piece of structural steel decking, said first piece of structural steel decking having a female lip portion and said second piece of structural steel decking having a male lip portion, said female lip portion and said male lip portion being adapted to form a crimped seam;
placing said female lip portion over said male lip portion;
crimping said female lip portion over said male lip portion to form a seam;
selecting a louver forming apparatus comprising a frame pivotally supporting a first and second pivoted jaw member, each of said first and second pivoted jaw members comprising a free end and a driven end, said free end of said first jaw member having a blade portion, said free end of said second jaw member having a die portion, said free ends of said first and second jaw members being moveable between an open position in which said blade portion of said first jaw member is displaced from said die portion of said second jaw member to form a gap therebetween capable of receiving the seam, and a closed position in which said blade portion of said first jaw member passes at least partly through said die portion of said second jaw member, said blade portion and said die portion having surfaces cooperating to shear a portion of the seam as said blade portion passes through said die portion;
moving the first and second jaw members of the louver forming apparatus into the open position;
positioning the louver forming apparatus over the seam such that the seam is within the gap formed between the first and second jaw members; and
forming a louver in said seam by moving the jaw members of the louver forming apparatus to the closed position.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein
the step of forming a louver comprises shearing opposing walls of a rectangular tab out of the seam while leaving the remaining two walls of the tab intact; and
deforming the rectangular tab into a bowed louver supported at both ends, the louver bridging a window formed in the seam by the step of shearing the rectangular tab.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the louver forming apparatus further comprises:
providing a pneumatic cylinder moveable between a first and a second position;
coupling a first end of a linkage to said pneumatic cylinder and a second end of said linkage to said first and second jaw members, said linkage for moving said jaws to the open position in response to said pneumatic cylinder moving to the first position and moving said jaws to the closed position in response to said pneumatic cylinder moving to the second position; and
coupling an air valve to said pneumatic assembly, said air valve for admitting a flow of pressurized air into said pneumatic cylinder to urge said pneumatic cylinder from said first position to said second position.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said blade portion of said first jaw member comprises a tip portion and a root portion, said tip portion comprising a rounded region and said root portion comprising an undercut region, said rounded region and said undercut region cooperating with said die portion of said second jaw member to shear two opposing sides of a rectangular louver out of the seam of the structural steel decking while leaving the remaining two opposing sides of the rectangular louver attached.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said second jaw member comprises a pair of jaws, each of said pair of jaws having a substantially identical planar cross section.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of said pair of jaws has a planar cross section that is a mirror image of the planar cross section of said first jaw member.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said linkage comprises:
a first and second link, said first and second links each having first ends, said first ends being pivotally attached one to another to form a toggle input joint, said toggle input joint attached to said pneumatic cylinder, said first link pivotally attached at a second end thereof to said driven end of said first jaw member and said second link pivotally attached at a second end thereof to said driven end of said second jaw member.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising; operatively attaching a crosshead to said toggle input joint to constrain said toggle input joint to move linearly, thereby causing said jaws members to move in unison.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:
operatively coupling a connecting rod having an adjustable length between said pneumatic cylinder and said toggle input joint.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein:
said pneumatic cylinder comprises a housing comprising a wall having a substantially circular interior cross section;
a flexible diaphragm disposed within said housing and sealed along an outer edge thereof to said wall to divide said housing into a first and second chamber, said first chamber having a fitting adapted to receive a source of high pressure air, said second chamber having an opening for venting said second chamber to the atmosphere, said diaphragm being adapted to be operatively attached to a connecting rod passing through said second chamber; and
a spring disposed in said second chamber for urging said diaphragm toward said first chamber.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, further including providing an exhaust valve operatively disposed between said air valve and said pneumatic cylinder, said exhaust valve comprising:
a housing having an interior chamber, an inlet, an outlet, and an exhaust port, said exhaust port including a valve seat;
valve member comprising a flexible disk disposed in said chamber moveable between a first position in which said inlet is open and said exhaust port is sealed and a second position in which said exhaust port is open and said inlet is sealed, said valve member adapted to move to said first position in response to a flow of air through said inlet into said chamber and to move to said second position in response to a flow of air through said outlet into said chamber.
12. A method for securing workpieces together using a louver, comprising:
providing first and second workpieces, said first workpiece having a female lip portion and said second workpiece having a male lip portion, wherein said female lip portion is over said male lip portion;
forming a seam from said female lip porton; and
forming the louver in said seam.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the two workpieces are steel decking.
14. The method of claim 12, further including forming a bulge extending in a direction opposite a deformation of the louver.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein forming the louver includes using a louver forming apparatus comprising a frame pivotally supporting a first and second pivoted jaw member, each of said first and second pivoted jaw members comprising a free end and a driven end, said free end of said first jaw member having a blade portion, said free end of said second jaw member having a die portion, said free ends of said first and second jaw members being moveable between an open position in which said blade portion of said first jaw member is displaced from said die portion of said second jaw member to form a gap therebetween capable of receiving the seam, and a closed position in which said blade portion of said first jaw member passes at least partly through said die portion of said second jaw member, said blade portion and said die portion having surfaces cooperating to shear a portion of the seam as said blade portion passes through said die portion.
16. The method of claim 15, further including moving the first and second jaw members of the louver forming apparatus into the open position;
positioning the louver forming apparatus over the seam such that the seam is within the gap formed between the first and second jaw members; and
forming a louver in said seam by moving the jaw members of the louver forming apparatus to the closed position.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A directional clutch for transferring torque about an axis of rotation, said clutch comprising:
an outer race having a circumferentially extending raceway located around the axis, the raceway being uninterrupted in the circumferential direction;
an inner race having recesses that are spaced circumferentially around the axis and open toward the raceway on the outer race, each recess having a first ramp and a second ramp which converge, the first ramps of the recesses being presented in one circumferential direction and the second ramps being presented in the other circumferential direction;
rolling elements in the recesses of the inner race and along the raceway of the first outer race;
a cage having pockets which receive the rolling elements such that the circumferential position of the cage relative to the second race controls the positions of the rolling elements in the recesses; and
an actuator that moves relative to the inner race and operates through a rolling element to control the circumferential position of the cage and other rolling elements relative to the inner race.
2. A clutch according to claim 1 wherein the actuator is one of two actuators, there being first and second actuators; and wherein the first actuator restricts movement of the cage such that the rolling elements are prevented from moving up the first ramps and the second actuator restricts movement of the cage such that the rolling elements are prevented from moving up the second ramps.
3. A clutch according to claim 2 wherein the actuators are carried by the inner race.
4. A clutch according to claim 3 wherein the first actuators project into one of the recesses from the first ramp of that recess and the second actuator projects into one of the recesses from the second ramp of that recess.
5. A clutch according to claim 4 wherein the actuators project into different recesses.
6. A clutch according to claim 5 wherein the inner race contains bores which open into the recesses in which the actuators operate and the actuators are received in the bores.
7. A clutch according to claim 6 wherein the inner race contains connecting passages that communicate with the bores behind the actuators in those bores, whereby varying the pressure of fluid in the connecting passages will move the actuators in the bores.
8. A clutch according to claim 7 in combination with a shaft containing first and second fluid passages, wherein the inner race is mounted on the shaft; wherein the connecting passage that communicates with the bore containing the first actuator also communicates with the first passage in the shaft; and wherein the connecting passage that communicates with the bore containing the second actuator also communicates with the second passage in the shaft.
9. A clutch according to claim 1 wherein the inner race contains a bore which opens into one of the recesses; and the actuator is in the bore where it aligns with the rolling element in said one recess; and wherein a fluid, the pressure of which may be controlled, is in the bore behind the actuator.
10. A clutch according to claim 1 wherein the outer race surrounds the second race.
11. A clutch according to claim 1 wherein the raceway on the outer race is cylindrical and the rolling elements are cylindrical rollers.
12. A clutch according to claim 1 wherein each recess also has an intervening surface located between its first and second ramps and extending generally circumferentially.
13. A clutch according to claim 1 wherein the cage along the rolling elements has wings which conform generally to the contour of the rolling elements radially beyond the centers of the rolling elements.
14. A directional clutch according to claim 13 wherein the outer race extends around the inner race; wherein the second race has lobes between its recesses; and wherein the cage extends over the lobes, radially beyond the lobes.
15. A bi-directional clutch for transferring torque about an axis, said clutch comprising:
an outer race having an uninterrupted, circumferentially extending, raceway presented inwardly toward the axis;
an inner race located within the outer race and having recesses that open outwardly toward the raceway on the outer race, each recess having first and second ramps which converge inwardly toward the axis, the first ramps being presented in one circumferential direction and the second ramps being presented in the opposite circumferential direction;
rolling elements located in the recesses and along the raceway of the outer race such that relative rotation between the inner and outer races in one circumferential direction will cause the rolling elements to move toward the first ramps and relative rotation in the other circumferential direction will cause the rolling element to move toward the second ramps;
a cage having pockets in which the rolling elements are received such that the circumferential position of the cage relative to the inner race controls the position of the rolling elements in their recesses; and
actuators carried by the inner race and operable against at least one of the rolling elements to position the cage in a first position in which the rolling elements are prevented from moving up the first ramp and in a second position in which the rolling elements are prevented from moving up the second ramps.
16. A clutch according to claim 15 wherein the actuators operate against different rolling elements.
17. A clutch according to claim 16 wherein the inner race contains a first bore that opens into one of the recesses and a second bore that opens into another of the recesses; wherein one of the actuators is in the first bore and another one of the actuators is in the second bore; and wherein the bores behind the actuators contain a fluid that may be pressurized to displace the actuators in the bores.
18. A clutch according to claim 15 wherein the raceway on the outer race is cylindrical and the rolling elements are cylindrical rollers.

1. An displacement correcting device comprising:
an endless belt-shaped member;
a rotation supporting member that includes a rotation shaft the axial direction of which is parallel to a width direction of the endless belt-shaped member and rotates to support the endless belt-shaped member;
a rotation shaft supporting body that includes a one-end supporting portion rotatably supporting one end of the rotation shaft and an opposite-end supporting portion rotatably supporting the other end of the rotation shaft;
a shaft supporting frame that supports the one-end supporting portion movably relative to the opposite-end supporting portion and supports the one end of the rotation shaft so that the one end of the rotation shaft can be tilted with respect to the other end of the rotation shaft;
a movement detecting member that detects movement of the endless belt-shaped member to the one end of the rotation shaft; and
a shaft displacing member that includes a rotation center which is disposed at a position displaced from the rotation shaft and closer to the one end of the rotation shaft than the rotation shaft supporting body and which intersects an axial direction of the rotation shaft, and that further includes a rotation shaft contact portion which contacts with the one end of the rotation shaft, wherein the movement detecting member detects the movement of the endless belt-shaped member to the one end of the rotation shaft, the rotation shaft contact portion rotates about the rotation center to move the one end of the rotation shaft relative to the other end of the rotation shaft so that the rotation shaft is tilted in a tilt direction in which the endless belt-shaped member moves to the other end of the rotation shaft.
2. The displacement correcting device according to claim 1, wherein the movement detecting member includes an interlocking body which is supported to move in the axial direction by the one end of the rotation shaft and which can contact with a widthwise edge of the endless belt-shaped member,
the shaft displacing member includes an interlocking body contact portion which can contact with the interlocking member and which can move integrally with the rotation shaft contact portion, and
when the interlocking body is pressed by the widthwise edge of the endless belt-shaped member moving to the one end of the rotation shaft, the interlocking body contact portion and the rotation shaft contact portion rotate about the rotation center so that the rotation shaft contact portion tilts the rotation shaft in the tilt direction.
3. The displacement correcting device according to claim 2, wherein the rotation shaft contact portion is extended from the rotation center to the rotation supporting member, and the interlocking body contact portion is extended from the rotation center to a side of the interlocking body.
4. The displacement correcting device according to claim 1, further comprising a center-supporting concave portion having a concave shape which is formed to be concave from the other end to the one end in the axial direction, the center-supporting concave portion rotatably supporting the rotation center of the shaft displacing member at a position displaced from the rotation shaft in a direction intersecting the axial direction and closer to the one end in the axial direction than the rotation shaft supporting body in the concave shape.
5. The displacement correcting device according to claim 4, further comprising a rotation regulating portion which is disposed at a position of the center-supporting concave portion close to the shaft supporting frame and has a contact surface with the shaft displacing member, and which contacts with the shaft displacing member so as to regulate a rotation of the shaft displacing member when the shaft displacing member rotates up to a predetermined maximum rotating position about the rotation center.
6. The displacement correcting device according to claim 1, wherein the shaft displacing member is curved toward the one end of the rotation shaft as the shaft displacing member goes to the rotation shaft contact portion from the rotation center
7. The displacement correcting device according to claim 1, wherein
the shaft supporting frame supports the one-end supporting portion and the opposite-end supporting portion movably in a suspending direction in which the rotation supporting member applies a tension to the endless belt-shaped member;
the rotation center is extended in an intersecting direction including a directional component in the suspending direction and intersecting the axial direction, and
the displacement correcting device further comprises a center supporting portion that supports the rotation center movably in the intersecting direction.
8. The displacement correcting device according to claim 7, wherein the movement detecting member includes an interlocking body which is supported to move in the axial direction by the one end of the rotation shaft and which can contact with a widthwise edge of the endless belt-shaped member,
the shaft displacing member includes an interlocking body contact portion which can contact with the interlocking member and which can move integrally with the rotation shaft contact portion, and
when the interlocking body is pressed by the widthwise edge of the endless belt-shaped member moving to the one end of the rotation shaft, the interlocking body contact portion and the rotation shaft contact portion rotate about the rotation center so that the rotation shaft contact portion tilts the rotation shaft in the tilt direction.
9. The displacement correcting device according to claim 8, wherein the rotation shaft contact portion is extended from the rotation center to the rotation supporting member, and the interlocking body contact portion is extended from the rotation center to a side of the interlocking body.
10. The displacement correcting device according to claim 8, wherein the interlocking contact portion includes an upstream contact portion contacting with the interlocking body at an upstream side in the intersecting direction and a downstream contact portion contacting with the interlocking body at a downstream side in the intersecting direction and at the opposite side of the upstream contact portion about the rotation shaft.
11. The displacement correcting device according to claim 7, further comprising:
a center-supporting concave portion having a concave shape which is formed to be concave from the other end to the one end in the axial direction, the center-supporting concave portion rotatably supporting the rotation center of the shaft displacing member at a position displaced from the rotation shaft in a direction intersecting the axial direction and closer to the one end in the axial direction than the rotation shaft supporting body in the concave shape; and
a movement regulating portion having an upstream end surface and a downstream end surface of the center-supporting concave portion in the intersecting direction, wherein the upstream end surface includes an upstream movement regulating surface coming in contact with the shaft displacing member to regulate the shaft displacing member when the rotation center moves to a predetermined furthest upstream position in the intersecting direction, and the downstream end surface includes a downstream movement regulating surface coming in contact with the shaft displacing member to regulate the movement of the shaft displacing member when the rotation center moves to a predetermined furthest downstream position in the intersecting direction.
12. The displacement correcting device according to claim 7, wherein the rotation center is capable of moving in the intersecting direction.
13. An intermediate transfer device comprising:
an intermediate transfer body of an endless belt-shaped member the outer surface of which passes through an opposed area of an image carrier carrying an image in a rotating direction thereof;
an intermediate transfer member disposed in an intermediate transfer area located on a rear side of the endless belt-shaped member and opposed to the image carrier with the endless belt-shaped member interposed therebetween and serving to transfer the image on the image carrier to the outer surface of the endless belt-shaped member; and
a displacement correcting device according to claim 1 and serving to correct displacement of the intermediate transfer body.
14. A transfer device comprising:
an intermediate transfer device according to claim 13 in which the image is transferred to the outer surface of the endless belt-shaped intermediate transfer body; and
a final transfer member transferring the image onto a final transfer body.
15. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image carrier having a latent image formed on a surface thereof;
a developing device developing the latent image on the surface of the image carrier into an image as a visible image;
a transfer device according to claim 14 serving to transfer the image on the surface of the image carrier to a medium; and
a fixing device fixing the image on a surface of the medium.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A tape, comprising:
a color layer capable of displaying a variety of colors with respect to different viewing angles; and
at least one adhesive layer adhering to the color layer.
2. The tape of claim 1, wherein the color layer is formed by stacking at least two materials, each having a refractive index different to that of another material adjacent thereto.
3. The tape of claim 2, wherein the materials can be passed through by light.
4. The tape of claim 1, wherein at least one of the adhesive layers is a pressure sensitive adhesive.
5. The tape of claim 1, wherein the color layer further comprises:
a flexible substrate; and
at least one CLC layer, adhering to the flexible substrate.
6. The tape of claim 5, wherein the flexible substrate can be passed through by light.
7. The tape of claim 1, further comprising:
a protecting layer, adhering to the color layer.
8. The tape of claim 7, wherein the protecting layer is made of plastic.