EP0070977B1 - Apparatus and method for forming an external guard member on a hose - Google Patents
Apparatus and method for forming an external guard member on a hose Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0070977B1 EP0070977B1 EP19820103904 EP82103904A EP0070977B1 EP 0070977 B1 EP0070977 B1 EP 0070977B1 EP 19820103904 EP19820103904 EP 19820103904 EP 82103904 A EP82103904 A EP 82103904A EP 0070977 B1 EP0070977 B1 EP 0070977B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- hose
- guard
- strand
- guard material
- guard member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
- B21F—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF METAL WIRE
- B21F17/00—Jacketing or reinforcing articles with wire
Definitions
- This invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for forming an external guard member in situ on a hose and more particularly to an apparatus and method for forming a spring steel wire guard member about the exterior surface of a reinforced hydraulic hose.
- Guard members for hoses and in particular, coiled wire protectors for high pressure hydraulic hoses, are well known and generally referred to as armored hose or hose having an armor guard.
- the guard members are particularly useful on hydraulic hoses installed on construction machinery, serving to protect such hoses from cuts, abrasion, and crushing.
- the guard member is a coiled steel wire or band having an inside diameter larger than the outside diameter of the hose. The guard member thus encircles the hose in a spaced relationship to permit the hose to flex freely within the guard member.
- Spring steel wire is highly desirable as a material for guard members.
- the preformed coil was installed over the second end of hose, the second end being the end opposite the assembled end.
- After installation of the spring steel coil on the hose it was necessary to compress the coil longitudinally along an elongate central axis of the hose, in a direction towards the first or assembled hose end, to expose a length of hose near the second end sufficient for the application of a temporary clamp. After clamping, assembly of the hose was completed by installing a fitting on the second hose end. Finally, the temporary clamp was released and the guard member allowed to expand back to the original uncompressed length.
- the above method for constructing an armored hose presents a number of problems.
- the US-PS 630 503 relates to the armoring of flexible electric conduits, insulated electric cables, flexible hose-pipes, and flexible tubes in general.
- the described method of forming a tube of flexible material such as metal consists in causing the material to be forced continuously forward against a bending-surface which causes it to be formed into successive spirals with their lateral edges adjacent to each other and in substantial alinement.
- the mechanism for forming flexible tubes for a single strip of metal consists of a hollow screw-threaded die having a lateral opening operatively connected therewith, in combination with a guideway and feed-rolls for guiding and advancing said strip of metal continuously forward and forming it into a tube of spiral conformation, the lateral edges of the strip when it assumes a tubular form being located in substantial alinement with each other.
- the US-PS 2 793 672 relates to a machine and method of close coiling a spring wire which has been previously sheathed in a thermoplastic covering preparatory to the formation of a flexible hose.
- the method consists in close coiling a sheathed reinforcing wire in which the sheath is unbonded to the wire, by means of a coiling machine having a plurality of rotating advancing rolls between which said sheathed wire is gripped and a plurality of rotatable forming rolls between which said sheathed wire passes and is formed into a coil of small diameter with the turns thereof pressing against each other, comprising rotating all of said rolls at the same peripheral speed as the speed at which the sheathed wire is advanced whereby there is no tendency for the sheath to be stripped from the wire.
- DE-PS 45 327 relates to the manufacture of coil springs for armoring tubes.
- the armoring comprises wire windings surrounding the tube.
- the tube is guided through a mold having a spiral-shaped groove through which the wire is driven.
- an alternate guard member construction is often used.
- an elongated soft steel strap or band is used for the guard member in lieu of the aforementioned spring steel wire.
- the soft steel strip can be easily formed in the shape of a coil without the aid of a solid mandrel and can therefore be formed in situ on a hose.
- An assembled hose that is a hose having fittings installed on both ends, is positioned in an open die, and the soft steel strip is formed in a coil around the hose.
- easy formability of the soft steel strip material also yields a guard member that may also be easily crushed in use.
- a guard member that has been crushed or otherwise deformed may restrict the flow capacity of the hose and will generally abraid the hose surface adjacent the crushed zone resulting in premature hose failure.
- the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above by providing an apparatus and method for forming the preferred spring steel wire guard member in situ on a hose having fittings preassembled on both ends.
- an apparatus for forming a guard member on a hose is provided as is set forth in claim 1.
- a method for forming an external guard member on a hose is provided as is set forth in claim 5.
- the present invention solves the problem of forming a spring steel wire member about a resilient member, such as a hose, by providing an apparatus and method for urging a continuous strand of guard material into a first coil shape having a diameter less than the desired final-formed diameter of the guard member.
- a hose having fittings preassembled on each of the hose ends can be placed between the dies and, after closing of the dies, a spring steel wire guard member may be formed about the hose from one fitting end to the other.
- An apparatus for forming an external guard member 12 on a hose 14 is generally indicated in Fig. 1 by the reference numeral 10.
- the apparatus 10 includes a frame 16, a first means 18 for supporting at least one of the guard member 12 or the hose 14, a forming head 20, and a second means 22 for feeding a continuous strand of guard material 24, (Fig. 2) from a supply source such as a play-off reel, not shown, to the apparatus 10 and more particularly to the forming head 20.
- the apparatus 10 also includes a third means 26 for cutting the strand of guard material 24.
- the second means 22 for feeding a continuous strand of guard material 24 includes a plurality of driven rollers 28 and a fourth means 30 for equally urging the strand of guard material 24 into pressure contact with each of the rollers 28.
- the driven rollers 28 are synchronously driven in a normally counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, by a motor 29.
- the fourth means 30 for equally urging the strand of guard material 24 into pressure contact with the driven rollers 28 includes a plurality of rollers 32 each mounted in a pair of vertically adjustable journals 34 on the frame 16. Each of the rollers 32 are positioned vertically above one of the driven rollers 28 forming a plurality of mating pairs of driven rollers 28 and vertically adjustable rollers 32.
- each of the journals 34 are attached to a jack screw 36 of a worm gear actuator 38 and driven by a hydraulically powered rotary actuator 40.
- the rotary actuators 40 are each supplied by a common source of pressurized hydraulic fluid such as a hydraulic pump, not shown, and convert fluid pressure into rotary power in either a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction. When supplied with pressurized fluid from a common manifold, each of the rotary actuators 40 have an equal output torque that is transmitted respectively through the worm gear actuators 38 and the jack screws 36 to the journals 34.
- Each of the rollers 32, mounted in the journals 34, are thus equally urged, depending upon the preselected power output direction of the rotary actuators 40, either downwardly into pressure contact with the guard material 24 positioned between the respective mating driven roller 28 and the vertically adjustable roller 32, or upwardly away from such contact.
- the magnitude of the pressure contact between the guard material 24 and the driven rollers 28 is controlled by the pressure of the hydraulic fluid equally directed to each of rotary actuators 40.
- the second means 22 for feeding a continuous strand of guard material also preferably includes a tension control device 42 and a plurality of straightening rollers 44.
- the forming means or head 20 includes a first portion 46 removably attached in a fixed position to the frame 26 and a separable second portion 48, moveably mounted on the frame 16.
- the second portion 48 is moveable between a first position at which the first and second portion 46, 48 are spaced apart as shown in Fig. 10 and a second position, shown in Fig. 4, at which the first and second portions 46, 48 are in an abutting relationship.
- a hydraulic cylinder 50 is attached to the frame 16 and has an extensible rod end 52 pivotally connected to a first link 54 of a three member linkage arrangement.
- the linkage arrangement also includes a second link 56 pivotally attached to a vertical member of the frame 16 and a third link 58 pivotally connected to the second portion 48 of the forming head 20.
- Retraction of the rod end 52 moves the first link 54 to an elevationally lower position and draws the second portion 48 of the forming head 20 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 10, to the position spaced from the fixed first portion 46.
- extension of the rod end 52 moves the first link 54 to an elevationally higher position and moves the second portion 48 to the right into the abutting position, as shown in Fig. 4, in pressure contact with the first portion 46.
- a plurality of cylindrically-shaped die members 60 which as shown in Fig. 5, are alphabetically suffixed with the letters a-h, are rotatably mounted in an arcuately spaced relationship on each of the first and second portions (46, 48).
- the die members are desirably constructed of a carbide steel and, as shown in Fig. 6, each have a pair of parallel annular grooves 62 circumferentially disposed on a peripheral surface 64 of the die member 60.
- the grooves 62 are contoured to mate with the strand of guard material 24 and are spaced apart a distance "x" equal to the pitch of adjacent coils of the formed guard member 12.
- the die members 60e, 60f, and 60g, mounted in the first portion 46, and 60d mounted as the second portion 48 of the forming head 20, are equally radially spaced at a first predetermined distance "y" from a centrally disposed longitudinal axis 66.
- the axis 66 is congruent with the longitudinal axis of the formed guard member 12 and is represented in cross- section by the point 66 in Fig. 5.
- the die members 60a, 60b, and 60c, mounted on the second portion 48, and 60h, mounted on the first portion 46 of the forming head 20, are radially spaced from the longitudinal axis 66 at a second predetermined distance "y1", the second distance "y1", being greater than the first predetermined distance "y".
- the eight die members, 60a-60h are also axially spaced along the centrally disposed longitudinal axis 66.
- the eight die members 60a-60h are each successively axially spaced, inwardly from the plane of the paper, one-eighth of the aforementioned pitch distance "x".
- the die member 60b is axially spaced one-eighth of the pitch distance or 0.7 mm (.028 in) from the die member 60a; die member 60c is axially spaced a distance equal to one eighth of the pitch distance or 0.7 mm (.028 in) from the die member 60b; and continuing in clockwise direction each of the successive die members 60d-60h are each progressively spaced a distance equal to one eighth the pitch distance from the respective preceding die member.
- the first and second portions 46, 48 of the forming head 20 also have a plurality of radially adjustable rollers 68 preferably constructed of a carbide steel material and disposed in contacting relationship adjacent each of the die members 60.
- the rollers 68 each have a pair of radially extending parallel flanges 70 circumferentially disposed on a peripheral surface 72 of the roller 68, and are mounted on the respective first and second portions 46, 48 through an eccentric adjustable bushing 73.
- the radial position of each of the rollers 68, with respect to each adjacently disposed die member 60, is controlled by rotation of the eccentric bushing 73.
- a similar radially adjustable eccentric bushing mounting arrangement may be used to mount each of the die members on the respective first and second portions 46, 48 of the forming head 20.
- Such a mounting arrangement allows wider construction tolerances in the fabrication of the forming head and provides a means for readjusting the die members 60 to compensate for wear during use of the apparatus 10.
- lubricating oil is supplied to the die members 60, and more specifically to the surface of the annular grooves 62, through a pair of oil galleries 74, 76 provided respectively in the first and second portions 46, 48.
- the galleries 74, 76 communicate a source of pressurized lubricant, not shown, with a hollow center cavity of each of the die members 60.
- the lubricant is directed to each of the grooved surfaces of the die members 60 by a pair radial apertures 78 communicating between the hollow center cavity and the external surface of the die members 60.
- the third means 26 for cutting the strand of guard material 24 includes an electrical resistance heated element 80.
- a TIG (tungsten-inert gas) welding head used without shielding gas, provides a clean, rounded-end smooth cut of the spring steel wire guard material.
- the element 80 is pivotally mounted on the frame 16 and is moveable, by a rotary actuator 82, between a first position at which the element 80 is spaced from the guard material 24, as shown in Fig. 3, and a second position at which the element 80 is in contact with the guard material 24, as shown in Fig. 10.
- a clamping member 84 is slideably mounted on the frame 16 and is moveable by a hydraulic cylinder 86 between a first position at which the clamping member 84 is spaced from the formed guard member 12, and a second position at which the clamping member 84 is in pressure contact with the formed guard member 12.
- the first means 18 for supporting at least one of the guard member 12 and the hose 14 includes a plurality of support stations 88 longitudinally adjustably spaced on the frame 16, along the axis 66, as shown in Fig. 1.
- each of the support stations 88 have a pair of rotatably mounted idler rollers 90 and a driven roller 92.
- Each of the idler rollers 90 have a hose support surface 94 and a guard member support surface 96 spaced radially inwardly of the hose support surface 94.
- the idler rollers are mounted on upwardly extending support arms 98 of a laterally adjustable fixture 100.
- the support arms 98 are selectively drawn together or spaced apart by rotation of a screw 102 having directionally opposed threads formed at spaced end portions of the screw 102. Rotation of the screw 102 in a first direction draws the pair of idler rollers 90 closer together, and rotation of the screw 102 in a second direction, opposite the first direction, spaces the rollers 90 away from each other.
- Each of the driven rollers have a guard member support surface 104 and a radially extending flange 106 having a width substantially equal to the space or clearance between adjacent coils of the formed guard member 12.
- the flange 106 extends radially outwardly a distance sufficient for the flange 106 to be positioned between and frictionally contact adjacently disposed coils of the guard member 12, but not sufficient for contacting the hose 14.
- the idler rollers 90 therefore support both the hose 14 and the guard member 12 in a properly spaced radial relationship, and the driven rollers 92 rotate only the guard member 12.
- the driven rollers 92 are driven by a variable speed motor, not shown, synchronously with the driven rollers 28 of the second means 22 for feeding a strand of guard material 24 to the forming head 20.
- a vertically and laterally adjustable roller 108 is disposed above the hose 14 and guard member 12 at each of the support stations 88. The rollers 108 limit the upward movement of the formed guard member 12 and assure engagement of the guard member 12 with the drive flange 106 of the driven rollers 92.
- Forming an external guard member 12 on a hose 14 is accomplished by first positioning a hose 14, preferably fully assembled with fittings installed on both ends of the hose, in the forming head 20.
- the apparatus 10 is prepared for this first step by moving the first portion 46 of the forming head 20 to the first, or open position and moving the adjustable rollers 108 on the support stations 88 laterally to a position spaced from vertical alignment midway between the pairs of idler rollers 90.
- the assembled hose 14 is easily positioned in the apparatus 10 by vertically lowering the hose 14 until it is at rest on the idler rollers 90.
- the hose 14 is axially aligned, along the axis 66 by positioning one end of the hose 14 immediately to the right of the forming head 20, as shown in Fig. 1.
- the second portion 48 of the forming head 20 is moved to the second, or closed, position in abutting contact with the first portion 46 by pressurizing hydraulic cylinder 50. After movement to the second position, the second portion 48 is maintained in contact with the first portion 46 by maintaining a flow of pressurized fluid to the hydraulic cylinder 50.
- a continuous strand of guard material 24, such as round, hard drawn spring wire of SAE 1060 steel and having a nominal diameter of 3.0 mm (.12 in) is fed from a supply reel, not shown, through the tension control device 42, the straightening rollers 44, and the second means 22 to the forming head 20.
- the strand of guard material 24 is maintained in pressure contact with the plurality of driven rollers 28 of the second means 22 by directing a flow of equally pressurized hydraulic fluid from a common source to preselected ports of the rotary actuators 40.
- the rotary actuators 40 each provide an output torque of equal magnitude to the respective worm gear actuators 38 and hence to the jack screws 36 connected to the vertically adjustable journals 34 of the rollers 32.
- rollers 32 are each equally urged downwardly against the strand of guard material 24, urging the guard material 24 into pressure contact with the driven rollers 28.
- the variable speed motor 24 synchronously drives each of the driven rollers 28 and the strand of guard material 24 is continuously and forceably directed into the forming head 20.
- the strand of guard material 24 is guided to the second portion 48 of the forming head by a first of the pair of annular grooves 62 formed in the die members 60h and 60a. Initially, to start the actual coil formation, an end of the strand 24 is manually raised and positioned in contact with the first groove 62 in the die member 60b.
- the drive rollers are then actuated to continue driving the strand of guard material 24 into the forming head 20, and the end of the strand progressively contacts the first groove of die members 60c, 60d, 60e, 60f, 60g forming a first complete coil, and then continuing on, passes radially inwardly of the second groove 62 of the die members 60h, 60a, 60b, and 60c and progressively contacts the second groove 62 of die members 60d, 60e, 60f, and 60g forming a second complete coil of the guard member 12 before exiting the forming head 20.
- the strand of guard material 24 is initially urged into a first coil shape having a first predetermined diameter as represented by the section of the first formed coil of guard material 24 extending from die member 60a to die member 60c in Fig. 5.
- the strand of guard material is thus initially urged into a smaller diameter coil shape than desired for the final coil diameter.
- the flanges 70 of the radially adjustable rollers 68 are each positioned, prior to use of the apparatus 10, in light contact with the respective annular grooves 62 of adjacently positioned die members 60.
- the light contact between the carbide steel rollers 68 and carbide steel die members 60 serves to remove extraneous material from the forming surfaces of the die members 60, maintain the forming surface in a clean condition, and prolong the useful life of the die members 60.
- the rollers 68 and die members 60 wear, they may be easily repositioned by rotation of the respective eccentric mounting bushing 73.
- the formed guard material After exiting the forming head 20, the formed guard material continues to rotate about the hose 14 and advances axially towards the end of the hose opposite the forming head 20.
- the rotation and advancement of the guard member 20 is aided by frictional engagement of the driven rollers 92 between adjacently formed coils of the guard member 12.
- the adjustable rollers 108 are moved laterally and the hose 14, with the complete external guard member 12 formed thereabout is vertically removed from the support stations 88 and the forming head 20.
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Description
- This invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for forming an external guard member in situ on a hose and more particularly to an apparatus and method for forming a spring steel wire guard member about the exterior surface of a reinforced hydraulic hose.
- Guard members for hoses, and in particular, coiled wire protectors for high pressure hydraulic hoses, are well known and generally referred to as armored hose or hose having an armor guard. The guard members are particularly useful on hydraulic hoses installed on construction machinery, serving to protect such hoses from cuts, abrasion, and crushing. Generally, the guard member is a coiled steel wire or band having an inside diameter larger than the outside diameter of the hose. The guard member thus encircles the hose in a spaced relationship to permit the hose to flex freely within the guard member.
- Spring steel wire is highly desirable as a material for guard members. However, heretofore it has been necessary to preform the spring steel wire on a coiling machine having a solid mandrel, cut the preformed coil to a predetermined length, and then slide the preformed coil onto a length of hose having a fitting assembled on only one end. The preformed coil was installed over the second end of hose, the second end being the end opposite the assembled end. After installation of the spring steel coil on the hose, it was necessary to compress the coil longitudinally along an elongate central axis of the hose, in a direction towards the first or assembled hose end, to expose a length of hose near the second end sufficient for the application of a temporary clamp. After clamping, assembly of the hose was completed by installing a fitting on the second hose end. Finally, the temporary clamp was released and the guard member allowed to expand back to the original uncompressed length.
- As may be easily appreciated, the above method for constructing an armored hose presents a number of problems. First, it is difficult to install, clamp, and compress the spring coil member on a partially assembled hose. Secondly, it must be determined in advance which hoses are to receive the protective guard member since the coil spring guard member could not be installed on a hose after fittings were installed on both ends. Thus, it has been necessary to interrupt the hose assembly process after a fitting was installed on only a first end of the hose.
- The US-PS 630 503 relates to the armoring of flexible electric conduits, insulated electric cables, flexible hose-pipes, and flexible tubes in general. The described method of forming a tube of flexible material such as metal consists in causing the material to be forced continuously forward against a bending-surface which causes it to be formed into successive spirals with their lateral edges adjacent to each other and in substantial alinement. The mechanism for forming flexible tubes for a single strip of metal consists of a hollow screw-threaded die having a lateral opening operatively connected therewith, in combination with a guideway and feed-rolls for guiding and advancing said strip of metal continuously forward and forming it into a tube of spiral conformation, the lateral edges of the strip when it assumes a tubular form being located in substantial alinement with each other.
- The US-PS 2 793 672 relates to a machine and method of close coiling a spring wire which has been previously sheathed in a thermoplastic covering preparatory to the formation of a flexible hose. The method consists in close coiling a sheathed reinforcing wire in which the sheath is unbonded to the wire, by means of a coiling machine having a plurality of rotating advancing rolls between which said sheathed wire is gripped and a plurality of rotatable forming rolls between which said sheathed wire passes and is formed into a coil of small diameter with the turns thereof pressing against each other, comprising rotating all of said rolls at the same peripheral speed as the speed at which the sheathed wire is advanced whereby there is no tendency for the sheath to be stripped from the wire.
- DE-PS 45 327 relates to the manufacture of coil springs for armoring tubes. The armoring comprises wire windings surrounding the tube. The tube is guided through a mold having a spiral-shaped groove through which the wire is driven.
- In response to the above problems, an alternate guard member construction is often used. In the alternate construction, an elongated soft steel strap or band is used for the guard member in lieu of the aforementioned spring steel wire. The soft steel strip can be easily formed in the shape of a coil without the aid of a solid mandrel and can therefore be formed in situ on a hose. An assembled hose, that is a hose having fittings installed on both ends, is positioned in an open die, and the soft steel strip is formed in a coil around the hose. However, easy formability of the soft steel strip material also yields a guard member that may also be easily crushed in use. A guard member that has been crushed or otherwise deformed may restrict the flow capacity of the hose and will generally abraid the hose surface adjacent the crushed zone resulting in premature hose failure.
- The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above by providing an apparatus and method for forming the preferred spring steel wire guard member in situ on a hose having fittings preassembled on both ends.
- In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for forming a guard member on a hose is provided as is set forth in
claim 1. - In another aspect of the present invention, a method for forming an external guard member on a hose is provided as is set forth in claim 5.
- Heretofore it has not been possible to form a spring steel wire guard member about the exterior surface of a hose having fittings attached at both ends. Due to the tendency of spring steel wire to "spring back" or return to an earlier position when bent to a second position, it is necessary to form spring steel wire by either overbending or by pressure forming against a solid surface such as a mandrel. The present invention solves the problem of forming a spring steel wire member about a resilient member, such as a hose, by providing an apparatus and method for urging a continuous strand of guard material into a first coil shape having a diameter less than the desired final-formed diameter of the guard member. As a result of the unique two-piece split die arrangement of the present invention, a hose having fittings preassembled on each of the hose ends, can be placed between the dies and, after closing of the dies, a spring steel wire guard member may be formed about the hose from one fitting end to the other.
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- Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.
- Fig. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1.
- Fig. 3 is a partially-sectioned portion of the side view of Fig. 2.
- Fig. 4 is a partially-sectioned side view of another portion of Fig. 2.-Fig. 5 is a partially-sectioned view of a forming head of an embodiment of the present invention.
- Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a die member of an embodiment of the present invention taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5.
- Fig. 7 is an elevational view of a roller of an embodiment of the present invention taken along the line VII-VII of Fig. 5.
- Fig. 8 is a side view of the roller of an embodiment of the present invention taken along the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7.
- Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention taken along the line IX-IX of Fig. 1.
- Fig. 10 is a partially-sectioned side view of an embodiment of the present invention showing the forming head in an open position.
- An apparatus for forming an
external guard member 12 on ahose 14 is generally indicated in Fig. 1 by thereference numeral 10. Theapparatus 10 includes aframe 16, afirst means 18 for supporting at least one of theguard member 12 or thehose 14, a forminghead 20, and asecond means 22 for feeding a continuous strand ofguard material 24, (Fig. 2) from a supply source such as a play-off reel, not shown, to theapparatus 10 and more particularly to the forminghead 20. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, theapparatus 10 also includes athird means 26 for cutting the strand ofguard material 24. - The second means 22 for feeding a continuous strand of
guard material 24 includes a plurality of drivenrollers 28 and afourth means 30 for equally urging the strand ofguard material 24 into pressure contact with each of therollers 28. The drivenrollers 28 are synchronously driven in a normally counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, by amotor 29. The fourth means 30 for equally urging the strand ofguard material 24 into pressure contact with the drivenrollers 28 includes a plurality ofrollers 32 each mounted in a pair of verticallyadjustable journals 34 on theframe 16. Each of therollers 32 are positioned vertically above one of the drivenrollers 28 forming a plurality of mating pairs of drivenrollers 28 and verticallyadjustable rollers 32. Further, the drivenrollers 28 and the verticallyadjustable rollers 32 each have an annular groove corresponding to the shape of theguard material 24 formed in respective radially outer surfaces. Each of thejournals 34 are attached to ajack screw 36 of aworm gear actuator 38 and driven by a hydraulically poweredrotary actuator 40. Therotary actuators 40 are each supplied by a common source of pressurized hydraulic fluid such as a hydraulic pump, not shown, and convert fluid pressure into rotary power in either a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction. When supplied with pressurized fluid from a common manifold, each of therotary actuators 40 have an equal output torque that is transmitted respectively through theworm gear actuators 38 and thejack screws 36 to thejournals 34. Each of therollers 32, mounted in thejournals 34, are thus equally urged, depending upon the preselected power output direction of therotary actuators 40, either downwardly into pressure contact with theguard material 24 positioned between the respective mating drivenroller 28 and the verticallyadjustable roller 32, or upwardly away from such contact. The magnitude of the pressure contact between theguard material 24 and the drivenrollers 28 is controlled by the pressure of the hydraulic fluid equally directed to each ofrotary actuators 40. - As shown in Fig. 2, the second means 22 for feeding a continuous strand of guard material also preferably includes a
tension control device 42 and a plurality of straighteningrollers 44. - The forming means or
head 20 includes afirst portion 46 removably attached in a fixed position to theframe 26 and a separablesecond portion 48, moveably mounted on theframe 16. Thesecond portion 48 is moveable between a first position at which the first andsecond portion second portions - As best shown in Fig. 4, a
hydraulic cylinder 50 is attached to theframe 16 and has anextensible rod end 52 pivotally connected to afirst link 54 of a three member linkage arrangement. The linkage arrangement also includes asecond link 56 pivotally attached to a vertical member of theframe 16 and athird link 58 pivotally connected to thesecond portion 48 of the forminghead 20. Retraction of therod end 52 moves thefirst link 54 to an elevationally lower position and draws thesecond portion 48 of the forminghead 20 to the left, as viewed in Fig. 10, to the position spaced from the fixedfirst portion 46. Conversely, extension of therod end 52 moves thefirst link 54 to an elevationally higher position and moves thesecond portion 48 to the right into the abutting position, as shown in Fig. 4, in pressure contact with thefirst portion 46. - A plurality of cylindrically-shaped
die members 60, which as shown in Fig. 5, are alphabetically suffixed with the letters a-h, are rotatably mounted in an arcuately spaced relationship on each of the first and second portions (46, 48). In the preferred embodiment, the die members are desirably constructed of a carbide steel and, as shown in Fig. 6, each have a pair of parallelannular grooves 62 circumferentially disposed on aperipheral surface 64 of thedie member 60. Thegrooves 62 are contoured to mate with the strand ofguard material 24 and are spaced apart a distance "x" equal to the pitch of adjacent coils of the formedguard member 12. - As best shown in Fig. 5, the die members 60e, 60f, and 60g, mounted in the
first portion second portion 48 of the forminghead 20, are equally radially spaced at a first predetermined distance "y" from a centrally disposedlongitudinal axis 66. Theaxis 66 is congruent with the longitudinal axis of the formedguard member 12 and is represented in cross- section by thepoint 66 in Fig. 5. Thedie members second portion 48, and 60h, mounted on thefirst portion 46 of the forminghead 20, are radially spaced from thelongitudinal axis 66 at a second predetermined distance "y1", the second distance "y1", being greater than the first predetermined distance "y". In the preferred embodiment, a forminghead 20 for forming anexternal guard member 12 having an internal diameter of 34.0 mm (1.34 in) from a strand of spring steel guard material having a nominal diameter of 3.0 mm (.12 in), thegroove surface 62 of thedie members 60d, 60e, 60f and 60g are each equally radially positioned at a radius "y" of 20.1 mm (.79 in) from theaxis 66, and diemembers axis 66. - The eight die members, 60a-60h, are also axially spaced along the centrally disposed
longitudinal axis 66. The eight diemembers 60a-60h are each successively axially spaced, inwardly from the plane of the paper, one-eighth of the aforementioned pitch distance "x". For example, if the desired pitch distance is 5.5 mm (.22 in), thedie member 60b is axially spaced one-eighth of the pitch distance or 0.7 mm (.028 in) from thedie member 60a; die member 60c is axially spaced a distance equal to one eighth of the pitch distance or 0.7 mm (.028 in) from thedie member 60b; and continuing in clockwise direction each of thesuccessive die members 60d-60h are each progressively spaced a distance equal to one eighth the pitch distance from the respective preceding die member. - The first and
second portions head 20 also have a plurality of radiallyadjustable rollers 68 preferably constructed of a carbide steel material and disposed in contacting relationship adjacent each of thedie members 60. As best shown in Figs. 7 and 8, therollers 68 each have a pair of radially extendingparallel flanges 70 circumferentially disposed on aperipheral surface 72 of theroller 68, and are mounted on the respective first andsecond portions adjustable bushing 73. The radial position of each of therollers 68, with respect to each adjacently disposeddie member 60, is controlled by rotation of theeccentric bushing 73. If desired, a similar radially adjustable eccentric bushing mounting arrangement may be used to mount each of the die members on the respective first andsecond portions head 20. Such a mounting arrangement allows wider construction tolerances in the fabrication of the forming head and provides a means for readjusting thedie members 60 to compensate for wear during use of theapparatus 10. As an aid to reducing wear, lubricating oil is supplied to the diemembers 60, and more specifically to the surface of theannular grooves 62, through a pair ofoil galleries second portions galleries die members 60. The lubricant is directed to each of the grooved surfaces of thedie members 60 by apair radial apertures 78 communicating between the hollow center cavity and the external surface of thedie members 60. - The third means 26 (Fig. 2) for cutting the strand of
guard material 24 includes an electrical resistanceheated element 80. In the preferred embodiment, a TIG (tungsten-inert gas) welding head, used without shielding gas, provides a clean, rounded-end smooth cut of the spring steel wire guard material. Theelement 80 is pivotally mounted on theframe 16 and is moveable, by a rotary actuator 82, between a first position at which theelement 80 is spaced from theguard material 24, as shown in Fig. 3, and a second position at which theelement 80 is in contact with theguard material 24, as shown in Fig. 10. A clampingmember 84 is slideably mounted on theframe 16 and is moveable by ahydraulic cylinder 86 between a first position at which the clampingmember 84 is spaced from the formedguard member 12, and a second position at which the clampingmember 84 is in pressure contact with the formedguard member 12. - The first means 18 for supporting at least one of the
guard member 12 and thehose 14 includes a plurality ofsupport stations 88 longitudinally adjustably spaced on theframe 16, along theaxis 66, as shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Figs. 1 and 9, each of thesupport stations 88 have a pair of rotatably mountedidler rollers 90 and a drivenroller 92. Each of theidler rollers 90 have ahose support surface 94 and a guardmember support surface 96 spaced radially inwardly of thehose support surface 94. The idler rollers are mounted on upwardly extendingsupport arms 98 of a laterallyadjustable fixture 100. Thesupport arms 98 are selectively drawn together or spaced apart by rotation of ascrew 102 having directionally opposed threads formed at spaced end portions of thescrew 102. Rotation of thescrew 102 in a first direction draws the pair ofidler rollers 90 closer together, and rotation of thescrew 102 in a second direction, opposite the first direction, spaces therollers 90 away from each other. Each of the driven rollers have a guardmember support surface 104 and aradially extending flange 106 having a width substantially equal to the space or clearance between adjacent coils of the formedguard member 12. Theflange 106 extends radially outwardly a distance sufficient for theflange 106 to be positioned between and frictionally contact adjacently disposed coils of theguard member 12, but not sufficient for contacting thehose 14. Theidler rollers 90 therefore support both thehose 14 and theguard member 12 in a properly spaced radial relationship, and the drivenrollers 92 rotate only theguard member 12. The drivenrollers 92 are driven by a variable speed motor, not shown, synchronously with the drivenrollers 28 of the second means 22 for feeding a strand ofguard material 24 to the forminghead 20. In the preferred embodiment, a vertically and laterallyadjustable roller 108 is disposed above thehose 14 andguard member 12 at each of thesupport stations 88. Therollers 108 limit the upward movement of the formedguard member 12 and assure engagement of theguard member 12 with thedrive flange 106 of the drivenrollers 92. - Forming an
external guard member 12 on ahose 14 according to the method of the present invention is accomplished by first positioning ahose 14, preferably fully assembled with fittings installed on both ends of the hose, in the forminghead 20. Theapparatus 10 is prepared for this first step by moving thefirst portion 46 of the forminghead 20 to the first, or open position and moving theadjustable rollers 108 on thesupport stations 88 laterally to a position spaced from vertical alignment midway between the pairs ofidler rollers 90. With theapparatus 10 thus prepared, the assembledhose 14 is easily positioned in theapparatus 10 by vertically lowering thehose 14 until it is at rest on theidler rollers 90. Thehose 14 is axially aligned, along theaxis 66 by positioning one end of thehose 14 immediately to the right of the forminghead 20, as shown in Fig. 1. - The
second portion 48 of the forminghead 20 is moved to the second, or closed, position in abutting contact with thefirst portion 46 by pressurizinghydraulic cylinder 50. After movement to the second position, thesecond portion 48 is maintained in contact with thefirst portion 46 by maintaining a flow of pressurized fluid to thehydraulic cylinder 50. - A continuous strand of
guard material 24, such as round, hard drawn spring wire of SAE 1060 steel and having a nominal diameter of 3.0 mm (.12 in) is fed from a supply reel, not shown, through thetension control device 42, the straighteningrollers 44, and the second means 22 to the forminghead 20. The strand ofguard material 24 is maintained in pressure contact with the plurality of drivenrollers 28 of the second means 22 by directing a flow of equally pressurized hydraulic fluid from a common source to preselected ports of therotary actuators 40. The rotary actuators 40 each provide an output torque of equal magnitude to the respectiveworm gear actuators 38 and hence to the jack screws 36 connected to the verticallyadjustable journals 34 of therollers 32. Accordingly, therollers 32 are each equally urged downwardly against the strand ofguard material 24, urging theguard material 24 into pressure contact with the drivenrollers 28. Thevariable speed motor 24 synchronously drives each of the drivenrollers 28 and the strand ofguard material 24 is continuously and forceably directed into the forminghead 20. - After entry into the forming
head 20, the strand ofguard material 24 is guided to thesecond portion 48 of the forming head by a first of the pair ofannular grooves 62 formed in thedie members 60h and 60a. Initially, to start the actual coil formation, an end of thestrand 24 is manually raised and positioned in contact with thefirst groove 62 in thedie member 60b. The drive rollers are then actuated to continue driving the strand ofguard material 24 into the forminghead 20, and the end of the strand progressively contacts the first groove ofdie members 60c, 60d, 60e, 60f, 60g forming a first complete coil, and then continuing on, passes radially inwardly of thesecond groove 62 of thedie members second groove 62 ofdie members 60d, 60e, 60f, and 60g forming a second complete coil of theguard member 12 before exiting the forminghead 20. Since thedie members 60b and 60c are radially spaced at a distance "y1", greater than the radial distance "y" at which the remaining die members are positioned, the strand ofguard material 24 is initially urged into a first coil shape having a first predetermined diameter as represented by the section of the first formed coil ofguard material 24 extending fromdie member 60a to die member 60c in Fig. 5. The strand of guard material is thus initially urged into a smaller diameter coil shape than desired for the final coil diameter. - It has been found that overbending, or initially urging the guard material into the smaller than final diameter, is highly desirable in forming guard members of spring steel wire material. Further, by forming two complete coils of the
guard member 12 in the forminghead 20, in conjunction with the initial overbending, virtually eliminates any tendency for the formed coils to "spring back" and assume a larger than desired diameter after exiting from the forminghead 20. It has been this tendency, and the problems associated with forming spring steel wire which have heretofore prohibited the in situ forming of a spring steel wire guard member about a soft mandrel, or as in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a preassembled hydraulic hose. - It is common practice to precoat guard material, such as spring steel wire, to protect the material during storage and shipping. The coating material and other accumulated matter, however, has a tendency to rub-off and build up on the
die members 60 during formation of the coil shapes. Theflanges 70 of the radiallyadjustable rollers 68 are each positioned, prior to use of theapparatus 10, in light contact with the respectiveannular grooves 62 of adjacently positioned diemembers 60. The light contact between thecarbide steel rollers 68 and carbide steel diemembers 60 serves to remove extraneous material from the forming surfaces of thedie members 60, maintain the forming surface in a clean condition, and prolong the useful life of thedie members 60. As therollers 68 and diemembers 60 wear, they may be easily repositioned by rotation of the respectiveeccentric mounting bushing 73. - After exiting the forming
head 20, the formed guard material continues to rotate about thehose 14 and advances axially towards the end of the hose opposite the forminghead 20. The rotation and advancement of theguard member 20 is aided by frictional engagement of the drivenrollers 92 between adjacently formed coils of theguard member 12. - Upon completion of the formation of the
guard member 12, hydraulic pressure to thecylinder 50 is redirected, and therod end 52 is retracted, returning thesecond portion 48 of forminghead 20 to the first, or open, position at which thesecond portion 48 is spaced from thefirst portion 46. Simultaneously with retraction of thesecond portion 48, thecylinder 86 is pressurized and the clampingmember 84 is urged into pressure contact with the formedguard member 12, as shown in Fig. 10. With theguard member 12 thus restrained in a fixed position with respect to thefirst portion 46 of the forminghead 20, the resistanceheated element 80 is rotated into contact with the first partially-formed coil of theguard material 24 and supplied with electrical current. The coil, at the point of contact with theelement 80, is quickly heated to the melting- temperature of theguard material 24 and themotor 29 is activated to urge the partially formed portion of theguard material 24 away from the formedguard member 12. - After cutting the strand of
guard material 12, theadjustable rollers 108 are moved laterally and thehose 14, with the completeexternal guard member 12 formed thereabout is vertically removed from thesupport stations 88 and the forminghead 20. - Other aspects, objects and advantages of this invention can be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims.
Claims (8)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US1981/001025 WO1983000455A1 (en) | 1981-07-30 | 1981-07-30 | Method and apparatus for forming a wire guard |
WOPCT/US81/01025 | 1981-07-30 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0070977A1 EP0070977A1 (en) | 1983-02-09 |
EP0070977B1 true EP0070977B1 (en) | 1986-03-26 |
Family
ID=22161342
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19820103904 Expired EP0070977B1 (en) | 1981-07-30 | 1982-05-05 | Apparatus and method for forming an external guard member on a hose |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0070977B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPS58501215A (en) |
CA (1) | CA1184752A (en) |
DE (1) | DE3270066D1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1983000455A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN110281022A (en) * | 2019-07-03 | 2019-09-27 | 长园电子(东莞)有限公司 | A kind of Hose tube assembly automatic producing device |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN113548432B (en) * | 2021-06-25 | 2023-03-28 | 湖南华菱涟源钢铁有限公司 | Steel coil transportation method and device |
CN113500412B (en) * | 2021-06-29 | 2022-08-09 | 英普锐机械(嘉兴)有限公司 | Production equipment for solar steel frame |
CN115156916B (en) * | 2022-07-11 | 2023-11-21 | 广东海洋大学 | Milling and arc machining combined device and machining method thereof |
Family Cites Families (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE45327C (en) * | L. ROBERTS und G. CL. SCOFIELD in New-York, 155 Broadway | Application of the manufacturing process of coil springs dealt with in patent no. 44405 to arm hoses | ||
US630503A (en) * | 1898-12-15 | 1899-08-08 | Edwin T Greenfield | Method of and mechanism for constructing electric conduits and armoring flexible tubes and electric cables. |
US2668615A (en) * | 1951-03-23 | 1954-02-09 | Torrington Mfg Co | Means for simultaneously feeding two wires |
US2722263A (en) * | 1951-08-17 | 1955-11-01 | Gen Motors Corp | Method of making flexible air hose |
US2845986A (en) * | 1954-05-17 | 1958-08-05 | Western Electric Co | Machine for automatically coiling stiff wire into a helix |
US2793672A (en) * | 1955-03-18 | 1957-05-28 | Hoover Co | Method of close coiling sheathed spring wire |
JPS531788B2 (en) * | 1972-04-08 | 1978-01-21 |
-
1981
- 1981-07-30 JP JP50278081A patent/JPS58501215A/en active Granted
- 1981-07-30 WO PCT/US1981/001025 patent/WO1983000455A1/en unknown
-
1982
- 1982-05-05 EP EP19820103904 patent/EP0070977B1/en not_active Expired
- 1982-05-05 DE DE8282103904T patent/DE3270066D1/en not_active Expired
- 1982-05-20 CA CA000403381A patent/CA1184752A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN110281022A (en) * | 2019-07-03 | 2019-09-27 | 长园电子(东莞)有限公司 | A kind of Hose tube assembly automatic producing device |
CN110281022B (en) * | 2019-07-03 | 2020-12-15 | 长园电子(东莞)有限公司 | Automatic production equipment for Hose assembly |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE3270066D1 (en) | 1986-04-30 |
EP0070977A1 (en) | 1983-02-09 |
CA1184752A (en) | 1985-04-02 |
WO1983000455A1 (en) | 1983-02-17 |
JPH0431811B2 (en) | 1992-05-27 |
JPS58501215A (en) | 1983-07-28 |
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