FR3050949A1 - PRE-ASSEMBLY DEVICE FOR CUTTING RING FITTING CRIMPING MACHINE, AND CRIMPING MACHINE COMPRISING SAME - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a preassembling device (10) for a crimping ring crimping machine (according to DIN 2353), comprising: a crimping plate (12); a first nut-coding chute (13) comprising first stop means (20) stopping a nut (7) at a first position and keying means (19); a second cutter keying groove (14) comprising stop means (25) stopping a cutting ring (8) at the first position and foolproofing means (24); deflection means (15) for moving the cutting ring (8) in the space between the nut (7) and the tube (6) when the latter is slid downwards; and second stop means (21) stopping at a second position the tube (6) / nut (7) / cutting ring (8) assembly during the crimping operation. The invention also relates to a crimping machine comprising such a pre-assembly device.

Description

PRE-ASSEMBLY DEVICE FOR CUTTING RING FITTING CRIMPING MACHINE, AND CRIMPING MACHINE COMPRISING SAME

The present invention relates to the field of crimping a cutting ring coupling on a rigid tube, for example for high pressure fluid transport applications according to DIN 2353, and relates in particular to a pre-assembly device allowing to always correctly assemble the elements to be crimped and on a crimping machine comprising such a pre-assembly device.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of an example of a crimping machine of a cutting ring on a rigid tube, such as for example a metal tube, to obtain a cutting ring coupling, automatically and fast, according to the prior art.

The machine 1 comprises on one side thereof a housing 1a for receiving a pre-assembly block 2 formed of a generally parallelepiped body open at the top and on both its end sides, the block 2 being guided in position. in the housing 1a through a first end side 2a of the block 2, the second end side 2b being fixed a U-shaped housing plate 3 defining with a groove 2c of the block 2 a vertical housing for a crimping plate 4 also U-shaped, thus having a vertical central notch 4a which opens into the upper part of the crimping plate 4. When the crimping plate 4 is mounted in said vertical housing, it is opposite a crimping tool 5 such as a crimping cone.

During a conventional crimping operation, an operator takes a crimping tube 6 in his hands, threads on it a nut 7 and then a cutting ring 8 possibly provided with a seal 9, and then introduces the assembly thus formed. in the pre-assembly block 2, with the nut 7 and the cutting ring 8 situated between the crimping plate 4 and the crimping tool 5, the width of the notch 4a being slightly greater than that of the tube 6 but less than the maximum outer dimension of the nut 7. The operator then actuates the crimping machine 1, which crimps the cutting ring 8 on the tube 6 by a movement of the tool 5 towards the crimping plate 4. The crimping operation per se is well known and described for example in DIN 2353, and will not be described in more detail here.

Since the pre-assembly is done by hand by an operator, and the operator assembles very many tubes during a working day, there is a risk that assembly errors are made. For example, the nut 7 and / or the cutting ring 8 are mounted upside down, the seal 9 of the cutting ring 8 is omitted, or the tube 6 can be placed skew in the notch 4a.

These assembly errors all result in a cutting ring coupling not ensuring its function properly and thus in making a bad connection when the tube is assembled to another connection.

The present invention aims to prevent such assembly errors by providing a keying preassembly device ensuring a correct assembly of the tube, the nut and the cutting ring.

The subject of the present invention is therefore a pre-assembly device for a crimping ring crimping machine for crimping, on one end of a cylindrical tube, on which has been threaded a nut, a cutting ring mounted on the tube with a given orientation, the crimping being obtained by a crimping tool pressing the cutting ring against an inner face of the nut, the latter being stopped in translation by a so-called crimping face, a crimping plate in view of the crimping tool, the pre-assembly device being characterized in that it comprises: said crimping plate, having a vertical notch opening at the lower end of the crimping plate; a first vertical coding trough for the nut, which first chute is open at a lower end and an upper end, is secured, by a first side, of the crimping plate, crimping face side, with the vertical notch opening in or below the first chute, and comprises: first nut stop means capable of temporarily stopping, at a first position along the first chute, a nut of a given external dimension which has been introduced in the first chute, but not to stop a nut of smaller outer dimension; and first keying means adapted to prevent a nut of an outer dimension greater than said given external dimension from reaching said first nut stop means; a second vertical coding trough for the cutting ring, which second trough is secured to the first trough, on a second side thereof opposite to said first side, is open at a lower end and an upper end and comprises: cutting ring stop able to temporarily stop, in the first position, a cutting ring of a given external dimension which has been introduced into the second chute, but not to stop a cutting ring of smaller outer dimension; and second keying means adapted to prevent a cutting ring of an outer dimension larger than said given external dimension from reaching said cutting ring stopping means; a lateral opening in the first position, facing the notch of the crimping plate and communicating the first chute and the second chute, whereby a tube can be threaded through a nut and a cutting ring which are stopped temporarily at said first position; cutting ring deflection means extending from the lower end of the second chute and adapted to move the tube / cutting ring assembly towards the crimping plate when the tube is slid downwardly, so as to moving the cutting ring in the space between the nut and the tube; and second nut stop means capable of stopping, at a second position below the first position and from the deflection means, the tube / nut / cutting ring assembly during the crimping operation of the ring. cutting by the crimping tool.

The first nut stop means may be formed by at least one projection extending inside the first chute.

Preferably, the first chute defines an interior channel having a rectangular cross-section whose longitudinal dimension is slightly greater than the given external dimension of the nut intended to form part of the cutting ring coupling, so as to guiding the descent from the nut to the first nut stop means but to prevent a nut of an outer dimension greater than said given external dimension from being introduced into the first chute, the inner channel thus forming the first means of keying.

Preferably, the second trough defines an interior channel having a cross section whose dimensions are slightly greater than the given external dimension of the cutting ring intended to form part of the cutting ring coupling, so as to guiding the descent of the cutting ring to the first cutting ring stop means but to prevent a cutting ring of an external dimension larger than said given external dimension to be introduced into the second chute, the inner channel thereby forming the second keying means .

Preferably, the second chute also comprises third keying means able to prevent a cutting ring oriented in an orientation other than said given direction to reach said cutting ring stop means.

The inner channel of the second chute may have a T-shaped cross section, thus having a first vertical portion wider than a second vertical portion, the first vertical portion located on the first chute side, so as not to allow the introducing a cutting ring only when the latter is oriented in said given orientation, said inner channel thus also forming the third keying means.

Preferably, the cutting ring arresting means are formed by at least one projection extending inside the second chute, where appropriate in a position in the first vertical portion of the second chute and adjacent to the second vertical part. In the case where the cutting ring coupling to be made must comprise a seal, such a specific positioning of the at least one projection ensures that said seal has been mounted on the cutting ring, because in this case said seal is located in the first vertical portion and adjacent to the second vertical portion and gives the cutting ring a T-shaped general profile corresponding to the T-shape of the inner channel of the second chute. It is easily understood that the cutting ring will be stopped by the contact between the seal and the projection thus positioned, but that in the absence of seal it will not be stopped by said projection.

Preferably, the second nut stop means are formed by at least one projection secured to the crimping plate and extending horizontally and parallel to the crimping face.

Preferably, the deflection means are formed by a so-called deflection surface extending from the lower end of the second chute and integral with the latter, the deflection surface being inclined towards the crimping face and stopping before the vertical plane to which belongs the second side of the first chute.

The present invention also relates to a crimping machine for cutting ring coupling, characterized in that it comprises a pre-assembly device as defined above.

To better illustrate the object of the present invention, will be described below, for information only and not limited to, a particular embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing.

In this drawing: - Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a crimping machine and a pre-assembly block according to the prior art; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a crimping machine provided with a pre-assembly device according to the present invention; Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of the pre-assembly device of Figure 2, respectively side crimping plate and second side chute; Figure 5 is a top view of the pre-assembly device of Figure 2; Figure 6 is a sectional view of the preassembly device in the plane A-A of Figure 5; FIGS. 7A and 7B are views similar to FIG. 6, respectively showing the pre-assembly device with a nut and a cutting ring at the first position and the pre-assembly device at the second position for crimping.

With reference to FIG. 2, it can be seen that a crimping machine 1 is shown which differs from that illustrated in FIG. 1 in that a pre-assembly device 10 according to the present invention is mounted in a pre-assembly block 27 slightly different from the pre-assembly block 2.

In particular, the pre-assembly block 27 differs from the pre-assembly block 2 in that it is open in the upper part and also in the lower part, and in that the housing plate 3 is replaced by two bars 11 attached along two vertical edges of the second end 27b of the block 27 to form as previously a vertical housing for a crimping plate.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 6, it can be seen that the pre-assembly device 10 comprises a crimping plate 12, a first chute 13, a second chute 14 and a deflection plate 15, forming an assembly. in one piece.

The crimping plate 12 is similar to the crimping plate 4 of the prior art, in that it comprises a central notch 12a and a crimping face 12b oriented towards the crimping tool 5 when the crimping device pre-assembly 10 is installed in the pre-assembly block 27, but it differs from the crimping plate 4 in that, on the one hand, the central notch 12a opens out at the lower end of the crimping plate 12 and, on the other hand, the crimping plate 12 comprises two projections 12d projecting each outwardly from a respective vertical edge of the crimping plate 12, at the upper end 12c of the plate 12. The projections 12d are located in the plane of the crimping plate 12 and thus each have a horizontal support surface 12e which bears on the upper part of the pre-assembly block 27 as can be seen on Figure 2. In other In other words, the preassembly device 10 is held in position by the top (by the crimping plate 12 resting on the upper part of the pre-assembly block 27), and not by the bottom as in the previous state of the technique (by the crimping plate 4 resting on the closed lower part of the pre-assembly block 2).

The first chute 13 is formed by a U-profile 16 applied against the crimping face 12b by the vertical edges of the two wings 16a of the U. The profile 16 extends partly from the upper end 12c of the plate. crimping 12, and the opening of the U on this part is closed by a closure plate 17 screwed at 18 to said two vertical edges of the wings 16a. An inner channel 19 of rectangular cross section is thus defined between the profile 16, the closure plate 18 and a portion of the crimping face 12a.

A light 16b is formed in the bottom 16c of the profile 16, facing the central notch 12a and thus forming a so-called lateral opening also designated by the reference numeral 16b. The two wings 16a thus extend on either side of the central notch 12a.

As can be better seen in Figures 5 and 6, a first pin 20 and a second pin 21 are each mounted in a through hole drilled in a wing 16a, respectively at a first height below and in the vicinity of the bottom of the central notch 12a, and at a second height in the vicinity of the lower end of the flange 16a and the lower end of the central notch 12a, and each pin 20, 21 has one end projecting slightly into the channel interior 19.

The second trough 14 is formed by a profile 22 having a longitudinal T-shaped groove 22a, the profile 22 being applied against the outer face 16d of the profile 16 by the vertical edges of the two flanges 22b of the profile 22 and screwed to the profile 16 by four screws. 23. The upper end of the profile 22 is flush with the upper end of the profile 13 and the lower end of the profile 12 is slightly below said first height. An inner channel 24 of cross section T is thus defined between the profiles 16 and 22. The inner channel 24 thus comprises a first portion 24a vertical extending along the outer face of the profile 16 and a second portion 24b vertical along the bottom of the section 22, the first portion 24a being wider than the second portion 24b. The term "width" here refers to the distance between two vertical walls facing one another, a distance measured in a horizontal direction parallel to the crimping face 12b.

In a similar manner to pins 20 and 21, a pin 25 is mounted in a through-hole pierced in a flange 22b, at said first height, and the pin 25 has one end slightly protruding into the inner channel 24.

Finally, the deflection plate 15 is screwed at 26 on the outer face 22c of the profile 22, in the vicinity of the lower end thereof. The deflection plate 15 is a folded sheet comprising a vertical portion 15a extending against the profile 22, and an inclined portion 15b, extending from the lower end of the profile 22 and towards the two wings 16a forming an angle that can be in a range from 20 ° to 70 °, depending in particular on the size of the tube 6 and the cutting ring 8, but stops in the vicinity of the two wings 16a. The inclined portion 15b thus has a deflection face 15c facing the crimping plate 12.

The use of the pre-assembly device 10 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, after it has been placed in the pre-assembly block 27 as illustrated in FIG. first the nut 7 in the first chute 13 and the cutting ring 8, provided with the seal 9, in the second chute 14.

The first chute 13 is dimensioned so that the cross section of the inner channel 19 is slightly larger than the outer dimension or dimensions of the nut 7, for example the distance between two opposite sides in the case of a hexagonal nut. Thus, the operator can not introduce a nut too large in the first chute 13, which is therefore keying means.

Similarly, the second chute 14 is dimensioned so that the cross sectional shape of the inner channel 24 corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of a cutting ring 8 provided with a seal 9, but with slightly larger dimensions. Thus, the operator can not introduce a cutting ring too large or in an orientation other than that defined by the cross sectional shape of the inner channel 24. The second chute 14 thus also forms keying means.

As can be seen in Figure 7A, a nut 7 of the correct outer dimension is stopped at the first height by the first pin 19 which protrudes slightly into the inner channel 14, while the cutting ring 8 provided with the seal 9 is stopped at the same height by the pin 25 with which the seal 9 comes into contact. In this position, the operator can introduce a tube into the nut 7 and the cutting ring 8 through the central notch 12a of the crimping plate 12 and the lateral opening 16b of the first chute 13, to that the end of the tube is in contact with the second chute 14. The nut 7 and the cutting ring 8 are therefore mounted in a correct position on the tube and the latter can not be crooked because of the fact that translational guidance is provided both at the notch 12a and the lateral opening 16b.

In the case where the nut is of outside dimension smaller than said correct dimension, the nut will not be stopped by the first pin 19 and will fall out of the pre-assembly device 10 and the pre-assembly block 27.

In the same way, in the case where the operator fails to mount the seal 9 on the cutting ring 8, or the cutting ring 8 and the seal 9 are smaller than the correct dimension, the pin 25 will not stop. not the cutting ring 8 which will also fall out of the pre-assembly device 10 and the preassembly block 27.

Therefore, the assembly can only be done with a nut of the right size and a cutting ring of the right size, provided with the appropriate seal and oriented in the right way, thanks to the shape coding provided by the first chute 13 , the second chute 14 and the pins 20 and 25. The nut and cutting ring stop means therefore also participate in the keying function.

It is therefore emphasized here that the different parts of the pre-assembly device 10 according to the present invention are dimensioned according to the dimensions of the nut 7, the cutting ring 8 and if appropriate the seal 9 that it is a question of Crimp on the tube 6. Therefore, when the operator has to make a cutting ring connection of another size than that he has just made with a given pre-assembly device 10, he must remove the latter from the pre-assembly block 27 and install another pre-assembly device 10 sized to correspond to the cutting ring connection of the other dimension.

After threading the tube 6 into the nut 7 and the cutting ring 8, the operator moves the tube 6 down the central notch 12a. For this, it suffices to overcome the slight resistance provided by the first pin 20 and the pin 25, which do not prohibit the movement of the nut 7 and the cutting ring 8 down, for example because they do not only slightly protruding into the inner channels 19 and 24. The end of the tube 6 will slide along the deflection plate 15, leading to a simultaneous movement of the tube 6 downwards and towards the crimping plate 12. During this movement, the cutting ring 8 is moved together with the tube 6, and thus occurs a movement between the nut 7 and the tube 6 due to the fact that the crimping face 12b of the crimping plate 12 s' opposes the displacement of the nut 7 in this direction.

When the tube 6 has reached the end of the inclined portion 14b of the deflection plate 14, the cutting ring 8 is located inside the nut 7, in a position similar to the position that is supposed to occupy the ring cutting 8 relative to the nut 7 when the assembly is done by hand as in the prior art. The operator continues moving the tube 6 down to feel the slight resistance opposed by the second pin 21, in a manner similar to that of the pins 20 and 25. At this second height, the tube 6 is in position. the crimping tool 5 and the operator can operate the crimping machine 1 to perform crimping in the same manner as in the prior art.

Once the crimping has been completed, the operator removes the tube 6 provided with the cutting ring fitting which has just been formed, by simply lowering the tube 6 along the notch 12a until it comes out of the pre-assembly block 27.

It is understood that the above embodiment of the present invention has been given as an indication and not limitation and that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Thus, for example, pins 20, 21 and 25, which are fixedly mounted in respective bores, may be provided with pins movable between a first position in which they project into the respective inner channel 19, 24 and a respective one. second position in which they no longer project. Such a displacement can be obtained simply by mounting the pins so that they are displaceable in translation in the holes, for example.

Claims (10)

1 - Pre-assembly device (10) for a crimping ring crimping machine (1) for crimping an end of a cylindrical tube (6) onto which a nut (7) has been threaded a cutting ring (8) mounted on the tube (6) with a given orientation, the crimping being obtained by a crimping tool (5) pressing the cutting ring (8) against an inner face of the nut (7), the latter being stopped in translation by a so-called crimping face (12b) of a crimping plate (12) facing the crimping tool (5), the pre-assembly device (10) being characterized by the fact that it comprises: said crimping plate (12), having a vertical notch (12a) opening at the lower end of the crimping plate (12); a first vertical coding trough (13) for the nut (7), which first trough (13) is open at a lower end and an upper end, is integral, by a first side, with the crimping plate (12) , crimping face side (12b), with the vertical notch (12a) opening into or below the first chute (13), and comprises: first nut stop means (20) capable of temporarily stopping at a first position along the first chute (13), a nut (7) of a given external dimension which has been introduced into the first chute (13), but not to stop a nut of smaller external dimension ; and first keying means (19) adapted to prevent a nut (7) of an outer dimension larger than said given external dimension from reaching said first nut stop means (20); and a second vertical coding trough (14) for the cutting ring (8), which second trough (14) is integral with the first trough (13), on a second side thereof opposite to said first side, is open to a lower end and an upper end and comprises: cutting ring arresting means (25) able to temporarily stop, in the first position, a cutting ring (8) of a given external dimension which has been introduced into the second chute (14), but not to stop a cutting ring of smaller outer dimension; and second keying means (24) adapted to prevent a cutting ring of an outer dimension larger than said given external dimension from reaching said cutting ring stopping means (25); a lateral opening (16b) located at the first position, facing the notch (12a) of the crimping plate (12) and communicating the first chute (13) and the second chute (14), whereby a tube (6) can be threaded through a nut (7) and a cutting ring (8) which are temporarily stopped at said first position; - Cutting ring deflection means (15) extending from the lower end of the second chute (14) and able to move the tube assembly (6) / cutting ring (8) towards the plate crimping device (12) when the tube (6) is slid downwards, so as to move the cutting ring (8) in the space between the nut (7) and the tube (6); and second nut stop means (21) adapted to stop, at a second position below the first position and deflection means (15), the tube (6) / nut (7) / cutting ring (8) during the crimping operation of the cutting ring (8) by the crimping tool (5). 2 - pre-assembly device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first nut stop means (20) are formed by at least one projection (20) extending inside of the first chute (13). 3 - pre-assembly device (10) according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the first chute (13) defines an inner channel (19) having a rectangular cross section whose longitudinal dimension is slightly greater to the given external dimension of the nut (7) intended to form part of the cutting ring coupling, so as to guiding the lowering of the nut (7) to the first nut stop means ( 20) but to prevent a nut of an external dimension greater than said given external dimension from being introduced into the first chute (13), the inner channel (19) thus forming the first coding means (19). 4 - pre-assembly device (10) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the second chute (14) defines an inner channel (24) having a cross section whose dimensions are slightly greater than the given external dimension of the cutting ring (8) intended to form part of the cutting ring coupling, so as to guiding the lowering of the cutting ring (8) to the first cutting ring arresting means (25) but to prevent a cutting ring of an external dimension greater than said given external dimension from being introduced into the second chute (14), the inner channel (24) thus forming the second coding means (24). 5 - pre-assembly device (10) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the second chute (14) also comprises third keying means (24) adapted to prevent a cutting ring oriented in a orientation other than said given direction to reach said cutting ring stopping means (25). 6 - pre-assembly device (10) according to claim 5 taken in dependence on claim 4, characterized in that the inner channel (24) of the second chute (14) has a T-shaped cross section, having thus a first vertical portion (24a) wider than a second vertical portion (24b), the first vertical portion (24a) located on the first chute side (13), so as not to allow the introduction of a cutting ring (8) when the latter is oriented in said given orientation, said inner channel (24) thus also forming the third keying means (24). 7 - pre-assembly device (10) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the cutting ring stop means (25) are formed by at least one projection (25) extending to the interior of the second chute (14), where appropriate in a position in the first vertical portion (24a) of the second chute (14) and adjacent to the second vertical portion (24b). 8 - pre-assembly device (10) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the second nut stop means (21) are formed by at least one projection (21) integral with the crimping plate (12) and extending horizontally and parallel to the crimping face (12a). 9 - pre-assembly device (10) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the deflection means (15) are formed by a surface, called deflection, extending from the lower end of the second chute (14) and integral with the latter, the deflection surface being inclined towards the crimping face (12a) and stopping before the vertical plane to which belongs the second side of the first chute (13). 10 - Machine (1) for crimping a cutting ring coupling, characterized in that it comprises a pre-assembly device (10) as defined in one of claims 1 to 9.