US2709474A

US2709474A - Tube flaring tool

Info

Publication number: US2709474A
Application number: US230538A
Authority: US
Inventors: George E Franck
Original assignee: Imperial Brass Manufacturing Co
Current assignee: Imperial Brass Manufacturing Co
Priority date: 1951-06-08
Filing date: 1951-06-08
Publication date: 1955-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 1972-05-31

Description

aw 3h 1955 ca. E. FRANCK J 9 TUBE FLARING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed June 8, 1951 IN V EN TOR. lzfi'wzck,

a. E. FRANCIK 2,709,474

TUBE FLARING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TUBE FLARHQG TOUL George E. Franck, Riverside, iliL, assignor to The Imperial Brass Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Illinois Application June 8, 1951, Serial No. 238,533

7 Claims. (Cl. 153-79) This invention relates to a tool and more particularly to a flaring tool for flaring the end of tubes and the like.

It is the general object of this invention to produce a new and improved flaring tool construction.

It is a more specific object of this invention to produce a flaring tool provided with means for accurately predetermining the amount of flare to be impressed upon the end of a tube.

Another object of the invention is to produce a flaring tool provided with means for accurately prepositioning the flaring device of the tool relative to the end of a tube to be flared in order that a predetermined desired degree of flare may be impressed upon the end of the tube at the completion of the flaring operation.

A further object of the invention is to produce a flaring tool of the type described in the preceding paragraphs which is provided with gauging means movable to a first position forming a stop for limiting the extent of movement of the flaring device so that a tube to be flared may be positioned against the flaring device when so advanced, which gauging means is movable to an inoperative position permitting further advancement of the cone, thereby producing on the end of the tube a flare of the desired extent.

A more specific object of the invention is to produce a flaring tool in the form of a yoke-like body member which is provided with a threaded opening at its apex and with a tube flaring cone secured to a rod rotatably mounted in the opening and to provide the body member with a gauge movably secured thereto, the gauge being movable into interposition between a stop portion on the rod and the yoke to limit the advancement of the cone and being movable to an inoperative position, that is to a position in which it does not interfere with further advancement of the cone to produce the desired degree of flare on the end of a tube.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description and drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a device embodying the invention of this application;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section through the upper portion of the device shown in Fig. 1 and taken along line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section along line 44 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 2 of a modified construction.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one specific embodiment, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Fig.

2,7ii9,47 i Patented May 31, 1955 ice l a body member in the form of a yoke 10 having a pair of

parallel arms

11 and 12 and a base portion 13 joining the arms. Each of the arms Ill and 12 is provided with a milled portion 14 adapted to receive a tube clamping device 15 for holding a tube 15a therein, it being understood that various forms of tube clamping means may be used. The base portion 13 of the yoke is provided with an integral substantially circular boss-like portion 16 which is provided with a cylindrical opening 17. Press fitted in the opening 17 is an internally threaded, externally serrated sleeve member 13, the threads thereof engaging external threads provided on a hollow shaft 19. The sleeve 18 and the shaft 19 are of steel whereas the yoke 10 may be of aluminum or some other lightweight metal.

Rotatably supported in the hollow shaft 19 is a cylindrical solid shaft 20 which carries a flaring device 21 on its lower end and which is formed at its upper end into a substantially square terminal portion 22 having an internally threaded opening 23 therein. Secured to the portion 22, as by the screw 24, is a head portion 25 having a squared upper body portion 26 and an integral knurled collar 27. The shaping of the portion 26 is such as to permit the use of a force-multiplying device, for example a wrench or similar tool, to rotate the shaft 20. The flaring device 21 comprises a cone 21a, here: shown integral with shaft 20, formed with tapered recesses 21b opening through the sides of the cone and each holding a tapered roller 38. Retaining the rollers 38 in the cone 21a is a steel collar 28 having a flared skirt portion 28a. The collar has openings 29 adapted to be aligned with an opening 30 extending through the shaft 20 and to receive a pin 31 to hold the collar in fixed position on the shaft with its skirt 28a overlying and contacting the large end of the roller 38. interposed between the collar 28 and the hollow shaft 19 is a washer 32 of bronze so as to obtain the friction reducing effect of a dissimilar metal between the steel collar 28 and hollow shaft 19.

From the foregoing it will be clear that rotation of the hollow shaft 19 serves to move the cone toward and away from a tube 15a held in the clamping device 15. Inasmuch as the cylindrical shaft 20 to which the rotational force is applied is freely rotatable within the hollow shaft 19, means must be provided for transmitting rotation of the shaft 20 to the hollow shaft 19 in order that the cone may be advanced. To this end a lost motion connection is provided between the two shafts, the connection being described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 206,993, filed January 20, 1951.

Secured to the knurled collar portion 27 of the head 25 is a pin 35 which extends downwardly therefrom toward the top of a stop member in the form of a collar 36 integrally secured to the shaft 19. The stop member 36 is provided with a substantially rectangular lug 37 located in the path described by the pin 35 as the head portion 25 is rotated. Thus, it is impossible to rotate the shaft 2t through a full revolution without bringing the pin 35 into contact with the lug 37 to rotate the shaft 19 with the shaft 20.

As more fully described in my said copending application, the purpose of the lost motion connection is to insure that the proper burnishing action is given the flared end of a tube before it is withdrawn from the tube flaring apparatus. Clearly, as the shafts t9 and 2t) are rotated, the cone is advanced against the end of the tube, although the contact between the cone and tube is at three spaced points provided by the rollers 33. if, upon completing the flare, the cone were immediately to be withdrawn, each of the rollers would leave a slight indentation in the end of the tube, the indentation being the farthest point of advance of the cone. With the construction disclosed, however, when the desired degree of flare has been achieved, the cone is withdrawn by rotating the head portion 2-5 in the opposite direction. Because of the lost motion connection no retraction of the cone occurs with initial rotation of the shaft 2ft. Thus, the end of the tube is burnished, that is smoothed off because the rollers 38 are rotated against all portions of the flared end before the pin 35 again makes contact with the lug 37. When contact again occurs, continued rotation of the shaft 20 serves to withdraw the cone from the end of the tube.

For proper burnishing it is essential that there be no reverse rotation of the hollow shaft 19, i. e. feed out of the cone, until the cone has rotated through at least 130 and preferably through just short of 360. To that end, it is important that the frictional force between the shaft 19 and the shaft 28 be less than the frictional force between the shaft 19 and the threaded sleeve 18. With the provision of the friction-reducing bronze washer 32 and the inherently greater friction produced by the threaded engagement between the shaft 19 and the sleeve 18, there is a normal tendency for the hollow shaft 1) not to rotate until the pin 35 and the lug 37 make contact. However,

to make certain that there will be no premature rotation of the shaft 19, the sleeve 13 is undercut for a short distance at 33 so as to receive the un'threaded portion 34 of the shaft 19 so that the shaft may be turned into the sleeve so far that the flange 36 is brought tight home against the end of the sleeve 318. in this way the shaft 19 is actually locked at the end of its inward feed and precludes all possibility that the friction between it and the shaft 2% would cause it to rotate in a reverse or withdrawing direction.

It is essential, in order to produce a proper coupling, that the correct degree or amount of flare be produced upon the end of the tube. It has been customary in some tools to provide a gauge of some sort, suitably inscribed with figures, designating the amount of flare to be produced on the end of tubes of varying diameters, but it has been found that the benefit derived from the use of such gauges is limited due to the fact that they are not simple to use and require considerable estimate on the part of the user inasmuch as the gauges obviously must be spaced somewhat from the location of the tube and the flaring cone. Accordingly, there has been produced in the present invention a different type of gauging means which is simple and positive in operation and yet will produce precisely the desired degree of flare on the end of tubes of varying diameters.

The gauge device of this invention is designed to give the workman a feel indication of the proper initial setting and also of the end of the proper flaring operation rather than a sight indication. Moreover, the tool is so designed that this feel indication is not one that requires a sensitive touch but actually limits movement, more particularly rotation of a portion of the mechanism. Somewhat more particularly, the gauge device initially limits inward feed of the cone and associated parts, thereby so positioning the cone that it may be employed as a means for gauging the position of the tube to be flared. Once the tube has been positioned and clamped, the gauge is simply moved out of its obstructing position to an unobstructing position, whereupon the tool may be further operated to advance the cone for the purpose of flaring the tube. The flare is completed and, moreover, is of proper size when further advance of the cone is again prohibited. Thus, as above mentioned, all gauging is a fee? proposition and, moreover, is so definite that there is no danger that the user of the tool could misuse the tool even if he were careless or did not have a sensitive touch.

The gauge device includes a gauging element serving to obstruct inward feed of the cone and, to that end, is herein designed to be interposed between a stationary portion of the tool and a part moving relative thereto as an. incident to the feeding-in movement of the cone. This part is the hollow shaft 19 and the gauge is interposed between the flange 36 on this shaft and the end of the sleeve 18, thus positively determining the position of the cone for gang:

ing purposes. With the cone so positioned, a tube may be inserted in the tube clamping means, its end pressed firmly against the cone, and be clamped when so positioned. At this point, the cone may be backed oif slightly to permit the gauging element to be withdrawn from its interposition so that the cone may be advanced by rotation of the shaft to its fullest extent, that is until the collar 36 contacts the end of sleeve 18. When full advancement of the cone has been achieved, the proper degree of flare has been impressed upon the end of the tube.

in the specific embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration, the gauging device includes a yoke-like carrying member 40 pivotally secured at its apex 41 to the body member by means of a screw device 42. The yoke includes a pair of arms 43 and 44 each of which carries at its outer end a gauging

element

45 and 46, respectively. it will be noted that the straight line distance between the gauging

elements

45 and 46 is greater than the diameter of the collar 36 so that the gauging elements may be moved to a position in which they are not interposed between the collar 36 and a flattened top portion 47 of the boss lid or the end of sleeve 13 which is flush therewith. With the gauging elements in the non-interfering position, the head portion 25 may be rotated until. the collar 36 contacts the flat portion 47.

The thicknesses of the gauging

elements

45 and 46 can be proportioned in accordance with the requirements of the particular application. As a specific example, certain requirements for a flare on a inch tube and 21 A inch tube specify a diameter of the widest part of the flare .109 inch greater than the diameter of the tube. Thus, a proper flare on a A inch tube would have a diameter of .359 inch while the flare on a y inch tube has a diameter of .421 inch. To produce the proper flare on, for example a inch tube, the gauging element 46 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 2, the head portion is rotated to bring the collar 36 into abutting relationship against the top of the gauging element, that is until further rotation of the head 25 is prevented. At this point a tube 15:: is inserted into the tube clamping means, pressed firmly against the cone 21 and clamped in that position. The head portion 25 may then be backed off slightly to relieve the pressure against the gauging element and then the yoke 41 may be pivoted slightly about its axis to move the gauge element 46 out of the path of movement of the collar. If the head portion 25 be again rotated until the collar 36 is brought into contact with the flattened portion 47, the precise predetermined flare will have been produced on the end of the tube.

If the tube to be flared is of larger diameter, for example, the inch tube mentioned, but if the flare is still to have a diameter which is the same fixed amount larger than the diameter of the tube, for example the .109 inch mentioned above, the same gauge is employed. The reason for this is that the same advance of the flaring cone will produce the same difference in flare diameter over tube diameter for any size tube Where the tube is initially positioned against the cone and not given some fixed projection above the tube clamping means. For a different increment of flare diameter relative to the tube diameter the gauge element might be employed or in extreme cases the cone mightbe backed all the way oif until the skirt 28a abuts the inner end of the sleeve 18.

The slight modification shown in Fig. 5 is, in all important respects, similar to the device of Fig. 2 with the exception that

shafts

19 and 20 are integral, thus proin a n e h f 19- W h a ngl shaft n tes motion connection is included. As most other parts of the device of Fig. 5 are similar to those previously described with reference to Fig. 2, similar parts have been given similar, but primed, reference numerals and no further detailed description is believed necessary.

arena-re I claim:

1. A tube ilaring tool comprising a body member having a threaded portion, tube flaring cone, a shaft carrying the cone and rotatably supported in said threaded portion, a stop element secured to the shaft, means for rotating the shaft to advance said stop element and the cone in an axial direction, and a gauge member movably mounted on the body member and carrying a plurality of gauging elements, said gauge member being movable from a first position in which a selected gauging element is interposed between the stop element and the body member to prevent advancement of the cone beyond a predetermined point, to a second position in which said gauging elements are prsitioned out of the path of movement of the stop element to permit advancement of the cone beyond said point.

2. A tube flaring tool comprising a body member having a threaded portion, a tube flaring cone, a shaft carrying the cone and rotatably supported in said threa ed portion, a collar secured to the shaft, means for rotating the shaft to advance the cone, a substantially U-shaped gauge member pivotally mounted at its apex on the body member, and a gauging element on the end of each arm of the U-shaped member, said gauge member being pivotable from a gauging position in which either of said gauging elements are interposed between the collar and the body member to limit the advancement of the cone, to an inoperative position in which neither of said elements is interposed between the collar and body member.

3. A tube flaring tool comprising a body member having a threaded portion, a tube flaring cone, a member carrying the cone and rotatably supported in said thread ed portion, a stop element on the member, means for rotating the member to advance the cone, and a gauge movably carried by the body member and movable into interposition between the stop element and the body member to limit the advancement of the cone.

4. A tube flaring tool comprising a body member having an internally threaded opening, a tube flaring cone, a shaft carrying the cone and rotatably supported in said threaded opening, means for rotating the shaft to advance the cone to a gauging position, means carried by the body member and movable to a first position preventing advancement of the cone beyond said gauging position and said movable means being movable to a second position permitting advancement of the cone beyond said gauging position With the shaft thereupon being rotatable to advance the cone to a finished flaring position, and means on said body member for preventing advancement of the cone beyond said finished flaring position whereby a predetermined flare may be impressed on the end of a tube Without visual reference to the tool.

5. A tube flaring tool comprising a body member having a threaded portion, a hollow shaft having external threads engaging the threads in said portion, a tube flaring cone, a rod carrying the cone and rotatably supported in the hollow of said shaft, means for rotating the rod, means providing a driving connection between the rod and the shaft to rotate the shaft with rotation of the rod, a collar secured to the shaft, a substantially U-shaped gauge member pivotally mounted at its apex on the body member, and a gauging element on the end of each arm of the U-shaped member, said gauge member being pivotable from a gauging position in which either of said gauging elements is interposed between the collar and the body member to limit the advancement of the cone, to an inoperative position in which neither of said elements is interposed between the collar and body member.

6. A tube flaring tool comprising a body member having a threaded portion, a hollow shaft having external threads engaging the threads in said portion, a tube flaring cone, a rod carrying the cone and rotatably supported in the hollow of said shaft, means for rotating the rod, means providing a driving connection between the rod and the shaft to rotate the shaft with rotation of the rod, a collar secured to the shaft, a gauge member movably mounted on the body member and carrying a gauging element, said gauge member being movable from a gauging position in which said gauging element is interposed between the collar and the body portion to limit the advancement of the cone, to an inoperative position in which said element is out of interposition between the collar and the body member.

7. A tube flaring tool comprising a body member having a threaded portion, a hollow shaft having external threads engaging the threads in said portion, a tube flaring cone, a rod carrying the cone and rotatably supported in the hollow of the shaft, a stop element secured to the shaft, means for rotating the rod, means providing a driving connection between the rod and the shaft to rotate the shaft with rotation of the rod to advance said stop element and the cone in an axial direction, and a gauge member movably mounted on the body member and carrying a plurality of gauging elements, said gauge member being movable from a first position in which a selected gauging element is interposed between the stop element and the body member to prevent advancement of the cone beyond a predetermined point, to a second position in which said gauging elements are positioned out of the path of movement of the stop element relative to the body member to permit advancement of the cone beyond said point.

References (fitted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 350,701 Schoendelen Oct. 12, 1886 625,707 Shimer May 23, 1899 1,213,134 Fellows Jan. 16, 1917 1,383,839 Mueller July 5, 1921 1,491,100 Hoke Apr. 22, 1924 1,752,508 Schultis Apr. 1, 1930 1,795,358 Arndt Mar. 10, 1931 2,242,131 Johnson May 13, 1941 2,277,410 Neukirch Mar. 24, 1942 2,492,380 Duma Dec. 27, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 570,093 Great Britain June 21, 1945