US2839121A - Expanding tool with automatic reset - Google Patents

Description

June 17, 1958 R. MOCK EIAL EXPANDING TOOL WITH AUTOMATIC RESET HH ll /7 INVENTOR; LUTHER RoY Mocn H IHII Fiied Sept. 28, 1953 United States Patent r EXPANDING TooL wrrH AUTOMATIC RESET Luther Roy Mock and Eldo K. Koppelmann, Moherly,

Mo., assignors to Madison-Faessler Tool Co., a corporation of Missouri Application September 28, 1953, Serial No. 382,691

6 Claims. ((31. 153-.-82)

The invention pertains to an expanding tool such as may be used for expanding boiler tubes in tube sheets, and for similar purposes. More particularly, the tool of this invention is adapted for expanding sealing caps such as are inserted in holes in the cylinder block of an internal combustion engine.

An object of this invention is to provide such a-tool which is completely automatic in its action to expand the tube or cap to a predetermined extent, and automatically release and reset itself after such expansion.

Another object it to provide such a tool which may be manipulated to hold a cap which is loose in its hole so as to initiate the expanding operation.

In accordance with this invention, generally stated, an expanding tool of the well-known roller type is provided in which a tapered mandrel it fitted to a set of planetary rollers to cause expansion of the latter within the tube or cap to be expanded. The mandrel is provided with a thread on which is threaded a release element having a clutch face which, upon movement of said mandrel by the rollers, brings the clutch face into engagement with a complementary face on the cage, which carries the expanding rollers. Upon such engagement, the retardation of the releasing element causes relative movement between it and the mandrel in such a direction that the thread engagement between the two causes retraction of the mandrel so as to disengage the same from the rollers. A stop member is further provided which may be adjusted along the mandrel, and a torsion spring is connected between said stop member and said release element. When the release element engages the cage, this spring is wound up so as to produce a torque between the stop member and the release element. As soon as the mandrel is retracted sufiiciently to relieve its pressure on the rollers, thereby relieving the forward thrust of the mandrel created by the self-feeding characteristic of the tool, the pressure between the clutch faces, produced by that thrust, is also relieved, so that the release element is free to move on the mandrel thread. The torque of the spring thereupon causes said element to rotate back to its original position to reset it for the next operation.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section of an expanding tool embodying this invention shown in its starting position at the beginning of the operation of expanding a p;

Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view showing the parts in their final position at the end of the expanding operation and just as the mandrel is about to be released; and

Fig. 3 is a left-hand end view of the tool.

Referring now to the drawing, 1 designates a cage having peripherally-arranged slots in which are housed expanding rollers 2. Any number of rollers may, of course, be used, only one of the same being shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The cage 1 has a bore 3 in which a mandrel 4 is movable, said mandrel having a tapered end 2,839,121 Patented June 17, 1958 ice portion 5 engageable with the rollers 2 so that by moving the mandrel toward the left, Figs. 1 and 2, the rollers 2 are caused to expand in a manner well-known in the art. The mandrel 4 is provided with an enlarged flange 6, and beyond said flange with a thread 7, and at its end with a shank 8 adapted for coupling the mandrel to a suitable driving device such as a motor, a hand crank, or even a wrench. Threaded on the inner end of the cage 1 is a collar 9 having a bore in which the flange 6 of the mandrel is movable and an internal end shoulder 10 adapted to engage the flange 6 to limit the outward movement of the mandrel.

Threaded on the thread 7 of the mandrel is a release element 11 having an internal tapered clutch face 12 adapted for engagement with a complementary face 13 on the collar 9 when the release element is moved toward said collar by the action of the rollers. Also threaded on the thread 7 is a stop member in the form of a nut 14. This nut may be provided with a set screw 15 and a binding plug 16 whereby the nut 14 may be fixed to the mandrel after adjustment thereof along the mandrel by rotation on the thread 7. The nut has a recess adapted to receive a hub 17 on the release element 11, the engagement of said hub with the end of the recess serving to fix the initial or starting position of said release element. The nut 14 is provided with a flange 18 normally extending over the rear portion of the release element 11 as shown in Fig. 1, thereby forming between the nut 14 and said element a chamber 19. Housed in the chamber 19 is a coil spring 29 arranged to extend around the hub 17. One end of said spring is secured by a set screw 21 to the nut 14, and the other end is similarly secured by a set screw 22 to the release element 11.

Arranged to surround the cage 1 is a collar or barrel 23 having an internal flange 24 fitted behind a shoulder 25 of the cage 1 so that said barrel may be used as a handle to insert the tool into the cap 26 which is to be expanded in the wall 27 of an engine block, said cap having a flange 2S engaging the outside of the wall 27. A ball bearing 29 may be inserted between the flange 24 and the collar 9 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. As shown in Fig. 1, the collar 23 is extended to the right sulficiently to cover the gap between the clutch faces 12 and 13, so that when grasping the collar by hand it will not be possible to pinch the hand between these faces.

. The outside of the collar 23 may be knurled or other wise roughened to facilitate holding the same.

' purpose.

In the operation of this device, the stop member or nut 14- is first adjusted along the thread 7 to such a point as to set the desired limit of expansion of the rollers 2. A suitable index, not shown, may be provided for this The nut 14 having been adjusted and fixed, the spring 20 keeps the release element 11 in engagement therewith, as shown in Fig. l. The cap 25 having been inserted in the hole in the wall 27, the tool is inserted into the cap as shown. The setting is usually such that the rollers 2 make contact with the interior of the cap. The mandrel 4 may then be rotated by any suitable means. The engagement of the tapered end 5 with the rollers 2 causes the latter to rotate. The rollers 2 are set in the cage 1 with their axes at a slight angle to the axis of the mandrel so that this rolling action will cause the mandrel to be drawn in between the rollers in a manner well-known in the art.

It sometimes happens that the cap 26 is a loose fit in the hole, and instead of the rollers rolling in the cap, the cap rotates with the rollers and the self-feeding action stops. To provide for such a case, the end surface 30 of the collar 23 is knurled to roughen it. Accordingly, by forcing the collar 23 against the flange 28 of the cap, the latter may be held stationary until the tool.

rollers 2 began to roll and expand thecap sufficiently to tighten in the hole. Thereafter, the rolling operation will proceed in the usual manner.

However, in instances where the tube hole is considerably oversized, the cap will be 'free to rotate in the hole and there will be no binding action at-all. In this instance, this would be the cycle of operation: The cage and roll assembly is placed in the cap and the mandrel is brought slightly forward, engaging them with slight pressure and causing them to rotate, which in turn causes the cage to rotate. The rolls now begin to tighten in the cap and if there is no restraining force to keep the cap from rotating, it will start to rotate with the cage and roll assembly. When this happens, movement of the mandrel to the left underneath the rolls will cease, and the whole assemblywill be rotating at the speed of rotation of the mandrel. When this occurs, it is merely necessary to grasp the thrust collar by hand to stop it from rotating, and to exert a slight forward thrust so that the knurled face of the thrust collar will contact the skirt on the cap causing its speed of rotation to'be slowed down relative to the speed of rotation of the At the instant that this happens, the mandrel will again start to feed to the left under the rolls and the rolls will start to exert increased pressure in the caps. Simultaneous with this, the self-feeding characteristic of the tool will cause the cap to be drawn further back on to the tool and there will be such a heavy thrust created between the skirt of the cap and the knurled surface of the thrust collar that further rotation of the cap will be impossible. The tool will then complete its cycle of expanding the cap in the hole.

As the mandrel is drawn to the left in Fig.1 by the rolling action, the release element 11 is, of course, carried along with it so that it approaches the collar 9. After a predetermined travel, represented by the distance AB, Fig. l, the clutch face 12 of the release element 11 engages the face 13 of the collar 9. When the clutch face 12 of the release element 11 has engaged the face 13 of the collar 9, the cap 26 will have been expanded to a predetermined intervaldiameter, and the job will have been finished. Because the rollers will be in tight engagement with the cap 26 and'the action of the rollers, being at a slight angle, causes the mandrel to continue feeding to the left, the tool will be tightly engaged in the hole. At this point, the release element 11 comes into operation to withdraw the mandrel'to the right (in the relationship as shown in the drawings), thereby causing the rollers to collapse sufficiently to permit the tool to be readily removed from the hole. The action of the release element 11 is now described.

When the tool has reached the position shown in Fig. 2, and as just described, the cage will be moving at a rate I of rotation much less than that of the mandrel, because of the planetary relationship of the rollers, as is well understood in the art. In a typical embodiment, the cage 1 will rotate at only approximately one-third the rate of the mandrel 4. Then, since the release element is in clutch engagement with the cage, the threaded engagement between the release element 11 and the thread 7 on the mandrel will cause the mandrel to be backed away to the right. This will occur because of the direction of the thread 7 in relation to the direction of the rotation of the mandrel 4. This is to say, for right hand rotation of the mandrel 4, left hand thread 7 is provided. It will be apparent, of course, that these directions can be reversed if desired.

By the operation of the release element 11, just described, pressure between the rollers'and the work will be relieved as 'Well as the pressure between the mandrel and therollers.

At the moment when-this pressure is released, the forward thrust of the mandrel ceases, and simultaneously the thrust between the faces 12 and '13 ceases." At this instant, the element 11 is now free to turn on the thread 7 and under the torque delivered by spring 20 it will be rotated back to its original position as shown in Fig. 1, and after such return, the tool is reset for another similar operation. Since the tool is released from engagement with the cap, it can be withdrawn from the cap. 7

It will be seen that by adjustment of the nut 14 along the thread 7, the extent of travel AB maybe varied to suit the job in hand. The greater the length of this travel, the greater will be the expansion of the rollers'2. Also, once the nut 14 is fixed in position on the mandrel, each operation will cause expansion of therollers 2 to the same final diameter before release occurs. Accordingly,

each successive operation is an exact duplicate of preceding ones. e

It will be seen that this invention provides a tool in which a succession of identical expanding operations may be carried out rapidly, and with precision, even by unskilled operators. Accordingly, the tool is well adapted for operation on a production line basis where many identical operations must be performed at a high rate of speed. A, g

Various changes may be made inthe detailsof construction, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention. Parts of the invention may be used without the wholeand improvements may be added while retaining ,someor all of the advantages of the invention.

We claim:

1. In an expanding tool of the character described having a roller cage, expandingrollers mounted therein, and a tapered rotary mandrel engaging said rollers, the

rollers being arranged in planetary relation to said mandrel to feed the mandrel axially to expand the rollers; a release element movably threaded on said mandrel'and having a clutch face engageable with a complementary face of said cage, and resilient means connected between said release element and said mandrel operating to oppose rotary movement of said release element relative to said mandrel, the release element being movable axially with said mandrel to cause engagement of said clutch faces; whereby said release element rotates on its thread relatively to said mandrel against the loading of said resilient means to release the mandrel from the rollers,

whereuponsaid resilient means will rotate said release element to its original position on said mandrel.

2. In an expanding tool of the character described having a roller cage, expanding rollers mounted therein, and a tapered rotary mandrel engaging said rollers, the rollers being arranged in planetary relation to said mandrel to feed the mandrel axially to expand the rollers, the man drel having a thread; a stop member threaded on said mandrel for adjustment therealong, means for locking said member in adjusted position, a release-element movably threaded on said mandrel and having a clutch face engageable with a complementary face of said cage, and resilient means connected between said release element and said stop member operating to oppose rotary movement of said release element relative. to said mandrel, the release element being movable axially with said mandrel to cause engagement of said clutch faces, the adjusted position of the stop member determining the axial travel of said release element and mandrel; whereby mutual engagement of said clutch faces will cause said release element to rotate on its thread relatively to said mandrel against loading of said resilient means to release the mandrel from the rollers, whereupon saidresilient means will rotate said release element to its original position on said mandrel. V

3.1m an expanding tool of thecharacter described having a rollercage, expanding rollers mounted therein, and

a tapered rotary mandrel engaging. said rollers to feed the mandrel axially and to expand the rollers; a release element movably threaded on said mandrel and having a clutch face engageable with a complementary face of said cage, the release element being movable axially with said mandrel upon mandrel rotation to cause engagement of said clutch faces, and a torsion spring anchored to said mandrel and connected to said release element to oppose rotary movement thereof on its thread and to return the same to its original position after such movement.

4. In an expanding tool of the character described having a roller cage, expanding rollers mounted therein, and a tapered rotary mandrel engaging said rollers to feed the mandrel axially and to expand the. rollers; a release element movably threaded on said mandrel and having a clutch face engageable with a complementary face of said cage, a torsion spring connected to said release element, and anchoring means for said spring adjustable axially on said mandrel, the release element being movable axially with said mandrel upon mandrel rotation to cause engagement of the clutch faces, the adjusted position of said anchoring means determining the axial travel of said release element and mandrel, said spring being connected to oppose rotary movement of said release element on its thread and to return the same to its original position after such movement, said release element being rotatable on its thread relative to said mandrel against spring loading upon engagement of the clutch faces to release the mandrel from said'rollers.

5. In an expanding tool of the character described having a roller cage, expanding rollers mounted therein, and a tapered rotary mandrel engaging said rollers to feed the mandrel axially and to expand the rollers, the mandrel having a thread, a stop member adjustable to a fixed position on said mandrel, a release element threaded on said mandrel adjacent said member and having a clutch face engageable With a complementary face of said cage, parts of said member and said element overlapping to form therebetween a chamber, and a torsion spring connected between said member and said element and housed in said chamber arranged to oppose rotary movement of said release element on its thread, the release element being movable axially with said mandrel to cause engagement of the clutch faces so that the release element will rotate on its thread relative to said mandrel against spring loading to release said mandrel from said rollers, the spring returning it to its original position on said mandrel after release of said mandrel.

6. A cap-expanding tool of the character described, comprising, a roller cage, expanding rollers mounted therein, a tapered rotary mandrel engaging said rollers to feed the mandrel axially to expand the rollers, the mandrel having a thread, a stop member adjustable to a fixed position on said mandrel, a release element threaded on said mandrel adjacent said member and having a clutch face engageable with a complementary face of said cage, a resilient torsion element attached to said stop member and to said release element, the release element being axially movable with said mandrel upon mandrel rotation to cause engagement of said clutch faces so that the release element rotates on its thread relative to said mandrel against loading of said resilient element to release the mandrel from said rollers, the resilient element returning the release member to its original position after release of said mandrel, and a thrust sleeve in which said cage is revolubly mounted, said sleeve having a barrel providing a hand-grip and extending over said cage and said release element to prevent engagement of a gripping hand therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,410,464 Gallan Mar. 21, 1922 2,085,447 Plaine June 29, 1937 2,649,889 Dudley Aug. 25, 1953

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