US2839957A

US2839957A - Pawl and ratchet actuated roller type tube bender

Info

Publication number: US2839957A
Application number: US501508A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jacob S Buckwalter; Mellinger Clyde
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-04-15
Filing date: 1955-04-15
Publication date: 1958-06-24
Anticipated expiration: 1975-06-24

Description

June 2 4, 1958 PAWL AND RATCHET AQTUATED ROLLER TYPE TUBE BENDER J. S. BUCKWALTER ETAL Filed April 15, 1955 IN VEN TORS 4/4606 5 Ham W41 75 (:4 /12; Will/M6674 ATTCI RN EYE United States Patent Oflice Patented June 2.4, 1958 PAWL AND RATCHET ACTUATED ROLLER TYPE TUBE BENDER Jacob S. Buckwalter and Clyde Mellinger, Lititz, Pa.

Application April 15, 1955, Serial No. 591,508

6 Claims. (Cl. 8115) This invention relates to tube and pipe bending tools wherein tubes are bent over an anvil or areuate body with a pair of rollers, and in particular, a substantially semi-circular body mounted on a stationary lever and having a groove, arcuate in cross section, in the peripheral surface and a pair of rollers carried by an arm extended from a ratchet whereby with the ratchet, arm, and rollers actuated by a pawl on a hand lever the tube is rolled into the arcuate groove and with an end of the tube held by a bracket the tube is adapted to be formed over the arcuate body.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a tube bending tool that is portable and that is adapted to be used in making installations of conduits and other tubing thereby obviating the necessity of carrying the tubing back and forth to a shop or the like.

Various types of pipe and tube bending plates and other tools have been provided for bending tubing to different radii, however, in numerous instances, it is desired to bend a piece of tubing on the job wherein the tube may readily be'installed in a particular location without the usual loss of time in carrying or sending the tube to a shop or the like. With this thought in mind, this invention contemplates a tool having a body with an arcuate groove formed on a radius from the center with a pair of rollers pivotally mounted on-the body for rolling the tube into the groove and a hand lever actuated ratchet assembly adapted to arcuate the rollers.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for forming a tube bende whereby an end of a tube may readily be inserted therein andthe tube bent with a pair of rollers actuated by a ratchet and hand lever assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tube bending tool in which the tube is formed with a pair of rollers actuated by a hand lever and ratchet assembly in which the rollers and an arm upon which the rollers are mounted are adapted to be removed to facilitate inserting a tube in, the tool and also, to facilitate removing the tube from the tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved portable tube bender which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view, the invention,ternbodies a plate having a substantially semi-circularend surface with a flange extended from one side thereof and with the inner surface of the flange forming the arcuate tube receiving recess, a ratchet Wheel rotatably mounted on the body, a bracket extended from the body for retaining one end of a tube in position, a stationary lever also extended from the body, a pair of rollers carried by an arm freely positiouedon the ratchet Wheel andada'pted to travel in a circle concentric with the substantially semi-circular end surface of the body, a hand lever pivotally mounted on the body, a pawl pivotally mountedon the hand lever and positioned to coact with teeth of the ratchet wheel and a spring for urging the pawl into engagement with said teeth of the ratchet wheel.

Other features and advantages of-theinvention will appear from the following description, taken in connec tion with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the improved tube bender, parts of the stationary and hand levers being broken away.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view taken on line 22 of Figure 1 with the stationary and hand levers shown in section and showing a portion of a tube in the upper part of the device.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the tube bender taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 also showing a-tube in the upper part of the device.

Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the body of the tube bender in section with the roller carrying arm mounted on the ratchet wheel spaced from the body and with the hand lever and pawl assembly positioned between the ratchet wheel and body. a

Figure 5 is a view showing a front elevation of the body and showing an attachment adapted to be mounted on the body for bending a tube to a larger diameter.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 5 also illustrating the attachment for bending a tube on a larger radius.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, the'improved tube bender of this invention includes a body 10 having a substantially semi-circular flange 11 extended from the edge on one side thereof, the flange having a. groove or recess also substantially semi-circular in cross section in the outer surface as indicated by the numeral 12, a ratchet wheel 13 positioned on one side of the body, an arm 14 having

rollers

15 and 16 rotatably mounted in the outer end temporarily mounted by screws 17 and 18 onthe body 10, a pawl 19 pivotally mounted on a hand lever 20, a bracket 21 for holding a tube, such as the tube 22, and a stationary lever 23 extendedfrom the body and secured thereto with fasteners, such as the rivets 24.

The body 10 is formed of a substantially flat'plate with the arcuate flange 11 extended from'one side and the intermediate part of the body'is provided with an an nular ring 25 that is concentric with a boss .26 through which a threaded opening 27 extends. The opening 27 is positioned to receive a threaded stud 28'extended from a shoulder 29 and with the stud 28 threaded into the opening 27 the ratchet wheel 13 is rotatably mounted on the shoulder 29 with the inner surface bearing against the outer surface of the ring 25,

The stud is also provided with a head 30 that is positioned in an opening 31 in the lower partof -'the arm 14 whereby the arm with the

rollers

15 and 16 thereon is readily adapted to be removed to facilitateremoving and replacing tubes.

The arm 14 is also provided with arcuate slots 32 and 33 which are positioned to receive shanks 34 and-35 of

screws

36 and 37, respectively, whereby the arm is adapted to be positioned with the opening 31 over-the head of the stud 30 and turned in a counter-clockwise direction to place the slots 3-2 and 33 over the

shanks

34 and 35 of the screws. With the parts mounted iiithis manner, the heads of the screws retain the arm in position in the bending operation of a tube.

The stud 28 extends through the threaded opening 27 and a lock nut 38 positioned on the extended end of the stud secures the parts in position- A similar stud.i39 threaded in an opening 40 in the lower-part of the body and provided with a lock nut 41 provides a pivotal mounting for the hand lever 20, the head 42 of the stud being positioned on the outer surface of -the lever--and pro 3 viding means for retaining the lever in position upon the stud.

The hand lever 20 is also provided with a threaded opening, asindicated by the numeral 43, and a stud 44, threaded in the opening 43' and having a head 45, provides a. pivotal mounting for the pawl 19 whereby the pawl is positioned to engage teeth 46 of the ratchet wheel 13 so that with the pawl retained in engagement with the teeth by a spring 47 the ratchet wheel and arm 14 mounted thereon are adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction upon reciprocation of the hand lever 20. Thespring 47 is mounted in a stud 48 on the end of the hand lever and the opposite end is formed to extend into a notch 49 in the outer surface of the pawl.

The upper end of the arm 14 is L-shaped, as illustrated in Figure l, and the roller 16 is rotatably mounted on a stud 50, similar to the stud upon which the roller 15 is mounted, the studs being provided with cylindrical shanks 51 upon which the rollers are posiitoned and heads 52 for retaining the rollers in position upon the shanks. The threaded studs are also provided with lock nuts, as indi cated by the numeral 53. The stud on which the roller 16 is rotatably mounted is positioned in a section 54 extended from the upper end of the arm 14.

The stationary lever 23 is secured to the body with suitable fasteners, such as the rivets 24, and, as illustrated in Figure 1, two of the rivets 24 also secure the arcuate bracket 21 to the body, the lower portion 55 of the bracket being positioned to receive the rivets, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, an attachment having a substantially semi-circular section 56 is secured to the body with bolts 57, 58 and 59, the bolts being positioned to extend through ears 60, 61 and 62, respectively, and, as illustrated in Figure 6, the plate 56 is provided with an arcuate flange 63, similar to the flange 11, the flange 63 having a recess, arcuate in cross section, as indicated by the numeral 64, in the outer surface.

In using the attachment illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the arm 14 is replaced with an arm of greater length whereby a tube may be bent upon a larger radius, and it will be understood that the tube bender may be provided with dies and rollers of ditferent sizes to facilitate bending tubes of different diameters and on different radii.

In using the pipe or tube bender, thearm 14 with the rollers and 16 is removed and after placing a tube, such as the tube 22, in the recess or' groove 12 with one end extended below the arcuate flange or bracket 21 the arm 14 and rollers are replaced and the hand lever actuated whereby the rollers15 and 16 bend the tube, into the recess or groove 12. In using a pair of rollers, it will be noted that the roller 16 first starts the bending action and as the movement continues the roller 15 follows the slight bend of the roller 16 forcing the tube into the recess or groove 12 whereby a complete bend is obtained.

Upon completion of the bend and after releasing the pawl 19, the ratchet Wheel 13 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, withdrawing the pins 17 and 18 from the slots 32 and 33, whereby the arm 14 with the

rollers

15 and 16 thereon is adapted to be removed so that the tube with the bend formed therein may be removed from the machine.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A tube bender comprising a plate providing a body and said body having an arcuate edge with a groove arcuate in cross section in said edge, a toothed ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said body, a pair of rollers carried by an arm removably attached to said ratchet wheel and positioned to roll a tube into the groove in the end surface of the body, a hand lever pivotally mounted on said body, a pawl pivotally mounted on said hand lever and positioned to engage teeth of the ratchet wheel, and resilient means for urging the pawl into engagement with said teeth of the ratchet wheel.

2. A tube bender comprising a plate providing a body and said body having an arcuate edge with a groove arcuate in cross section in said edge, a bracket extended from said body for retaining a tube in position in the groove of the end surface of the body, a toothed ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said body, a pair of rollers carried by an arm removably attached to said ratchet wheel and positioned to roll a tube into the groove in the end surface of the body, a hand lever pivotally mounted on said body, a pawl pivotally mounted on said hand lever and positioned to engage teeth of the ratchet wheel, and resilient means for urging the pawl into engagement with said teeth of the ratchet wheel.

3. A tube bender comprising a plate providing a body and said body having an arcuate edge with a groove arcuate in cross section in said edge, a bracket extended from said body for retaining a tube in position in the groove of the end surface of the body, a stationary lever extended from said body providing a handle, a toothed ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said body, a pair of rollers carried by an arm removably attached to said ratchet wheel and positioned to roll a tube into the groove in the end surface of the body, a hand lever pivotally mounted on said body, a pawl pivotally mounted on said hand lever and positioned to engage teeth of the ratchet wheel, and resilient means for urging the pawl into engagement with said teeth of the ratchet wheel.

4. In a tube bender, the combination which comprises a plate having a substantially semi-circular edge with a flange forming part of a groove, substantially semi-circular in cross section extended from one side edge, a lever providing a stationary handle extended from said body, a bracket having an arcuate tube holding extended end also mounted on said body, a toothed ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said body and positioned with the axis thereof on the center of the radius of the semi-circular edge of the body, an arm having spaced rollers rotatably mounted on an extended end thereof and removably mounted on said ratchet wheel, a hand lever pivotally mounted on the body and extended therefrom, a pawl pivotally mounted on the hand lever and positioned to engage teeth of the ratchet wheel, and a spring mounted on the hand lever and positioned to engage the pawl to urge the pawl into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel.

5. In a tube bender, the combination which comprises a plate having a substantially semi-circular edge with a flange forming part of a groove, substantially semi-circular in cross section extended from one side edge, a lever providing a stationary handle extended from said body, a bracket having an arcuate tube holding extended end also mounted on said body, a toothed ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on said body and positioned with the axis thereof on the center of the radius of the semi-circular edge of the body, studs having heads thereon extended from said ratchet wheel, an arm having notches in the sides positioned whereby the notches receive the studs of the ratchet wheel, said arm having spaced rollers rotatably mounted on the outer end of the arm and positioned with the rollers thereof adapted to coact with the groove in the edge of the body for rolling a tube retained in position by the bracket, a hand lever pivotally mounted on the body and extended therefrom, a pawl pivotally mounted on the hand lever and positioned to engage teeth of the ratchet wheel, and a spring mounted on the hand lever and positioned to engage the pawl to urge the pawl into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel.

6. In a tube bender, the combination which comprises a plate having a substantially semi-circular edge with a flange forming part of a groove, substantially semi-circular in cross section extended from one side edge, a lever providing a stationary hand-1e extended from said body, a bracket having an arcuate tube holding extended end also mounted on said body, a toothed ratchet wheel rotata-bly mounted on said body and positioned with the axis thereof on the center of the radius of the semi-circular edge of the body, an arm having spaced rollers rotatably mounted on an extended end thereof and removably mounted on said ratchet wheel, a hand lever pivotally mounted on the body and extended therefrom, a pawl pivotally mounted on the hand lever and positioned to engage teeth of the ratchet wheel, a spring mounted on the hand lever and positioned to engage the pawl to urge the pawl into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel, and an attachment including a plate having a substantially semi-circular flange, arcuate in cross section, extended from one side and mounted on said body for forming a tube bend of a larger radius, said groove of the plate of the attachment being adapted to coact with rollers of the arm removably mounted on the ratchet wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS