US2891598A - Hand operated tube flaring tool - Google Patents

Description

June 23, 1959 I J -H STANLEY 2,891,598

HAND OPERATED TUBE FLARING- TOOL Filed may 8, 1957 7 I J H 7 J? 3 INVENTOR. 5? 3 g J9 JEJUL JiarzZey 74 I is m'fmizlm fiza United States Patent OBERATED wTUBEFLARIN G TOOL JohnI-I. Stanley, Euclid, Ohio, assignor toParker-Hann Corporatiom'Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of "Application MayS, 1957, Serial No. 657,933

Claims. (Cl. 153-79) The invention relates generally to tube flaring and primarily seeks to provide a simple and inexpensively formed tool-which can be hand held and manipulated in the formation of the desired tube flares.

;It is a-common practice to flare the ends of tubes to be assernbledin fittings wherein the'tube is secured between threadably connected body and nut elements having opposing maleand female portions engaging internally and externally of the tube flares. Hand tools for flaring such tu-bes havebeen known heretofore and have included flaring die elements with bores therein in which to receive the tubes and flared seats in the bores and against which the tube ends are flared. In such tools there are included hardened reciprocable elementshaving conical end portions. disposed to be driven into the ends of the tubes to flare them against the die seats. These devices functioned satisfactorily in the flaring of the tubes but were somewhat objectionable because they required special spring ,detents or other devices for holding the flaring elements -in retractedv positions, and when repeated uses and wear ,ed in the slideway and having a tube receiving bore and a flaring seat disposed in alignment with the tapered bore, and a taperedflaring element reciprocable in the tapered .bore sothat it can be projected against a tube end in the die bore to flare said tube end against the flaring seat and which when retracted from its flaring position isengageable in the tapered bore to be frictionally held there in in said retracted position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hand tool of the character stated wherein the body includes a bottom opening aligned with the tapered bore and of a size at least as great as the largest diameter of'the ta- '-pered bore and large enough to permit mounting and'removal of the tube to be flared or which has been flared, and wherein the flaring element is devoid of any lateral projection which would prevent passage thereof completely through the tapered bore toward and through the aligned bottom opening, thereby to permit easy mounting and removal of the element when the die has been removed from the body. v

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the improved tool.

Figure 3.

Patented June 23, 1959 ice Figure 2 is'a side elevation. Figure 3 is a vertical cross section'taken through one of the tube receiving bores of the die placed at the flaringposition, the flaring element being shown as frictionally held at the retracted position.

In the example of embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed, the die membergenerally designated 5 comprises a carrier or connecting body 6and two half-die members 7 and 8 hinge mountedat 9 on said-body. At their free ends the die members are provided with aligning pin and socketmeanslO, and in their opposing faces saiddiemembers are provided with mating and selective tube receiving bores 11, each-said bore merging upwardly into a flared seat 12 against which the tube ends are flared.

The die member-is received in a slideway :13 formed in the body .14 and is slidable in said slideway to selectivelypresent-thetube-receiving-bores in operative position. Thebody 14 is provided with a threaded cross bore 15 in which is mounted a securing screw 16,having a cone-end 17 which isengageablein a selected boreregistering :seat 18. It is to be understood that one of the screw end receiving or bore registering seats 18 is provided at the position of each of the tube receiving bores 11. The screw 16 maybe manipulated through the mediumof the handle extension "19 in order to securethc die member with the selected tube receiving bore 11 in operative position, asshown in Figures 1,2 and 3.

The body 14 is provided with an upwardly tapered bore 20 opening downwardly into the slideway 13 in the mannerclearly illustratediin Figure 3 for accurately registering with the selected tube receiving bore presentedand securedinioperative position as shown in said The tapered bore 20 overlies and registers with a bottom opening 21 opening into the slideway 13 through the bottom of the body 14, and .it will .be observed that the opening 21 has .a size at least as great as thelargest 'or bottom extremity diameter of the tapered .bore 20 and is ilargeenough to permit mounting and removal of the tube to.be flared or which has been flared. A tapered flaring element 22 is mounted in the tapered bore 26 and is equipped at its lower end :With a flaring cone 23. At its upper end, the flaring element 22 is equipped with a head-enlargement .24 which is preferably knurled at 25 atzits external surface. It will be observed thatthe. externaldiameter of the enlargement 24 on the tapered flaring element 22is small enough to pass readily through the smallest or upper limit diameter of the tapered bore'20.

In the use of the flaring tool thetscrew "16 is threaded outwardly to clearthe-slideway .13 andthe die member 35 is adjustedin ;said slideway 13 to present in operative inserted in the tube receiving bore with its 'upper end extremity projected a proper dis tance into .the: flared seat 12 for being engaged by the flaringjco ne 2 3 of the flaring element 22, the die member 5 first having been firmly secured in the selected position by manipulation of the handle 19 to project the screw end 17 in securing contact in the receiving seat 18. By then projecting the flaring element against the end of the tube by hammer blows in the well known manner, the tube end can be accurately flared against the seat 12. After the flaring operation, the flaring element 22 can be retracted in the manner illustrated in Figure 3 and will be retained in operative position by frictional contact in the receiving bore 20 in the manner clearly illustrated.

Whenever it becomes necessary to renew the flaring element 22 by reason of wearing of the conical end portion 23 thereof, it is a simple matter to retract the screw aeageos 16 and remove the die member from the body 14, and then to allow the flaring element 22 to merely fall out through the registering bottom opening 21. A resurfaced or a new tapering element 22 can be readily inserted through said bottom opening 21 and into the tapered receiving bore 2% to be retained therein by retaining friction in the manner illustrated in Figure 3 whenever it is drawn upwardly into the position illus trated.

It is preferred that the body 14 be provided with a sighting clearance or clearances 26 in order to enable observation of the progress of the flaring operation.

The flaring tool disclosed herein is very simple in construction and provides many advantages in manufacture and use because of its simplicity. The necessity of providing spring detents or other retaining devices is eliminated by reason of the provision of the simple taper fit of the flaring element 22 in the receiving bore 20 in the body 14, said flaring element being retained in its retracted position, as indicated in Figure 3, by retaining friction alone. The flaring element can be removed and replaced without the necessity of grinding or cutting projections therefrom which would prevent removal of the element from its mounting. As before stated, the tapering element 22 can be removed by merely tapping the same to release it from its frictional contact in the receiving bore 20, and assuming that the die member 5 has been removed from the slideway 13, said flaring element will fall out through the bottom opening 21, the top portion 24 of the element being dimensioned to pass readily through the bore 20 and the bottom opening 21 being sized to permit free passage of the flaring element therethrough.

The specific form of the die member 5 including the swingably mounted halves 7 and 8 and the form of the body 14, other than the particular shape of its bore 20, are not claimed herein, these structures being disclosed in U.S. Letters Patent 2,089,l33 issued to AL. Parker on August 3, 1937.

While one form of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a flaring tool of the character described, a body having a tube flaring die receiving slideway in its lower portion and a bore opening into the slideway in its upper portion, a tube flaring die mounted in the slideway and having a tube receiving bore and a flaring seat disposed in alignment with the bore of the body, a flaring element reciprocable in the bore of the body and having a coniform flaring end projectable against a tube end in the die bore to flare said tube end against the flaring seat, said body having a bottom opening therein and said flaring element being of such size relative to said body opening that it can be introduced into and removed from the bore of the body through said bottom opening when the flaring die has been removed from its bore aligning position in the slideway.

2. A flaring tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the bore in the body is tapered in a direction away from said slideway, and said flaring element having a tapered shank portion dimensioned to fit said tapered bore with retaining friction Whenever the flaring element is fully retracted in said tapered bore.

3. In a flaring tool of the character described, a body having a tube flaring die receiving slideway and a tapered bore opening into the slideway and tapering in a direction away from said slideway, a tube flaring die mounted in the slideway and having a tube receiving bore and a flaring seat disposed in alignment with the tapered bore, and a tapered flaring element reciprocable in the tapered bore so that it can be projected against a tube end in the die bore to flare said tube end against the flaring seat and which when retracted from its flaring position is engageabie in the tapered bore, said tapered bore and said tapered flaring element having a complementary taper, so dimensioned that said element will so engage in said here as to be frictionally held therein in said retracted position; said flaring element being devoid of lateral projections not readily passable through the tapered bore as the flaring element is moved longitudinally in the bore in a direction for removing the flaring element from the tapered bore, and said body having a bottom opening therein through which the flaring element can be introduced into or removed from the tapered bore when the flaring die has been displaced from its bore aligning position in the slideway.

4. A flaring tool as defined in claim 3 wherein the flaring element includes a knurled finger gripping enlargement at the end thereof remote from the coniform flaring end and which has a diameter smaller than the small end of the tapered bore so as to be readily passable therethrough.

5. in a flaring tool of the character described, a body having a tube flaring die receiving slideway and a flaring element receiving bore opening into the slideway, :1 tube flaring die mounted in the slideway and having a tube receiving bore and a flaring seat disposed in alignment with the flaring element receiving bore, and a flaring eiement reciprocable in said flaring element receiving bore and having a coniform flaring end projectable against a tube end in the die bore to flare said tube end against the flaring seat, said flaring element receiving bore being tapered in a direction away from said slideway and said flaring element having a shank portion having a taper dimensioned to fit said tapered bore with retaining friction whenever the flaring element is fully retracted in said tapered bore, said body having a bottom opening therein through which the flaring element can be introduced into or removed from the tapered bore when the flaring die has been displaced from its bore aligning position in the slideway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kaas Sept. 20, 1949

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