US3190181A - Machines for removing fins from finned tubes - Google Patents

Description

June 22, 1965 R. M. s TlKELEATHER 3,190,181

MACHINES FOR REMOVING FINS FROM FINNED TUBES Original Filed Dec. 23, 1958 United States Patent AO 3,190,181 MACHINES FOR REMOVING FINS FROM FINNED TUBES Robert M. Stikeleather, Holbrook, Mass., assigner to Aerotin Corporation, Syracuse, N.Y. Original application Dec. 23, 1958, Ser. No. 7 82,506. Divided and this application Aug. 1, 1962, Ser. No. 213,966

Y 3 Claims. -(Cl. 90-15) This invention relates to cutters for removing spirally wound tins from finned heat exchange tubes.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 782,506, tiled Dec. 23, 1958, which discloses a system for cutting ofi lengths of finned tubing as it emerges from a nning machine, vand preparing the cutoif lengths of tubing for assembly in a heat exchanger. The present application is for the cutting machine which removes fins from the tubing to provide space for tube supports.

Spirally wound fins are caused to adhere to the tubes on which they are wound by deforming the ribbons which form the fins to cause them to curl about and adhere to the tubes. Since in many cases the tins are not additionally attached to the tubes as by soldering, prior to this invention it has not been possible to remove a predeterrice p A belt 43 engages the pulleys 25 and 40. Another belt 45 engages the pulleys 26 and 41.

Horizontally extending guides Stb and 51 are attached to the outer side of the base portion 28, and are spaced apart a distance equal to the outer diameter of the tin 39.

, The guides have diverging outer portions 52 and 53 which mined number of turns of a lin without unwinding,

bending or otherwise damaging adjacent turns of the tin.

This invention provides a pair of rotary cutters which rotate in opposite directions on opposite sides of a finned tube, one cutter being oli-set with respect to the other cutter so that their combined widths are equal to the space along the length of a finned tube from which the fin is to be removed. The turns of iin in that space are removed without any damage to the adjacent turns of the iin.

An object of this invention is to remove a predetermined number of turns of spirally wound iin from a finned tube without damaging adjacent turns of the 1in.

This invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings, of which:

FIG. 1' is a plan view looking downwardly upon a fin cutting machine embodying this invention, a finned tube from which turns of a fin have been removed being shown;

FIG. 2 is an end View of the machine, the finned tube also being shown, and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the machine, showing in dashed lines, the cutters of the machine in iin cutting position on opposite sides of the iinned tube.

A trame 10 has slidably supported thereon a base 11. The trarne 1%) has an upturned outer end 12 to which is attached an air cylinder 13. The base 11l has an upturned outer end 14 to which is attached piston rod 15 of the cylinder 13. An electric motor 18 is mounted on the base 11, and has a shaft 20 with a gear 19 thereon. The gear 19 is meshed with a gear 21 on a shaft 22 in a journal 23 on top of the motor 18. The shaft 20 has a pulley 25 attached thereto. The shaft 22 has a pulley 26 attached thereto. The base 11 has an upturned inner end 28 on which is supported journal of shaft'31 of a lower cutter 32, and a journal 33 of shaft 34 of an upper cutter 35, the shafts 31 and 34 being vertically aligned. Pulleys 40 and 41 are attached to the shafts 31 and 34 respec-` tively.

The cutters 32 and 35 are spaced apart a distance equal y serve to locate a finned tube between the cutters when the latter are Vmoved to iin cutting position as will be described later.

Operation In operation, the motor 18 rotates the gears 19 and 21 in opposite directions, and the latter rotate through the pulleys 25 and 26, the belts 43 and 45 respectively, and the Vpulleys 4d and 41 respectively, the cutters 32 and 35 re- Y spectively, in opposite directions. A finned tube 38 having turns of a lin at an intermediate position to be removed, shown as removed by FIGS. 1 and 2, is supported in front of the machine as disclosed in detail in said application.

Compressed air from a source which is not shown, is supplied into the cylinder 13, and the piston rod 15 of the latter moves the base 1l and the cutter mechanism mounted thereon towards the tnned tube 38 until the cutters 32 and 35 are on opposite sides of the tube as shown by the dashed lines oi PEG. 3. The cutters remain in this position while the inned tube is rotated between them 360 in opposite directions as described in my said application, and the rotating cutters remove the desired nurnber of turns of the fin.

When the cutting is completed, the cylinder 13 is operated to retract its piston rod 15 and the cutter assembly, leaving the tube with a bare intermediate portion as shown by FIGS. l and 2. The motor 13 is then deenergized until turns of a iin are to be removed from another tube.

Both cutters 32 and 35 rotate in the direction that the fin is spirally wound on the tube so as to prevent the iin from unwinding when the cutters are applied to it. Since the cutters are on opposite sides of the tube, this requires that they rotate in opposite directions. Y

What is claimed, is:

1. A machine for removing fin from a inned tube comprising a frame, an electric motor supported on saidframe, a first gear and a first pulley on the shaft of said motor, a second gear meshed with said gear, a second shaft for said second gear, a journal supported on said frame for said second shaft, a second pulley on said second shaft, a first circular, rotary cutter, a third shaft for said cutter, a journal supported on said frame for said third shaft, a third pulley on said third shaft, a second rotary, circular cutter, a fourth shaft for said second cutter, a journal supported on said frame for said fourth shaft, a fourth pulley on said fourth shaft, said shafts having parallel axes, belts around said first and second and around said third and fourth pulleys, said cutters being spaced apart at their peripheral edges in a direction normal to said axes a distance equal to the diameter of a tube from which fin is to be removed, said cutters being displaced in the direction of said axes so that the inner edge of one of said cutters and the outer edge of the other one of said cutters extend substantially in a plane normal to said axes, and a pair of guides supported from said frame between said third and fourth shafts, said guides extending outwardly beyond said cutters and being spaced apart in a direction normal to said axes a distance equal substantially to the outer diameter of the fin on said tube.

2. A machine for removing fin from a finned tube comprising a frame, an electric motor supported on said frame, a first gear and a irst pulley on the shaft of said motor, a second gear meshed with said gear, a second shaft for said second gear, a journal supported on said frame for said second shaft, a second pulley on said second shaft, a first circular, rotary cutter, a third shaft for said cutter, a jour- 9 r Y o i nal supported on said frame for said third shaft, a thirdV4 pulley on said third shaft, a second rotary, circular Cutter,

a fourth shaft for said second cutter, a journal supported on said frame for said fourth shaft,`a fourth pulley on said fourth shaft, Vsaid shafts .having parallel aries, belts-around said rst and second and around said third andV fonrthV pulleys, said cutters being spaced apart at their peripheral edgesrin .a direction normal to saidaXes a distance equal to the diameter of a tube from which fin is to Vbe removed, and a pair of guides supported-from said frame between said third and fourth shafts, said guidesextendingoutin which'rrneans is provided for alternatelyfmoying said Wardly beyond said cutters and being spaced apart in YaV y direction 4normal to said axes a distance equal substantially to the outer diameter of the n on said tube.V

Y 3. The invention claimed in claim k2 inA Which;said motor, said journals and said guidesare supported from saidframe on a base that is slidable on said frame, and.

base forwardly from its normal position and returning said base to said position.

` References Cited by the l'rxraminl'l UNITED STATES 'PATENTS WILLIAM W; DYER, ng., Primary Examiner.' f Y LEON PEAR, Examiner. i

Claims (1)

1. A MACHINE FOR REMOVING FIN FROM A FINNED TUBE COMPRISING A FRAME, AN ELECTRIC MOTOR SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME, A FIRST GEAR AND A FIRST PULLEY ON THE SHAFT OF SAID MOTOR, A SECOND GEAR MESHED WITH SAID GEAR, A SECOND SHAFT FOR SAID SECOND GEAR, A JOURNAL SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME FOR SAID SECOND SHAFT, A SECOND PULLEY ON SAID SECOND SHAFT, A FIRST CIRCULAR, ROTARY CUTTER, A THIRD SHAFT FOR SAID CUTTER, A JOURNAL SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME FOR SAID THIRD SHAFT, A THIRD PULLEY ON SAID THIRD SHAFT, A SECOND ROTARY, CIRCULAR CUTTER, A FOURTH SHAFT FOR SAID SECOND CUTTER, A JOURNAL SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME FOR SAID FOURTH SHAFT, A FOURTH PULLEY ON SAID FOURTH SHAFT, SAID SHAFTS HAVING PARALLEL AXES, BELTS AROUND SAID FIRST AND SECOND AND AROUND SAID THIRD AND FOURTH PULLEYS, SAID CUTTERS BEING SPACED APART AT THEIR PERIPHERAL EDGES IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO SAID AXES A DISTANCE EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF A TUBE FROM WHICH FIN IS TO BE REMOVED SAID CUTTERS BEING DISPLACED IN THE DIRECTION OF SAID AXES SO THAT THE INNER EDGE OF ONE OF SAID CUTTERS AND THE OUTER EDGE OF THE OTHER ONE OF SAID CUTTERS EXTEND SUBSTANTIALLY IN A PLANE NORMAL TO SAID AXES, AND A PAIR OF GUIDES SUPPORTED FROM SAID FRAME BETWEEN SAID THIRD AND FOURTH SHAFTS, SAID GUIDES EXTENDING OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID CUTTERS AND BEING SPACED APART IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO SAID AXES A DISTANCE EQUAL SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE OUTER DIAMETER OF THE FIN ON SAID TUBE.

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