Abstract:
A lower cost method of manufacturing a ferrule. The method includes cold heading a transition sleeve that includes an annular indented seat therein, providing a penetration sleeve comprising a plurality of inwardly directed and axially spaced apart attachment means for penetrating into a hose when said ferrule is radially inwardly deformed; and brazing the penetration sleeve to the annular indented seat in the transition sleeve. The resulting assembly is visually and functionally blended to become one-piece.

Description:
RELATED REFERENCES 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/539,225, filed Sep. 26, 2011. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to permanently attachable hydraulic hose couplings and more particularly to a crimp type coupling particularly suited for high pressure, multiple wire ply hoses. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Various constructions of crimp type couplings are known, but more cost effective methods of manufacturing are desirable. It is a challenge to make a cost effective hose coupling ferrule that provides proper attachment to the stem through the use of barbs without considerable machining. The stem is the insert portion of the coupling that goes inside a hose, such as a wire reinforced hose, and has a connecter for coupling the hose to a fitting. Machining methods generate considerable scrap material and corresponding costs of machining time. The aforementioned methods are not ideal. 
     One concern with non-machining methods is the resulting performance and appearance of the coupling. 
     SUMMARY 
     One aspect of the invention are methods of forming a two-piece construction into an integral one-piece ferrule. In one embodiment, the method of manufacturing the ferrule includes cold heading a transition sleeve that has an inner surface and an outer surface, a first end that is attachable to a stem, and a second end that has an annular indented seat in the inner surface or the outer surface thereof, providing a penetration sleeve comprising a plurality of inwardly directed and axially spaced apart attachment means for penetrating into a hose when said ferrule is radially inwardly deformed, and brazing the penetration sleeve to the annular indented seat in the transition sleeve. The brazing results in a one-piece ferrule that visually and functionally blends to become one-piece. 
     In another embodiment, the method may include the steps of forming the transition sleeve without machining, and brazing a penetration sleeve that has a plurality of inwardly directed and axially spaced apart attachment means for penetrating into a hose when said ferrule is radially inwardly deformed to the annular indented seat in the transition sleeve. 
     In another embodiment, the method may include the steps of cold forming a transition sleeve, the transition sleeve having an inner surface and an outer surface, a first end that is attachable to a stem, and a second end that has an annular indented seat in the inner surface, providing a sintered penetration sleeve comprising a plurality of inwardly directed and axially spaced apart attachment means for penetrating into a hose when said ferrule is radially inwardly deformed, and sintering the penetration sleeve to the annular indented seat in the transition sleeve to form a single-piece ferrule. 
     In each of the methods disclosed herein the brazing may be copper brazing. Each method may also include the steps of providing a stem and permanently attaching the transition sleeve to the stem to form a hose coupling. The permanently attaching step may include brazing the first end of the transition sleeve to the stem or mechanically deforming the first end into engagement with the stem. 
     In another aspect of the invention, ferrules are disclosed that include a non-machined transition sleeve having a first end permanently attachable to a stem and having a second end permanently attachable to a penetration sleeve, and a penetration sleeve comprising a plurality of inwardly directed and axially spaced apart attachment means for penetrating into a hose when said ferrule is radially inwardly deformed. The assembled ferrules have the penetration sleeve brazed to the transition sleeve. In one embodiment, the penetration sleeve is copper brazed to the transition sleeve. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of one embodiment of a hose coupling including a partial cross sectional view of a ferrule and stem assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is a partial side, cross-sectional view of the two-piece ferrule of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a partial side, cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of a two-piece ferrule that is attachable to the stem similar to the stem of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of one-half of a penetration sleeve. 
         FIG. 4B  is an end plan view of a ferrule having a two-piece penetration sleeve formed of the piece shown in  FIG. 4A . 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the ferrule of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Couplings are disclosed herein that include a ferrule that is cheaper to manufacture, but is still capable of withstanding hydrostatic pressures greater than four times the working pressures of the hose. The coupling in  FIG. 1  is generally indicated as coupling  100 . Coupling  100  includes a stem  102  and a ferrule  104 . The stem  102  may be any now and hereinafter commercially available stem for coupling to a hose such as those used in hydraulic systems. The stem  102  includes an annular groove  106  for attachment to the ferrule  104  and has an insert  108  that includes sealing features  107  for sealingly engaging the inside surface of a hose (not shown) when the ferrule  104  is crimped against the hose. At the end opposite from the insert  108 , the stem  102  includes connector means  109  for connecting to a fitting (not shown) such as those used in a hydraulic circuit. The ferrules  104  in  FIGS. 1-2  are two-piece deformable ferrules that include a transition sleeve  114  and a penetration sleeve  120 , that, once assembled, form an integral one-piece shell  105  as seen in  FIG. 5 . The ferrules  104  are typically deformed by crimping to engage the hose, but are not limited thereto.  FIG. 3  is an alternate embodiment of a two-piece deformable ferrule  104 ′ that fully encapsulates the penetration sleeve  120 ′. Alternately, as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the ferrule  204  may comprise a penetration sleeve  220  comprising a plurality of pieces  220 ,  220  that are permanently couplable to the transition sleeve  114 . 
     The ferrule  104  in  FIGS. 1 and 2  is a two-piece ferrule that includes a single-piece penetration sleeve  120  permanently coupled to the transition sleeve  114 . The transition sleeve  114  is a metal, non-machined piece formed by cold forming, sintering, or die-casting. This piece has a first end  112  that includes a flange  110  that is mateable to the annular groove  106  of the stem  102 , a second end  113  that has an annular indented seat  118  in the outer surface  119  thereof, and a bell-shaped body  116  between the first end  112  and the second end  113 . The bell-shaped body  116  is wider at the second end  113  than at the first end  112  so that the annular indented seat  118  is mateable with the penetration sleeve  104 . 
     The penetration sleeve  104  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  is generally tubular in shape with an open first end  124  and an open second end  126 . The penetration sleeve  104  has a generally uniform diameter except where a plurality of inwardly directed and axially spaced apart attachment means  122  for penetrating into a hose are formed on the interior surface  128  thereof and where the first end  124  includes a collar  129  for mating with the annular indented seat  118  of the transition sleeve  114 . The attachment means  122  may be any construction sufficient to penetrate the covering of the hose or contact and deform a hose&#39;s wire reinforcement and force a compression of the inside of the hose against the sealing features  107  of the stem  102  ( FIG. 1 ). In one embodiment, the attachment means  122  includes barbs capable of penetrating a hose. In another embodiment, the attachment means  122  includes axially spaced apart ribs. The ribs may be oriented circumferentially about the inner surface  128  of the penetration sleeve  120  and, if so, are spaced apart for alignment with the sealing features  107  of the stem  102 . While ribs are illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the attachment means are not limited thereto. The attachment means may be as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,028, U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,799, U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,561, U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,758, U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,779, U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,223, U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,841, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,608, which are each incorporated herein by reference. 
     The embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3  is another two-piece ferrule  104 ′ that includes a transition sleeve  114 ′ and a penetration sleeve  120 ′. The transition sleeve  114 ′ is generally similar to transition sleeve  114  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , but its annular indented seat  118 ′ is in the inner surface  117  thereof and is an elongate seat  118 ′ that encapsulates the penetration sleeve  120 ′. In one embodiment, the seat  118 ′ is at least as long as the penetration sleeve  120 ′. The penetration sleeve  120 ′ is generally similar to the penetration sleeve  120  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , but no collar  129  is needed. Instead, the exterior surface  130  of the penetration sleeve  120 ′ mates directly with the annular indented seat  118 ′. 
     For the embodiments in  FIGS. 1-3  the penetration sleeves  120 ,  120 ′ may be a formed tube or a minimally machined tube of metal. In one embodiment, the penetration sleeves  120 ,  120 ′ may be machined from tubing of minimal wall thickness to minimize the scraps generated by the machining process. In another embodiment, the penetration sleeves  120 ,  120 ′ may be roll formed from tubing. 
     The ferrule  120  may be manufactured by providing a cold formed transition sleeve  114  such as those described above, providing a penetration sleeve  120  such as those described above, and brazing the penetration sleeve  120  to the transition sleeve. The brazing is performed where the annular indented seat  118  of the transition sleeve  114  mates with the collar  129  of the penetration sleeve  120  and results in an integral shell  105  as seen in  FIG. 5  that is visually and functionally a one-piece ferrule. The brazing may be copper brazing and the transition sleeve  114  and penetration sleeve  120  may be made of steel. In one embodiment, the penetration sleeve  120  is a non-machined piece. In another embodiment, the penetration sleeve  120  is machined from tubing. In another embodiment, the penetration sleeve  120  is formed by roll forming. The method may also include the step of forming the transition sleeve  114  without machining the piece. For example, the transition sleeve  114  may be cold formed, sintered, or die cast using known techniques. 
     In another aspect, the method includes providing a stem  102  and permanently attaching the first end  112  of the transition sleeve  114  to the stem to form a coupling. The step of permanently attaching the ferrule  104  to the stem  102  may include brazing the metallic pieces together, for example, by copper brazing. Alternately, this step may include mechanically deforming the first end  112  of the transition sleeve  114  into or onto the stem  102 , for example, into the annular groove  106 . 
     The same or similar methods are appropriate for the manufacture of the ferrule  104 ′ of  FIG. 3 . The transition sleeve  114 ′ may be cold formed steel, sintered, or die cast such that no machining occurred in the formation thereof and the penetration sleeve is brazed thereto, for example, by copper brazing. The penetration sleeve  120 ′ may be a machined piece or a non-machined piece, but if machined, is formed preferably with minimal machining. 
     In another embodiment, the ferrule is manufactured by cold forming a transition sleeve such as those described above, sintering the attachment means to a penetration sleeve such as those described above, and brazing or sintering the penetration sleeve to the annular indented seat of the transition sleeve to form a single-piece ferrule. 
     An alternate embodiment of  FIG. 3  is illustrated in  FIGS. 4A and 4B  where the ferrule  204  includes the transition sleeve  114 ′ of  FIG. 3 , but has a multi-piece penetration sleeve  220 . The multi-piece penetration sleeve  220  is illustrated as a two-piece component, but is not limited thereto. The two-piece component has two pieces of generally semi-circular end views as seen in cross-section in  FIG. 4B . It is appreciated that the multi-piece penetration sleeve  220  may include three, four, five, or more pieces. 
     The same or similar methods to those described above are appropriate for the manufacture of the ferrule  204  of  FIGS. 4A and 4B . The transition sleeve  114 ′ may be cold formed steel, sintered, or die cast such that no machining occurred in the formation thereof and the multi-piece penetration sleeve  220  is brazed thereto by weld  135  ( FIG. 4B ), which was formed by copper brazing. The method also includes the step of brazing the individual penetration sleeve pieces  220 ,  220  to one another and forming welds  134  ( FIG. 4B ). The individual penetration sleeve pieces  220  may be machined, molded, rolled, or sintered pieces. If machined, it is preferable that the machining is minimal. 
     It is to be appreciated that the ferrules may be formed with various diameters or other dimensions as appropriate for the particular stem and hose application. In one embodiment, the ferrule may be configured to attach to a hose having a ¼″ diameter, a ⅜″ diameter, a ½″ diameter, etc. 
     The embodiments of this invention shown in the drawing and described above are exemplary of numerous embodiments that may be made within the scope of the appended claims. It is contemplated that numerous other configurations of the ferrule and hose coupling assemblies and methods of manufacturing may be created taking advantage of the disclosed approach. In short, it is the applicant&#39;s intention that the scope of the patent issuing herefrom will be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.