TUBE EXPANDING TOOL

Abstract: A tube expanding tool is disclosed which is of the character comprising a body (10) having a fixed handle (46) and a pivotal handle (50) by which a tapered drift pin (34) is displaced relative to radially expandable jaws (22) mounted on the body (10). A rigid link member (60) is pivotally connected between the drift pin (34) and pivotal handle (50) to displace the drift pin (34) to expand the jaws (22) and to provide positive withdrawal of the pin (34) from the jaws (22) following a tube expanding operation.

Description: This invention relates to the art of tube expanding tools and, more particularly, to improvements in connection with a tube expanding tool of the type in which radially expandable jaws mounted on the tool body are displaced radially outwardly by movement of a coaxial drift pin in one direction relative thereto and are displaced relatively inwardly by a jaw biasing spring upon displacement of the drift pin in the opposite direction. A tool of this type as recited in the precharacterizing portion of claim 1 is disclosed in GB-A-866 994. Similar tools are disclosed in US-A 3 550 424, in US-A 4 043 171, and in US-A-4 425 783. In use of tools of the foregoing character, the jaws of the tool are introduced into the open end of a tube, and the pivotal handle is pivoted to displace the drift pin to expand the jaws against the inside of the tube end so as to enlarge the diameter thereof. As exemplified by the prior art patents identified above, such previous tools have achieved the jaw expanding pin displacement by providing the pivotal handle with a cam adjacent the pivot axis thereof and which cam is cooperable with the tail end of the drift pin, or an extension thereof, to impose a lever force axially against the pin. Further in connection with accommodating manipulation of the pivotal handle by the user of the tool, it is desirable to require a pivotal displacement of the handle of no more than about 90°. In this respect, manipulation of the pivotal lever at the outset of a tube expanding operation becomes progressively more awkward and cumbersome for the user as the initial relative positioning between the fixed and pivotal handles exceeds about 90°. However, as will be seen from US-A 4 425 783 mentioned above, angular displacement of the pivotal cam handle considerably greater than 90° is required in connection with the prior cam handle arrangements to obtain the desired tube expanding pin stroke with a single displacement of the pivotal handle. Efforts heretofore to obtain the necessary pin stroke with a pivotal displacement of the cam handle of about 90° has resulted in arrangements such as that shown in US-A 3 550 424 mentioned above wherein the pivot axis of the pivotal handle has plural axial positions relative to the tool body to enable obtaining the desired total pin stroke by two successive manipulations of the pivotal handle, each with the pivot axis of the handle in a different one of the two positions thereof. While cam handle arrangements of the foregoing character have provided the intended directional application of force to the drift pin, they have resulted in structural complexity, and they are cumbersome to operate either as a result of the initial angular relationship between the fixed and pivotal handles or the requirement for multiple operation to achieve a desired total stroke for the drift pin. Moreover, the sliding frictional engagement between the cam and pin and transverse to the pin axis imposes side thrust on the pin, thereby ofsetting the advantage of axial force application between the cam and pin. Furthermore, the structural complexity and/or the use of slidably engaging cam and followed surfaces undesirably adds to the cost of manufacture of the tools in that the interengaging surfaces must be precisely contoured to promote the rolling engagement therebetween as in US-A 4 425 783 and must be smoothly finished to minimize friction in connection with the sliding interengagement in arrangements such as that shown in US-A 3 550 424 and US-A 4 043 171. In addition to the foregoing disadvantages, the cam handle type tube expanding tools heretofore provided have relied on a gater-type spring arrangement for promoting retraction of the drift pin from between the expandable jaws and contraction of the jaws following the tube expanding operation. More particularly in this respect, the tapered end of the drift pin engages correspondingly tapered radially inner surfaces on the jaws, whereby forward movement of the drift pin in the tool body displaces the jaws radially outwardly to achieve the expansion of a tube in which the jaws are disposed. Following such tube expansion, the pivotal handle is returned toward its initial position and a garter spring surrounding the jaws provides a radially inwardly directed force thereagainst which tends to promote displacement of the tapered pin toward its initial rearward position relative to the jaws. A condiserable number of problems have been encountered in connection with use of these tools which result in damage to the tool and thus undesirably high maintenance and/or replacement costs, the damage of tubing being worked on, and frustration for the tool user. In this respect, even when such tools are new, it is often necessary to jiggle the tool relative to the tube following a tube expanding operation in order to induce initial rearward displacement of the drift pin sufficiently for the jaws to contract to enable removal of the jaws from the expanded tube. In connection with use of the tool for a period of time, the area between the drift pin and its bore and between the tapered end of the pin and the jaws becomes contaminated such as by the ingress of dirt, oil and the like. As a result of such contamination and/or through repeating sliding displacements of the pin relative to the body and jaws, the interengaging surfaces between the body, pin and jaws becomes scored. As a result of such contamination and/or scoring, the pin sticks in its forwardmost position following a tube expanding operation whereby it is difficult if not impossible to separate the tool from the expanded tube without damaging the latter and/or the tool jaws. Furthermore, such sticking of the pin requires at least initial physical displacement of the pin rearwardly of the jaws and tool body, such as by hitting the nose of the pin against a rigid surface such as a floor. Depending on the degree to which the pin is stuck, varying impacting forces are required to dislodge the pin. This eventually results in peening the nose of the tapered portion of the pin and, more importantly, when the pin is displodged the jaws impact against the rigid surface, causing damage and/or breakage of the jaw elements. It will be appreciated that frequent disassembly of the tool and cleaning of the pin, body and jaw surfaces is necessitated in an effort to avoid sticking of the pin as a result of contamination and/or scoring of the tool element surfaces. It will be further appreciated that the latter results in undesirably high maintenance time and cost, and that any sticking of the pin which results in damage to an expanded tube by removal of the tool therefrom and/or damage to the pin or jaws of the tool by impacting the latter against a rigid surface likewise results in undesirably high maintenance and/or replacement costs. Reference is also made to DE-C 357 745 which discloses a spreading tool having two pivotable levers each connected to a drift pin by a link member pivotably connected to the respective pivotable handle; and to US-A-880,712 which concerns an implement for applying clamps to wire fences. The implement has a body provided with a stationary jaw and a fixed handle. A movable handle is provided for driving a movable jaw relative to the stationary jaw. A link is pivotably connected to the movable jaw and the movable handle. The aim of the present invention is to provide an improved tube expanding tool of the character comprising fixed and pivotal handles and a drift pin displacable by the pivotal handle by which the foregoing disadvantages of the known tools of the recited type are minimized and/or overcome. According to the invention, this is achieved by the provision of a tube expansion tool having the features recited in independent claim 1. More particularly, the pivotal handle of the tool according to the invention is interconnected with the tail end of the drift pin by a rigid link member having a particular structural and dimensional interrelationship with the pin axis and with the pivot axis of the handle which enables a desired total pin stroke to be achieved with an operating pivotal displacement of the pivotal handle through an angle of about 90°. Moreover, the latter relationships enable application of the necessary pin force against the tool jaws to achieve a tube expanding displacement thereof with an exertion of force on the handles by the user generally corresponding to that required in connection with the above described cam handle tools and without lengthening the handles of such cam handle tools. Furthermore, the rigid link construction provides positive retraction of the drift pin from the jaws following a tube expanding operation and thus assures release of the tool jaws and removal of the tool from the expanded workpiece without damage to the latter, and avoids potential damage to the pin and/or tool jaws by avoiding the necessity of impacting the nose of the pin and thus the jaws against a rigid surface to release the pin. Still further, such positive retraction of the pin promotes the useful life of the pin, body and jaw elements while reducing maintenance time and cost in that contamination and scoring does not preclude positive retraction of the pin. More particularly in this respect, it will be appreciated that the pin can be positively retracted when contamination and scoring exist, and that frequent maintenance solely for the purpose of attempting to minimize sticking due to contamination and/or scoring is not necessary. Advantageous embodiments of the tube expansion tool are defined in the dependent claims 2 and 3. The improved tool of the foregoing character is more economical to produce and maintain than tools heretofore provided for the same purpose and is efficient in operation and promotes the useful life of the component parts of the tool. The tube expanding tool will be described more fully hereinafter in conjunction with the written description of preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of the component parts of a tube expanding tool made in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation view showing the component parts of the tool in the positions thereof prior to a tube expanding operation; Figure 3 is a sectional elevation view similar to Figure 2 and showing the positions of the component parts following a tube expanding operation; and, Figure 4 is a sectional elevation view of another embodiment of a tube expanding tool in accordance with the present invention. Referring now in greater detail to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention, Figure 1 illustrates the component parts of the tube expanding tool, and figures 2 and 3 illustrate the component parts in assembled relationship and in different relative positional relationships corresponding to stages of a tube expanding operation. As will be seen from these figures, the tool includes a body portion 10 having front and rear ends 12 and 14, respectively. Front end 12 of the body portion is adapted to removably receive an adapter member 16 and, for this purpose, front end 12 includes an internally threaded bore 18 and adapter 16 includes an externally threaded inner end 20 received in bore 18. A tool jaw assembly is removably supported on the outer end of adapter 16 and is comprised of a plurality of radially outwardly displaceable jaw elements 22 biased radially inwardly relative to one another and to axis A of the tool by means of a garter-type spring 24. The spring biased jaws are removably mounted on the outer end of adapter 16 by means of a cap member 26 having an internally threaded skirt portion 28 threadedly engaging externally threaded outer end 30 of adapter 16. Rear end 14 of body 10 includes a pair of laterally spaced apart arms 32, and the tool assembly further includes a drift or drive pin 34 coaxial with axis A and including a tapered front end 36, a cylindrical intermediate portion 38 and a pair of laterally spaced apart ears 40 at the rear end thereof. When the component parts of the tool are assembled, tapered end 36 engages correspondingly tapered inner surfaces 42 of jaw elements 22, and cylindrical portion 38 slidably engages in a bore 44 in adapter 16. Body 10 further includes a fixed handle 46 depending therefrom and provided on its lower end with a suitable hand grip 48, and rear end 14 of the body supports a pivotal handle 50 having a suitable hand grip 52 on the lower end thereof. More particularly with regard to the mounting of handle 50 on body 10, the upper end of the handle is received between arms 32 on rear end 14 of body 10, and arms 14 are provided with aligned openings 54. Openings 54 are adapted to be aligned with an opening 56 through the upper end of handle 50, and the openings 54 and 56 receive a pin 58 by which the handle is pivotally mounted on body 10. Drift pin 34 and handle 50 are pivotally interconnected by means of a rigid link member 60 which has a front end received between ears 40 of pin 34 and provided with an opening 62. Opening 62 is aligned with openings 64 in ears 40 of pin 34, and openings 62 and 64 receive a pivot pin 66. The upper end of handle 50 is provided with a slot 68 having openings 70 in alignment with one another and with an opening 72 in the rear end of link 60 to receive a pivot pin 74. As will be appreciated from figures 1-3 and the foregoing description in connection therewith, handle 50 is pivotal about the axis 58a of pin 58 which, for purposes of the ensuing description and in connection with the embodiment illustrated provides a first pivot axis extending transverse to and intersecting drift pin axis A. The axis 66a of pin 66 betwen link 60 and drift pin 34 provides a second axis transverse to and intersecting drift pin axis A and, accordingly, parallel to axis 58a. The axis 74a of pin 74 between link 60 and handle 50 provides a third axis radially offset from the first axis and parallel to the first axis and the second axis, and the distance between axes 58a and 74a in effect defines a crankarm for link 60. When the handle is pivoted about the first axis 58a, the third axis 74a is displaced about the first axis 58a along an arcuate path that intersects the axis A of the bore 44 at a position forwardly of the first axis 58a. Figures 2 and 3 respectively show handle 50 in first and second positions thereof and drift pin 34 in corresponding extended and retracted positions thereof relative to jaw elements 22 and in which the jaw elements are respectively in their radially outermost positions and innermost positions relative to axis A. When the jaw elements are in their innermost positions nose portions 22a thereof are adapted to be received in the end of a tube to be expanded, and when the jaws are in their radially outermost positions the end of the tube has been expanded to the desired extent. As will be further appreciated from Figures 2 and 3, the stroke of drift pin 34 between the retracted and fully extended positions thereof corresponds generally to the lenght of the crankarm defined by the distance between the axes 58a and 74a and is achieved through a pivotal displacement of handle 50 and thus the crankarm of about 90°. When the handle 50 is in its first position corresponding to the drift pin extended position the third axis 74a is positioned between the first and second axes 58a, 66a. Further, the link member 60 is structured and arranged so that the handle 50 is generally parallel to the axis A of the bore 44 when it is in its second position corresponding to the drift pin retracted position. In tube expanding tools of the character to which the present invention relates, the fixed and pivotal handles generally extend from body 10 of the tool to an extent of about 305 mm (twelve inches) from axis A and, certain relationships between the pivotal handle 50, link member 60 and drift pin 34 enable tube expansion to be achieved with about the same manual force exertion by the operator as that required with the cam handle-pin type tools heretofore available and without lengthening the handles to increase the leverage, without employing multiple stroke displacement of the drift pin, and without requiring a displacement of the pivotal handle of more than about 90° relative to the tool body. These attributes are achieved by providing a crankarm length or distance between axes 58a and 74a which together with the location of axis 58a relative to drift pin axis A and the length of link 60 as determined by the distance between second and third axes 66a and 74a will provide the desired drift pin stroke with a maximum angle X of no more than 25° between axis A and a line B between second and third axes 66a and 74a during pivotal displacement of handle 50 between its first and second positions. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1-3, the desired maximum angle is achieved by providing for axis 58a to intersect axis A and by providing a crankarm to link length ratio of about 1:3.25. With reference now to figure 4 of the drawing, there is illustrated a modification of the embodiment shown in figures 1-3 whereby the position of pin 58 for pivotal handle 50 is relocated relative to axis A and so as to be positioned above the latter axis. All of the component parts of the tool shown in figure 4 correspond to those of the embodiment illustrated in figures 1-3, whereby like numerals appear in figure 4 in connection with designating such component parts. In the modification shown in figure 4, the linear distance between the axes 58a and 74a is the same as that in the embodiment of figures 1-3 as is the length of link 60. When handle 50 is in the solid line position shown in figure 4, drift pin 34 has been displaced by link 60 to be fully extended position thereof. Counterclockwise rotation of handle 50 in figure 4 to the broken line position of the handle displaces drift pin 34 from the extended to the retracted position thereof. During pivotal displacements of handle 50 and corresponding displacements of drift pin 34 between the extended and retracted positions thereof, the axis of pin 74 crosses axis A, and line B between the axes of pins 66 and 74 is displaced so as to form angles X and Y with axis A and respectively below and above the latter axis. Each of the angles X and Y in the embodiment of Figure 4 is considerably less than the maximum angle of 25° described above in connection with the embodiment shown in Figures 1-3. It will be appreciated from figure 4 that the leverage with respect to displacing drift pin 34 from its retracted position during initiation of a tube expanding operation is about the same as the leverage toward the end of the forward stroke of the draft pin whereas, in comparison with the embodiment of Figures 1-3, the latter provides better leverage toward the end of the forward stroke of the drift pin than at the beginning of the forward stroke. Accordingly, it will be appreciated from the two embodiments illustrated herein, that a wide variety of leverage arrangements can be provided to achieve desired force characteristics in connection with a tube expanding operation. Such varying force characteristics may be desirable in connection with such factors as the size and wall thickness of tubing to be expanded and the material of the tubing. Further in connection therewith, it will be appreciated that handle pivot pin 58 could be mounted on tool body 10 so as to enable adjusting the position thereof and thus the position of axis 58a relative to drift pin axis A. It will be appreciable that the structural relationships between the drift pin and tool jaws could be reversed so that the drift pin would be pulled axially inwardly of the jaws to expand the latter. In connection with such a modification, handle 50 would be displaced from the broken line position to the solid line position shown in figure 2 to achieve the jaw expansion. The foregoing and other modifications will be suggested or obvious to those skilled in the art from the description of preferred embodiments herein. Accordingly, it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention.

Claims: Tube expanding tool comprising body means (10, 16) having a front end (12) and a rear end (14), a bore (44) extending into said body means (10, 16) from said front end (12) and having an axis (A), said front end (12) being adapted to removably receive radially expandable jaw means (22) coaxial with said bore (44), drift pin means (34) coaxial with and slidably received in said bore (44) and having a tapered front end (36) for expanding said jaw means (22) in response to displacement of said drift pin means (34) in said bore (44) between an extended and a retracted position, a first fixed handle (46) on said body means (10, 16) extending laterally from said body means (10, 16) with respect to said bore axis (A), a second handle (50) mounted on said body means (10, 16) for pivotal displacement about a first axis (58a) between a first position generally parallel to said first handle (46) and a second position angularly spaced from said first position, and drive means between said second handle (50) and said drift pin means (34) to displace said drift pin means (34), along said bore axis (A), in response to pivotal movement of said second handle (50) between said first and second positions thereof, characterized in that said drive means comprises a rigid link member (60) having one of its opposite ends pivotally attached to said drift pin means (34) at a second pivot axis (66a) intersecting said bore (A) and having its other end pivotably attached to said second handle (50) at a third pivot axis (74a) radially offset from said first axis (58a) such that when said second handle (50) is displaced between the first and second positions thereof said third axis (74a) is displaced about said first axis (58a) along an arcuate path that intersects said bore axis (A) forwardly of said first axis (58a), that said third axis (74a) is positioned between said first and second axes (58a, 66a) and intersects a line interconnecting said first and second axes (58a, 66a) when said second handle (50) is in its first position and said link member (60) is structured and arranged so that a total drift pin stroke is achieved by a pivot angle of about 90° of said second handle (50) whereby said second handle (50) is generally parallel to said bore axis (A) when it is in said second position, that a line through said second and third axes (66a, 74a) forms an angle with the axis (A) of said bore (44) no greater than 25° during displacement of said second handle (50) between said first and second positions thereof, and that the distance between said second and third axes (66a, 74a) is about 3.25 times the distance between said first and third axes (58a, 74a). Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that said first axis (58a) intersects the axis (A) of said bore (44), and said first, second and third axes (58a, 66a, 74a) and the bore axis (A) are all coplanar when said second handle (50) is in its first position. Tool according to claims 1, characterized in that said first axis (58a) is radially spaced from the axis (A) of said bore (44), and said third axis (74a) is movable from a position on one side of said bore axis (A) through a position intersecting the bore axis (A) into a position on the other side of the bore axis (A) during displacement of said second handle (50) between its first and second positions.

Inventors: WESEBAUM, PAUL ERNEST
Applicants: EMERSON ELECTRIC CO.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B21D39
IPC codes: B21D41, B21D39, B25B7