Abstract:
Present invention provides a universal fixture that fits a much broader range of flange/pipe sizes, covering the common sized 4-hole to 24-hole flanges, so that the welding to be performed at a job site is made easier due to the flexibility of the fixture introduced herein. The present invention solves the end play issue (between the mounting studs and the screw holes of the flange) by aligning the centers of the flange to the center of the pipe, relying on the center hole of the OH plate. An additional accessory can be used to set adjustable height support, for propping up pipes and balance the weight, facilitating the ease of handling the welding work.

Description:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    A flange is a ring-like structure, or a collar, that is attached to a pipe for the purposes of providing support when pipes are connected, by welding or by other means, or for other purpose as the pipes are installed on locations. 
         [0002]    Currently in the field, different size flanges require different fixtures to set up for pipe-flange welding. Some specially designed Flange Mounting Plate fits a number of flange sizes and pipe sizes, but the range is relatively small. Consequently, several Flange Mounting Plates of different sizes are required to cover most of the commonly used flanges. 
         [0003]    There are also another type of commonly found Flange Clamping Plate that requires as many as five (5) sizes to make it useful across the full spectrum of the common flange size that ranges from 4 to 24 holes. As such, there is a high level of unwieldiness at job sites performing flange/pipe welding task, due to the limited capacity and flexibility of the tool or fixture for such purpose. 
         [0004]    Present invention provides a universal fixture that fits a much broader range of flange/pipe sizes, so that the welding to be performed at a job site is made easier due to the flexibility of the fixture introduced herein. 
         [0005]    Additionally, some Flange Mounting Plate currently used in the field caused some unnecessary end play between the mounting studs and the screw holes of the flange, due to the off-alignment of studs on account of the weight of the flange at time of working. The present invention solves the end play issue by aligning the centers of the flange to the center of the pipe, relying on the center hole of the OH plate. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The invention relates to the tool and fixture used for welding flanges of various sizes. Instead of equipping workers with different tools and fixtures to deal with welding pipes and flanges of different sizes, present invention provides a universal set of tool and fixture that encompasses a broader range of pipe/flange sizes. 
         [0007]    By using a plate assembly comprising an OH plate (with symmetrical curved slots), the present embodiment uses an oval-shaped plate, and an S plate (with symmetrical grooves), the present embodiment uses a generally square-shaped plate, the OH plate will be able to rotate as worker(s) adjust to the size/diameter of the pipe/flange, causing the screws to fit properly to the holes, no matter the size of the pipe/flange, as long as the size (and number of screw holes) is within the range designed. 
         [0008]    The pairs of grooves are designed to have specific angles, so that the sliding blocks can be moved back and forth within each pair of the grooves, and the corresponding stud and screw being fastened to the curved slots on the OH plate, as needed and dictated by the flange/pipe size, using only one set of welding fixture, as intended by present application. 
         [0009]    The range of flanges for use with pipes that can benefit from the present invention encompasses the 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, 20- and 24-hole flanges, as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0010]    The angle between two adjacent holes for each type of flange is shown, in the customary fashion where the vertical and horizontal positions are defined as having the two top holes of a particular flange being on a horizontal level. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate and exemplify the preferred embodiments of the invention. Together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
           [0012]    A brief description of the drawings is as follows: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a typical user setup when using the fixture and assembly of present invention to keep the flange/pipe in place for welding operation. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  shows the components in an exploded view of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  shows the reverse side of the component exploded view. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  shows the S plate, having three (3) sets of grooves, with the preferred angles indicated. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  shows the sliding block, stud and screw. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  shows the OH plate, in the shape of an oval in one embodiment. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  shows the common flanges with angle indications. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  shows the height adjustment component of the table accessory, with a v-pad on top. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  shows the metal bar to be used along with the table accessory. 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  shows the cutoff view of the table accessory in  FIG. 8 , depicting the general structure of the table accessory, while seating on a metal bar. 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  shows the cutoff view of the table accessory, with exploded view on some components. 
           [0024]      FIG. 12  is a zoomed-in view of the table accessory as shown in  FIG. 11 , along with the v-pad. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0025]    As shown in the figures, the flange pipe alignment tool and fixture  1  of present invention has an OH plate  4  and an S plate  5 , that can be placed on a working surface, such as a welding table  10 , for facilitating attaching (such as by means of welding) a flange  2  to a pipe  3 . 
         [0026]    The OH plate  4  is a flat piece, having a first embodiment in the shape of an oval-shaped disc, with three (3) pairs of symmetric curved slots  6 ; see  FIGS. 2, 3 and 6 . Although present application shows 3 pairs of symmetric curved slots  6 , additional embodiments may be made with two, four, or five pairs of slots  6 , depending on future applications. 
         [0027]    A handle  7  is made to one side of the OH plate  4 , straddling over the center point  8  of the OH plate  4 , so that when a user holds the handle  7  portion of the OH plate  4 , the overall weight distribution would feel even to the user. 
         [0028]    The S plate  5  is a flat disc, with a first embodiment shown to be generally in the shape of a rectangle. However, as long as it has a straight edge for sitting flushly on a generally flat surface of a work table, such as a welding table  10 , even if the S plate  5 &#39;s shape is in a pentagon shape (5 side), a hexagon shape (6 side), it will work for the purpose of present invention. 
         [0029]    The S plate  5  has three (3) pairs of symmetric straight grooves  12 ; each of the grooves  12  contains an elongated hole. The pairs of grooves are diametrically laid out, radiating from a center hole. 
         [0030]    When the S plate  5  is placed erected on a horizontal surface (as shown in  FIG. 1 ), the 3 pairs of the grooves  12  have angle measurements relative to the horizontal line: one pair is made to have a 11.25-degree angle, a second pair is made to have a 45-degree angle, and a third pair is made to have a 67.5-degree angle. These angles are shown in  FIG. 4 , though the 67.5-degree angle is shown to be 22.5-degree, to a vertical line. 
         [0031]    This 3-angle arrangement enables the present invention to match the standard number of screw holes  16  on flanges  2  ranging from 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 holes. 
         [0032]    More pairs of grooves  12  can be added, if wider ranges of flange holes are needed. 
         [0033]    Two sliding blocks  14 , each with a stud  15  and a screw  13 , are slidable along any pair of grooves  12 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , screws  13  will go through one pair of slots  6  on the OH plate  4  to one pair of grooves  12 , and locked to one of the four screw holes on sliding blocks  14 . The choice of screw holes depends on the size of the flange  2 . 
         [0034]    Because of the specially designed curved slots  6 , turning the OH plate  4  will make screws  13  and hence studs  15  slid with sliding blocks along grooves  12  inward or outward to fit flanges  2  of different sizes. Studs  15  will be inserted to a pair of screw holes  16  of flange  2 . 
         [0035]    To use the flange pipe alignment tool and fixture of present invention, mount two of the plate assemblies  1  on a welding table  10 , separated by a distance lightly larger than the length of a pipe  3 . Hold one flange  2  next to one S plate  5 ; turn the OH plate  4  clockwise or counterclockwise about its center  8 , using handle  7  to align studs  15  to two screw holes  16  of flange  2 . 
         [0036]    Attach flange  2  to studs  15 , turn OH plate  4  further counterclockwise to remove any end play between studs  15  and the screw holes  16  and make sure that the center of flange  2  is aligned with center  8  of the OH plate  4 . 
         [0037]    Fix the other flange  2  to the other plate assembly  1  in the same manner, insert one end of pipe  3  onto one flange  2  and the other end of pipe  3  onto the other flange. The position of the plate assemblies on both ends can be adjusted accordingly, then the welding job of pipe  3  to flange  2  can be performed on both ends. 
         [0038]    An additional welding table accessory  11  serves as an adjustable height rest mechanism for supporting a substantial portion of a pipe&#39;s weight, making it easier to properly fit the flanges  2  to the pipe for successful welding. 
         [0039]    The table accessory  11 , as shown in  FIGS. 8-12 , is comprised of a base  21 , a cylindrical post  23 , a cylindrical knob  22 , a snap ring  24 , locating pins  25   a  and  25   b,  and a screw  26 . Screw thread is equipped around the top portion of base  21 . There are two cylindrical recess areas in the middle of base  21 , the larger one on top and the smaller one at the bottom. Knob  22  is in the shape of a cylindrical tube with internal screw threads  31 , so that knob  22  can be screwed on the top portion of base  21  like a bottle cap. 
         [0040]    Cylindrical post  23  is made to be fit inside the top recess area of base  21  and slidable up and down along the recess area. A straight groove  29  is made on one side of the body of post  23  to match a key  28  fixed inside the top recess area of base  21  so that post  23  can be moved up and down only, but cannot be rotated relative to base  21 . 
         [0041]    Snap Ring  24  is used to keep post  23  and knob  22  together so that turning knob  22  clockwise or counterclockwise around the screw threads of base  21  will move post  23  down or up relative to the base  21 . 
         [0042]    On top of post  23 , a cylindrical hole is made to accept the V-pad  27 . With the accessory  11  fixed on a welding table, turning knob  22  will change the height of V-pad  27 , but not the angle of it; also, turning knob  22  will not turn or change the angle on the pipe sitting on top of the V-pad  27 . This will be easier and more convenient to operate when a person uses this accessory  11  to properly set up the flange welding to the pipe. Comparing to the conventional design, turning the post to adjust the height will turn the V-pad also due to friction between the V-pad  27  and the post  23 . Conventional design also requires two-handed operation to hold the pipe in position while adjusting the height of the post. 
         [0043]    Two slightly different locating pin  25   a  and  25   b  are provided. Locating pin  25   a  is used to fit the screw hole of base  21  with screw  26  as shown in  FIG. 12 , allowing the accessory  11  to be inserted to any one hole (fixed location) on a welding table to support and prop up the pipe. 
         [0044]    Locking locating pin  25   b  is used to seat accessory  11  on metal bar  32  through hole  33  as shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 10 . The metal bar  32  is then fixed to the welding table with screw through elongated hole  34 . This arrangement allows the positioning of the accessory  11  to be anywhere on a welding table. 
         [0045]    Erecting support  9  can be used to help the maintenance of a stable position for the plate assemblies  1 , usually in a vertical orientation as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0046]    The range of flanges for use with pipes that can benefits from the present invention encompasses the 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, 20- and 24-hole flanges, as shown in  FIG. 7 . The angle between two adjacent holes for each type of flange is noted in the different sized flanges, in the customary fashion where the vertical and horizontal positions are defined as having the two top holes of a particular flange being on a horizontal level.