Patent ID: 6948222

Claim:
An apparatus for assembling a rigid tube into a flexible hose, comprising: a frame; a first gripper assembly connected to the frame and including a first set of gripper jaws for gripping one of said flexible hose and said rigid tube; a second gripper assembly connected to the frame and including a second set of gripper jaws for gripping the other of said flexible hose and said rigid tube; an actuator assembly connected to the frame and to the first gripper assembly, for moving the first gripper assembly toward the second gripper assembly to insert the rigid tube into the flexible hose; a first trigger operably associated with the first gripper assembly for closing the first set of gripper jaws; and a second trigger operably associated with the second gripper assembly and with the actuator assembly, for closing the second set of gripper jaws and then actuating the actuator assembly to move the first gripper assembly toward the second gripper assembly.