Metal working – Means to assemble or disassemble – Means comprising hand manipulatable tool
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-19
2004-11-16
Wilson, Lee D. (Department: 3723)
Metal working
Means to assemble or disassemble
Means comprising hand manipulatable tool
C029S270000, C029S282000, C029S261000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06817075
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to an apparatus for mounting and/or dismounting hoses onto or from socket pieces, or operations of such a type.
If liquids or gases are to be piped, it is often necessary to fasten hoses to socket pieces. For example, a great variety of hoses are mounted onto socket pieces in a motor vehicle. Mounting a hose onto a socket piece, as a rule, requires to apply considerable force because the hose has an undersized with respect to the socket piece. If the hose is secured to the socket by means of a locking ring or the like it will do to employ a minor undersize and to exert a correspondingly smaller force. However, even if an extra securing element is used a significant expenditure of force can be required if a relatively stiff hose material is employed or the undersize chosen is large with regard to tightness and a safe seating.
In addition, hoses are mounted onto sockets even without an additional securing element with the sealing and securing action solely being caused by the undersize. In such cases, particularly large forces may be required for mounting the hose, specifically if high tightness is required or a relatively stiff hose material is employed. There is such a case, for instance, if the clipless assembly of ventilation hoses is effected on tanks and tank socket pieces.
In some cases, the forces needed can no longer be applied manually, particularly if a multiplicity of identical assemblies have to be done within a certain period.
Other mounting operations causing comparable problems are addressed as well. Generally, the operations concerned are those where an elongate element which is to be mounted and can only be grasped at its outer circumference requires to be forced onto or into a receptacle, specifically if the element to be mounted is flexible or can be buckled.
Similar problems occur if hoses or other elements are to be dismounted.
DE 296 13 654 U1 has made known an apparatus for forcing hose fittings onto hose ends of hose pieces of a large dimensional stability, particularly onto refrigerant hoses, which have at least one accommodating area for inserting a socket piece portion of the hose fitting which is slid onto the hose end of a hose piece wherein the at least one accommodating area is annularly encircled by a plurality of pressing jaws which are movable at least radially inwardly as referred to a central longitudinal axis of the accommodating area to non-positively force the socket piece portion onto the inserted hose end by means of a pressing mechanism. The pressing mechanism has pressurized-medium cylinders which are disposed around the accommodating area in a star-shaped fashion, are aligned radially with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the accommodating, and are designed to be identical, which carry a pressing jaw each and are jointly operable by means of a central pressure control unit.
DE 37 08 245 A1 describes a process and apparatus for mounting hoses, particularly hoses which are flexurally non-rigid, which allow mounting suited for mass production where the mounting time of hoses is low, their dimensions will vary, and there are two or more hose ends. After the first hose end is fixed it is possible to mount the second end or more hose ends freely floating in the space with their connection pieces. To this end, devices exist to provide hose clips and, further, appropriate devices to provide the flexurally non-rigid hoses themselves. To locate the position of the hose ends, there are measuring devices which are fixed to the gripper and monitor the gripping and joining operation by measuring the existence of the hose, the gripper force, the position of the gripping jaws, the joining path, and the slippage of the hose in the gripper and correcting them via appropriate regulating devices.
DE 94 21 475 U1 relates to a mounting aid for connecting the parts of a hose coupling, i.e. a sleeve-like hose coupling element having an open hose end, to a locking device to hold the open hose end in place, on one side, and a retaining device to hold in place the hose coupling element to be inserted into the hose end, on the other, and a positioning device which is apt to displace the retaining and locking devices with respect to each other in such a way that the hose coupling element can be forced into the open hose end. The mounting aid is characterized in that a basic body of the mounting aid has a rigid connection to the locking device to hold the hose end in place and the positioning device has a feed rod which carries the slidably guided retaining device with the basic body having a handle against which a feed lever can be pulled to advance the feed rod.
Therefore, it is the object of the invention to provide an apparatus which makes it easier to mount and/or dismount hoses onto or from socket pieces and to carry out operations of this type.
The object is achieved by an apparatus having the features of claim
1
. Advantageous aspects of the apparatus are indicated in the sub-claims.
The inventive apparatus for mounting and/or dismounting hoses onto or from socket pieces, or for operations of such a type has
a drive producing a linear driving motion including a power supply unit and a control unit for controlling the driving motion,
a forward feed member adapted to be linearly driven by the drive,
pivotally supported inserted plier halves the inner lever ends of which facing away from a socket piece are engaged by the feed member in order to pivot the inserted plier halves with their jaws against a hose disposed therebetween during a forward motion of the feed member,
a bearing part supporting the inserted plier halves and adapted to be displaced in the direction of the feed member including a stop, and
a counterstop connected to the feed member which, after a phase of the forward motion of the feed member required to clamp the hose in place between the jaws, hits upon the stop while carrying along the bearing part through the remaining phase of the forward motion in order to advance the inserted plier halves and to push the hose clamped therein onto or from a socket piece.
The inventive apparatus makes it possible to mount and dismount hoses onto and from socket pieces in a simple and safe way. For this purpose, it utilizes a plier-like tool which uses forced control so that it clamps the hose in place between jaws in a first operation phase in such a way that it cannot be displaced therebetween by the forces which occur, and which pushes the thus clamped hose onto or from the socket piece only in a second operation phase. To achieve this, the forced control has a feed member which, in a first phase of an forward motion, merely controls the closing motion of the inserted plier halves and, in a second phase of a forward motion, causes the hose to be pushed on or off via stops which become active. This apparatus can be advantageously designed as a hand-held instrument which can be employed in mounting and dismounting operations in a particularly flexible way.
Especially if designed as a hand-held instrument, the apparatus can be provided with an end support for being stayed on a socket piece and/or a structure carrying the socket piece and/or a structure having a stable position with respect to the socket piece, which absorbs the reaction forces produced by pushing the hose onto the socket.
Preferably, the drive has at least one driving piston which is connected to a pressurized-medium connection via a pressurized-medium valve. The forward motion of the feed member is initiated by applying compressed air to the driving piston. In principle, the backward motion can be caused by routing the compressed air over to another surface of the driving pistons. Preferably, however, the drive has a spring mechanism for moving back the driving pistons in case of pressure relief. Pressurized-medium controlled drive constructions of this type are known, in particular, from the field of pressurized-medium actuated pliers for locking rings, etc., and are described, for example, in DE 195 19 543 C2.
The inserted plier halves may be pushed b
Vidas Arrett & Steinkraus P.A.
Wilson Lee D.
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