AU675850B2 - Process for installing a conduit pipe system and device for unreleasable connection - Google Patents

Abstract

A process is disclosed for installing a conduit pipe system consisting of elements having a compressible area such as fittings, connectors and shaped parts, as well as conduit pipe sections (13). For that purpose, the parts to be joined are moved towards each other on a stationary pressing station until they are correctly oriented and spaced from each other. Once they are adjusted, the parts are compressed; the individual operations are preferably carried out automatically. Also disclosed is a device for carrying out the process with at least two pressing jaws (13-16) which are exchangeably arranged in a stationary press (55); the bottom platen of the press is at the same time the supporting table.

Description

Method for the installation of a pipe system and a device for making non-separable connections.

The invention relates to a method for the installation of a pipe system and to a device for making non-separable connections with elements or pipe sections.

Pipe systems are installed particularly in buildings, but also in ships, for the purpose of conveying liquid and gaseous media. Said pipe systems are assembled primarily of pipe sections cut to length and elements connected to them, such as fittings and moulded components. The joints between the individual pipe sections, or between a pipe section and the said elements, are either separable joints, e.g. threaded joints, or non-separable joints achieved by either welding, soldering or crimping. For the latter joining method, crimping systems have been developed by various manufacturers, which are characterised by elements that have at least one crimpable end section. This end section is fitted with a sealing ring into which the plain ends of the cut pipes are inserted and the end section is joined with the inserted pipe end by means of a portable crimping tool (see "Mannesmann Edelstahlrohr GmbH" brochure, 1992 (excerpt); see "Benkan" brochure, 1992 (excerpt); see "Viega' brochure, March 1990 (excerpt)). A known aernative (EP-A-0 390 747) is the use of so-called compound pipes, which consist of a synthetic pipe that is inserted into a metal pipe, which are crimped to a connecting end of a fitting or a supporting sleeve by means of a portable crimping tool. To aid crimping, the fitting or the support sleeve has cavities in the form of grooves and recesses. In a variation of this method, a metal crimping sleeve is pushed onto ihe compound pipe and is crimped to the support sleeve (DE-GM 90 16 310). Also in this instance, the support sleeve incorporates corresponding cavities and raised areas.

By developing a crimpable element, in particular a fitting (DE-B-38 34 353), with altered characteristics, the crimp fitting system with internal pressures of greater than 16 bar was able to be extended into the size range of greater than 54 mm. In this larger size range, particularly 2" and above, it is difficult to work with the portable crimping pliers, since the crimping jaws themselves, the jaw supports and hence the tool overall, become very heavy. From the point of view of weight and handling ability, the crimping pliers are then no longer, or only with great difficulty, useable as a portable unit. As a remedy has been suggested (DE-GM 90 07 414) to use a multi-segmented, open crimping ring, to which a separate actuating device can be attached. The design of the crimping ring is such, that the ring in its open state is placed around the crimping area of the fitting or moulded component. After closing the ends, the actuating device is applied to carry out the crimping action.

When installing extensive and complex multi-pipe systems, e.g.

in the installation shaft of a multi-storey building or in a ship, this staged crimping process of an element to its respective pipe section or to a further element is very elaborate. For every crimping action, the entire tool or crimping ring must be placed in position after the components to be joined have been pushed together, the crimping must be carried out and the tool must be removed again. Furthermore, the corresponding total pipe length has to be determined under consideration of the set insertion length, the required pipe length has to be cut off and then deburred. Only in very rare cases are ready-cut pipes taken to the building site.

3 It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide a method for the installation of a pipe system as described, which enables a simple crimping process, particularly for the size 2 and larger, at greater frequency and which also provides an increased quality of the joint and hence greater safety in terms of leakage. Furthermore, a corresponding device is to be created to achieve this purpose.

According to a first broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for the installation of a pipe system comprising components to be connected including elements such as fittings and moulded components with a crimpable section, as well as pipe sections, in which either pipe sections and elements amongst themselves or one 15 pipe section is inserted into one of the said elements or pushed onto a fitting connection or support element and are non-separably connected through an externally applied crimping tool, wherein for the manufacture of a prefabricated section of pipe, the components to be 20 connected are, physically remote from the installation site, crimped in a stationary press facility after their correct adjustment in respect of distances and angles, and in which the inserting or pushing-on of the components to be connected is monitored and crimping is enabled only after a specified length of an inserted component of the components to be connected and has been inserted.

Preferably independent from the nominal pipe size to be crimped, two simultaneous crimpings are carried out on one element.

Preferably along the system axis of the prefabricated section, multiple spaced connection points are crimped simultaneously.

stalfllkylkeep/specl/68412.94 3.12 4 Preferably a component to be connected, preferably at the branch points, is crimped by means of a known portable crimping device It is possible to automate the proposed prefabrication to a large extent, since the components to be joined can be fed to the stationary crimping device via ancillary equipment such as roller conveyor, gripping device, robot, etc. The quality of the crimped joint can also be improved, since the distance and angular alignment can be checked earlier 0 prior to crimping than if it was performed manually at the installation site. The stationary crimping device can, for example, be fitted with trigger interlocking facility, through which the correct inserting or sliding on of the elements is monitored either via an optical measuring 15 device connected to a computer or mechanically via correspondingly positioned sensors (DE-B-40 12 504).

The brochures, mentioned at the beginning of the description, state that the correct insertion plays an important role in the quality of the crimped joint. In principle, a component only partially inserted can be crimped. However, sooner or later such an insufficiently crimped joint leads to leakages since particularly the axial rigidity of the joined components is insufficient.

In addition to monitoring the length of the inserted or slid-on component, also the angular positioning of the element can be checked. The angular position in relation to the system axis is significant for all elements that are not axially symmetrical, such as T-piece, elbow, transition elbow and reducing elbow as well as other fittings. The monitoring of the angular positioning can also be electronically connected to a trigger interlocking facility.

The advantages of the method according to the invention lie staf/likylkeep/speci68412.94 3.12 5 in that, that due to the proposed prefabrication, preferably carried out in the workshop, a large amount of individual production tasks can be automated. These could include cutting the required pipe sections to length, deburring both ends and conveying the pipe to the stationary crimping device. Furthermore, the element to be attached can be picked up by a robotic arm from a container and can be inserted in the correct position and angular alignment into the crimping device. Preferably feed 10 rollers or suitably designed gripping arms push the pipe section into the element. A sensor may monitor the correct insertion process. The command that triggers the crimping oprocess is only given after the issue of an enable signal.

The crimping device is opened after the crimping process and the prefabricated section is removed from the crimping device. This can be followed either by a further crimping in a second crimping device, which is separate from the first crimping device, or other fittings may be crimped on using the already familiar portable crimping tool. With respect to saving time, the method is of particular advantage if a number of crimpings are carried out simultaneously and if particularly the large diameter pipe sections are prefabricated. The handling of the very heavy crimping pliers for large pipe sizes in areas of the installation site, which are difficult to access, becomes obsolete.

According to a second broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for the non-separable connection of elements, such as fittings and moulded components that have a crimpable section or pipe sections or one pipe section with one of the said elements used for the installation of a pipe system, comprising a clamping element that operates in conjunction with a feed facility, whereby said clamping element has integrated, arched crimping jaws that are moveable relative to each other, staffliky/keeplspeci6B412.94 312 said crimping jaws have on there inner circumference the shape of the crimping contour and form, at the completion of the crimping action, an enclosed crimping space, and said components can be configured, wherein at least two crimping jaws are exchangeably arranged in a stationary press in which a bottom platen acts at the same time as a supporting table for the components to be connected, and where an automatic feed facility is provided in the vicinity of the press which operates in conjunction with a 10 sensor for triggering the crimping action.

The desired shorter production intervals are achieved, ooo according to the invention, in that a number of crimping jaws of varying nominal sizes can be arranged in one cassette. Depending on the pipe size that has to be 15 crimped, the respective crimping jaws can be moved either mechanically, hydraulically or pneumatically from the cassette into the crimping section of the crimping press.

To be able to perform two crimping simultaneously, a second cassette may be placed beside the first, stationary cassette. The said second cassette can be installed movably in axial direction. However, this is not a requirement since the necessary shift can also be achieved by moving the removed crimping jaws. Due to this displacement it is possible to adjust accurately the distance between the two crimping points. This proposal for a staft/iky/keepspeci68412.94 3.12 6 simultaneous dual crimping action can be further developed if a second press, displaceable in system direction, can be installed beside a first, stationary press. The displacement distance of this second press is equivalent to the effective length of a pipe section between two crimping locations. To keep this multiple crimping system flexible for all imaginable piping configurations, it is suggested as a further development to provide a rotatable, ring-shaped disk around the centre of a stationary press on which is arranged, displaceable in radial direction, at least one further press.

Due to the ability for circular rotation in combination with the radial displacability it is possible, only limited by the radial distance of the presses to each other, to set up virtually every possible pipe section configuration. If the second press is, furthermore, adjustable in terms of height as well, it is possible to produce three-dimensionally extending pipe sections also. In the majority of cases, however, it will be sufficient to have a second press, moveable along the system axis, which is installed either to the left or the right of the first stationary press. If the production frequency is to be increased even further, the stationary press, for example, could be designed as a dual press and a displaceable press arranged on each side of it. In an arrangement of this kind, the placement and adjustment of the pipe assembly can be carried out on one side whilst the crimping and removal takes place simultaneously on the other side. This configuration would have the added advantage that work could continue with one crimping press if the other one is faulty.

The above described magazine storage of the crimping jaws in form of a cassette can also be achieved by arranging the crimping jaws in a revolving holder. This holder may, for example, be a revolving cross or, more generally speaking, a revolving star with three or five arms, for example. The number of arms used depends on the size of the crimping jaws and the possibility for fitting the said revolving star to the press.

Besides the crimping device with two jaws, which has been described so far, arrangements using three or four jaws may also be advantageous. The radial displacement may, for example, be achieved via a splined slide or by means of hydraulic or pneumatic drives.

The above described concept of fitting the stationary press with multiple crimping jaws can also be used, for example, for multiple crimpings on a parallel pipe section, in particular a parallel pipe cross fitting. To achieve this, at least one further pair of crimping jaws is added, axially displaced to the first pair in longitudinal and transverse direction. In the specific case of a parallel pipe cross fitting, two further pairs of crimping jaws would be suitably arranged to be able to carry out four crimpings simultaneously.

Theoretically it would be possible to carry out eight crimpings simultaneously. However, this would only be done in very rare cases, since the ability to handle and transport such a prefabricated pipe section is limited. Nevertheless, it is certainly worthwhile to prefabricate, for example, the horizontal dual pipe section of a heating system for adjacent rooms and subsequently join it to the riser, or vice versa.

The crimping contour of the respective crimping jaw depends on the profile of the components to be crimped. Experience shows that it is of advantage in this respect to arrange on one side of the approximately semicircular crimping flute a circumferentially extending crimping collar for the purpose of crimping in the sealing ring. It is commonly known that this crimping collar may, viewed in circumferential direction, be hexagonal or lemon-shaped (DE-A-38 33 748). Particularly the latter shape is advantageous for crimping sizes of 2" and larger.

8 The method according to the invention is now explained with the aid of a number of examples in the drawings.

Shown are in: Fig.l a side view of a prefabricated part of a pipe section Fig.2 a view in X direction of Fig.l Fig.3 a schematic representation of a simultaneous double crimping according to the invention Fig.4 a schematic representation of the major elements of a production line according to the invention.

Fig.l shows a side view and Fig.2 provides a view of a section of a pipe to be installed. In the example shown, this part of the pipe consists of pipe sections 1, 2, 3 with varying effective lengths LI, L2, L3. Said pipe sections 1, 2, 3 are connected to typical elements, such as T-pieces 4, 5 and degree elbow 6. For simplicity's sake, two T-pieces 4, 5 were chosen, which have a branch the same size as the continuous pipe. They could just as well be T-pieces with a smaller or larger branch, or a branch with internal thread. As is apparent from Fig.2, the two T-pieces 4, 5 are offset by degrees relative to each other. This arrangement is also typical for a pipe system. At the end of pipe section 3, shown left in the diagram, a 90 degree elbow is crimped on which points downwards at an angle of 45 degrees, as shown in Fig.2.

The two T-pieces 4, 5 and the elbow 6 can, of course, be oriented in any possible direction relative to each other.

Using the example of centrally located pipe section 1, it must be considered that the respective insertion lengths Ell, E21 9 have to be added to the effective length L1 to determine the cutting length L1 total L1 Ell E21.

Fig.3 shows a diagrammatic representation of a simultaneous dual crimping process according to the invention. The diagram shows a T-piece 11ii with a branch of the same size 12 fixed to a stationary crimping facility 10. A pipe section 13 with an effective length L1 is inserted on the left. A reducer 14 is inserted on the right side of T-piece 11. The crimping device in the vicinity of the stationary crimping machine, which is not depicted here, has two pairs of jaws 15, 15', 16, 16'. The pair of jaws 16, 16' on the right can also be moved axially.

The ability for axial displacement, as indicated by arrows 19, 19', enables the setting of the crimping jaws 15, 15', 16, 16' to a distance as required by the spacing of the crimping areas 17, 18. After insertion and adjustment of the work piece, both pairs of jaws 15, 15' and 16, 16' can be clamped simultaneously radially to the pipe and crimping can be carried out. The radial clamping movement is indicated by the arrows 20, 20', 21, 21'. A further pipe section 22 is shown on the right, which has been crimped to the reducer 14 in a separate crimping facility. However, instead of fitting the pipe section 22, it is possible to insert an alignment aid into the reducer 14 to facilitate the angular alignment of the pipe section overall. To achieve this, an axially moveable clamping device 23, which is not shown in detail, is flanged to the end. The axial displacement is indicated by arrow 24.

The clamping device 23 can also be turned as shown by arrow This turning motion is necessary to be able to fit, for example, a second T-piece offset to the already crimped on T-piece 11, as shown in Fig.l,2.

10 Fig.4 shows a schematic representation of the major elements of a production plant according to the invention. An elevated storage facility 30 holds straight, uncut pipes 31 of 6m length, for example, ready to be called off. To be a able to store different sizes, a second elevated storage facility, which is not shown, may be arranged beside or opposite to said elevated storage facility 30. Alternatively, the elevated stora:,2 30 may be designed for storing different sizes at separate levels. After call-up, an uncut pipe 31 rolls aiutomatically, via a suitable incline of the elevated storage facility 30, onto the roller conveyor 32, or it is placed onto the roller conveyor 32 by means of swivel arms that are not shown here. A cutting or separating device 33 can be moved into the axis of the roller conveyor 32. This movement is indicated by arrow 34. In a preferred embodiment, device 33 operates in conjunction with a deburring device so that both ends of pipe 31 can be deburred. Depending on the requirement, a length of uncut pipe or a shorter cut pipe is transferred, after preparation, from the said roller conveyor 32 to a parallel running roller conveyor 35 by means of not depicted swivel arms. According to the invention, a stationary press 36 is arranged in the axis of this roller conveyor 35. A robot 37, shown here as a handling facility, picks up the required fitting or moulded component to be crimped on (not shown) from a storage container and places it, correctly aligned in terms of position and angle, into the crimping section of the stationary press 36. Located at both ends of the stationary press 36 is a combined infeed and turning facility 39, 39', each fitted with a trigger interlocking facility. The combined infeed and turning facility 39, 39' ensures, that the cut and on both ends deburred, straight pipe is inserted correctly into the fitting or moulded component fixed in the press, and is set at the correct angle. After the correct insertion and angular position has been checked, the trigger interlock is lifted and crimping can take place. To be able to feed the 11 stationary press 36 with pipes from both sides, an intermediate storage facility 40 is arranged at the right end of the first roller conveyor 32. This allows for intermediate storage of uncut pipes 31 or cut pipes 41. By means of not depicted swivel arms, the pipes from the intermediate storage facility can be transferred onto the second roller conveyor 35. A second press 42, which is displaceable in the direction 43 of the roller conveyor in relation to the first stationary press 36, is located at the right end of said roller conveyor This press 42 is also fitted at both ends with a combined insertion and turning facility 39, 39' each. The advantage of the second moveable press 42 is that, that in conjunction with the first stationary press 36, multiple crimpings can be carried out simultaneously.

The following operating steps, for example, could largely be performed tomatically. An uncut pipe 31 is taken from the elevated storage faci±ity 31 (depicted left in the diagram', placed onto the roller conveyor 32 and fed towards the cutting and deburring facility 33. After cutting to the specified length, which could be checked via measuring point 44, the pipe section is placed onto the parallel aligned rol.

conveyor 35. The robot 37, which is moveable 45 perpendicu to the direction of the roller conveyor, has removed the designated fitting, for example a T-piece, from a storage container 38 and has deposited it in the crimping section of the stationary press 36. A cut pipe section 41 is removed from the intermediate storage facility 40 simultaneously to the afore mentioned operating steps and is placed onto the roller conveyor 35. A pipe section each is conveyed from the left and the right to the staticary press 36 and inserted into the T-piece by means of the insertion facility 39, 39'. While those steps were in progress, a further not depicted robot placed an elbow, for example, into the crimping section of the moveable press 42. An advantageous placement of the second 12 robot is at the right-most end of displacement travel 43 of the moveable press 42. After placement of the elbow, the press 42 is shifted to the left until the pipe section, which is located between the presses 36, 42, is inserted into the elbow. After adjusting and checking for correct insertion and angular position, the simultaneous triple crimping, i.e. two crimpings on the T-piece and one crimping on the elbow, takes place.

We would like to point out expressly that the diagrammatically represented and described plant according to Fig.4 is only one possible example of a production plant. Starting from the arrangement of a stationary press 36 according to the invention, there are numerous other possibilities for the configuration of roller conveyors, cutting or separating facilities, measuring points as well as elevated and intermediate storage facilities. The choice of the configuration depends on the available space, on the range of pipe sizes to be crimped and the largest transportable prefabricated pipe section.

The device according to the invention is now explained with the aid of a number of examples in the drawings.

Shown are in: a schematic representation of a further multiple crimping process Fig.6 the magazine-type storage of the crimping jaws in form of a revolving cross Fig.7 the magazine-type storage of the crimping jaws in form of a cassette Fig.8 a longitudinal cross section of a crimping jaw a cross section along A-A of Fig.8 Fig.ll the configuration of a multi-jaw press Fig.12 the configuration of a second press displaceable in one plane 13 is a diagrammatic representation of a further multiple crimping process. Besides the previously described (Fig.1) stationary crimping facility, a second crimping facility, moveable along the system axis, is arranged on the left hand side. The axial adjustabiliy of the second crimping facility is indicated by arrow 47. Both crimping positions have two pairs of crimping jaws, of which one of the jaw pairs 50, and 15, 15' is axially fixed and the two other jaw pairs 46, 46' and 16, 16' are axially moveable. The axial movement of the latter jaw pairs is marked by an arrow. The radial clamping movement of all said crimping jaws is also marked by arrows. In the example shown, a T-piece 11 with a branch 12 the same size as the through-section, is crimped simultaneously in the first, stationary crimping facility to a reducer 14, fitted to the right side, and a pipe section 13 on the left, shown in dotted lines. After the correct insertion and adjustment has taken place, both afore named pairs of jaws can be moved radially towards the pipe and thus carry out the crimping action.

A joiner 51, for example, is to be crimped to the afore mentioned pipe section 13 and the pipe section 49 on the left side in the second, axially moveable crimping facility. The displacement arrow 48 is to indicate, that the pipe section 49 on the left, together with the crimping facility, (see arrow 47) is shifted to the right, until the first pipe section 13 is inserted into joiner 51. After completion of the insertion and associated adjustment, the simultaneous crimping at both crimping facilities can take place. Hence, a total of four sections are crimped simultaneously. The originally described ability for axial movement of a pair of jaws is necessary, that the distance of the associated jaw pairs 50, 50' 46, 46' and 15, 15' 16. 16' can be adapted to the distance of the crimping positions required for the particular element at hand.

14 Fig.6 depicts an example for the possibility of a magazinetype arrangement of multiple crimping jaws. This example shows the arrangement of the crimping jaws 56, 56'; 52, 52'; 51, 51'; 54, 54' in form of a revolving cross 55, 55'. Generally speaking, it could be configured as a revolving star with three, four or five arms. The number of arms depends on the size of the crimping jaws and the available space in the press. The said revolving crosses 55, 55' are radially adjustable, as indicated by arrows 58, 58', and also revolvable, as indicated by arrows 57, 57'. Depending on the size of the component to be crimped, the revolving cross is turned unti] the correct pair of crimping jaws is in crimping position.

Fig.7 shows a different type of magazine storage. In this arrangement, the individual pairs of crimping jaws 56, 56'; 52, 52'; 53, 53'; 54, 54' are located in a cassette, of which no details are shown. The individual crimping jaws can be removed by mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic means from this cassette and placed into the crimping section 59 of the press.

The radial travel of the thus located pair of crimping jaws 52. 52' is indicated by arrows 60, Figures 9 and 10 depict a sectional view along A-A of a longitudinal section of crimping jaw 61 shown in Fig.8. The crimping collar 62 is located, in the usual way, only on one side of the crimping contour 63. Fig.9 shows the originally developed, hexagonal shape 64 of crimping collar 62. The later, further developed, lemon shape 65 is shown in The latter shape of the crimping collar 62, 62' has the advantage, that even on larger size crimped elements, i.e. 2" and larger, the axial anchorage is reinforced. This provides a safe control over the increasing axial forces, which increase on larger pipe sizes in the presence of the same internal pressure.

15 Fig.ll depicts a crimping option using a multiple jaw arrangement. As the example illustrates, the area 66 of the respective element to be crimped is not only enclosed by two, but by four jaws 67 to 70. The purpose of splitting the circumference to be crimped over more than two jaws is to reduce the penetration depth. A parallel effect is also, that the proportion of material to be displaced tangentially is reduced. The radial clamping movement 71 of jaws 67 to 70 can be achieved, for example, via a suitably arranged splined slide 72 or by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic drive 72. For the purpose of simplifying the illustration, the remaining three splined slides or drives have been omitted.

Fig.12 illustrates a schematic configuration, in which a second, in one plane moveable, press 75 is arranged in conjunction with a first stationary press 74. The displacement in one plane is indicated by arrows 76, 77. From a design point of view, this is solved in that the second press is a) radially movable 77 on guide rails 78 and b) circumferentially moveable via a carrier segment on guide rails 79. A coverage of the total perimeter of the first, stationary press 74 is not necessary, since the kinked or straight pipe assembly is mostly less than 90 or 45 degrees, or 0 degrees. The depicted position of the second press 77 indicates a 90 degree kink caused by a 90 degree elbow 80, as illustrated in this example. The infeed facility of the first, stationary press 74 is indicated by two rollers 81, forming part of a roller conveyor. An insertion control facility 82 on both presses 74, 77 is also shown only diagrammatically. In addition, the stationary press 74 has a turning facility 83 for the purpose of setting the pipe into the correct angular position.

Claims (19)

1. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1, whereby 20 independent from the nominal pipe size to be crimped, two simultaneous crimpings are carried out on one element.
2. 3. A method as claimed in either 1 or 2, whereby along the system axis of the prefabricated section, multiple spaced connection points are crimped simultaneously.
3. 4. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims whereby a component to be connected, preferably at the branch points, is crimped by means of a known portable crimping device.
4. 5. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims whereby the angular position of axially symmetrical elements is checked in relation to a set 6 or 12 o'clock stallikylkeep/speci(68412.94 3.12 17 position of the system axis, and crimping is enabled only after the actual angular position is the same as the set value.
5. 6. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims whereby correctly cut, smooth-ended pipe sections both ends of which are deburred are automatically fed to the stationary crimping facility and the element to be connected is fixed in the crimping facility correctly aligned in terms of position and angular orientation. 0 7. A device for the non-separable connection of S" elements, such as fittings and moulded components that have a crimpable section or pipe sections or one pipe section with one of the said elements used for the installation of a pipe system, comprising a clamping element that operates 15 in conjunction with a feed facility, whereby said clamping 4: element has integrated, arched crimping jaws that are moveable relative to each other, said crimping jaws have on there inner circumference the shape of the crimping contour •and form, at the completion of the crimping action, an enclosed crimping space, and said components can be configured, wherein at least two crimping jaws are exchangeably arranged in a stationary press in which a bottom platen acts at the same time as a supporting table for the components to be connected, and where an automatic feed facility is provided in the vicinity of the press which operates in conjunction with a sensor for triggering the crimping action.
6. 8. A device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the crimping jaws are arranged in a multi-jaw configuration, in which the multiple jaws are radially displaceable via a splined slide.
7. 9. A device as claimed in either claim 7 or 8, stallliky/keeplspeci68412.94 3.12 18 wherein a number of crimping jaws of varying nominal sizes are arranged in a cassette in such a way that they can be selectively removed for the crimping process. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the press has a second pair of cassettes.
8. 11. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to wherein the crimping jaws are arranged on a swivelling holding device.
9. 12. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the e 10 multiple jaws are movable by means of hydraulic or pneumatic drives.
10. 13. A device as claimed in claim 7, wherein axially staggered in longitudinal and transverse directions to the first pair of crimping jaws is arranged at least a further 15 pair of crimping jaws.
11. 14. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 13, wherein a further press which is movable along the system axis, is provided in addition to a further stationary press.
12. 15. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 14, wherein the press contour of the crimping jaw has, when viewed in cross section, an approximately semicircular crimping flute and on one side a crimping collar which has a hexagonal shape in a circumferential direction.
13. 16. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 14, wherein the press contour of the crimping jaw has, when viewed in cross section, an approximately semicircular crimping flute and on one side a crimping collar, which has a lemon-shape in a circumferential direction. stafflikylkeep/speci/684l2 94 3.12 19
14. 17. A device as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 7, wherein a turning device is provided in the vicinity of the press, which operates in conjunction with a sensor to trigger the crimping action.
15. 18. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 17, wherein feed facilities are arranged in the vicinity of the press for the automatic infeed of cut pipe sections that are deburred at both ends.
16. 19. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 and 8, wherein characterised in that arranged on a ring-shaped disk which can resolve around the centre of a stationary press, is at least one further press, which is moveable in i. a radial direction.
17. 20. A device as claimed in claim 19, characterised in that at least one further press is also height adjustable.
18. 21. A device as claimed in any one of claims 7 and 14, wherein the stationary press is designed as a dual press, and arranged to the right and left of said press is a press each of which is movable in the direction of the 20 system axis. g 22. A method for the installation of a pipe system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 3 and 4 or 5 to 12 of the accompanying drawings. stafiikyP-ep/speciV68412.94 3.12
19. 23. A device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 3 and 4 or 5 to 12 of the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS 3RD DAY OF DECEMBER 1996 MANNESMANN AG By Its Patent Attorneys: GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia S S S 0 0 SO 0* *5 0 0* 00 0 0 staffhiky/keep/specil68412.94 3.12 21 Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the installation of a pipe system consisting of pipe sections and elements such as fittings and moulded components, which have a crimpable section. The components to be connected are moved, relative to each other, to a stationary crimping facility and are aligned with respect to distance and angular position. Crimping is performed after completion of all adjustments, and the individual operating steps take place preferably automatically. The invention relates, furthermore, to a device for the above purpose comprising at least two crimping jaws, which are exchangeably arranged in a stationary press, and in which the bottom platen acts at the same time as supporting table.