CN1213331A - Crimp assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention discloses a crimping assembly (10) for crimping workpieces such as hose connectors (84, 85), comprising a pair of connecting rods (18, 19) of different diameters, mounted on a fixed lower mold bracket (11) and a movable upper mold bracket (13). A center rod (30) is mounted on the movable bracket (13) and passes through a pressure rod (23). Driving force is applied to the center rod (30) by a device that is a cylinder (34) in one embodiment and a tool such as a socket wrench (92) in another embodiment. Mold clamping plates (55, 58) are mounted on the brackets (11, 13) and include guide grooves (61, 62). Tongues (66, 69) are provided on flexible mold assembly holders (64, 67) and are received in the guide grooves (61, 62). A spring-biased separation plate (37) is slidably mounted on the connecting rods (18, 19) adjacent to the pressure rod (23). When the separation plate (37) is moved to the disengaged position, the movable bracket can be moved upward to approach the flexible mold assembly holder (67) for changing the individual molds (70, 71).

Description

Crimp assembly

This application is related to first provisional application serial no. 60/013060, filed March 8, 1996 and second provisional application serial no. 60/036084, filed January 16, 1997.

The present invention relates to a crimper assembly or nipper for crimping a workpiece, such as a connector ferrule, to a hose. Crimp assemblies or nippers for crimping fittings to hoses are well known in the art. One such prior art crimper is disclosed in US Patent No. 5,257,525. Other types of crimper assemblies or nippers are shown in prior art patents Nos. 4,034,592, 4,034,593, 4,400,967 and 4,785,656.

This crimper assembly is especially useful when crimping hose fittings in the field. It is sometimes necessary, for example, to attach a hose coupling ferrule to a flexible hose intended to convey gas. In this case, it is important that the crimper assembly provide a tightly sealed crimp that does not release gas into the atmosphere.

One problem with prior art crimpers is that it is difficult to disassemble the crimper assembly or nipper when necessary to quickly change split die modules, which is critical when crimping various diameter pipe fittings or fitting ferrules and This is often necessary when split molds or split mold modules must be replaced quickly.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved crimper assembly which can be easily disassembled for interchangeability of die sets.

The present invention is directed to a nipper or crimper assembly for crimping a workpiece, such as a hose coupling ferrule, onto a hose. The crimper assembly includes a pair of tie rods of different diameters mounted with a fixed lower die carriage and a movable upper die carriage. A central rod is mounted on the movable bracket and extends through a strut. The driving force acts on the central rod through a cylinder or acts on a lead screw connected with the central rod through a socket wrench.

A mold holding plate is mounted adjacent to the receiving cavity defined by the bracket and includes guide slots. A tongue and tenon are provided on the flexible mold set holder located in the receiving cavity. When in the correct position, the tongue extends into the guide groove and holds the die set holder in its correct position.

A spring-biased breakaway plate is slidably mounted on the tie rod adjacent the compression rod. When the release plate is moved to the disengaged position, the movable carriage is movable along the tie rods to access the flexible die set holder and die set.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a front view of a crimper assembly according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the crimper assembly shown in Figure 1, with the movable mold carriage moved to its lowered position;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the crimper assembly shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a top elevational view of the crimper assembly shown in Figure 2 shown on a reduced scale;

Fig. 5 is a partial right view of the crimper assembly shown in Fig. 2;

Figure 6 is a partial rear view of the crimper assembly shown in Figure 2, a part of which is shown in section;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 1, showing the joint ferrule between the movable die carrier and the fixed die carrier prior to crimping;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 showing the ferrule after crimping;

Figure 9 is a partial front view similar to Figure 1 showing another embodiment of the crimper assembly according to the present invention; and

Figure 10 is a partial view of another embodiment showing the integral baffle adjacent the fixed lower mold carrier.

Referring to the drawings, a nipping mill according to the present invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 . The nipper or crimper assembly 10 includes a fixed lower die carriage 11 having a recess 12 and a movable upper die carriage 13 having a mating recess 14 .

The fixed mold carrier 11 includes first and second spaced apart receiving cavities 16 and 17 which receive and mount the lower ends of a pair of parallel tie rods 18 and 19 . Tie rod 19 preferably has a larger outer diameter than tie rod 18 . The movable mold carrier 13 has spaced apart passages 20 and 21 for slidably receiving tie rods 18 and 19 . The diameter of channel 21 is slightly larger than the diameter of channel 20 . The difference in the diameters of the channels 20 and 21 and the corresponding diameters of the tie rods 18 and 19 ensures that when the slidable movable mold carrier 13 is removed from the tie rods 18 and 19, for example when removing the mold set, the movable The mold carrier 13 is not inappropriately reversed when it is repositioned on the tie rods 18 and 19 .

Press rod 23 defines openings 24 and 25 that receive the upper ends of tie rods 18 and 19 . The upper ends of the tie rods 18 and 19 form a portion 26 and 27 of reduced diameter. The plunger 23 also defines a central bore 29 for receiving a central rod 30 . The bottom of the central rod 30 has a fixed end 31 fixed to the movable mold carrier 13 with a cylindrical pin 32 . The upper end of the central rod 30 is operatively connected to the piston rod of the cylinder 34 . In this embodiment, the cylinder 34 is a hydraulic cylinder and is supplied with oil by a hydraulic pump 35 . In other embodiments, the center rod 30 is driven by an air cylinder (not shown) or by a lead screw as discussed later.

A separation plate 37 is slidably mounted near the top of the plunger 23 . The separating plate 37 has an upwardly facing end 38 for gripping the plate 37 for movement. Referring to FIG. 3 , the separating plate 37 also defines first openings 39 and 40 which are complementary to and receive the small diameter portions 27 and 26 of the tie rods 19 and 18 . A second connected larger opening 41 extends from the first opening 39 and a second larger opening 42 forming a connected end slot extends from the first opening 40 . When the crimper assembly 10 is in its operative position, the splitter plate 37 is positioned such that the first openings 39 and 40 receive the complementary small diameter portions 27 and 26 of the tie rods 19 and 18 . When it is desired to remove the movable mold carrier 13, the upturned end 38 is grasped and the release plate 37 is moved so that the tie rod is aligned with the second opening 41 and the second opening or end slot 42. The movable mold carrier 13 can then be removed from the tie rods 18 and 19. This operation is usually performed when the die set is to be replaced.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6 , the upper surface of the plunger 23 defines a pair of parallel slots 44 which receive a spring 45 . One end of each spring is connected to the depression bar 23 with a pin 46, and the other end is connected to the separating plate 37 with a pin 47. The spring 45 works as a spring assembly, and it is operatively connected between the separating plate 37 and the pressing rod 23 to push the separating plate 37 to the operating position of the crimping device assembly, where the first part of the separating plate 37 An opening 39 and 40 receives and aligns with the small diameter portions 26 and 27 of tie rods 18 and 19 .

The splitter plate 37 is slidably mounted on the compression rod 23 by a plurality of cap screws 49 which protrude through a plurality of longitudinally extending slots 50 in the splitter plate 37 and are received in positions located on the compression rod. 23 in the threaded hole 51 on the top.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 , an elastomer buffer 53 is installed on the bottom of the pressing rod 23 . The movable mold carrier 13 may engage the bumper 53 when the movable mold carrier moves upward while the central rod 30 is retracted.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3 , the clamping plate 55 of the first mold group is mounted on the fixed mold bracket 11 by cap screws 56 . The second mold group clamping plate 58 is fixed on the movable mold bracket 13 with a cap screw 59 . An important feature of the crimper assembly 10 is that the first die set clamping plate 55 defines a guide slot 61 and the second die set clamping plate 58 defines a guide slot 62 .

A first flexible die set holder 64 is located within the recess 12 of the stationary die carrier 11 and includes a plurality of openings 65 and an outwardly protruding tongue 66 . Likewise, a second flexible mold set holder 67 has openings 68 and an outwardly protruding tongue 69 and is seated in the recess 14 of the movable mold carrier 13 . First and second flexible holders 64 and 67 are preferably constructed of flexible plastic, and their openings 65 and 68 receive a plurality of individual mold sets 70 and 71 . Tongues 66 and 69 are received in guide grooves 61 and 62 respectively. If the corresponding die sets 70 and 71 are pre-placed in the first and second flexible holders 64 and 67, when a new size is required, the die sets 70 and 71 can be quickly removed as a whole and carried out. replace. It has been found that the guide groove and tongue system enables the interchange of die sets more effectively than is known in the prior art.

In some embodiments (not shown), die set clamping plates similar to plates 55 and 58 are located on opposite sides of the fixed die carrier 11 and the movable die carrier 13 . In this embodiment, however, the die set clamping plate 73 is mounted on the opposite side of the movable die carrier 13 by cap screws 74 . A baffle assembly 76 is mounted on the opposite side of the stationary mold carrier 11 by cap screws 77 . Shield assembly 76 includes an inner plate 78 having a recess 79 and an outer plate 80 having a curved portion 81 for supporting the workpiece during the crimping operation.

Referring to Figures 7 and 8, in a normal crimping operation, a workpiece having a hose coupling 84 including a ferrule 85 is located within the nibber 10. The end of the flexible hose 86 is located within the ferrule 85 . Power is supplied to the cylinder 34 to move the attached center rod 30 and associated movable mold carriage 13 downward. Die sets 70 and 71 engage ferrule 85 and crimp sleeve 85 to hose 86 into a tight sealing relationship as shown in FIG. 8 . Thereafter, the movable die carriage 13 is moved upward, the completed crimped hose assembly is removed and another cycle begins.

Referring to Figures 9 and 10, another embodiment of a nipper or crimper assembly 10 according to the present invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 90. In this embodiment, a threaded central rod 91 having a hex head 92 at its upper end is provided for movement in a threaded hole 93 defined through the plunger 23 . The lower end 94 of the central rod 91 is connected to the movable mold carrier 13 as described above for the first embodiment. When the crimper assembly 90 is used, it is not cylinder operated as discussed with respect to the crimper assembly 10, but instead a box wrench is mounted on the hex head 92 and the center rod 91 is rotated so that the movable The mold bracket 13 moves down to complete the crimping process.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the crimper assembly 90 includes an integral baffle assembly 96 . Shield assembly 96 includes a shield 97 attached to stationary mold carrier 11 with capscrews 98 . The barrier 97 includes a curved portion 99 that supports a workpiece such as a ferrule of a hose coupling during the crimping process.

Many modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention or the following claims.

Claims (9)

1. A crimper assembly for crimping a fitting ferrule to a hose, comprising: (a) a fixed die carrier having a recess for receiving a crimping die; said fixed die carrier defines first and second receiving cavities spaced apart from each other, the receiving cavities being disposed parallel to each other and such that said recess is located therebetween; (b) a pair of fixedly supported parallel tie rods, each tie rod being supported within each of said first and second receiving cavities respectively; (c) a movable mold carrier having spaced apart channels for slidably receiving said tie rods; (d) a strut mounted on said tie rod, said strut having first and second side openings and a central bore therebetween, each side opening receiving one of said tie rods; (e) a central rod protruding through said central hole and movable therethrough towards and away from said fixed mold carrier, said central rod having a fixed end secured to said movable mold carrier; (f) a first mold set clamping plate fixed on the above-mentioned fixed mold bracket and a first flexible mold set holder located on the above-mentioned fixed mold bracket and adjacent to the above-mentioned first mold set clamping plate , said first die set clamping plate has a slot, said first flexible die set holder has a tongue received in the slot of said plate; and (g) a second mold set clamping plate fixed to said movable mold bracket and a second flexible mold set holder located on said movable mold bracket and adjacent to said second mold set clamping plate , said second mold set holding plate has a groove, said second flexible mold set holder has a tongue received in the groove of said plate. 2. 3. The crimper assembly of claim 1, wherein one of said pair of parallel tie bars has a first diameter and the other of said pair of parallel tie bars has a different diameter. 3. The crimper assembly of claim 1, including a split plate slidably mounted adjacent said compression bar, said tie rod having a small diameter portion adjacent said split plate, said split plate defining a a complementary first opening of small diameter portion and a larger second opening adjacent to said first opening, wherein said separating plate is movable relative to said compression rod such that said tie rod is aligned with said larger second opening Alignment, thereby make above-mentioned pressing bar and above-mentioned movable mold bracket can move away above-mentioned fixed mold bracket. 4. A crimper assembly as claimed in claim 3, and a spring assembly operably connected between said splitter plate and said compression rod for urging said splitter plate to a position in which said The first opening is aligned with the small diameter portion of the tie rod. 5. A crimper assembly as recited in claim 3, including at least one elastomeric bumper mounted on said plunger, wherein said bumper engages the latter when said movable die carriage moves relatively toward said plunger join. 6. The crimper assembly of claim 1 including a cylinder operatively connected to said central rod. 7. The crimper assembly according to claim 1, wherein the central hole of the pressing rod is a threaded opening, and the central rod has threads received by the central hole, and the central rod has a A hex head that engages with a tool. 8. The crimper assembly of claim 1 including a baffle assembly mounted on said stationary die carriage in opposed relation to said first die set retaining plate. 9. 9. The crimper assembly of claim 8 wherein said fence assembly includes an inner plate and an outer plate, said outer plate defining a curved portion for supporting a workpiece.

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