AU770660B2 - Hollow-pipe forming apparatus and it's products - Google Patents

Description

P00011 Regulation 3.2 Revised 2/98

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act, 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT NAME OF APPLICANT: ACTUAL INVENTOR: ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: INVENTION TITLE: DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO(S): Ching-Chi Chung Ching-Chi Chung Peter Maxwell Associates Level 6 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 HOLLOW-PIPE FORMING APPARATUS AND ITS PRODUCTS

NIL

The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:- 9/07/2001 o, 2 The present invention relates to a hollow-pipe forming apparatus and its products, especially to a hollow-pipe forming apparatus and its products, in which the metal sheet is fuse-welded in a spiral way, to form a hollow pipe and cause the pipe having a higher strength and being not liable to deform, and to increase the flow rate of the liquid when the pipe is used to convey liquid.

Figs. 1 and 2 show a hollow-pipe forming machine of the prior art having a hollow pipe 10 a seam pipe) which is generally produced by fusionwelding (or welding) from a metal sheet 11 via a rolling machine in a rolling and pressing procedure, to give the planar metal sheet 11 a circular tube shape, and then the two adjoining ends of the metal sheet 11 that has been rolled into a circular shape are subjected to a fusion-welding operation, to weld the sheet into an integrated hollow pipe 10. However, it has been found that, in the hollow pipe 10 produced by the above-mentioned way, a welding seam 12 formed in the fusion-welding procedure extends along a straight line, and the welding seam 12 is the most weak portion in the whole hollow pipe Therefore, the hollow pipe 10 is very likely to deform in the fuse-welded portion, and the deformation is even more likely to occur when the hollow pipe is formed long. Further, when the hollow pipe 10 is used as a liquid S* conveying pipe, the pipe can provide a flow inside the pipe, but the flow rate can not be improved.

object of the invention is to avoid the problems and the disadvantages presented in the hollow pipes formed by above-mentioned fusion-welding way, and to create a hollow-pipe forming apparatus and its oo.oo products, in which the metal sheet is fuse-welder in a spiral way, to form a hollow pipe and cause the pipe having a higher strength and being not liable to deform, and to increase the flow rate of the liquid when the pipe is used to convey liquid.

9/07/2001 3 According to the invention there is provided a hollow-pipe forming apparatus and its products, mainly comprising a driving mechanism, a fusionwelding mechanism and a feeding mechanism., wherein: the driving mechanism connects with a cylindrical internal mold at an output end of a driver, with the outside diameter of the internal mold being equal to the inside diameter of the pipe to be produced; the fusion-welding mechanism is a fusion-welding machine, which has a welding gun; and' the feeding mechanism supports a metal strip thereon, and the metal strip is caused to pass through a leveling and fixing rack and overlap onto the internal mold of the driving mechanism after being unrolled, so that a leveling and fixing rack can exert a stretching and leveling effect on the metal strip, and when the metal strip is overlapped onto the internal mold, it will form an angle S"between it and the internal mold; the arrangement being such, the tentioned-metal strip on the feeding mechanism can overlap onto the internal mold of the driving mechanism in an appropriate angle, then the driver is activated to rotate the internal mold, so that the tentioned-metal strip is wrapped into a round pipe shape and the edges of the tentioned-metal strip are caused to be adjacent each other; 20 meanwhile, the welding gun of the fusion-welding mechanism applies a fusion- .oo• welding operation on the adjacent portion of the tentioned-metal strip, so as to form a hollow pipe.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a schematic view for explaining the hollow-pipe roll forming of the prior art.

9/07/2001', 4 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a hollow pipe of the prior art.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view for explaining the hollow-pipe forming of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a hollow pipe of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of Fig Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another hollow pipe of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 3, the present invention is mainly comprised of a driving mechanism 20, a fusion-welding mechanism 30 and a feeding mechanism The driving mechanism 20 (as shown in Fig. 3) connects with a cylindrical internal mold 23 at an output end or shaft 22 of a driver 21. The outside diameter of the internal mold 23 is equal to the inside diameter of the pipe to be produced. Therefore, the internal mold 23 can be of different sizes and can be exchanged and connected to the output end 22 of the driver 21.

The front end of the internal mold 23 provides a chamfer 24 of an appropriate inclination angle.

The fusion-welding mechanism 30 (as shown in Fig. 3) is a general fusion-welding machine, which has a welding gun 31.

The feeding mechanism 40 (as shown in Fig. 3) supports a metal strip o 41 thereon, and the metal strip 41 is caused to pass through a leveling and fixing rack 42 and overlap onto the internal mold 23 of the driving mechanism after being unrolled, so that the leveling and fixing rack 42 can exert a stretching and leveling effect on the tentioned-me"al strip 41. When the metal strip 41 is overlapped onto the internal mold 23, an angle which is preferably degrees is formed between the metal strip 41 and the internal mold 23.

9/07/2001" By using the structure formed by above-mentioned way (as shown in Fig. the metal strip 41 on the feeding mechanism 40 can be caused to pass through the leveling and fixing rack 42 and overlap onto the internal mold 23 of the driving mechanism 20. Then the driver 21 is activated to rotate the internal mold 23, so that the metal strip 41 is wrapped into a round pipe shape and the edges of the metal strip 41 are cause to be adjacent each other. Meanwhile, the welding gun 31 of the fusion-welding mechanism 30 applies a fusionwelding operation on the adjacent portion of the metal strip 41, so as to fuseweld and integrate the metal strip 41 that has been wrapped into a round pipe shape to form a hollow pipe 50. Therefore, A welding seam 51 of the hollow pipe 50 has a spiral shape. After formed by fusion-welding, the hollow pipe is drew off the internal mold 23 by a discharge drawing mechanism, which operates in coordination with the rotate velocity of the driver 21 (the discharge drawing mechanism is not a major aspect of the invention and will not described here). Then, the hollow pipe 50 will undergo a cutting process and the like, so that the pipes of desired length will obtained.

~Further (as shown in Fig. 5 and the internal mold 23 of said driving mechanism 20 can be provide with a spiral recess 25 of an appropriate depth, and the metal strip 41 on the feeding mechanism 40 is formed by a metal 20 having a better extensibility. A side edge of the strip is bent downwardly to oo° become a flange 43, which can be formed by rolling or by pressing.

Therefore (as shown in Fig. when the metal strip 41 with a flange 43 passes through the leveling and fixing rack 42 and overlaps onto the internal mold 23 of the driing mechanism 20, the flange 43 is caused to align with tVie recess 25 of the internal mold 23 of the driving mechanism 20. Then the driver 21 is activated to rotate the internal mold 23, so that the metal strip 41 is wrapped to form a hollow pipe 60, a welding seam 61 of which having a spiral 9/07/2001o., 6 shape. The flange 43 is extended inwardly and spirally along the welding seam 61, to form a rib for further reinforcing the hollow pipe 60. In addition able to uniform the stress in the hollow pipe 60 and increase the strength of the hollow pipe 60 for decreasing the deformation, said flange 43 also forms a protruding spiral rib inside the hollow pipe 60. So, when the hollow pipe 60 is used as a liquid conveying pipe, the flange 43 inside the pipe will form a spiral passage, so as to cause the liquid in the pipe being conveyed in a spiral flowing way, to increase the flow rate of the liquid.

Moreover, though the metal strip 41 is an L-shaped sheet material and will generate a resistance when rotated by the internal mold 23, but the metal strip 41 is formed by a metal having a better extensibility, and the metal molecules will be transformed by the high temperature generated during the fusion-welding operation, so that the strip can be wrapped smoothly without deformation.

S...o oS°ooo .o0

Claims (3)

1. A hollow-pipe forming apparatus and its products, mainly comprising a driving mechanism, a fusion-welding mechanism and a feeding mechanism, wherein: the driving mechanism connects with a cylindrical internal mold at an output end of a driver, with the outside diameter of the internal mold being equal to the inside diameter of the pipe to be produced; the fusion-welding mechanism is a fusion-welding machine, which has a welding gun; and' the feeding mechanism supports a metal strip thereon, and the metal strip is caused to pass through a leveling and fixing rack and overlap onto the internal mold of the driving mechanism after being unrolled, so that a leveling and fixing rack can exert a stretching and leveling effect on the metal strip, and when the metal strip is overlapped onto the internal mold, it will form an angle between it and the internal mold; the arrangement being such, the tentioned-metal strip on the feeding mechanism can overlap onto the internal mold of the driving mechanism in an appropriate angle, then the driver is activated to rotate the internal mold, so that the tentioned-metal strip is wrapped into a round pipe shape and the edges of the tentioned-metal strip are caused to be adjacent each other; meanwhile, the welding gun of the fusion-welding mechanism applies a fusion- welding operation on the adjacent portion of the tentioned-metal strip, so as to form a hollow pipe.

2. The hollow-pipe forming apparatus and its products as recited in claim 1, wherein the internal mold of said driving mechanism is provide with a spiral recess; the metal strip on the feeding mechanism is formed by a metal having 9/07/2001-, 8 a better extensibility, and a side edge of the strip is bent downwardly to form a flange; when the metal strip overlaps onto the internal mold of the driving mechanism after being unrolled, the flange is caused to align with the recess of the internal mold; therefore, when the strip is wrapped and welded into a hollow pipe, a spiral flange will extend on the underside of its welding seam.

3. The hollow-pipe forming apparatus and its products as recited in claim 1, wherein the front end of the internal mold of the driving mechanism provides a chamfer of an appropriate inclination angle, to facilitate the fuse-welded pipe stripping off the internal mold. Dated this 9th day of July 2001 Ching-Chi Chung Patent Attorneys for the Applicant PE M PETER MAXWELL ASSOCIATES .ooee e