JP7626678B2 - Flare Tool - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a flare tool for flaring the ends of metal tubes.

When connecting the indoor and outdoor units of a heating and cooling appliance with a metal pipe, it is necessary to perform flaring (diameter expansion) on the end of the metal pipe. Conventionally, various flare tools have been used to perform this flaring.

For example, the flaring tool disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a gauge bar that clamps the metal pipe, a yoke body through which the gauge bar is inserted, a cone that presses the end of the metal pipe, a clamp that presses and fixes the gauge bar against the side wall of the yoke body, and a centering means that aligns the axis of the metal pipe clamped by the gauge bar with the center of rotation of the cone. The gauge bar has multiple work receiving holes formed therein for selectively clamping metal pipes of different sizes. The centering means includes a positioning pin receiving hole formed in the clamp, a positioning pin received in the positioning pin receiving hole, a resilient spring interposed between the positioning pin and the bottom of the positioning pin receiving hole, and a positioning hole formed on the outer surface of the gauge bar. The positioning holes are formed at positions corresponding to each work receiving hole.

In the flare tool of Patent Document 1, the positioning pin fits into the positioning hole, so that the axis of the corresponding work receiving hole and the center of rotation of the cone coincide. Therefore, by adjusting the position of the gauge bar so that the positioning pin fits into the positioning hole corresponding to the work receiving hole that clamps the metal pipe, the axis of the metal pipe and the center of rotation of the cone can be aligned. In this state, the gauge bar is fixed to the yoke body by a tightening clamp, and the end of the metal pipe is pressed by the cone, allowing the metal pipe to be properly flared.

In addition, in the flare tool of Patent Document 1, when an operator adjusts the position of the gauge bar, when the positioning pin reaches the positioning hole, the positioning pin fits into the positioning hole due to the resilience of the spring. The impact generated at this time is transmitted to the operator's hand, allowing the operator to easily know that the gauge bar has moved to the desired position.

JP 2019-130576 A

In the flare tool of Patent Document 1, when adjusting the position of the gauge bar, it is necessary to loosen the tightening clamp and move the gauge bar relative to the yoke body. However, if the tightening clamp is not loosened sufficiently, the tip of the positioning pin cannot come out of the positioning hole, and the gauge bar cannot be moved relative to the yoke body.

On the other hand, if the tightening clamp is loosened more than necessary, the tip of the positioning pin will not reach the positioning hole, and the positioning pin will not be able to perform its intended function.

Thus, in the flare tool of Patent Document 1, in order to smoothly adjust the position of the gauge bar, the tightening clamp must be operated appropriately, which requires the skilled worker.

The present invention aims to provide a flare tool that allows easy position adjustment of the holder that holds the metal pipe.

The gist of the present invention is the following flare tool:

(1) a support portion for supporting a holder that holds a metal pipe;
a cone for expanding the diameter of the end of the metal tube held by the holder;
a positioning portion for fixing a position of the holder relative to the support portion,
a guide groove into which the holder is fitted, and a through hole penetrating from an outer surface of the support portion to the guide groove are formed in the support portion;
The positioning portion is
a positioning pin that is inserted into the through hole so as to be movable in an axial direction of the through hole and that can be set to a first state in which the positioning pin is screwed into the through hole and a second state in which the positioning pin is released from the screwed state of the through hole; and a biasing member that biases the positioning pin toward the guide groove in the axial direction,
The positioning pin in the first state is positioned closer to the guide groove in the axial direction than the positioning pin in the second state.

(2) The holder has a side surface that faces the through hole when inserted into the guide groove,
The side surface is provided with a flat surface portion and a recessed portion formed to be recessed from the flat surface portion,
In the first state, a tip portion of the positioning pin is pressed against the recess of the holder, thereby fixing a position of the holder relative to the support portion,
The flare tool according to (1) above, wherein in the second state, the positioning pin is pressed against the flat portion by the biasing member when the holder moves within the guide groove relative to the support portion.

(3) A flare tool as described in (1) or (2) above, in which the positioning pin is prevented from falling out of the through hole to the outside of the support portion in the second state by the positioning pin being engaged with the support portion via the biasing member.

(4) The positioning pin has a shaft portion inserted into the through hole, and a protruding portion that is provided closer to the guide groove in the axial direction than the shaft portion and protrudes outward from the shaft portion in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction,
an inner surface of the through hole has a first inner surface portion and a second inner surface portion that is provided on an opposite side of the guide groove as viewed from the first inner surface portion in the axial direction and that protrudes toward a center of the through hole more than the first inner surface portion in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction;
the biasing member is a coil spring fitted around the shaft portion inside the first inner surface portion,
The flare tool according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein in the axial direction, one end of the coil spring is supported by the protrusion, and the other end of the coil spring is supported by the second inner surface portion.

(5) A flare tool as described in (4) above, in which a male thread is formed on the shaft portion of the positioning pin and a female thread is formed on the second inner surface portion of the through hole.

(6) A flare tool as described in any one of (1) to (5) above, in which the movement of the positioning pin toward the guide groove in the second state is restricted by a male thread formed on the outer peripheral surface of the positioning pin engaging with the support portion.

The present invention provides a flare tool that allows easy position adjustment of the holder that holds the metal tube.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a flare tool according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the flare tool of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion III-III of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the flare tool in a state where the positioning pin is disengaged from the through hole. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the flare tool in a state where the positioning pin is disengaged from the through hole. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the flare tool in a state where the positioning pin is disengaged from the through hole. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the flare tool in a state where the positioning pin is disengaged from the through hole. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a modified example of the support portion.

The following describes a flare tool according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(Flare tool configuration)
Fig. 1 is an external perspective view showing a flare tool according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the flare tool of Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows a partial cross-section of a portion taken along line II-II of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion taken along line III-III of Fig. 1.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the flare tool 10 is a device for performing flaring (diameter expansion) on the end of a metal tube 100. The flare tool 10 according to this embodiment includes a holder 12 for holding the metal tube 100, a support portion 14 for supporting the holder 12, a cone 16 (see Figure 2) for expanding the diameter of the end of the metal tube 100 held by the holder 12, and a positioning portion 18 for fixing the position of the holder 12.

In this embodiment, the holder 12 has multiple holding holes 20a-20f for holding the metal tube 100, which are aligned in the first direction X. The multiple holding holes 20a-20f have different diameters. This allows the holder 12 to hold multiple metal tubes 100 with different tube diameters.

In this embodiment, the holder 12 has a pair of clamping members 12a, 12b and a support shaft 12c that supports the pair of clamping members 12a, 12b so that they can be opened and closed. By opening and closing the clamping members 12a, 12b with the support shaft 12c as a fulcrum, the metal pipe 100 can be held in any of the holding holes 20a to 20f. Although not shown in the figure, the holder 12 is provided with a stopper to prevent the metal pipe from falling out of the guide groove 40 described below.

In the holder 12, a flat portion 21 and a number of positioning recesses 22a-22f are formed on the side surface 13 facing the through hole 42 (see FIG. 2) described later. In this embodiment, the recesses 22a-22f are formed in the clamping member 12a. The recesses 22a-22f are formed to correspond to the holding holes 20a-20f, respectively. In this embodiment, the holding holes 20a-20f and the recesses 22a-22f are formed so that the positions of the holding holes 20a-20f in the first direction X correspond to the positions of the recesses 22a-22f in the first direction X. The holder 12 can be configured in the same manner as a gauge bar of a known flare tool.

A guide groove 40 is formed in the lower part of the support part 14 for fitting the holder 12. The guide groove 40 supports the holder 12 so that the holder 12 can move in the first direction X. In this embodiment, the guide groove 40 is formed so as to penetrate the support part 14 in the first direction X. In addition, the guide groove 40 opens downward so that the metal tube 100 held by the holder 12 can pass through it.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a through hole 42 is formed in the lower part of the support part 14 so as to penetrate from the outer surface of the support part 14 to the guide groove 40. The through hole 42 is formed so as to extend in a second direction Y perpendicular to the axial direction of the retaining holes 20a to 20f and the first direction X. In this embodiment, the support part 14 includes a main body part 14a and an attachment member 14b that is detachable from the main body part 14a, and the through hole 42 is formed in the attachment member 14b. The attachment member 14b is screwed into the main body part 14a.

The inner surface of the through hole 42 has a first inner surface portion 42a and a second inner surface portion 42b. The first inner surface portion 42a and the second inner surface portion 42b each have a circular cross section. In the second direction Y (axial direction of the through hole 42), the second inner surface portion 42b is provided on the opposite side of the guide groove 40 (retainer 12) from the first inner surface portion 42a. In addition, the second inner surface portion 42b protrudes toward the center of the through hole 42 more than the first inner surface portion 42a in a direction perpendicular to the second direction Y. In other words, the inner diameter (minimum diameter) of the second inner surface portion 42b is smaller than the inner diameter (minimum diameter) of the first inner surface portion 42a. In this embodiment, a female thread is formed in the second inner surface portion 42b.

Referring to FIG. 2, a hollow portion 44 is formed in the support portion 14 so as to penetrate from the guide groove 40 to the upper surface of the support portion 14. The shaft 30 is inserted into the hollow portion 44. The shaft 30 is supported by the support portion 14. Although not shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the shaft 30 is screwed into the support portion 14. A handle 32 is provided at the upper end of the shaft 30, which is held by the operator when rotating the shaft 30.

A cone 16 is attached to the lower end of the shaft 30. The cone 16 is an eccentric cone whose axis is inclined relative to the axis of the shaft 30. By rotating the shaft 30, the operator can press the cone 16 against the end of the metal tube 100 held in one of the holding holes 20a to 20f. This allows the end of the metal tube 100 to be flared. Note that the shaft 30, handle 32, and cone 16 are configured in the same way as known flaring tools, so a detailed description of the shaft 30, handle portion 32, and cone 16 will be omitted.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the positioning section 18 has a positioning pin 80, a biasing member 82, and a handle 84. The positioning pin 80 is inserted into the through hole 42 so as to be movable in the second direction Y. The positioning pin 80 is provided so as to be settable between a first state (the state shown in Figures 2 and 3) in which it is screwed into the through hole 42, and a second state (the state shown in Figures 4 to 7 described below) in which it is released from the screwing of the through hole 42. The positioning pin 80 in the first state is positioned closer to the guide groove 40 (the retainer 12) in the second direction Y than the positioning pin 80 in the second state.

In this embodiment, the positioning pin 80 has a shaft portion 80a and a protruding portion 80b. The shaft portion 80a has a cylindrical shape and is inserted into the through hole 42. In the second direction Y, the protruding portion 80b is provided closer to the guide groove 40 side (the holder 12 side) than the shaft portion 80a. The protruding portion 80b protrudes outward from the shaft portion 80a in a direction perpendicular to the second direction Y. In this embodiment, the tip of the positioning pin 80 is formed in a cone shape, and a part of the tip constitutes the protruding portion 80b. In this embodiment, a male thread 80c is formed in a part of the shaft portion 80a. The male thread 80c is formed at a position away from the protruding portion 80b in the second direction Y.

The biasing member 82 biases the positioning pin 80 toward the guide groove 40 side (the retainer 12 side) in the second direction Y. In this embodiment, an elastic member is used as the biasing member 82. More specifically, a coil spring is used as the biasing member 82. The biasing member (coil spring) 82 is fitted onto the shaft portion 80a of the positioning pin 80 inside the first inner surface portion 42a of the through hole 42. In this embodiment, in the second direction Y, one end of the biasing member 82 is supported by the protrusion portion 80b of the positioning pin 80, and the other end of the biasing member 82 is supported by the second inner surface portion 42b of the through hole 42.

The handle 84 is attached to the rear end of the positioning pin 80. The handle 84 is used when an operator rotates the positioning pin 80 to move it in the second direction Y. In this embodiment, by rotating the positioning pin 80, the state of the positioning pin 80 can be switched between a first state in which it is screwed into the through hole 42 and a second state in which it is unscrewed from the through hole 42.

2 and 3, in the flare tool 10 according to this embodiment, in the first state, the tip of the positioning pin 80 can be pressed against any of the recesses 22a to 22f of the holder 12. Here, in the first state in which the positioning pin 80 is screwed into the through hole 42, the positioning pin 80 is prevented from moving in the second direction Y (the axial direction of the through hole 42) relative to the support portion 14 unless the positioning pin 80 is rotated. Therefore, by pressing the tip of the positioning pin 80 in the first state against any of the recesses 22a to 22f of the holder 12 so that the holder 12 is pressed against the support portion 14 in the second direction Y, the support portion 14 can be prevented from moving in the first direction X relative to the holder 12. In other words, the position of the holder 12 in the first direction X relative to the support portion 14 can be fixed.

Figures 4 to 7 are cross-sectional views showing the flare tool 10 when the positioning pin 80 is in the second state (a state in which the screw engagement with the through hole 42 is released). As shown in Figures 4 to 7, in the second state, the positioning pin 80 can move in the second direction Y relative to the support part 14 without rotating the positioning pin 80. Therefore, by switching the positioning pin 80 to the second state, the holder 12 can be moved in the first direction X relative to the support part 14.

In this embodiment, when the tip of the positioning pin 80 is positioned within the recess (in the recess 22d in the example of Figures 3 and 4), the positioning pin 80 is switched to the second state, whereby the tip of the positioning pin 80 moves in a direction away from the recess in the second direction Y. In this state, when the holder 12 is moved in the first direction X relative to the support portion 14 as shown in Figures 4 to 6, the tip of the positioning pin 80 is pushed by the surface of the recess and moves relatively to a position where it contacts the flat portion 21.

In addition, in the second state, when the holder 12 moves in the first direction X relative to the support 14, the positioning pin 80 is pressed against the flat surface 21 of the side surface 13 by the biasing member 82. Therefore, when the holder 12 is moved in the first direction X, if any of the recesses 22a to 22f moves to a position facing the positioning pin 80, the positioning pin 80 fits into that recess by the biasing force of the biasing member 82. The impact generated at this time is transmitted to the worker's hand, allowing the worker to know that the holder 12 has moved to the desired position. After knowing that the holder 12 has moved to the desired position, the worker can fix the holder 12 to the support 14 by rotating the positioning pin 80 and pressing the tip of the positioning pin 80 against the recess.

(Action and Effect)
As described above, in the flare tool 10 according to the present embodiment, when the positioning pin 80 is set to the second state, the holder 12 can be moved relative to the support portion 14. Therefore, when adjusting the position of the holder 12, the operator only needs to rotate the positioning pin 80 to release the screw engagement between the through hole 42 and the positioning pin 80. In this case, it is not necessary to strictly adjust the operation amount (rotation amount) of the positioning pin 80 in order to make the holder 12 movable. This allows the operator to easily adjust the position of the holder 12.

In addition, in this embodiment, the biasing member 82 biases the positioning pin 80 toward the guide groove 40 side (the retainer 12 side) in the axial direction of the through hole 42. Therefore, even in the second state in which the through hole 42 and the positioning pin 80 are released from the screw engagement, the positioning pin 80 can be prevented from falling out of the through hole 42 to the outside of the support part 14. In particular, in this embodiment, the positioning pin 80 is engaged with the support part 14 via the biasing member 82, so that the positioning pin 80 can be reliably prevented from falling out of the through hole 42 to the outside of the support part 14.

In addition, in this embodiment, the movement of the positioning pin 80 toward the guide groove 40 in the second state is restricted by the male thread 80c engaging with the support portion 14 (more specifically, the second inner surface portion 42b of the through hole 42). This makes it possible to prevent the positioning pin 80 from falling out of the through hole 42 even when the retainer 12 is not inserted into the guide groove 40.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 7, when the positioning pin 80 fits into the recesses 22a to 22f in the second state, the positioning pin 80 (more specifically, the male screw 80c) is engaged with the support portion 14 (more specifically, the second inner surface portion 42b of the through hole 42), thereby fixing the position of the positioning pin 80 in the second direction Y. Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the positioning pin 80 in the second direction Y when the positioning pin 80 fits into the recesses 22a to 22f in the second state is constant. In this case, the amount of rotation of the positioning pin 80 required to switch the positioning pin 80 from the second state to the first state and press the tip of the positioning pin 80 against the recesses 22a to 22f is also constant. In other words, the amount of operation (amount of rotation) of the positioning pin 80 by the operator when fixing the holder 12 to the support portion 14 can be made constant. This makes it easy to prevent the pressing force from the positioning pin 80 onto the holder 12 from becoming excessive or insufficient when the worker secures the holder 12 to the support part 14.

In addition, in this embodiment, after the positioning pin 80 and the biasing member 82 are attached to the mounting member 14b, the mounting member 14b can be attached to the main body portion 14a. This makes it easier to attach the positioning pin 80 and the biasing member 82 to the support portion 14.

Other Embodiments
In the above embodiment, the mounting member 14b to which the positioning pin 80 and the biasing member 82 are attached is attached to the main body 14a, but the method of installing the positioning pin 80 and the biasing member 82 is not limited to the above example. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, a through hole 46 may be provided in the support portion 14 at a position facing the through hole 42 in the second direction Y, and the positioning pin 80 to which the biasing member 82 is attached may be inserted from the through hole 46 through the guide groove 40 into the through hole 42.

In the above embodiment, a coil spring is used as the biasing member 82, but other biasing members such as disc springs may also be used.

In the above embodiment, the case where the shaft 30 is rotated manually using the handle 32 has been described, but the method of rotating the shaft 30 is not limited to the above example. For example, the shaft 30 may be configured so that it can be rotated by an electric tool such as an electric screwdriver.

In the above embodiment, a gauge bar having multiple retaining holes is used as a holder, but the configuration of the holder used in the flare tool according to the present invention is not limited to the above example. For example, the holder may have only one retaining hole for holding the metal tube. This holder also has a flat surface and a positioning recess corresponding to the retaining hole on the side, similar to the holder 12 described above.

The present invention provides a flare tool that allows easy position adjustment of the holder that holds the metal tube.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Flare tool 12 Holder 12a, 12b Clamping member 12c Support shaft 13 Side surface 14 Support portion 14a Main body portion 14b Mounting member 16 Cone 18 Positioning portion 20a to 20f Retaining hole 21 Flat surface portion 22a to 22f Recessed portion 30 Shaft 32 Handle 40 Guide groove 42 Through hole 42a First inner surface portion 42b Second inner surface portion 44 Cavity portion 46 Through hole 80 Positioning pin 80a Shaft portion 80b Protruding portion 80c Male screw 82 Urging member 84 Handle

Claims (6)

A support portion for supporting the holder holding the metal tube;
a cone for expanding the diameter of the end of the metal tube held by the holder;
a positioning portion for fixing a position of the holder relative to the support portion,
a guide groove into which the holder is fitted, and a through hole penetrating from an outer surface of the support portion to the guide groove are formed in the support portion;
The positioning portion is
a positioning pin that is inserted into the through hole so as to be movable in an axial direction of the through hole and that can be set to a first state in which the positioning pin is screwed into the through hole and a second state in which the positioning pin is released from the screwed state of the through hole; and a biasing member that biases the positioning pin toward the guide groove in the axial direction,
The positioning pin in the first state is positioned closer to the guide groove in the axial direction than the positioning pin in the second state. the holder has a side surface facing the through hole when inserted into the guide groove,
The side surface is provided with a flat surface portion and a recessed portion formed to be recessed from the flat surface portion,
In the first state, a tip portion of the positioning pin is pressed against the recess of the holder, thereby fixing a position of the holder relative to the support portion,
The flare tool according to claim 1 , wherein in the second state, the positioning pin is pressed against the flat portion by the biasing member when the holder moves within the guide groove relative to the support portion. The flare tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the positioning pin is prevented from falling out of the support part from the through hole in the second state by being engaged with the support part via the biasing member. the positioning pin has a shaft portion inserted into the through hole, and a protruding portion that is provided closer to the guide groove in the axial direction than the shaft portion and protrudes outward from the shaft portion in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction,
an inner surface of the through hole has a first inner surface portion and a second inner surface portion that is provided on an opposite side of the guide groove as viewed from the first inner surface portion in the axial direction and that protrudes toward a center of the through hole more than the first inner surface portion in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction;
the biasing member is a coil spring fitted around the shaft portion inside the first inner surface portion,
The flare tool according to claim 1 , wherein one end of the coil spring is supported by the protrusion and the other end of the coil spring is supported by the second inner surface portion in the axial direction. The flare tool according to claim 4, wherein a male thread is formed on the shaft of the positioning pin, and a female thread is formed on the second inner surface of the through hole. 6. The flare tool according to claim 1, wherein in the second state, movement of the positioning pin toward the guide groove is restricted by a male thread formed on an outer peripheral surface of the positioning pin being engaged with the support portion.

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