US 11,819,902 B2Granted

Expansion tool

AssigneeMilwaukee Electric Tool Corporation

InventorsPeter J. Davies, Peng Dai, Zhi Bin Li, Jing Jing Cai, Jian Wei Li

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Abstract

An expansion tool includes a housing, a collar rotatably coupled to the housing, a plurality of jaws coupled for co-rotation with the collar, a mandrel movable relative to the housing between a retracted position and an extended position to expand the jaws, and a drive mechanism including a rotatable cam. Rotation of the cam moves the mandrel between the retracted position and the extended position. The expansion tool further includes an indexing gear configured to incrementally receive torque from the drive mechanism such that continuous rotation of the drive mechanism incrementally rotates the indexing gear, and a clutch assembly including a clutch gear meshed with the indexing gear, a clutch cover surrounding the clutch gear, and a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the clutch gear and the clutch cover. The clutch cover is drivably coupled to the collar such that rotation of the clutch cover rotates the collar.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An expansion tool comprising:

a housing;
a collar rotatably coupled to the housing;
a plurality of jaws coupled for co-rotation with the collar;
a mandrel movable relative to the housing between a retracted position and an extended position, the mandrel engageable with the jaws to expand the jaws in response to movement of the mandrel to the extended position;
a drive mechanism including a rotatable cam, wherein rotation of the cam moves the mandrel between the retracted position and the extended position;
an indexing gear configured to incrementally receive torque from the drive mechanism such that continuous rotation of the drive mechanism incrementally rotates the indexing gear;
and
a clutch assembly including a clutch gear meshed with the indexing gear, a clutch cover surrounding the clutch gear, and a plurality of rolling elements disposed between the clutch gear and the clutch cover, wherein the rolling elements are configured to establish a torque-transferring connection between the clutch gear and the clutch cover up to a predetermined torque threshold and to slip relative to the clutch cover to permit the clutch gear to rotate relative to the clutch cover at torques greater than the predetermined torque threshold,
wherein the clutch cover is drivably coupled to the collar such that rotation of the clutch cover rotates the collar, and
wherein the clutch assembly further includes a clutch shaft coupled for co-rotation with the collar, the clutch shaft including a bevel gear.

7 more elements

An expansion tool comprising:

a housing;
a collar rotatably coupled to the housing;
a plurality of jaws coupled for co-rotation with the collar;
a mandrel movable relative to the housing between a retracted position and an extended position, the mandrel engageable with the jaws to expand the jaws in response to movement of the mandrel to the extended position;
a drive mechanism including a rotatable cam and a planetary transmission including a carrier drivably coupled to the cam such that the cam co-rotates with the carrier, wherein the carrier includes a first projection and a second projection, and wherein rotation of the cam moves the mandrel between the retracted position and the extended position;
a locking assembly including an actuator engageable with the first projection such that the first projection is configured to move the actuator from a locked position to an unlocked position once per revolution of the carrier;
an indexing gear engageable with the second projection such that the second projection is configured to incrementally rotate the indexing gear once per revolution of the carrier,
wherein the indexing gear is drivably coupled to the collar such that rotation of the indexing gear rotates the collar,
wherein the locking assembly inhibits rotation of the indexing gear when the actuator is in the locked position, and
wherein the locking assembly permits rotation of the indexing gear when the actuator is in the unlocked position.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.