# US 12,759,180 B2 · Tube handling assembly for slit tube manufacturing machine

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- Number: US 12,759,180 B2
- Document ID: US12759180B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/942,927
- Filed: 2024-11-11
- Published: 2026-05-14
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2024-11-11
- Assignees: TE Connectivity Solutions GmbH
- Applicants: TE Connectivity Solutions GmbH
- Inventors: Angel Alberto Slistan; Sun Kyu Pak; Roberto Francisco-Yi Lu; Shu Wang; Craig Roper; Xinping Deng; Edward T. Price, III
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12759180B2

## CPC

- B26D 7/01: Means for holding or positioning work
- B26D 3/001: {Cutting tubes longitudinally}
- B26D 7/0616: {by carriages, e.g. for slicing machines}
- B26D 7/0683: {specially adapted for elongated articles}
- B26D 7/27: Means for performing other operations combined with cutting (B26D9/00 takes precedence)
- B26D: CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING, CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING (for growing crops or plants A01D, A01G; for fodder or straw A01F; for bulk butter A01J; for dough A21C; slaughtering A22B; for tobacco, cigars or cigarettes A24; marking-out, perforating or making buttonholes A41H25/00; manufacturing footwear A43D; brushmaking A46D; surgery A61B; disintegrating, mincing or shredding in general B02C; cutting wire, making pins or nails B21F, B21G; of the kind used formetal B23; cutting by abrasive fluid jets B24C5/02; hand-held cutting tools B26B; perforating, cutting-out, stamping-out or punching, or severing by means other than cutting B26F; for wood B27; for stone B28D; working of plastics or substances in a plastic state B29; making boxes, cartons, envelopes or bags, of paper or similarly worked materials, e.g. metal foil, B31B; article or web delivery apparatus incorporating cutting or line-perforating devices B65H35/00; for leather or upholstery B68, C14B; for glass C03B; making matches C06F; for peat C10F; for sugar C13B45/00; for textile materials D06H; civil engineering, building, mining, see Section E; for light guides G02B6/25; cutting processed photographic material G03D15/04)

## Abstract

A tube handling assembly for a slit tube manufacturing machine used to manufacture slit tubes each having a tube body and a slit extending a slit length along the tube body includes a base and a tube support movably coupled to the base. The tube handling assembly includes a pin actuator coupled to the tube support having a pin movable relative to the tube support between an extended position and a retracted position and configured to be inserted into an end of the tube body to hold the slit tube. The pin is retractable to release the slit tube. The tube handling assembly includes a tube linear actuator moving the tube support and the pin in a linear actuation direction. The tube handling assembly includes a tube rotation actuator moving the tube support and the pin relative to the base in a rotation actuation direction.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A tube handling assembly for a slit tube manufacturing machine used to manufacture slit tubes each having a tube body and a slit extending a slit length along the tube body, the tube handling assembly comprising:
a base;
a tube support movably coupled to the base;
a pin actuator coupled to the tube support, the pin actuator including a pin movable relative to the tube support between an extended position and a retracted position, the pin configured to be inserted into an end of the tube body to hold the slit tube, the pin being retractable to the retracted position to release the slit tube;
a tube linear actuator configured to move the tube support and the pin relative to the base in a linear actuation direction to move the slit tube held on the pin in the linear actuation direction; and
a tube rotation actuator configured to move the tube support and the pin relative to the base in a rotation actuation direction to move the slit tube held on the pin in the rotation actuation direction.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the pin actuator is configured to release the split tube in the retracted position.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the pin actuator includes a pin actuator element operably coupled to the pin to move the pin between the extended position and the retracted position.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the tube support includes an end wall, the pin protruding beyond the end wall in the extended position, the pin being recessed behind the end wall in the retracted position.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the tube linear actuator includes a guide track coupled to the base and a slide slidably coupled to the guide track, the tube support moving relative to the base with the slide.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The tube handling assembly of claim 5, wherein the tube rotation actuator is mounted to the slide.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the tube linear actuator is movable between a pickup position and a drop off position, the pin actuator picking up the slit tube in the pickup position, the pin actuator releasing the slit tube in the drop off position.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The tube handling assembly of claim 7, wherein the drop off position is a first drop off position associated with slit tubes passing a quality check, the linear actuator configured to release the slit tube at the first drop off position, the tube linear actuator movable to a second drop off position associated with failing a quality check, the linear actuator configured to release the slit tube at the second drop off position.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the tube rotation actuator is configured to rotate the pin to rotate the slit tube to align the slit in the tube body with a camera of a vision inspection system to image the slit.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the tube rotation actuator includes a hub and a tube rotation actuator element operable to rotate the hub, the tube support being mounted to the hub and rotated by the hub.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the tube rotation actuator is rotatable approximately 360°.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The tube handling assembly of claim 1, wherein the pin extends along a pin axis, the tube support extending along a tube support axis coincident with the pin axis.

### Claim 13

A slit tube manufacturing machine used to manufacture slit tubes each having a tube body and a slit extending a slit length along the tube body, the slit tube manufacturing machine comprising:
a tube cutting assembly at a cutting zone of the slit tube manufacturing machine, the tube cutting assembly having a cutting blade configured to cut the tube body from a spool of tubing, the tube cutting assembly having a slitting blade configured to cut the slit into the tube body;
a vision inspection system having a camera for imaging the tube body and the slit; and
a tube handling assembly for handling the split tube for the vision inspection system, the tube handling assembly including a base and a tube support movably coupled to the base, the tube handling assembly including a pin actuator coupled to the tube support and including a pin configured to be inserted into an end of the tube body to hold the slit tube at the cutting zone, the tube handling assembly including a tube linear actuator configured to move the tube support and the pin from the cutting zone in a linear actuation direction, the tube handling assembly including a tube rotation actuator configured to move the tube support and the pin in a rotation actuation direction to move the slit tube relative to the camera in the rotation actuation direction.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The slit tube manufacturing machine of claim 13, wherein the tube rotation actuator is operable to align the slit with the camera for imaging the slit.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The slit tube manufacturing machine of claim 13, wherein the tube linear actuator is movable between a pickup position and a drop off position, the pin actuator picking up the slit tube in the pickup position, the pin actuator releasing the slit tube in the drop off position after imaging by the vision inspection system.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The slit tube manufacturing machine of claim 13, wherein the pin is movable relative to the tube support between an extended position and a retracted position, the pin configured to pick up the slit tube in the extended position, the pin configured to release the slit tube in the retracted position, the tube support includes an end wall, the pin protruding beyond the end wall in the extended position, the pin being recessed behind the end wall in the retracted position.

### Claim 17

A method of manufacturing a slit tube comprising:
feeding tubing to a tube cutting assembly at a cutting zone of a slit tube manufacturing machine;
cutting a tube body to length from the tubing;
slitting the tube body to form a slit in the tube body;
picking up the tube body using a tube handling assembly;
rotating the tube body using the tube handling assembly to align the slit with a camera of a vision inspection system;
moving the tube body away from the cutting zone using the tube handling assembly; and
imaging the tube body and the slit for quality inspection of the slit tube.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein said picking up the tube body comprises inserting a pin of the tube handling assembly in the tube body, said rotating the tube body comprises rotating the pin to rotate the tube body.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, further comprising retracting the pin from the tube body to release the tube body from the tube handling assembly.

### Claim 20 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, further comprising performing a quality inspection of the tube body using the vision inspection system, wherein said moving the tube body comprises moving the tube body to a first drop off position if the tube body passes a quality inspection and moving the tube body to a second drop off position if the tube body fails a quality inspection.