Powered pipe cutter and flaring tool
AssigneeSam W. Carter
InventorSam W. Carter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The powered pipe cutter and the pipe flaring tool both have a piston slidably mounted in a cylinder. The cylinder has a top end closed by a top end plug. A crimped cartridge bore in the top end plug communicates with a gas expansion chamber. A bolt and firing pin assembly are attached to the cylinder top end. The pipe cutter includes a shear housing with a pipe passage connected to the rod end of the cylinder. A shear plate is connected to the piston and moves with the piston to shear pipes. The pipe flaring tool includes a pipe clamp assembly with a pipe passage and a female flaring surface connected to the cylinder rod end. A male flaring surface on the piston cooperates with the female flaring surface to flare pipe ends.
Claims20
A pipe cutter comprising:
- a cylinder with a top end and a rod end;
- a piston slidably mounted in the cylinder;
- a top end plug with a crimped cartridge bore on the top end of the cylinder;
- a bolt and firing pin assembly attached to the top end of the cylinder;
- a gas expansion chamber in the cylinder between the top end plug and the piston and connected to the crimped cartridge bore;
- a shear housing connected to the rod end of the cylinder and including a pipe passage;
- and
- a shear plate slidably mounted in the shear housing for slidable movement along a shear path that intersects the pipe passage and wherein the shear plate is connected to the piston and moveable with the piston.
A pipe flaring tool comprising:
- a cylinder with a top end and a rod end;
- a piston slidably mounted in the cylinder;
- a top end plug with a crimped cartridge bore on the top end of the cylinder;
- a bolt and firing pin assembly attached to the cylinder top end;
- a gas expansion chamber in the cylinder between the head end plug and the piston and connected to the crimped cartridge bore;
- a male flaring surface carried by a rod end of the piston and movable with the piston;
- and
- a pipe clamp assembly with a pipe passage surrounded by a female flaring surface and wherein the female flaring surface is in axial alignment with the male flaring surface and axially fixed relative to the cylinder.
A method forming a pipe with a flared pipe coupling comprising:
- positioning the pipe in a pipe bore through a pipe shear housing;
- releasing a striker to strike a crimped cartridge and force a shear plate through the pipe and cut the pipe to the desired length;
- clamping the cut pipe in the pipe clamp assembly of a pipe flaring tool in a measured axial position and with the cut pipe in axial alignment with a male flaring surface;
- releasing a firing pin of a pipe flaring tool to strike a crimped cartridge, force the male flaring surface toward a female flaring surface on the pipe clamp assembly and flare an end of the cut pipe between the male flaring surface and the female flaring surface;
- and
- releasing the cut pipe with a flared end from the pipe clamp assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.