Powered pipe flaring tool
OwnerSam Carterinventor
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.
Claims8
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 for 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.