Apparatus for severing thin-walled tubing on a mandrel

Abstract

Apparatus for automatically severing flexible, thin-walled tubing of indefinite length into a plurality of segments comprising in combination a mechanism for advancing a continuous length of thin-walled tubing about a mandrel; a restraining member adaptable to restrain the advance of the thin-walled tubing at a predetermined position on said mandrel intermediate the ends of the tubing; tensioning devices adapted for engaging the thin-walled tubing that has advanced beyond said restraining member after said restraining member restrains the advance of the tubing and for tensioning said tubing about said mandrel intermediate said restraining member and said tensioning devices; and two opposed blade holders adapted for being moved radially toward and away from the thin-walled tubing intermediate the restraining member and the tensioning devices. Each blade holder has two severing blades mounted in offset relation therein, with each severing blade having two spaced apart tubing engaging edges with the bisector of the angle subtended by the edges defining the pivot point for mounting the blade on the holder. Engagement of the blades against the tubing results in eight scores or cuts disposed in a substantially circular planar array about the tubing.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.