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US 4,392,372 AGranted
Method and apparatus for flanging tube ends
AssigneeFisher & Paykel Limited
InventorsAlexander Brodsky, Richard J. Clark
Life of this patent
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AssigneeFisher & Paykel Limited
InventorsAlexander Brodsky, Richard J. Clark
Estimating the term…
A method and machine for flanging tube ends, the machine having pivotal inner (22) and outer (30) forming tools which flange one end of a thin metal tube (21) specifically to form a rotatable drum for laundry machines. The tools are actuated by hydraulic rams (A), (B) and (C) and the rams are actuated at different rates of movement under the control of a computer so that as forming is effected by moving both sets of tools from dispositions on a cylinder to dispositions on a disc the inner forming tools (22) have their pivot points 24 changed relative to pivot points (31) of the outer forming tools (30) resulting in relative sliding between inner and outer forming tools. The flange (51) formed has two sets of ribs, one set extending outwardly away from the tube (21) and the other set extending inwardly within the tube (21) and parts of the flange between adjacent ribs lying in a plane substantially at right angles to the wall of the tube (21).
A method of flanging one end of a thin metal tube comprising the steps of mounting a sheet metal tube on a carriage, clamping the tube to the carriage, placing complementary pivotal inner and outer forming tools with parts thereof in contact with the inner and outer surfaces respectively of one end portion of said tube, the inner forming tools being pivotal on an inner frame and the outer forming tools being pivotal on an outer carriage, and forming a radially inwardly directed flange on said one end portion by pivotally moving the inner and outer forming tools with said tube end portion between them to displace said one end portion radially inwardly and form ribs thereon, and moving the pivot axes of said forming tools relatively to each other in a direction parallel to the tube axis and slidingly with respect to said one end portion during the formation of said flange and ribs to produce said flange having a cross-sectional shape which includes two sets of oppositely directed ribs the sides of which increase in depth from the tube wall towards the tube center.
Apparatus for flanging and ribbing one end of a thin metal tube comprising a frame, a plurality of rod members extending between the ends of said frame and along an axis of said frame, an outer carriage slidable on said rod members, a plurality of radially extending circumferentially spaced outer forming tools pivotally mounted on said outer carriage so as to be substantially radially pivotal through substantially 90.degree., an intermediate carriage slidable on said rod members, clamping means on said intermediate carriage to clamp a tube to be flanged thereon with the tube axis oriented parallel to said axis of said frame, a plurality of radially extending circumferentially spaced inner forming tools pivotally mounted on said intermediate carriage for substantially radially pivotal movement through substantially 90.degree., means to cause said outer forming tools to pivot through said substantially 90.degree., and force supplying means operatively connected to said inner and outer forming tools to move said inner and outer forming tools with respect to said frame and each other in a manner such that a radially inwardly directed flange on one end of said tube disposed between said forming tools is formed, said flange having a width less than the radius of the tube and a cross-sectional shape in the form of a series of two sets of oppositely directed ribs the sides of which increase in depth from the tube wall towards the tube center, said force supplying means including means to displace the pivotal axes of said tools with respect to each other in a direction parallel to the frame axis during formation of the flange.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.