Method and apparatus for bending a heat exchanger coil
AssigneeHeil-Quaker Home Systems, Inc.
InventorRalph S. Bryant
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for bending a heat exchanger coil, and particularly a fin-on-tube coil, is provided which reduce pressure on the coil at a bending location to prevent damage to the fins and coil by effecting relative movement between a support bed for the coil, defining a coil plane, and a rotating mandrel, in a direction perpendicular to the coil plane during approximately the first 10.degree. of rotation of the mandrel. Such relative movement can be accomplished by either moving the support bed or by moving the rotational axis of the mandrel.
Claims16
A method for bending a heat exchanger coil comprising the steps:
- indexing a heat exchanger coil positioned in a coil plane by a support bed and a hold-down to a bending location so that a portion of said coil overlies a pivotable mandrel;
- clamping said overlying portion to said mandrel while holding said coil against said support bed;
- initiating bending of said coil by rotating said mandrel about an axis while providing relative separating movement between said mandrel and said entire support bed and hold-down in a direction perpendicular to said coil plane so that a bending portion of said coil is held away from said mandrel;
- and
- continuing the bending of said coil by only rotating said mandrel about said axis without further relative perpendicular movement between said mandrel and support bed.
An apparatus for bending a heat exchanger coil comprising:
- an in-feed bed providing support for a heat exchanger coil in a coil plane;
- a hold-down for engagingly holding said coil against said bed;
- a rotatable mandrel having a planar surface portion and an arcuate surface portion;
- a clamp synchronously rotatable with said mandrel and being movable relative to said mandrel to clamp said coil against said planar surface area of said mandrel;
- and
- means for effecting relative separating movement between said mandrel and said entire bed and hold-down in a direction perpendicular to said coil plane during an initial angle of rotation of said mandrel;
- whereby the elastic deformation of said coil is taken up by the relative separating movement between the mandrel and the bed to provide permanent deformation of said coil.
An apparatus for bending a heat exchanger coil comprising:
- means for supporting a heat exchanger coil in a coil plane;
- means for holding said coil against said support means;
- a mandrel rotatable about an axis having a planar surface portion and an arcuate surface portion;
- means for clamping said coil against said planar surface portion of said mandrel,
- said clamping means being rotatable with said mandrel about said axis;
- and
- means for effecting relative separating movement between said mandrel and said entire supporting means and holding means in a direction perpendicular to said coil plane during an initial angle of rotation of said mandrel;
- whereby the elastic deformation of said coil is taken up by the relative movement between the mandrel and the bed to provide permanent deformation in a pure rotational moment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.