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US 5,279,685 AGranted
Total containment device for connect/disconnect of plastic tubes
AssigneeDenco, Inc.
InventorsIvars V. Ivansons, Valdis Ivansons, Dudley W. C. Spencer
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AssigneeDenco, Inc.
InventorsIvars V. Ivansons, Valdis Ivansons, Dudley W. C. Spencer
Estimating the term…
A device for selectively connecting and disconnecting plastic tubes includes a welder. A carriage is located in the welder for conveying a heated wafer through the welder. A pair of arms is mounted in the welder with each arm having a tube holding pocket which extends across its respective arm. The arms are movably mounted to generally align the pockets with a gap therebetween. Each of the arms has a clamp for selectively clamping a tube in its pocket. A wafer removal station is in the welder downstream from the arms. The carriage is driven to the wafer removal station so that the wafer first passes through the gap to contact the tubes and then the wafer passes into the removal station so that it may be removed from the carriage and the carriage may be returned to its starting location. The welder includes a computer for controlling the operation and synchronizing the timing of the carriage and the arms to automate the welder.
A device for selectively connecting and disconnecting plastic tubes comprising a welder, a carriage in said welder for transporting a wafer in said welder, a pair of arms in said welder, each of said arms having a tube holding pocket extending across its said arm, said arms being movably mounted to generally align said pockets with a gap therebetween, each of said arms having a clamp mechanism for selectively clamping a tube in its pocket, a wafer removal station in said welder downstream from said arms, carriage drive means for moving said carriage to said wafer removal station with the wafer first passing through said gap and then into said wafer removal station to permit the wafer to be removed from said carriage and said carriage to return to its starting location, and a computer for controlling the operation of said arms and said carriage to automate the operation of said device.
In a method for selectively connecting and disconnecting plastic tubes wherein during the connecting of the plastic tubes the ends of the tubes are clamped to a flattened condition by clamp mechanisms and the ends of the tubes are melted by a heated wafer and the ends of the melted tubes are pressed together by manipulation of arms holding the clamp mechanisms to weld the tubes together at a seam, and wherein during the disconnecting mode a plastic tube is inserted across clamp arms and cut into individual sections by a heated wafer and the ends of the cut tubes are sealed closed, the improvement being in that the connecting and disconnecting modes are performed in the same welder device, the wafer being moved through the welder device by a carriage, and the operation of the arms and the carriage being automated by a computer.
In a method for connecting plastic tubes wherein the ends of the tubes are clamped to a flattened condition by clamp mechanisms whereby the tubes have a thick dimension and a thin dimension when flattened, the ends of the tubes are melted by a heated wafer, and the ends of the melted tubes are pressed together by manipulation of the arms holding the clamp mechanisms to weld the tubes together at the seam, the improvement being in flattening the tubes by means of clamp pads incorporated in the clamp mechanisms wherein the thick dimension is disposed against the clamp mechanisms, after the flattened tube ends are connected together removing the clamp pads away from the resulting connected tube, then rotating the connected tube about 90.degree. while the connected tube is in the clamp mechanisms with the thin dimension disposed against the clamp mechanisms, preventing slippage of the rotated tube by means of a serrated edge on the clamp pad to maintain the flattened tube in its rotated position, and then opening communication of the connected tubes by pressing against the connected tube with at least one of the clampp pads while the tube is in its rotated position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.