Clamp for securing multiple, spaced-apart tubes
OwnerBrook H. Knottsinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A boiler tube clamp, for securing boiler tubes in an equal-spaced, parallel arrangement, includes a pair of mating half-clamps having multiple opposed recesses sized to snugly cradle boiler tubes of a given diameter. The half-clamps are brought together around the boiler tubes and either welded or bolted together, thereby aligning the tubes in the desired arrangement. The bolts and/or clamps used to secure together the mating half-clamps of each of the embodiments of the invention are unaffected by downward abrasive action that typically occurs in boilers. For welded-together half-clamps, the welds are on top and bottom surfaces where they are shielded from abrasive action. For bolted-together half-clamps, the bolts are protected from abrasive action by recessing the bolt heads and retaining nuts.
Claims18
A clamp comprising:
- first and second opposed, elongated half-clamps each having a plurality of mutually spaced-apart, inwardly-curved, essentially hemi-cylindrical guides, each pair of adjacent guides being joined together by an integral medial portion, each medial portion of said first half-clamp mating with a medial portion of said second half-clamp when said half-clamps are brought together in a clamping configuration, thereby forming a series of axially parallel, spaced-apart, hollow cylindrical guides, within each of which a single tube can be maintained in a fixed position, each pair of opposed medial portions having a pair of tabs and a pair of slots, each tab engaging one of the slots to provide an exposed junction at each tab-slot interface when the half-clamps are brought together in the clamping configuration, said junction being weldable so as to physically unify both half-clamps, wherein all of said tabs and slots are positioned along upper or lower exterior surfaces of a half-clamp, said surfaces being essentially perpendicular to the axes of the cylindrical guides.
In combination with a series of axially-parallel, spaced-apart tubes having similar diameters, a clamp comprising:
- first and second opposed, elongated half-clamps mated together, thereby enclosing the tubes, each half-clamp having a plurality of parallel, mutually spaced-apart grooved half-guides, each adjacent half-guide pair being joined together by an integral medial portion, each medial portion of said first half-clamp respectively mated with a medial portion of said second half-clamp, thereby forming a series of axially parallel, spaced-apart guides in which the tubes are securely maintained, each pair of opposed medial portions having a pair of tabs and a pair of slots, each tab engaging a slot to provide a weldable junction at the slot-tab interface for physically unifying the mated half-clamps, said weldable junction being positioned principally on an upper or lower exterior surface of the clamp.
A clamp comprising:
- first and second opposed, half-clamps each having a plurality of mutually spaced-apart, grooved half-guides, each adjacent half-guide pair being joined together by an integral medial portion, each medial portion of said first half-clamp mating with a medial portion of said second half-clamp when said half-clamps are brought together in a clamping configuration, thereby forming a series of parallel, spaced-apart guides, within each of which a single tube can be maintained in a fixed position, each pair of opposed medial portions having a pair of tabs and a pair of exposed slots, each tab engaging a slot to provide an exposed junction at each tab-slot interface when the half-clamps are brought together in the clamping configuration, said junction being weldable so as to physically unify both half-clamps, wherein all of said tabs and slots are positioned along upper or lower exterior surfaces of a half-clamp, each of said spaced-apart guides interconnecting said upper and lower surfaces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.