US172443A - Improvement in machines for welding the ends of tubes - Google Patents

Description

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. 1.. IDE. MACHINE FOR WELDING THE ENDS OF TUBES. No.172,443.

Patented Jan.18,1876.

N. PETERS. PHOTO LITNOGRAPHEfl, WASHINGTON. D C.

3 Shasta-Sheet 2..

A. L. IDE.

ELDING THE ENDS OF TUBES.

MACHINE FUR W No.1'72,%4:3.

?a.tented Jan.18,1876.-

3 Shee tsS."heet 3.

A. L. IDE. MACHINE FOR WELDING THE ENDS 0F TU No.172,%4:3. Patented. J 8,1876.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIG.

ALBERT L. IDE, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR WELDING THE ENDS OF TUBES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 172,443, dated January 18, 1876; application filed December 2, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT L. Inn, of Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for WeldingPipe; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvedapparatus as arranged for use. Fig. 2 is across-section of the same upon line w 00 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are like views upon line'w w of said Fig. 1, and show, respectively, the clamping-jaws for holding the tube in position, opened and closed. Fig. 5. is a like view of said apparatus upon line 2 z of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a central longitudinal section of the same upon a vertical line. Fig. 7 is a rear elevation of the head end of the apparatus, a portion of the frame being broken away, so as to show the inclined lug employed for operating the clampingjaw lever. Fig. Sis a perspective view of the die employed for closing the ends of tubes. Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the same, and Fig. 10 is a central section upon a line passing from front to rear.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

In the construction of steam-radiators in which vertical tubes are employed itis necessary that the upper end of each tube should be closed, and in order to render the same permanent, and to cause said closed end to present a sightly appearance, it has been customary to weld the same in a semi-spherical is hereinafter specified. It consists, further, in the. peculiar construction of the die employed for drawing and welding the tube ends, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter shown. It consists, further, in the means employed for supporting the tubes, and. for moving the same longitudinally toward or from the revolving die, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter set forth. It consists, finally, in the means employed for automaticall y confining the tubes in position upon the carriage when moved toward the revolving die, and for releasing said tubes when moved in an opposite direction, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter shown and described.

In the annexed drawings, A represents the bed or frame of my machine, which has a rectangular shape in plan view, is open beneath, as seen in Fig. 2, is provided with a central longitudinal opening, a, that has parallel sides, and is suitably supported upon, and by means of, four legs, B and B. Journaled within suitable bearings O and G, at one end of the frame A, is a spindle, D, which is provided between i said bearings with a belt-pulley, E, and at its forward end has a chuck, F, that is construct ed with an axial circular cavity, f, which opens to the front, and has parallel sides. between, and sliding upon, the ways a and a, lwhich form the edges of the central parallel opening a, are two blocks, G and G, which Fitted loosely embrace the upper, lower, and inner sides of said ways, and are capable of being moved lengthwise of the same. A round bar, H, rigidly attached to the front block G, passesthrough a corresponding opening in the rear block, and is secured in place within the latter by means of a set-screw, It, said bar,

thus constructed and connected with saidrespond with the size and shape of the tube are moved apart.

I to be contained 5 but as it is required that said tube shall be firmly held in place, and prevented from turning within said carriage, the following-described clamping mechanism is provided: Two bars, K and K, which have the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, are pivoted upon the rear side of the forward head G, in such position as to cause their upper ends to be moved together, and confine between the same the tube I whenever their lower ends Upon the bar H, between the lower ends of the jaws K and K, is journaled a cam, L, which is provided-with two semicircular projections, l and l, that, when said cam is partially rotated in one direction, bear against and press said jaws apart, as seen in Fig. 4, while by rotating said cam in an, opposite direction saideulargements are removed from engagement with said jaws, and the latter are permitted to assume the position shown in Fig. 3, so as to release the tube I from engagement. A spring, 70, attached to,

and extending between, the lower ends of said jaws, causes the latter to be automatically returned to their normal position whenever released by said cam.

The cam L is automaticallyoperated so as to close the jaws K and K whenever the carriage moves forward by means of a lever, M, which is attached to its rear face, and extends transversely across the machine, with its forward end in contact with an inclined lug, N, that is secured upon the inner side of the frame, while from the rear end of said lever is suspended aweight, m. As the carriage moves forward, the end of the lever M, in contact with the inclined lug N, is permitted to rise, while the weight m, upon the rear end of said lever, depresses said end, and causes the cam L to rotate and close the jaws K and K, as shown in Fig. 3. When the carriage is moved rearward, the lever M is returned to the position shown in Fig. 4, by means of the inclined lug N, upon which the forward end of said lever bears. Longitudinally the tube I is held in position upon the carriage by I means of a head, 0, that surrounds and is secured upon the bar H, and projects upward sufficiently to enable it to receive the rear end of said tube. Said head, being confined in position upon said rod by means of a setscrew, 0, can readily be adjusted forward, or to the rear, in order to accommodate tubes of different lengths. The rearward motion of the carriage is limited by means of a set-screw, I P, which passes horizontally inward through the rear end of the frame, and receives upon its inner end the rear end of the bar'H. The carriage is moved upon its ways by means of a shaft, Q, that is journaled horizontally and transversely within the frame A, beneath the inner bearing 0, and is provided upon its outer end with a hand-wheel, R, and upon its inner portion, midway between the sidesyof said frame, withva crank-arm, S, to which latter is pivoted one end of a bar, T, that from thence ward toward the next corrugation. axial center of the recess U a small opening,

extends rearward, and at its opposite end is pivoted to or upon the front end of the bar H.

As thus arranged, it will be seen that by turning the shaft Q in a forward direction, the crank-arm S, which, as seen-in Fig. 6, extends upward, will cause the carriage to be moved toward the head of the frame, while, by reversing the motion of said shaft, said carriage will be moved rearward.

Fitted into the axial recess f, at the inner end of the spindle F, is a die, U, (shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10,) which, at its outer side, is provided with a recess, U, that has, in crosssection, a circular form, and in longitudinal section is semi-spherical. Within the recess U are formed a series of corrugations, u. and a, which extend from-tits bottom and axial center, outward and forward, in a spiral form, while transversely each corrugation is highest at its rear edge, and from thence slopes for- From the a, communicates with a recess, U, that is formed within the rear side of the die U, which latter recess communicates with the open air through a radial opening, f,in the spindle F.

The operation of the machine thus constructed is as follows: The spindle being caused to rotate at about eight hundred revolutions per minute, the carriage is moved to its rear limit, and a tube, having its forward end, heated to the welding-point, is placed within said carriage, and the latter moved forward until the heated end of said tube enters the cavity of the die, when, by a gentle forward pressure upon said tube, its end will be drawn together and welded so as to present the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The carriage may now be moved rearward, and the completed tube replaced by a fresh one.

The operation of the spiral ribs of the die is to compress and round inward the open end of the tube; but experience has shown that if said die is solid in rear of the outer cavity, there will be an accumulation of scale and cinders at the extreme end of said tube, and the welding will be imperfect at such point.

The axial opening u obviates the difficulty named, as it furnishes a vent for all cinders, scale, and surplus metal which are pressed into said opening in the form of a teat, and upon the removal of said teat it is found that the entire end of the tube is formed of solid perfectly welded metal.

By the use of this machine, the capacity of a workman is increased from two hundred to six hundred tubes per day, and the tube ends are uniform in shape, while but a fraction of the percentage of leaky tubes is produced by the machine, that is unavoidable where the welding is done by hand.

While the tube is preferably confined in position and the die caused to revolve, the operation will be as perfect if the opposite is true, the result produced being due to the motion of one part with relation to the other, and it 3. In combination with the Ways a and a of the frame A, the tube-carriage composed of connected together by upon said ways by the the blocks G and G, the bar H, and moved spiral corrugations u and a, a

shaft Q, hand-Wheel R, crank-arm S, and connecting-bar T, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the carriage employed for supporting the tube 1, the pivoted jaws K and K, cam-lever L, l, and l, lever M, weight m, and inclined lug N, all arranged to operate in the manner and for, the purpose substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of November, 1875.

ALBERT L. IDE.

\Vitnesses:

F. E. WILLIAMS, J. BENNETT.

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