US2623425A - Lever actuated tube bending hand tool - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 30, 1952 A. J. SHILEY 2,623,425

LEVER ACTUATED TUBE BENDING HAND TOOL Filed Oct. 29, 1948 2 SHEETS--SHEET 1 I NVENTOR mam J. shile y Zliiy ma 5 2 R M 2 T. m i & E w m w W} 6, mm 2 m m w s 2 A. J. SHILEY LEVER ACTUATED TUBE BENDING HAND TOOL.

Dec. 30, 1952 Flled Oct 29 1948 Patented Dec. 30, 1952 I LLEIZER' IACTUATED 'liTUBEFBENDIN G la-HAND TOOL DIOVidS a device of ethis 'cha-racterte specially adapted for bending hard :metaltubingwpartic- .aularly .hard copper 1 tubing. I IBeause of the difi ficulty' usually attending the -Ibending" of hard ucopper tubing and the cracking, rupture-:split- -tingor m-alformations often resulting from v the bending operations it has been the general prac- :tice'to secure elbows'of variousshapes, nipples wand the like, to the ends of adjoining; lengths ":of straightatubing' sections. By the zuseof my L-bending machine or 'device, the above-mentioned iiextra parts-end ithe workv necessary forimek- 'ing the-gioints can "be dispensed-with and the 'zpossibility of i many le'aks eliminated.

".Another object aof this 1invention-vis to 5pm- 'rxiide' an cexcee'dingly" simple and effectivedevice :icof 1the 'el'larectermentioned WhiGhTdlSOlWill nbfl L ficompact and :relatively light in weightwhereby titi maykbe readily: carried in a' -mechanics tool .LAnother' object of 'the present invention :is to 1 :construct'a tubingibender including :an eccentric .1ichanneledisegment:dieearriedby a framehaving wachan-dle and aifootapiece detachably' connected I :thereto land-"a rgrooved 'rroller movable 1in.a .t'rue v i de a uniquezmea'ns' for taking; .uptany sidewise P stress on the operating; handle :to-mrevent :dam. "E5 to 1 the I several parts Jduring 'airibendin'grop'ercation.

A still further 'object of I the inventi'on: is to' provide a simple and reflective clamp tor hdldthe tubingin the segmentalw' i With the above and "other objectsl i View this invention consists of the detailso'f construetion and combination of *elements" -'hereina'fter "set-forth and then' designated by I the claims.

In'order thatthose skilled in the art-to which "Lthis invention appertains may understand how itdmakeand use the same I will lidesei-ibe its Fig. 1"is a side view of the lever actuated" tube ibending "hand tool 'With'parts of the 'haridles and foot-piecebrokenoff and showing the ele- 'ments in one position in elevation "andil-lustrats ings-some or them in other positions a inldotted t lines. Fig? 2 I is an :edge wiew thereofilooking'itowards xcthe bottom of Fig. I+and=the han'dles'endl foob 5 pi'ecetrem'oved.

7mg.- 3 is':'an.-endview of the same -lookingwtoi wards :the left hand side ofFigr land the handles in a separatedfposition' at.thecompletiontof a bendingv operation.

: Fig.'4 is an enlargedfragmentarysectional elevation on the lined-+4 of-Fig. 1.

*:Eig. 5 is asimilar-view on the line 5-5 :of? Fig; 1. :Inwcarrying out-lmy invention 5315 herein em- 1 E bbdifi fl I flt represen'ts Ya. bar: or "standard,=prefer- 'a'zably' i having 5a Ii 'flat wintermediate?portion; with rthr'eadedrsockets :I I 'and I 2 a at topposi-te iends. A part s'or section 213 of isaiddntermediate portion j iaoblique to theend of the ba-r so' that-saidends 1' the sockets I lsi'and I rare offset toione entoth'er and 'lie in i difierent horizontal planes sas wshownrmfiiigi 1.

A grooved' segmentalr bendingnie I 4 'isr'secured at one side thereof, where there iisa webiliFigs. Ioand 5,1 tothe oblique; portion '1 3 of the' bar I0, y im'eans iof Pa "fastening device I 6; s1ich as: a ivety' and/or welding, leaving: the major portion Said"fbending "die I 4 overhanging the axistiof ting :therefrom'rwhich:engages l the outen ed'ge fof he oblique'or'angman :portion :1 3 of lrthe fbar :1 0 o further as'sist' in'rholding thel die andi bar Itoether 'irr propenrelation.

througlr an :enlargedportion or iihub i l i5 0: he

I 5 bar 5 I3, is pivotallyi-"mourited'z. a at lever 2 fliprovide'd with a threaded soeket'iz l **et its outer free end.

On 'the lever =20 is a trunnion iizfiin spaced alignment with the *periph'ery 0f the mending die. On the trunnion is irotatably' mounted a. rooved roller- 23 for coaction with i thebending ie 'when a I workpiece is I placed inithe latter. saidr oller is heldon the trunni'on and the outer :free=end"'of--" said trunnion is supported- W2:- a bracket 24lh'aving' 'one end engaged wi'th't fsaid 'un'nionand theoppositeend 'fix'ed to the lever zt somedistance' beyond theitrunnion. I Because or the e'ccentric "formation'of the grooved"'portion'of the'bending die; when the lever 20"is auja'cent the bar I0 the roller is spac'ed farther 'from' the perimeter of said bending die than *-'when the l lever" is moved away from sai'd bar.

In other words, as the lever is actuated for a bending operation the roller gradually approaches closer to the bending die.

A latch is pivoted at one end to axle It adjacent the front face of the bending die I4 or on that side of said die opposite the location of the bar I!) and lever 26. The other or free end of said latch is provided with a transverse notch 28 with its open end facing a direction opposed to the path of travel of the lever 29 as the latter is moved outwardly or away from the bar H3 as during a bending operation. This latch 25 is adapted to be detachably connected to the outer end of the trunnion, outside of the bracket 24 and when in engagement with said trunnion ties together the shaft [8, said latch 25, the trunnion 22, the bracket 24 and the lever 2i] and functions to bias any sidewise stresses upon said lever 23 and thereby prevent bending thereof.

At one side of the bar l0, between the oblique portion I3 and the socket I l are a pair of spaced ears 2! and 28, the former projecting from a face of said bar, to which it may be welded, and

' the latter lying against the outer edge of said bar Ill and having an offset 29 which extends around onto the face of the bar it opposite to the one from which the ears project. lhe car 23 and its offset 2c are welded to the bar ll.

Between the ears is pivoted the shank 3%) of the swinging clamp EH which also includes the enlarged clamping foot 32 having a transversely beveled underneath surface 33. The swinging clamp is mounted on the pivot 3d fixed in the ears whereby said clamp oscillates laterally relative to the bending die across the perimeter of grooved circumference adjacent the rear end thereof to clamp tubing in said bending die.

In the socket i2 is screwed a foot-piece 35 which may be a short section of pipe or a nipple,

such as found among the pipe fittings used by plumbers and pipe fitters, and handles 35 and 31, probably sections of pipe, are screwed into the H and 2|, respectively.

In practice, the foot-piece 35 and the handles 36 and 31 are removed from their respective sockets when the device is to be transported or stored and the several components then can be packed to occupy a small space, such as a workmans kit. When the apparatus is to be used for bending metal tubing, especially hard copper tubing, the foot-piece and handles are assembled and said foot-piece mounted in a vise or equivalent holder or the terminal end of said foot-piece engaged upon a surface, such as a floor, with the tool in an inclined position. To place a section of tubing in the bending die, the lever is moved into the starting location adjacent that part of the bar Iii provided with the handle socket II, as shown in Fig. l, the latch 25 is thrown back, as indicated by dotted lines, and the clamp 3| swung outward. This provides ready access to the grooved circumference of the bending die l4 and permits a length of tubing to be placed in said bending die and adjusted properly for location of the bend desired. With the tubing in position, the clamp 35 is swung into clamping position and the latch 25-is caused to engage the trunnion 22. By grasping the handles and moving the lever 28 away irornthe bar IE, the roller 23 will gradually approach the perimeter of the bending die as said roller moves in the arc of a true circle just outside of the circumference of the bending die, which is eccentric to shaft i8, thus smoothly forcing the tubing to assume the curvature of any desired portion of said bending die. As the open end of the notch 26 in the latch 25 is opposed to the direction of travel of the lever 28 during the bending operation, said latch cannot, under ordinary conditions, become disengaged from the trunnion, at least until the lever movement is reversed. During the time the latch is in engagement with the trunnion said latch acts as a tie strap and will reduce to a minimum the likelihood of the lever being bent sidewise out of proper alignment.

Upon completion of the bending operation, the lever 25] is moved back to its normal position adjacent the bar It, which may leave the latch 25 behind it, otherwise, said latch is moved away from the trunnion 22 and the clamp 3! is swung outward thereby removing all obstructions to the ready and easy release of the work.

Of course I do not Wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a substantially iiat bar having angularly offset end portions provided with sockets extending in parallel and opposite directions, one of said sockets constituting a foot socket and the other a handle socket, a segmental bending die having a groove in and extending throughout its perimeter, said bending die having one end imposed on one face of the bar and overhanging the projected axis of the foot socket, means to secure said bending die to said bar, a flat lever imposed on the face of said bar opposite the bending die, an axle projected through the bending die, bar and lever in the extended axis of the foot socket for pivoting said lever, the outer free end of said lever curved towards and crossing an imaginary extension of the handle socket of the bar when said lever is adjacent and substantially parallel to the handle end of said bar, a socket on the outer end of said lever, the perimeter of said bending die being eccentric to said axle, a trunnion on the lever spaced from the bending die and projecting from the inner face of said lever to overlie the perimeter of said bending die, a grooved roller journalled on said trunnion to cooperatively gradually approach the perimeter of the bending die as the lever is moved away from the bar, means to clamp tubing in the bending die at the secured end thereof, a foot-piece removably mounted in the foot socket, and handles removably mounted in the other sockets.

2. A metal tubing bender comprising a bar, foot and handle sockets at opposite ends of said bar to receive pipe sections to function as a footpiece and handle respectively, a segmental bending die secured at one of its ends to said bar intermediate the locations of the sockets, said die having a groove along its perimeter, a lever, means to pivot one end of the lever to the bending die, the opopsite free end of said lever curved inwardly towards the bar and projecting beyond the axis of the handle socket outside of the end of the latter when said lever is in the starting position of a bending operation, a socket on the faceend of U116 lever to receive a pipe section acting as second handle, a grooved roller mounted on said lever in opposed relationship to the groove of said bending die, a pair of ears projecting from the bar in a direction to overlie the perimeter of the bending die where the latter is secured to said bar, and a clamping member including a shank pivoted between said ears and a foot for lateral swinging movements relative to the perimeter of the bending die and nor mally adjacent and just outside of said perimeter to clamp tubing in the groove of said bending die", said foot having a transversely beveled inner surface.

ARTHUR J. SHILEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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