US3545081A - Tubing cutters - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 8, 1970 D. J. BUTLER I 3,545,081

TUBING CUTTERS Filed Jan. 29. 1968 INVENTOR. DAWD J- BUTLER United States Patent 3,545,081 TUBING CUTTERS David J. Butler, Girard, Ohio (214 SE. 47th Terrace, Cape Coral, Fla. 33904) Filed Jan. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 701,159 Int. Cl. B25f 3/00; B08b 1/04 US. Cl. 30--123 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE PREAMBLE In most cases, when the end of a tube is to be connected to a coupling, T, elbow or other connection, the peripheral surface of such end must first be cleaned, as must the part receiving the tube end, to insure that a good bond will be made by the joining medium which may be a weld, solder, braze, cement, or the like.

Heretofore, after the tubing was cut to size, it was necessary to clean the outside peripheral surface of the tube end at the cut in a separate operation, and this required not only additional time but also an additional tool. Through use of my invention, the pipe is cleaned during the cutting operation. My invention further provides an efficient, yet inexpensive attachment for a conventional tube cutter. These and other advantages will be apparent from the subsequent detailed description.

In the drawing accompanying this specification and forming a part of this application, there are shown, for purposes of illustration, several embodiments which my invention may assume, and in this drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a tubing cutter of conventional construction and therefore labeled Prior Art,

FIG. 2 is a separated perspective view of parts comprising my invention,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view corresponding generally to the line 33 of FIG. 1, but with the parts of my invention added, the view being drawn to a larger scale,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view corresponding generally to the line 4-4 of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is a somewhat schematic representation of another embodiment of my invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the conventional tubing cutter comprises a C-shaped frame 10, having a head portion 11 and a foot portion 12, joined by a center portion 14. The latter portion is formed with laterally extending ribs 15 (only the front rib is visible in FIG. 1) upon which a slide 16 is supported for rectilinear movement toward and away from the foot portion 12. A stem 17 is threaded through the head portion 11 and has a manipulating head 18 at one end and a swivel connection 19 with the slide 16.

The slide rotatably supports a pair of rollers 2020 which form a cradle between which, and the cutting wheel 21, a piece of tubing T is transversely disposed. The foot portion 12 provides a shroud 22 around a portion only of the wheel, the shroud including a pair of spaced walls 23 3,545,081 Patented Dec. 8, 1970 (see also FIG. 3) having aligned openings through which the shank 24 of a bolt 25 is passed. In conventional construction, the head 26 of the bolt bears against the outside surface of one wall 23 while the threaded extremity of the bolt shank is threaded into the opposite wall 23, to thereby provide an axle for the cutting wheel 21.

In the normal method of cutting tubing, a piece of tubing T is positioned transversely of the rolls 20-20 and the head manually rotated to move the slide 15 in a direction toward the cutting wheel 21. When the rolls start to force the tubing against the cutting wheel, the entire tool is rotated about the tubing, with the head and stem turned in appropriately to cause the wheel to cut into the tube, and finally sever it.

My invention adds a few simple parts to the standard tube cutter to provide the decided advantage of the tube cleaning simultaneously with tube cutting. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a support plate 30 is preferably provided with a vertical curvature, and is formed with a central opening consisting of a vertical slot 31 and an intersecting horizontal slot 32. The vertical slot provides passage for the cutting wheel 21.

At the present time, the horizontal slot is formed by lancing along the parallel lines 3333 and bending back the enclosed plate portions to form attaching tabs 34. The tabs have aligned openings 36 and the only change required from standard construction is to provide a bolt long enough so that its threaded end will engage the threaded opening 36 (the right hand opening in FIG. 3) to hold the support plate firmly assembled with the cutting tool.

I make use of an abrasive material to clean the tube as it is being cut and as presently preferred, I utilize a backing plate 37 which may have substantially the same size and curvature as the support plate, but is made from a lighter gauge metal to provide a certain amount of flexibility. The lower end of the backing plate has a troughshaped edge 38 which fits closely around lip 39 on the support plate 30, as best seen in FIG. 4. The back-up plate may be assembled with the support plate by longitudinally lining up the trough-shaped edge 38 as shown by the dotdash line 39.1 and correlating the curvatures of the plates, and then sliding the back-up plate edgewise to position closely overlying the support plate. It will be appreciated that this assembly is made before the support plate is connected to the frame, so that the wheel 21 will not interferc. However, since the fit between the lip 39 and the trough-shaped edge 38 need not be made too confining, the back-up plate may be positioned to overlie the support plate 30 and the edge 38 may be hooked over the lip 39 while the upper part of plate 37 is tilted away from the plate 30. The plate 37 may then be swung toward the plate 30 (about the pivot provided by the interfitting edge 38 and lip 39') until it abuts the latter. Thereafter, the ears 4343 may be bent over the plate 30 to secure the assembly. In this assembly of parts, the support plate may be connected to the frame with the cutting wheel projecting through its center slot.

To further facilitate assembly, the back-up plate 37 may be formed with a pair of ears 37.1 and 37.2, as seen in FIG. 2. Preferably, the ear 37.1 is bent rearwardly at the time the back-up plate is fabricated, and provides a gauge with the left hand margin (FIG. 2) of the support plate to align the parts. After the plates are properly assembled, the ear 37.2 may be bent over the right hand margin (FIG. 2) of the support plate 30 to hold the back-up plate against endwise movement.

The support plate is then assembled with the foot portion 12 of the frame in the manner heretofore described. The back-up plate has a vertical slot 40 to pass the cutting wheel. The abrasive material disclosed herein is pad-like in form and made of a backing which carries abrasive fibers, and is along the same lines as used by housewives in scouring pots and pans. The abrasive pad 41 is considerably thicker than the support plate 30 and, as seen in FIG. 4, is preferably thick enough to extend at least to the cutting edge of the cutting wheel 21. The abrasive pad is cemented to the back-up plate 37 and generally follows the curvature of the latter. The abrasive pad may be formed with a vertical slit 42 or this slit may be cut during the first operation when the cutting wheel is forced therethrough. The top of the back-up plate 37 is formed with a pair of legs 43-43 which are bent around the top lip of the support plate.

The tool is used in the same manner as hereinbefore described. As the tube T approaches the cutting wheel 21, its peripheral surface engages the abrasive pad. A-s cutting action proceeds, the abrasive pad is compressed by the tube and thus is capable of vigorously scouring the tube exterior.

My improved tool may also be used to clean the end of an uncut piece of tubing. In such case, the tube is inserted endwise between the rollers 20 and the abrasive pad and held just short of engagement with the cutting wheel. The tool is then rotated about the tube to clean the same, the slide being moved toward the pad sufficiently to insure proper cleaning.

The embodiment disclosed in FIG. shows my invention adapted to a power cutter. The frame 14a supports a rotatable cutting wheel 21a at one end, and a slide 16a at its other end. A motor 49 is mounted on the slide and its output pulley 50 has a belt trained over it and the cradle rollers 20a. Any suitable means may be employed to maintain the belt taut, yet let it conform to the curvature of the tube Ta. The abrasive pad 41a is carried by back-up means and is disposed for engagement with the tube. The slide may be moved toward and away from the pad 41a by a screw, as heretofore, or in any other suitable manner, and the rollers 20a and/or belt will rotate the tube to effect cleaning and cutting thereof. It will be appreciated that the slide 16a may be made stationary and a movable slide provided to support the cutting wheel and abrasive pad.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal object of my invention and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified, without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

1. In a tubing cutter, a frame, a cutting wheel carried by said frame, a slide on said frame for sliding movement toward and away from said cutting wheel, a pair of rolls rotatably carried by said slide in opposed relation to said cutting wheel to cradle a piece of tubing disposed transversely between said cutting wheel and said rolls, whereby movement of said slide toward said cutting wheel and relative rotation of said tubing and cutting Wheel effects a transverse circular cut in said tubing, a supporting plate rigidly carried by said frame and having a slot through which said cutting wheel projects, the latter extending from a face of said supporting plate in a direction toward said slide, abrasive material in the form of a fibrous pad secured to the face of a backing plate, the opposite face of said backing plate overlying and abutting said supporting plate and the plates having removable connection, said backing plate having a slot to pass said cutting wheel and the latter being projectable through said abrasive material thereby to dispose said abrasive material on opposite sides of said cutting wheel for engaging and cleaning the peripheral surface of said tubing as said slide is moved toward said cutting wheel and the latter and said tubing are relatively rotated,

2. A cleaning attachment for a tubing cutter comprising:

(a) a support plate having means for attachment to a tubing cutter adjacent a cutting wheel thereof,

(b) an abrasive pad mounted on said support plate,

(c) a slot in said abrasive pad through which the cutting wheel projects and (d) said slot being bounded by said abrasive pad on all sides whereby said pad cleans the peripheral surface of a workpiece as the cutting wheel severs the same.

3. The attachment of claim 2 wherein said support plate attachment means comprises a pair of apertured ears for reception upon the axle of a tubing cutter wheel.

4. The cleaning attachment of claim 2 wherein (a) said abrasive pad includes a backing plate therefor having a slot aligned with said pad slot, and

said backing plate having means for detachably securing the same to said support plate.

5. The cleaning attachment of claim 4 wherein said detachable securing means comprise bendable tabs on said backing plate.

6. The cleaning attachment of claim 2 wherein (a) said abrasive pad comprises abrasive fibers, and

(b) said support plate and said abrasive pad thereon have a concave curvature complementary to the curved peripheral surface of a tubing workpiece.

7. The cleaning attachment of. claim 6 wherein said abrasive pad is of compressible material, whereby compression of the pad against the workpiece simultaneously cleans the peripheral surface thereof and exposes the cutting wheel through said pad slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 294,339 2/1884 Sweetland 30102 426,171 4/1890 Comstock 30102 2,563,843 8/1951 OHagan 30l02 3,290,711 12/1966 Swanson 15104.03 3,355,749 12/1967 Steffen 30l23 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner J. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 301()2; 15-10403

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