Patent Application
20130131855
The present invention generally relates to crimping equipment and crimping processes performed on hoses, which as used herein refers to any hose, tube or other type of conduit adapted to transport a fluid (liquid or gas) or protect electrical wiring or other hardware susceptible to damage.
Crimping processes often entail permanently attaching a fitting to at least one end of a hose to yield what is referred to herein as a hose assembly. Crimping processes are generally accomplished with a machine that performs a swaging or crimping operation that may involve forcing a die set around a fitting that has been loosely assembled onto the end of hose. The machine reduces the size of the fitting to what may be referred to as a crimp diameter, so that the fitting adequately squeezes the hose and provides a permanent connection. The desired crimp diameter for a fitting is often referred to as the “crimp specification” and is determined through appropriate design and testing. Once the proper crimp specification is determined for a particular type of hose and fitting combination, it is critical to control this size when assembling hoses and fittings of the same type. Consistently crimping to the same specification provides an accurate way to produce hose assemblies that will meet design and application requirements.
Through extensive testing, many hose and fitting manufacturers have determined the appropriate crimp specification for various hose and fitting combinations that they offer. This information is usually published and issued as crimp charts that are used by those that assemble the manufacturers' hoses and fittings. Crimp charts typically list combinations of specific hoses and specific fitting, and appropriate crimp settings, including crimp specification (diameter), for each particular combination of hose and fitting. As a nonlimiting example, manufacturers often provide customers with a table that identifies multiple different hose sizes (diameters), multiple different types of hoses for each hose size, one or more types of fittings for each hose type and size, and a crimp diameter for each combination of hose size, hose type, and fitting type. Manufacturers may also provide customers with a table containing information specific to a certain crimp machine. For example, for a hose size, hose type, and fitting type, a manufacture may identify a particular crimping machine, die set, and any unique crimp settings for the machine that may be recommended or required to obtain the desired crimp diameter.
Crimp charts must be maintained as changes occur or additions are made. New charts are typically published and made available to customers. Hose and fitting manufacturers routinely ensure that their customers have the latest charts so that hose assemblies having acceptable crimps can be consistently produced.
Published crimp charts are used by an operator to input the appropriate data into the machine to make a hose assembly. It is important for the operator to understand the crimp chart being used, since the information contained in these charts may be organized differently from one manufacturer's chart to the next. As evident from the previous discussion, at minimum an operator must use the appropriate crimp chart to find the correct crimp diameter (and possibly other crimp settings) for the specific hose and fitting combination to be assembled. The crimp settings must then be accurately transferred into the machine. Furthermore, the operator must select an appropriate die set. Though crimp settings are often specified in the crimp chart, certain settings may require a calculation. Some but not all machines are capable of automatically calculating such crimp settings. Once the above is accomplished, the machine can be operated to crimp the particular hose and fitting combination to the specified crimp diameter.
While the procedures outlined above are well known and widely followed in industries that utilize hose assemblies, it can be appreciated that there are various points within these procedures at which errors may occur that will result in a defective hose assembly. It can be further appreciated that there is an ongoing desire to reduce the likelihood of producing defective hose assemblies, including those that may result from operator error.
The present invention provides a process and system suitable for producing hose assemblies, including but not limited to hose assemblies intended for use in pneumatic or hydraulic systems.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a crimping process is provided that uses a database containing crimping settings for hose assemblies comprising combinations of hoses and fittings. The database further contains barcodes that are individually assigned to the hose assemblies and/or to the hoses and the fittings thereof. The barcodes are associated with the crimping settings within the database. The process further includes scanning at least a first of the barcodes into a controller of a crimping machine, operating the controller to associate at least the first barcode with a first of the crimping settings for a first of the hose assemblies or for a combination of a first of the hoses and a first of the fittings that when assembled form the first hose assembly, and then operating the crimping machine to automatically use the first crimp setting to produce the first hose assembly by crimping the first fitting to the first hose.
According to a second aspect of the invention, a crimping system is provided that includes the crimping machine, the controller, and the database described above, and further includes a scanner adapted to scan the barcodes into the controller.
A technical effect of the invention is the ability to more consistently produce hose assemblies that meet quality standards as a result of being produced in accordance with manufacturers' crimp charts whose specifications are stored in a database that is directly accessible by a crimping machine, such that the likelihood of defective hose assemblies resulting from operator error can be significantly reduce.
Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description.
A preferred aspect of the present invention is to simplify procedures followed during the production of hose assemblies that entail crimping one or more fittings on a hose.
While crimp charts provide crimp settings and other data that have been tested and approved by hose and fitting manufacturers to obtain desired crimp diameters for specific hose assemblies, these settings must be accurately transferred to the crimping machine that will be used to produce a hose assembly. This invention assigns a unique barcode to a particular hose assembly and/or to a particular hose and particular fitting(s) used to produce a particular hose assembly, which can be identified based on size, type, material, etc., of the hose and fittings. The barcode associates a particular hose assembly with crimp settings required to properly and consistently produce the hose assembly, including but not limited to crimp diameter “DC” (crimp specification) and possibly other assembly information that may be associated with the particular crimping machine, die set, etc., and may influence the ability and likelihood of obtaining the desired crimp diameter. This barcode can then be scanned into a controller of a crimping machine to load the crimp settings into the machine.
Existing crimp tables can be modified to include unique barcodes for individual hose-fitting assemblies offered by manufacturers. As such, a crimp table employed by this invention would associate unique barcodes with unique combinations of hose (which may be identified by one or more of specification/part number, size (diameter), type, material, etc.), fittings (which may be identified by one or more of specification/part number, size, type, material, etc.), and crimp settings (including crimp diameter) for each unique combination of hose and fitting. A crimping machine operator simply scans the appropriate barcode from the crimp table to load the crimp settings. Each barcode automatically identifies the proper crimp settings for the particular hose-fitting combination being assembled.
As noted above, specific barcodes can be assigned to particular hose assemblies and/or to particular hoses and fittings that are assembled to produce particular hose assemblies. In embodiments in which the latter is provided, a barcode for a particular fitting can identify the fitting along with one or more types or sizes of hoses that can be assembled with that particular fitting. A barcode for a hose would similarly identify the particular hose along with possible choices of fittings. Scanning the barcodes for an individual fitting and hose would identify that hose-fitting combination, as well as the proper crimp diameter (specification) for the combination. This barcode information can be included in product catalogs along with details on the individual components. In addition to or as an alternative to the use of published crimp tables, hoses and fittings can be physically labeled with their corresponding barcodes.
A barcode scanner can be fully integrated into the controls of a crimping machine. As represented in
A database containing the barcodes and associated crimp settings can be stored in a mass storage memory device physically connected to or contained within the controller 34 of the crimping machine 30. In preferred embodiments of the invention, managing a system of barcodes that may be utilized by multiple machines makes use of a master database. The database can be stored as a “Crimp Bank” located on-site or remotely relative to one or more crimping machines. Integrating the Crimp Bank database with crimping machines through the Internet provides an opportunity to further enhance a hose assembly process. To ensure that the latest crimp settings are utilized by customers, updates to the Crimp Bank database can be posted on the Internet for download by customers into a mass storage memory device associated with the controller 34. Alternatively or in addition, the controller 34 can be manually or automatically connected to the Internet so that the controller 34 automatically accesses crimping settings from the Crimp Bank database in response to one or more barcodes read with the scanner 36. Manufacturers or a third party can maintain the Crimp Bank database to ensure that it contains the most current crimp settings for hoses and fittings in commercial use.
From the foregoing, it should be evident that the ability to identify particular hose assemblies and/or their individual components and the crimping settings associated therewith through unique barcodes enhances the operation of crimping machines and provides a means by which current product and crimping information can be accurately maintained. In addition, the use of the barcode scanner 36 at the machine 30 facilities the hose assembly process, simplifies the operator interface, and reduces if not eliminates problems caused by manually reading or entering the wrong crimp information from a crimp table. In cases where the individual parts are labeled with barcodes, a crimp chart may no longer be required. A Crimp Bank containing crimp settings that are maintained up to date and can accessed online to obtain available updates ensures that existing crimping machines are able to access and use the latest correct information supplied by manufacturers.
While the invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the physical configurations of the crimping machine 30 and scanner 36 could differ from that shown. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/563,296, filed Nov. 23, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61563296 | Nov 2011 | US |
