The present disclosure relates to industrial tools, and particularly to hydraulic torque wrenches.
Industrial tools such as hydraulic torque wrenches use pressurized fluid to apply large torques to a workpiece (e.g., fastener, nut, etc.). In particular, application of pressurized fluid to a piston drives a socket to rotate in a first direction. A ratchet device permits a drive socket to drive the fastener in a first direction. For example, a locking pawl may engage the socket to rotate the socket, but the workpiece is inhibited from rotating in an opposite direction as the locking pawl slides relative to the drive sprocket. Hydraulic torque wrenches may also include sensors and/or gauges for determining the amount of torque applied to the workpiece.
In one aspect, a drive system for an industrial tool includes a cylinder, a first piston, a first rod, a second piston, and a second rod. The cylinder includes a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween. The first piston is disposed within the cylinder and movable along the longitudinal axis. The first rod is coupled to the first piston and extends toward the first end of the cylinder. The second piston is disposed within the cylinder and movable along the longitudinal axis. The second rod is coupled to the second piston and extends toward the first end of the cylinder.
In another aspect, a hydraulic torque wrench includes a drive system and a working end driven by the drive system. The drive system includes a cylinder, a first piston, a first rod coupled to the first piston, a second piston, and a second rod coupled to the second piston. The cylinder includes a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween. The first piston is disposed within the cylinder and movable along the longitudinal axis. The second piston is disposed within the cylinder and movable along the longitudinal axis. The working end includes a first arm coupled to the first rod, a second arm coupled to the second rod, and a socket operable to be driven by the first arm and the second arm.
In yet another aspect, a hydraulic torque wrench includes a fluid actuator and a working end driven by the fluid actuator. The fluid actuator includes a cylinder, a first piston moveable along a longitudinal axis under the influence of pressurized fluid in a first chamber, and a second piston moveable along the longitudinal axis under the influence of pressurized fluid in a second chamber. The working end includes a socket, a first arm coupled to and actuated by movement of the first piston, and a second arm coupled to and actuated by the second piston. Reciprocal movement of the first arm and the second arm driving rotation of the socket in a single direction of rotation.
Other aspects will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any independent embodiments are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The disclosure is capable of other independent embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Use of “consisting of” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings.
As best shown in
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second pistons 26, 30 are co-axial with each other, and a body of the second piston 30 extends around the first piston 26. In the illustrated embodiment, the second piston 30 is positioned at an end of a cylindrical body 92, and both the first piston 26 and the partition 52 are positioned in the cylindrical body 92. The first piston 26 includes a cap side 70 that is adjacent the first chamber 54 and a rod side 74 that is adjacent a third chamber 72. Further, the second piston 30 includes a cap side 82 that is adjacent the second chamber 58 and a rod side 86 that is adjacent a fourth chamber 76. The fourth chamber 76 is in communication with a fluid passage 90, and in some embodiments the fluid passage 90 is a vent in communication with an ambient environment.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first piston 26 and first rod 36 are nested with respect to the second piston 30 and second rod 40. In some embodiments, the first rod 36 and the second rod 40 are configured to be concentric with one another, and can be positioned concentric with the longitudinal axis 42. The first piston 26 is positioned within the cylindrical body 92, between the second piston 30 and an opposite end 100 of the body 92. The cap side 70 of the first piston 26 faces toward the rod side 86 of the second piston 30, and the partition 52 is positioned between the first piston 26 and the second piston 30. The third chamber 96 has two portions 96a, 96b, and a fluid passage 78 provides communication between the portions 96a, 96b. The first portion 96a is positioned in the body 92, between the rod side 74 of the first piston 26 and the opposite end 100 of the body 92. The second portion 96b is positioned in the cylinder 22, between the second cap 50 and the opposite end 100 of the cylindrical body 92. The first portion 96a and the second portion 96b are in communication with one another by a fluid passage 78.
In some embodiments, the third chamber 96 is a common retraction chamber for the first piston 26 and second piston 30. Fluid may enter the first portion 96a when the first piston 26 and first rod 36 retract. Similarly, fluid may enter the second portion 96b when the second piston 30 and second rod 40 retract. The first portion 96a and second portion 96b may form a closed system in which a discrete amount of fluid is transferred back and forth between the first portion 96a and the second portion 96b through the fluid passage 78. Also, in some embodiments, at least one of the third chamber 96 and the fluid passage 90 is in fluid communication with an ambient environment.
The cap side 70 of the first piston 26 includes a first cross-sectional area and the cap side 82 of the second piston 30 includes a second cross-sectional area. In the illustrated embodiment, the second cross-sectional area is a surface area between an outer diameter of the second piston 30 and an inner hole through which the stem 48 passes (i.e., the surface area of cap side 82). The second cross-sectional area is substantially equal to the first cross-sectional area (i.e., surface area of the cap side 70 of the first piston 26), ensuring that the amount of fluid displaced by movement of the first piston 26 is substantially the same as the amount of fluid displaced by movement of the second piston 30. Further, the chamber adjacent the rod side 74 of the first piston 26 defines a first volume and the chamber adjacent the rod side 86 of the second piston 30 defines a second volume that is substantially equal to the first volume.
As best shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the second rod 40 is split into multiple portions, and the second arm 106 of the working head 18 is split into multiple portions or links, each of which are coupled to an associate portion of the second rod 40. The first rod 36 is positioned between the portions of the second rod 40, and the first arm 94 is positioned between the two links of the second arm 106. The nested configuration facilitates direct axial loading between the first piston 26 and the first arm 94, and direct axial loading between the second piston 30 and the two portions of the arm 106. As a result, offset or oblique loading (that is, loads that are non-parallel to the axis 42) between the pistons 26, 30 and the arms 94, 106 is reduced or avoided, thereby improving operation and working life of the components of the drive system 10.
As shown in
The first piston 26 is moveable along the longitudinal axis 42 between an extended position (
In operation, the sprocket 130 is rotated continuously in the first direction 118 through alternating cyclic movement stages of actuating the arms 94, 106, as described in further detail below. In order to tighten a workpiece such as a fastener, the fastener is received within the socket 12 (
During a first stage of movement (
In the first stage of movement, teeth of the first pawl 126a engage corresponding teeth of the sprocket 130 when the first pawl 126a moves in the first direction 118 to rotate the sprocket 130 in the first direction 118. In other words, the first pawl 126a and the sprocket 130 move together in the first direction 118. When the pawls 126b, 126c move in the second direction 122, teeth of the pawls 126b, 126c slide over the teeth of the sprocket 130 without engaging. The pawls 126b, 126c move relative to the sprocket 130 without driving the sprocket 130 in the second direction 122.
During a second stage of movement (
In the second stage of movement, teeth of the pawls 126b, 126c engage corresponding teeth of the sprocket 130 when the pawls 126b, 126c move in the first direction 118 to rotate the sprocket 130 in the first direction 118. In other words, the pawls 126b, 126c and the sprocket 130 move together in the first direction 118. In contrast, teeth of the first pawl 126a move in the second direction 122, and teeth of the pawl 126a move over the teeth of the sprocket 130 without engaging the sprocket 130. The first pawl 126a therefore moves relative to the sprocket 130 without driving the sprocket 130 in the second direction 122.
The first and second stages of movement alternate and repeat while the torque wrench 10 is activated or until the magnitude of torque reaches a predetermined torque value. Since the sprocket 130 is being positively driven in the first direction 118 during both stages (i.e., alternatively between pawl 126a and pawls 126b, 126c), the workpiece is rotated continuously in the first direction 118 rather than only being driven during one stage. In some instances, momentary pauses may exist between the first and second stages of movement in high pressure conditions. For example, the amount of torque required to fully tighten the workpiece increases toward the end of a tightening sequence, causing the amount of fluid pressure to drive the pistons 26, 30 to increase as well, which may cause momentary pauses due to pressure building in the chambers 54, 58.
The sprocket 130 is inhibited from rotating in the second direction 122 during each stage because the teeth of the pawls 126a-c and the sprocket 130 are asymmetrical, and each tooth has a relatively shallow slope on one edge and a relatively steep slope on the other edge. The edges of the pawls 126a-c with steep slope catch and engage edges of the sprocket teeth having a steep slope when the pawls 126a-c are driven in the first direction 118, while the edges of the pawls 126a-c having a shallow slope slide relative to the edges of the sprocket teeth having shallow slope in order to avoid catching one another when the pawls 126a-c rotate in the second direction 122 relative to the sprocket 130.
In the illustrated embodiment, when the pawls 126a-c move in the first direction 118, the pawls 126a-c have an angular displacement 134 that is constant for each stage. This is accomplished by the first cross-sectional area of the first cap side 70 of the first piston 26 being substantially the same as the second cross-sectional area of the second cap side 82 of the second piston 30. The equal cross-sectional areas ensure that the force exerted on the first piston 26 by the fluid in the first chamber 54 is the substantially equal to the force exerted on the second piston 30 by the fluid in the second chamber 58, thereby actuating the pistons 26, 30 through the same distance. In some embodiments, linear movement of the first rod 36 (or the second rod 40) through its full stroke along the axis 42 causes the pawl 126a (or pawls 126b, 126c) to be displaced through an angle 134 between approximately 30 degrees and approximately 40 degrees about the axis of rotation 116 (
In some embodiments, the torque wrench 10 may include one or more sensors for sensing the amount of torque applied by the sprocket 130 to the workpiece. The sensors can generate signals corresponding to the magnitude of torque which are subsequently sent to and interpreted by an external device, such as a controller. The controller communicates with the torque wrench 10 to indicate to a user when a predetermined torque has been reached or the controller can deactivate the torque wrench 10. The sensors may be pressure sensors, strain gauges, position sensors, other suitable sensors, or a combination thereof. Computer software may be included to allow the torque wrench 10 to perform a tightening operation of a fastener to the predetermined torque value following activation by a user.
The embodiment(s) described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present disclosure. As such, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications to the elements and their configuration and/or arrangement exist within the spirit and scope of one or more independent aspects as described.
This application claims the benefit of co-pending, prior-filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/569,085, filed Oct. 6, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62569085 | Oct 2017 | US |