Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6360578
-
Patent Number
6,360,578
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, August 9, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 26, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 007 157
- 007 169
- 007 170
- 007 158
- 007 128
- 007 139
- 007 125
- 007 127
- 072 477
- 072 479
- 072 457
- 408 211
- 408 227
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A hand tool for restoring roundness to an open end of a pipe coupling formed of copper or the like. The tool has a series of sections of non-concentric grooves of increasing diameters separated by ridges over which the open end of the coupling is slipped. The ridge bordering the inside of the groove serving as a mandrel and the ridge bordering the outside of the groove serving as a die. Holes may be provided in the tool for use in restoring roundness to an open end of a pipe.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand tool for restoring roundness in the ends of a pipe coupling, fitting or piece of pipe formed of a relatively soft metal such as a copper.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Plumbers who install water lines generally employ readily available means for restoring roundness to copper pipe and copper couplings. What this means is that they make do with tools which are not intended for that purpose such as screwdrivers for use as mandrels and the hole in a crescent wrench for use as a die. Insofar as known, there are no special tools in common use for this purpose. Similar problems may be encountered by workmen installing other pipe lines wherein the material selected or the wall thickness render the pipe or the pipe couplings deformable under common handling conditions.
In a joint between a pipe and a coupling, the pipe should be round on its outside surface at the open end, whereas with a pipe coupling it is the inside surface that is important. For this reason, the tools needed to restore roundness in a pipe are generally different from those needed for a coupling.
While neither pipe nor pipe couplings are particularly expensive, a workman's time is costly. Rounding out a pipe or coupling with tools not intended for that purpose or locating another coupling that is not bent is a poor use of a skilled plumber's time. It would therefore be desirable to have a tool for restoring roundness in a coupling that is designed for that purpose, preferably a tool that could be used for restoring roundness in a pipe also. It would further be desirable if the tool was combined with some other tool that a workman needs to carry anyway, like a wrench, pipe cutter, etc.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tool for restoring roundness to a pipe or coupling, eliminating the difficulties in using tools not designed for that purpose. It is another object to provide a tool for restoring roundness to a pipe or coupling that can be incorporated into another necessary tool, thus eliminating the difficulties associated in carrying a multiplicity of tools. It is also an object to provide a tool permitting the rapid rounding out of a pipe or pipe coupling with a minimum of effort making a more economical installation of water lines or the like possible. Other objects and features of the invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
In accordance with the invention, a hand tool for restoring roundness in an open end of a pipe coupling has a body with a series of sections of non-concentric grooves of increasing diameters separated by ridges beginning with a first ridge.
The grooves in the body are adapted to receive a range of different sized pipe couplings, with the groove having the smallest diameter forming an annular space partially bordered on the inside by the first ridge. The first ridge has a length substantially equal to an internal diameter of the open end of the smallest coupling to be rounded, each successive groove of increasing diameter forming an annual space partially bordered on the inside by the first ridge and by a successive ridge. In use, a pipe coupling to be restored to roundness is slipped over and rotated in one of the grooves, any ridge bordering the inside of the groove serving as a mandrel and any ridge bordering the outside of the groove serving as a die.
The invention summarized above comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated by the subjoined claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
In the accompanying drawings, in which several of various possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated, corresponding reference characters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a tool in accordance with the present invention, whose function is dedicated to restoring roundness in a pipe or pipe coupling;
FIG. 2
is a plan view of a tool in accordance with present invention incorporated into a crescent wrench;
FIG. 3
is a detail taken along line
3
—
3
in
FIG. 1
showing a side view of a plurality of grooves for use in rounding out a coupling;
FIG. 4A
is a cross-section taken along
4
—
4
in
FIG. 2
showing a t-coupling over the first ridge and in the smallest groove;
FIG. 4B
is a cross-section similar to
FIG. 4A
showing a larger coupling over the first and second ridges and in the next larger groove;
FIG. 5
is a plan view of a tool in accordance with the present invention incorporated into a pipe cutter; and,
FIG. 6
is a plan view of a tool in accordance with the present invention incorporated into a tongue-and-groove pliers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference character, reference numeral
10
refers to a hand tool in accordance with the present invention. Tool
10
may be a body
12
dedicated for use to restoring roundness to a pipe coupling, as shown in
FIG. 1
, and to a pipe. Alternatively, tool
10
may be part of a crescent wrench
16
as shown in
FIG. 2
, pipe cutter
18
as shown in
FIG. 5
, tongue-and-groove pliers
20
as shown in
FIG. 6
such as sold under the trademark CHANNELLOCK or some other tool that a workman may need to carry anyway.
Tool
10
is for use with couplings
14
and the pipe to which they are fitted formed of soft copper or some other material which because of wall thickness or metal are susceptible to being bent out-of-round in the course of ordinary handling and which can be restored to roundness with the tool. As shown in
FIG. 1
, coupling
14
is a short collar with open ends
22
to receive the ends of two or more pipes to be joined together. The most common forms of coupling
14
have two arms and are straight or are bent at forty-five degrees, ninety degrees or some other angle. Other common couplings
14
as shown in
FIGS. 4A and 4B
are T-shaped with three arms for joining three pipes. Tool
10
may be used with other couplings
14
such as lateral couplings, etc., as will be apparent.
There are different methods for sizing pipe and pipe couplings
14
. In the case of copper water tubing, for example, commonly used tubing has the following dimensions:
|
OD, in,
Wall thick-
|
Nominal
types*
ID, in
ness, in
|
size, in
K, L
Type K
Type L
Type K
Type L
|
|
⅜
0.500
0.402
0.430
0.049
0.035
|
½
0.625
0.527
0.545
0.049
0.040
|
⅝
0.750
0.652
0.666
0.049
0.042
|
¾
0.875
0.745
0.785
0.065
0.045
|
1
1.125
0.995
1.025
0.065
0.050
|
1 ¼
1.375
1.245
1.265
0.065
0.055
|
1 ½
1.625
1.481
1.505
0.072
0.060
|
2
2.125
1.959
1.985
0.083
0.070
|
2 ½
2.625
2.435
2.465
0.095
0.080
|
3
3.125
2.907
2.945
0.109
0.090
|
3 ½
3.625
3.385
3.425
0.120
0.100
|
4
4.125
3.857
3.905
0.134
0.110
|
5
5.125
4.805
4.875
0.160
0.125
|
6
6.125
5.741
5.845
0.192
0.140
|
8
8.125
7.583
7.725
0.271
0.200
|
10
10.125
9.449
9.625
0.338
0.250
|
12
12.125
11.315
11.565
0.405
0.280
|
|
*Type K recommended for underground service and general plumbing. Type L suitable for interior plumbing and other services.
|
SOURCE: American Brass Co.
|
The dimensions and nomenclature for pipe couplings
14
with Type K copper tubing, are as follows: For a ½ in. pipe, the pipe coupling has ID of
⅝ (
0.625 in.); ¾ in. pipe requires a fitting with a ⅞in. ID; 1 in. pipe uses a fitting with a 1⅛ in. ID and so forth. The OD of the couplings depends on the wall thickness of the coupling and generally increases with the inside diameter. Hence it is seen that in the case of Type K tubing, a so-called ½-inch pipe has an outside diameter of ⅝ inch, whereas a so-called ½-inch coupling has neither a ½ inch inside or outside diameter, the ½-inch designation referring to the inside diameter of the pipe that it fits. Different conventions apply to other pipes and tubing, depending on the industry that the nomenclature arose. It therefore follows that pipe and pipe couplings
14
should be from the same series.
Starting with
FIG. 1
, body
12
is a parallelepiped with front and rear faces
24
,
26
, side edges
28
and top and bottom edges
30
,
32
, respectively. A plurality of grooves
34
are formed in one of side edges
28
. Additionally, body
12
may be provided with punches
36
,
38
on the top and bottom sides
30
,
32
, respectively, and with a plurality of holes
40
,
42
and
44
, opening on front and rear faces
24
,
26
. Holes
40
,
42
and
44
may be countersunk at
46
to facilitate insertion of a pipe for restoring roundness, whereas punches
36
,
38
and grooves
34
may be used to round out a coupling
14
.
For use in rounding open end
22
of a coupling
14
, grooves
34
as best seen in
FIGS. 1-3
comprise a series of sections
48
of non-concentric grooves of increasing diameters separated by ridges
50
. In a preferred form, grooves
34
are tangential and sections
48
are arranged in a file. The letter “n” identifies the largest groove
34
and “s” identifies the smallest groove
34
, with the intermediate grooves identified as
34
(
n
-
2
) and
34
(
n
-
1
). Lesser or greater numbers of grooves
34
may be provided as will become more apparent. Smallest groove
34
s
forms an annular space partially bordered on the inside by a first ridge
50
f
. First ridge
50
f
has a length substantially equal to an internal diameter of open end
22
of the smallest pipe or pipe coupling
14
to be rounded. For use with pipes or couplings
14
with larger diameters, each successive groove
34
of increasing diameter forms an annular space partially bordered on the inside by first ridge
50
, identified by the letter “f” and by a successive ridge. The letter “g” identifies the outermost ridge
50
, with the intermediate ridges identified as
50
(
g
-
2
) and
50
(
g
-
1
).
As shown in
FIG. 1
, punch
36
on top edge
30
may have a stepped diameter for restoring roundness to different sized couplings
14
. For example, an end step
52
may have a diameter of ⅝ in. for use with a ½ in. Type K pipe fitting and an intermediate step
54
with a diameter of 1⅛in. for use with a 1 in. fitting. Similarly punch
38
on bottom edge
32
may be stepped. It will also be understood that one or both of punches
36
and
38
may be threaded for receipt of a sleeve (not shown) for use with different sized fittings. As illustrated, however, punch
38
is sized for just one coupling such as ⅞ in. for use with a ¾ in. Type K fitting. A leading edge of punches
36
,
38
or each step thereof may be tapered at
56
to facilitate insertion into a coupling. With continuing reference to FIG.
1
and Type K tubing, holes
40
,
42
and
44
may have an inside diameter of ⅝in., ⅞ in. and 1⅛ in. for use with ½ in., ¾ in. and 1 in. tubing, respectively, those sizes being most commonly used. It will be understood that the foregoing details as to dimensions are illustrative, not limiting, as other dimensions may be required for other pipes and pipe couplings with other dimensions, as will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.
Referring now to
FIG. 2
, tool
10
is shown in combination with crescent wrench
16
. As is customary, crescent wrench
16
has a fixed and movable jaw
58
,
60
, respectively, a thumbscrew
62
and a handle
64
. Grooves
34
and ridges
50
may be formed along a side edge
66
of crescent wrench
16
or on a flat face
68
of the handle. On side edge
66
, ridges
50
are formed between grooves
34
, whereas on flat face
68
, grooves
34
are formed between ridges
50
. It will be understood that grooves
34
and ridges
50
will not usually be formed in both side edge
66
and flat face
68
as they would be redundant, although different sized grooves and ridges might be provided to accommodate differently dimensioned couplings. Holes
40
,
42
and
44
may be formed in handle
64
for use in rounding out pipe.
FIGS. 5 and 6
show tool
10
in combination with other tools that a workman may need to have anyway. In
FIG. 5
, tool
10
is illustrated in combination with pipe cutter
18
. Pipe cutter
18
has a body member with a first end wall
70
upon which is mounted a cutting disc
72
. A movable jaw
74
with a pair of rollers
76
for supporting a tube which is to be cut is mounted on a second end wall
78
. Jaw
74
is movable longitudinally on a threaded member
80
which is threaded through second end wall
78
. Grooves
34
and ridges
50
are formed in a side edge
82
of body member. As shown in
FIG. 6
, grooves
34
and ridges
50
may also be formed in a side edge
84
of tonque-andgroove pliers
20
.
In use, tool
10
as shown in
FIG. 1
may be used to round out pipe and pipe couplings
14
. Pipe may be rounded by selecting an appropriate one of holes
40
,
42
or
44
, the selected hole functioning as a die. If coupling
14
is severely deformed, an appropriately sized one of punches
36
,
38
may be used. The opposite one of punches
36
,
38
being flattened at
86
such that body
12
may be struck with a hammer
88
, driving the selected punch into the coupling. Coupling
14
may then be further rounded with grooves
34
and ridges
50
.
As shown in
FIGS. 4A and 4B
, open end
22
of coupling
14
is seated in one of grooves
34
. When coupling
14
is a ½ in. Type K fitting, ridge
50
f
is ⅝ in. in length and the distance between first ridge
50
f
and the next successive ridge
50
(
g
-
2
) must be sufficient to accommodate the wall thickness of the coupling and is preferably nominally the same. As coupling
14
is rotated about ridge
50
f
, the inside of open end
22
is rounded for receipt of a pipe, ridge
50
f
serving as a mandrel and ridge
50
(
g
-
2
) as a die. Turning to
FIG. 4B
, when coupling is a ¾ in. Type K fitting, open end
22
is fitted over ridge
50
f
and ridge
50
(
g
-
2
), the combined length, including groove
34
s
being ⅞ in. As will be apparent, grooves
34
of increasing diameters are used with larger couplings
14
.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained. As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
- 1. A hand tool for restoring roundness in an open end of a pipe coupling, said tool having a body with a series of sections of non-concentric grooves of increasing diameters separated by ridges beginning with a first ridge, said grooves adapted to receive a range of different sized pipes, said groove with the smallest diameter forming an annular space partially bordered on the inside by the first ridge, said first ridge having a length substantially equal to an internal diameter of the open end of the smallest pipe coupling to be rounded, each successive groove of increasing diameter forming an annual space partially bordered on the inside by the first ridge and by a successive ridge, whereby a pipe coupling is restored to roundness when the open end is slipped over and rotated in one of the grooves, any ridge bordering the inside of the groove serving as a mandrel.
- 2. The hand tool of claim 1 wherein the body is a parallelepiped with front and rear faces, side edges and a top and bottom edge, said grooves being in one of the side edges.
- 3. The hand tool of claim 1 wherein a punch is provided on the top edge and the bottom edge, said punches having different outside diameters for use in restoring a pipe coupling to roundness.
- 4. The hand tool of claim 3 wherein one or both of the punches is stepped in diameter.
- 5. A hand tool for restoring roundness to an open end of a pipe coupling, said tool having a body with a series of sections of non-concentric grooves of increasing diameters separated by ridges beginning with a first ridge, said grooves adapted to receive a range of different sized couplings, said groove with the smallest diameter forming an annular space partially bordered on the inside by the first ridge and on the outside by a successive ridge, said first ridge having a length substantially equal to an internal diameter of the open end of the smallest pipe coupling to be rounded, each successive groove of increasing diameter forming an annual space bordered on the inside by the first ridge and by the previous successive ridge and on the outside by a next successive ridge, whereby a coupling is restored to roundness when the open end is slipped over and rotated in one of the grooves, any ridge bordering the inside of the groove serving as a mandrel and the ridge bordering the outside of the groove serving as a die.
- 6. The hand tool of claim 5 having one or more holes through the body for use in restoring pipe to roundness.
- 7. A hand tool for restoring roundness to an open end of a pipe coupling, said tool having a body with a series of sections of circular non-concentric grooves of increasing diameters separated by ridges beginning with a first ridge, said grooves adapted to receive a range of different sized couplings, said groove with the smallest diameter forming an annular space partially bordered on the inside by the first ridge and on the outside by a next successive ridge, said first ridge having a length substantially equal to an internal diameter of the open end of the smallest pipe coupling to be rounded, each successive groove of increasing diameter forming an annual space bordered on the inside by the first ridge and by the previous successive ridge and on the outside by the next successive ridge, said series of sections of grooves being in a file, whereby a coupling is restored to roundness when the open end is slipped over and rotated in one of the grooves, any ridge bordering the inside of the groove serving as a mandrel and the ridge bordering the outside of the groove serving as a die.
- 8. The hand tool of claim 7 wherein the hand tool is a crescent wrench.
- 9. The hand tool of claim 8 having one or more holes through a handle of the crescent wrench for use in restoring pipe to roundness.
- 10. The hand tool of claim 7 wherein the hand tool is a pipe cutter.
- 11. The hand tool of claim 7 wherein the hand tool is a tongue-and-groove pliers.
US Referenced Citations (8)