KR-102960639-B1 - Automatic tube expansion device and method of operation thereof

KR102960639B1KR 102960639 B1KR102960639 B1KR 102960639B1KR-102960639-B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tube expansion device, and more specifically, to an automatic tube expansion device that automatically performs a tube expansion process divided into stages. To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an automatic tube expansion device comprising an alignment unit for aligning a tube for expansion, a heating unit for heating a tube, an expansion unit for expanding a tube, a cooling unit for cooling a tube, and a control unit for integrally controlling the alignment unit, the heating unit, the expansion unit, and the cooling unit. Additionally, the alignment unit aligns the tube by moving the tube to come into contact with a tube alignment device, the heating unit heats the tube by a heater that moves in the up-down and forward-backward directions by driving a cylinder and a servo motor, the expansion unit expands the tube by inserting an expander that moves by rotating a motor into the tube in the axial direction, and the cooling unit cools the tube by spraying air toward the outer surface of the tube after heating and expansion are completed using a plurality of cooling nozzles formed in pairs.

Inventors

유연수
한규용
유대일
성기태
김성철
박상필

Assignees

(주)에스티아이

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20240115

Claims (16)

Alignment section for aligning tubes for expansion; A heating unit for heating the above tube; An expander for expanding the above tube; A cooling unit for cooling the above tube; and In an automatic tube expansion device comprising a control unit that integrally controls the alignment unit, heating unit, expansion unit, and cooling unit, The above alignment unit aligns the tube by moving the tube to come into contact with the tube alignment device, and The heating unit is a heater that moves up and down and forward and backward by driving a cylinder and a servo motor, and heats in a position adjacent to the tube. The above-mentioned expansion unit expands the tube by inserting an expansion unit, which moves by the rotation of a motor, into the tube in the axial direction. The above cooling unit is an automatic tube expansion device in which a plurality of cooling nozzles formed in pairs spray air toward the outer surface of the tube after heating and expansion are completed to cool the tube.
In paragraph 1, The above alignment unit further includes a tube alignment sensor that detects the upward movement of the tube alignment device and confirms that the alignment operation of the tube is completed.
In paragraph 1, The above alignment part further comprises upper and lower collets and upper and lower tube fixing devices to which the upper and lower collets are fastened, an automatic tube expansion device.
In paragraph 3, The above upper and lower collets are an automatic tube expansion device selected according to the size of the tube.
In paragraph 3, The above upper and lower collets have collet ID check pins formed thereon, and the automatic tube expansion device is connected to the collet ID check pin fastening portion formed in the upper and lower tube fixing device.
In paragraph 5, An automatic tube expansion device that determines the size of the tube based on where the collet ID check pin is fastened in the fastening groove formed in the collet ID check pin fastening portion, and where the collet ID check pin is fastened in the fastening groove.
In paragraph 1, The above tube alignment device is an automatic tube expansion device selected according to the size of the tube.
In paragraph 1, The above tube alignment device further includes a tube alignment device coupling part that is separated from and coupled with the above tube alignment device, and the tube alignment device coupling part is an automatic tube expansion device selected according to the size of the tube.
In paragraph 1, The above-mentioned expander combines with an expander socket to form an expander assembly, and the above-mentioned expander assembly is connected to an expander docking unit, forming an automatic tube expansion device.
In Paragraph 9, The above-mentioned expander and expander socket are an automatic tube expanding device selected according to the size of the tube.
In Paragraph 9, An automatic tube expansion device in which an expander assembly ID check pin is formed in the above-mentioned expander socket, and when the above-mentioned expander assembly is connected to the above-mentioned expander docking unit, the above-mentioned expander assembly ID check pin is connected to an expander assembly ID check pin connection part formed on the base of the expander docking unit.
In Paragraph 11, An automatic tube expansion device that determines the size of the tube based on where the expansioner assembly ID check pin is fastened in the fastening groove formed in the expansioner assembly ID check pin fastening part, and where the expansioner assembly ID check pin is fastened in the fastening groove.
Alignment step for aligning tubes for expansion; A heating step for heating the above-mentioned aligned tubes; An expansion step for expanding the above-mentioned heated tube; A method for operating an automatic tube expansion device comprising: a cooling step for cooling the expanded tube; and a removal step for removing the cooled tube, wherein In the above alignment step, the tube is moved to come into contact with a tube alignment device, and the alignment status of the tube is checked based on whether contact is made. In the heating step above, a heater that moves in the up-down and forward-backward directions by driving a cylinder and a servo motor is positioned close to the outer surface of the tube to heat the aligned tube, and In the above expansion step, an expander of an expander assembly that moves by the rotation of a motor is inserted into the tube, and the tube is expanded by the axial rotation of the expander. In the above cooling step, a plurality of cooling nozzles formed in pairs toward the outer surface of the tube that has been expanded spray air to cool the tube, and A method of operating an automatic tube expansion device in which the control unit integrally controls the alignment step, heating step, expansion step, and cooling step so as to be interconnected.
In Paragraph 13, A method of operating an automatic tube expansion device in which, in the above alignment step, the tube alignment device or the tube alignment device coupling part is selected according to the size of the tube, and the tube is gradually moved further in the direction of expansion device movement to align the tube as the size of the tube decreases.
In Paragraph 13, A method of operating an automatic tube expansion device, wherein, prior to the tube alignment step, an upper and lower collet is selected according to the size of the tube and fastened to an upper and lower tube fixing device, and the size of the tube is determined according to the position in which the collet ID check pin is fastened to a fastening groove formed in the collet ID check pin fastening part.
In Paragraph 13, A method of operating an automatic tube expansion device, wherein, prior to the movement of the expansion assembly in the expansion step, the expansion assembly is configured by selecting the expansion assembly and the expansion assembly according to the size of the tube, and when the expansion assembly is connected to the expansion docking unit, the expansion assembly ID check pin is connected to a connection groove formed in the expansion assembly ID check pin connection part to determine the size of the tube.

Description

Automatic tube expansion device and method of operation thereof The present invention relates to a tube expansion device, and more specifically, to an automatic tube expansion device that automatically performs a tube expansion process divided into stages. Unless otherwise noted herein, the contents described in this section are not prior art to the claims of this application and should not be recognized as prior art merely because they are described in this section. Generally, a tube expander is a device used to expand the tip of a tube into a required shape for connecting tubes to each other, connecting tubes of different sizes, or connecting separate assembly components. Conventional tube expanders expanded the tube tip by a method in which an operator gripped an insertion rod and applied pressure to advance the insertion rod to the tube tip, and the expander of the advancing insertion rod was inserted into the tube tip to expand the tube tip. However, this tube expansion method presented the difficulty of requiring the worker to perform the expansion manually, and there was a problem in that the expansion could not be performed accurately and consistently due to the manual nature of the process. Additionally, the manual operation resulted in a long working time, and since the process could only be performed by skilled workers, it was difficult for unskilled workers to perform. The foregoing features and other features of the present invention will become fully apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. With the understanding that these drawings illustrate only a few embodiments according to the present invention and should therefore not be construed as limiting the scope thereof, the present invention will be described more specifically and in detail through the use of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic tube expansion device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an expanded section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an alignment section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the expansion section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a heating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 6(a) and FIGS. 6(b) are enlarged views of a heating section according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 7(a) to 7(d) are drawings showing the tube placement positions inside a heater according to the size of the tube according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a cooling section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 9(a) to 9(e) are drawings showing the step-by-step operation process of an automatic tube expansion device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 10(a) to 10(e) are drawings showing the process of aligning and fixing a tube in an alignment section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 11(a) to 11(d) are drawings showing the process of heating a tube in a heating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a drawing showing a method of moving a heating unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 13(a) to 13(d) are drawings showing the process of a pipe expander assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention being coupled to and fixed to a pipe expander docking unit. FIG. 14 is a drawing showing a tube being expanded by an expander according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 15(a) and FIGS. 15(b) are drawings showing an expanded tube being cooled in a cooling section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a drawing showing the control of an automatic tube expansion device in a control box unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It should be understood that various embodiments of the invention are different but need not be mutually exclusive. Combinations of each block of the configuration diagram (block diagram) and each step of the flowchart attached in this disclosure may be performed by computer program instructions. Each such block or each step may represent a module, segment, or part of code containing one or more executable instructions for performing a specified logical function(s). Additionally, it should be noted that in some alternative embodiments, the functions mentioned in the blocks or steps may occur out of order. For example, two blocks or steps that are adjacent or depicted in order may actually be performed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks or steps may sometimes be performed in reverse order according to the c