Title: Pipe cutting machine
Abstract: A pipe cutting machine comprises a clamping device for holding a pipe to be cut and a pipe cutting apparatus for cutting the pipe by revolving a rotating disc-like cutting blade around the circumferential surface of the pipe held by the clamping device. The pipe cutting apparatus is provided with a revolution motion member of an annular shape rotatably supported by a support member secured to a main frame thereof for revolving a cutting blade around a pipe to be cut; an arm pivotally supported on one side surface of the revolution motion member at one end thereof and rotatably carrying the cutting blade at the other end thereof; a swing motion member of an annular shape rotatably supported by the support member in axial alignment with the revolution motion member for swinging the arm; a rotation motion member of an annular shape rotatably supported by the support member in axial alignment with the revolution motion member for rotating the cutting blade; and plural motors mounted on the main frame for respectively rotating the revolution motion member, the swing motion member and the rotation motion member through driving belts.
Patent Number: 6,981,437 Issued on 01/03/2006 to Ogawa
| Inventors:
|
Ogawa; Gen (Chiryu, JP)
|
| Assignee:
|
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Chiryu, JP)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
973434 |
| Filed:
|
October 27, 2004 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Oct 31, 2003[JP] | 2003-371622 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
82/70.2; 82/46; 82/83 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
B23B 5/14 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
82/59,66,67,69,701,702,85,84,46
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 4111346 | Sep., 1978 | Bertolette.
| |
| 4430913 | Feb., 1984 | Williamson.
| |
| 5207136 | May., 1993 | Evard et al.
| |
| 5881616 | Mar., 1999 | Nanzai.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 8-257832 | Oct., 1996 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Fridie, Jr.; Willmon
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A pipe cutting machine having a clamping device for holding a pipe to be cut
and a pipe cutting apparatus for cutting the pipe by revolving a rotating disc-like
cutting blade around the circumferential surface of the pipe held by the clamping
device, the pipe cutting apparatus comprising:
a main frame;
a support member secured to the main frame;
a revolution motion member of an annular shape rotatably supported by the support member;
an arm pivotally supported on one side surface of the revolution motion member
at one end thereof and rotatably carrying the cutting blade at the other end thereof;
a swing motion member of an annular shape rotatably supported by the support
member in axial alignment with the revolution motion member for swinging the arm;
a rotation motion member of an annular shape rotatably supported by the support
member in axial alignment with the revolution motion member for rotating the cutting blade;
plural motors mounted on the main frame for respectively rotating the revolution
motion member, the swing motion member and the rotation motion member; and
plural rotation transmission mechanisms for transmitting rotational drive powers
from the plural motors respectively to the revolution motion member, the swing
motion member and the rotation motion member.
2. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the swing motion
member has internal teeth, and wherein the arm is provided with a swingable gear
which is in meshing engagement with the internal teeth for swinging the arm, so
that the arm is swung on the revolution motion member upon rotation of the swing
motion member.
3. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the rotation motion
member has internal teeth, and wherein the arm is provided with a cutting blade
drive gear which is in meshing engagement with the internal teeth of the rotation
motion member through one of the rotation transmission mechanisms, so that the
cutting blade is rotated on the arm upon rotation of the rotation motion member.
4. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the revolution motion
member, the swing motion member and the rotation motion member are juxtaposed with
one another in axial alignment to be rotatable in the support member.
5. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the rotation
transmission mechanisms comprises a driving belt.
6. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the motors
for respectively rotating the revolution motion member and the swing motion member
is constituted by a motor which is controllable in rotational angle and rotational
speed thereof.
7. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the clamping device comprises:
first and second clamping mechanisms for respectively holding a first portion
of the pipe to be cut away and a second portion of the pipe to be left without
being cut away;
plural first chuck claws constituting the first clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the first portion;
plural second chuck claws constituting the second clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the second portion which is back by a predetermined distance
from the first portion, and
means for effecting the relative movement between the clamping device and the
cutting blade in the axis direction of the pipe so that the cutting blade is positioned
between the first and second portions of the pipe prior to the cutting of the pipe.
8. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 7, wherein the first and second
clamping mechanisms are mounted on a main body of the clamping device so that three
first chuck claws are arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential
direction to be diametrically opposed to three second chuck claws which are also
arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential direction, and wherein
the three second chuck claws are made to be longer in the axial direction of the
pipe held thereby than the three first chuck claws and are formed with recesses
on their outer surfaces for permitting the cutting blade to be cut into the pipe
without cutting the three second chuck claws.
9. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 8, further comprising an additional
clamping device which is movable to follow the first mentioned clamping device
when the same is moved to position the pipe relative to the cutting blade while
opposite ends of the pipe are gripped and held by the additional clamping device
and the first mentioned clamping device.
10. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein the clamping device comprises:
first and second clamping mechanisms for respectively holding a first portion
of the pipe to be cut away and a second portion of the pipe to be left without
being cut away;
plural first chuck claws constituting the first clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the first portion;
plural second chuck claws constituting the second clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the second portion which is back by a predetermined distance
from the first portion, and
means for effecting the relative movement between the clamping device and the
cutting blade in the axis direction of the pipe so that the cutting blade is positioned
between the first and second portions of the pipe prior to the cutting of the pipe.
11. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 10, wherein the first and
second clamping mechanisms are mounted on a main body of the clamping device so
that three first chuck claws are arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential
direction to be diametrically opposed to three second chuck claws which are also
arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential direction, and wherein
the three second chuck claws are made to be longer in the axial direction of the
pipe held thereby than the three first chuck claws and are formed with recesses
on their outer surfaces for permitting the cutting blade to be cut into the pipe
without cutting the three second chuck claws.
12. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 11, further comprising an
additional clamping device which is movable to follow the first mentioned clamping
device when the same is moved to position the pipe relative to the cutting blade
while opposite ends of the pipe are gripped and held by the additional clamping
device and the first mentioned clamping device.
13. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 3, wherein the clamping device comprises:
first and second clamping mechanisms for respectively holding a first portion
of the pipe to be cut away and a second portion of the pipe to be left without
being cut away;
plural first chuck claws constituting the first clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the first portion;
plural second chuck claws constituting the second clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the second portion which is back by a predetermined distance
from the first portion, and
means for effecting the relative movement between the clamping device and the
cutting blade in the axis direction of the pipe so that the cutting blade is positioned
between the first and second portions of the pipe prior to the cutting of the pipe.
14. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 13, wherein the first and
second clamping mechanisms are mounted on a main body of the clamping device so
that three first chuck claws are arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential
direction to be diametrically opposed to three second chuck claws which are also
arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential direction, and wherein
the three second chuck claws are made to be longer in the axial direction of the
pipe held thereby than the three first chuck claws and are formed with recesses
on their outer surfaces for permitting the cutting blade to be cut into the pipe
without cutting the three second chuck claws.
15. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 14, further comprising an
additional clamping device which is movable to follow the first mentioned clamping
device when the same is moved to position the pipe relative to the cutting blade
while opposite ends of the pipe are gripped and held by the additional clamping
device and the first mentioned clamping device.
16. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein the clamping device comprises:
first and second clamping mechanisms for respectively holding a first portion
of the pipe to be cut away and a second portion of the pipe to be left without
being cut away;
plural first chuck claws constituting the first clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the first portion;
plural second chuck claws constituting the second clamping mechanism for holding
the internal surface of the second portion which is back by a predetermined distance
from the first portion, and
means for effecting the relative movement between the clamping device and the
cutting blade in the axis direction of the pipe so that the cutting blade is positioned
between the first and second portions of the pipe prior to the cutting of the pipe.
17. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 16, wherein the first and
second clamping mechanisms are mounted on a main body of the clamping device so
that three first chuck claws are arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential
direction to be diametrically opposed to three second chuck claws which are also
arranged at equiangular intervals in the circumferential direction, and wherein
the three second chuck claws are made to be longer in the axial direction of the
pipe held thereby than the three first chuck claws and are formed with recesses
on their outer surfaces for permitting the cutting blade to be cut into the pipe
without cutting the three second chuck claws.
18. The pipe cutting machine as set forth in claim 17, further comprising an
additional clamping device which is movable to follow the first mentioned clamping
device when the same is moved to position the pipe relative to the cutting blade
while opposite ends of the pipe are gripped and held by the additional clamping
device and the first mentioned clamping device.
Description
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 with respect
to Japanese Application No. 2003-371622 filed on Oct. 31, 2003, the entire content
of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pipe cutting machine for cutting a pipe by
revolving a rotating disc-like cutting blade around the circumferential surface
of the pile supported on a clamping device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As pipe cutting machine of this kind, there has been known one described in Japanese
unexamined, published patent application No. 8-257832 (257832/1996). Referring
now to the accompanying drawings, the known pipe cutting machine is provided with
a casing 16 provided on a machine body 2 to be swingable about a
support shaft 16
a, a rotary member 32 carried by the casing
16 to be rotatable about the axis of a pipe 11 to be cut, and an
arm 40 carried on the rotary member 32 to be swung about the axis
of an second rotational shaft 38 for moving a cutting blade 54 toward
and away from the pipe 11 and to be fixed on the rotary member 32
at a desired position so that the infeed position of the cutting blade 54
can be adjusted for the diameter of the pipe 11 to be cut. The known cutting
machine is further provided with a revolution drive motor 18 as revolution
drive means for rotating the rotary member 32 and a rotation drive motor
20 as rotation drive means for rotating the cutting blade 54.
In the known pipe cutting machine, the cutting blade 54 is rotated by transmitting
the rotational power of the rotation drive motor 20 to a gear portion 51
and an output shaft 50 through a first rotational shaft 24, a pinion
28, an idle gear 23, a pinion 41, the second rotational shaft
38, a gear portion 42 and an idle gear 44. Then, the casing
16 is swung by a swing drive cylinder 58 about the support shaft
16
a to a cutting position, whereby the rotating cutting blade 54
is cut into the pipe 11. Further, the rotational power of the revolution
drive motor 18 is transmitted to a pinion 19 and a gear portion 32
a
to rotate the rotary member 32, whereby a revolution motion is given
to the arm 40 fixedly positioned on the rotary member 32 and hence,
to the cutting blade 54 carried on the arm 40.
In the foregoing pipe cutting machine, the complexity in the mechanism for rotating
the cutting blade 54 causes trouble or breakdown to occur frequently, and
the complexity in the mechanism further causes it difficult to easily carry out
the repair in the event of the trouble or breakdown. In addition, there arises
another problem that the mechanism for making the cutting blade 54 cut into
the pipe 11 takes a large-scale construction thereby to cause the pipe cutting
machine to become great as a whole.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention is made to solve the foregoing various
problems, and it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved
pipe cutting machine capable of being simplified in construction and being down sized.
Briefly, according to the present invention, there is provided a pipe cutting
machine having a clamping device for holding a pipe to be cut and a pipe cutting
apparatus for cutting the pipe by revolving a rotating disc-like cutting blade
around the circumferential surface of the pipe held by the clamping device. The
pipe cutting apparatus comprises a main frame; a support member secured to the
main frame; a revolution motion member of an annular shape rotatably supported
by the support member for revolving the cutting blade; an arm pivotally supported
on one side surface of the revolution motion member at one end thereof and rotatably
carrying the cutting blade at the other end thereof; a swing motion member of an
annular shape rotatably supported by the support member in axial alignment with
the revolution motion member for swinging the arm; a rotation motion member of
an annular shape rotatably supported by the support member in axial alignment with
the revolution motion member for rotating the cutting blade; plural motors mounted
on the main frame for respectively rotating the revolution motion member, the swing
motion member and the rotation motion member; and plural rotation transmission
mechanisms for transmitting rotational drive powers from the plural motors respectively
to the revolution motion member, the swing motion member and the rotation motion member.
With this construction, the rotation motion member is rotated by the motor for
rotation motion to rotate the cutting blade. The swing motion member is rotated
by the motor for swing motion, and thus, the arm is swung to make the rotating
cutting blade cut into the pipe. Further, the revolution motion member pivotably
carrying the arm is rotated by the motor for revolution motion to give the arm
a revolution motion, whereby the rotating cutting blade is revolved around the
circumferential surface of the pipe while cutting the pipe. Accordingly, since
the pipe can be cut by the cutting blade, the arm, the revolution motion member,
the swing motion member and the rotation motion member which are all accommodated
in the support member secured to the main frame, the pipe cutting machine can be
simplified in construction and can be downsized as a whole. Further, since the
respective motors are not mounted in the support member or on the respective rotational
members, but are mounted on the main frame, the respective rotational members and
the support member which supports these rotational members can be prevented from
becoming great in size, so that the pipe cutting machine can be downsized as a whole.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present
invention may readily be appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference
to the preferred embodiment of the present invention when considered in connection
with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate the same
or corresponding parts throughout several views, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a pipe cutting machine provided with a pipe cutting
apparatus in one embodiment according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the cutting apparatus;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a cutting section shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a right side view showing the cutting section shown in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a first clamping device shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Hereafter, a pipe cutting machine in one embodiment according to the present
invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1
is a front view showing the pipe cutting machine
10, FIG. 2 is a right side
view of a pipe cutting apparatus
30 provided in the pipe cutting machine
10, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a cutting section of the pipe cutting
apparatus
30, and FIG. 4 is a right side view showing the cutting section.
The pipe cutting machine
10 is of the type that cuts a long, straight pipe
20 and is provided with the cutting apparatus
30 for cutting the
pipe
20 and a clamping device
80 for conveying the pipe
20
to a cutting position inside of the cutting apparatus
30 and for holding
the pipe
20 at the cutting position. Herein, the term "pipe" means not only
a so-called pipe but also the equivalent which takes a generally cylindrical shape.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pipe cutting apparatus
30 is placed on a
machine base
11. The cutting apparatus
30 is provided with a box-like
main frame
31. As best shown in FIG. 2, the main frame
31 incorporates
at its lower center portion a cutting section
40 for cutting the pipe
20
inserted into the main frame
31. The main frame
31 fixedly mounts
on a right side wall surface a revolution drive motor
32, a swing drive
motor
33 and a rotation drive motor
34 for respectively rotating
a revolution motion member
60, a swing motion member
41 and a rotation
motion member
42 which will be referred to later in detail.
As shown mainly in FIG. 3, the cutting section
40 is provided with a support
member
50 secured to the main frame
31. The support member
50
rotatably carries the revolution motion member
60 for making a cutting blade
79 revolve around the circumferential surface of the pipe
20, the
swing motion member
41 for swinging an arm
70 and the rotation motion
member
42 for rotating the cutting blade
79. The revolution motion
member
60 swingably supports thereon a root end portion of the arm
70,
whose swing motion end rotatably supports the cutting blade
79. The swing
motion member
41 and the rotation motion member
42 are arranged in
axial alignment with the revolution motion member
60. The revolution motion
member
60, the swing motion member
41 and the rotation motion member
42 respectively take plate or disc-like shapes and are juxtaposed with one
another in axial alignment to be rotatable in the support member
50.
The support member
50 is provided with a support frame
52 having
a through hole
51 formed to be circular in cross-section. The support frame
52 has formed at its left end portion a sliding support portion
51a
of an annular recess, which slidably supports therein the circumferential portion
of the revolution motion member
60. The support frame
52 has also
formed at the right side of the sliding support portion
51a another
sliding support portion
51b which is an annular recess smaller in
diameter than the sliding support portion
51a. The sliding support
portion
51b slidably supports therein the circumferential edge portions
of the swing motion member
41. Further, the support frame
52 has
also formed at its right end another sliding support portion
51c of
an annular recess, which slidably supports therein a circumferential portion of
the rotation motion member
42.
A first annular holding plate
53 is secured to the left end surface of
the
support frame
52. The revolution motion member
60 is put between
the first annular holding plate
53 and the sliding support portion
51a
and is rotatably supported in the support member
50. The swing motion
member
41 is put between the revolution motion member
60 and the
sliding support portion
51b and is rotatably supported in the support
member
50. Further, a second annular holding plate
54 is secured
to the right end surface of the support frame
52. The rotation motion member
42 is put between the second annular holding plate
54 and the sliding
support portion
51c and is rotatably supported in the support member
50. Bearings
51d are interposed between the sliding support
portion
51c and the rotation motion member
42.
The revolution motion member
60 is provided with an annular disc
62
which is formed with a through bore
61 (e.g., circular in cross-section)
at its center portion. A ring gear
63 is bodily provided on the left end
surface of the annular disc
62 in axial alignment with the same. The ring
gear
63 has wound therearound a driving belt (toothed belt)
35 as
a rotation transmission mechanism which is also wound around a pulley
32b
fixed on an output shaft
32a of the revolution drive motor
32,
as shown in FIG. 2, so that the revolution motion member
60 is rotated by
the revolution drive motor
32. It is preferable to employ as the revolution
drive motor
32 an electric motor (e.g., a servomotor or a stepping motor)
which is controllable in the rotational angle and rotational speed thereof.
An arm support member
64 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 4) which takes a sector
shape for swingably supporting the arm
70 is secured to the right end surface
of the annular disc
62 with the left end surface thereof being in contact
therewith. As shown in FIG. 3, the arm support member
64 is provided with
a support portion
64a which is formed to face the right end surface
of the annular disc
62 with a space
65 therebetween. The support
portion
64a rotatably carries through a bearing
66 a pivot
shaft
73 whose one end is secured to an arm main member
71. The pivot
shaft
73 pierces through the support portion
64a and has coaxially
and bodily secured to the other end thereof a swingable gear
72, which is
received in the space
65 in meshing engagement with internal gear teeth
41b formed on the internal surface of the swing motion member
41.
As shown mainly in FIG. 4, a pair of land portions
64b, 64c
are protruded from the right end surface of the arm support member
64
at both sides in the circumferential direction, and an arm receiving portion
64d
for receiving the arm main member
71 therein is formed between the both
of the land portions
64b, 64c. An engaging groove
64b1
is formed on an inner wall surface of the land portion
64b which
faces the swing motion end of the arm
70. The engaging groove
641b
slidably engages therein with an engaging ledge
70a which is
formed on the swing motion end of the arm
70. Thus, the swing motion end
of the arm
70 is reliably supported while the arm
70 is swung, so
that the rigidity thereof can be heightened.
Further, a cover cap member
67 is secured on and over the pair of
land portions
64b, 64c which are protruded from the
right end surface of the arm support member
64 at both sides in the circumferential
direction, and covers the arm receiving portion
64d which receives
the arm main member
71 therein. The cover cap member
67 takes the
same sector shape as the arm support member
64. The cover cap member
67
rotatably carries through a bearing
68 another pivot shaft
74 which
is secured to the right wall surface of the arm main member
71. Thus, the
supported root end of the arm
70 is reliably supported while the arm
70
is swung, so that the rigidity thereof can be heightened. In addition, the arm
main member
71 is covered by the cover cap member
67 to be reliably
supported thereby, so that the rigidity thereof can be heightened. A cutout portion
67a is formed on the cover cap member
67 for permitting a
cutting blade rotational shaft
76 for the cutting blade
79 to move therein.
The arm
70 is pivotally supported on the arm support member
64
at its root end and rotatably carries the cutting blade
79 at the swing
motion end thereof. The arm
70 is provided with the arm main member
71
of an elongated rectangular shape. As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the pivot shaft
73 which has fixed the swingable gear
72 to the other end thereof
is secured to the left side wall surface of the arm main member
71. The
other end of the pivot shaft
74 is secured to the right side wall surface
of the root end of the arm main member
71 in axial alignment with the pivot
shaft
73. The cutting blade rotational shaft
76 is rotatably carried
on the swing motion end of the arm main member
71 through bearings
76a.
The cutting blade rotational shaft
76 has a cutting blade drive gear
75 secured coaxially to the left end thereof and has the cutting blade
79
of a disc-like shape attached to the right end thereof. The cutting blade drive
gear
75 is in meshing with internal teeth
42b of the rotation
motion member
42 through first and second gears
77,
78 serving
as a rotation transmission mechanism. The first and second gears
77,
78
are fixed on rotational shafts
77a, 78a, which are
rotatably supported on the arm main member
71 through bearings
77b,
78b, respectively. The rotation transmission mechanism for the
arm
70 may be constituted by one gear or a gear train composed of plural
gears as is the case in the present embodiment, or may be constituted by a driving belt.
The swing motion member
41 is formed to be annual and have external teeth
41a and the aforementioned internal teeth
41b respectively
formed on the whole of the circumferential surface and the whole of the internal
surface thereof. The external teeth
41a has wound therearound a driving
belt (toothed belt)
36 as a rotation transmission mechanism which is also
wound around a pulley
33b secured to an output shaft
33a
of the swing drive motor
33, as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, upon rotation
of the swing drive motor
33, the swing motion member
41 is rotated
to rotate the pivot shaft
73, whereby the arm
70 is swung. It is
preferable to employ as the swing drive motor
33 an electric motor (e.g.,
a servomotor or a stepping motor) which is controllable in the rotational angle
and rotational speed thereof.
The rotation motion member
42 is formed to be annual and has external
teeth
42a and internal teeth
42b respectively formed
on the whole of the circumferential surface and the whole of the internal surface
thereof. The external teeth
42a has wound therearound a driving belt
(toothed belt)
37 as a rotation transmission mechanism which is also wound
around a pulley
34b secured to an output shaft
34a of
the rotation drive motor
34. Thus, upon rotation of the rotation drive motor
34, the rotation motion member
42 is rotated to rotate the second
and first gears
78,
77. This causes the cutting blade rotational
shaft
76 to be rotated about the axis of the same, whereby the cutting blade
79 is rotated. As the rotation drive motor
34, there may be employed
not only an electric motor (e.g., a servomotor or a stepping motor) which is controllable
in the rotational angle and rotational speed thereof, but also an electric motor
(e.g. a DC motor with brushes or an induction motor) which is not controllable
in the rotational angle and the rotational speed thereof.
Next, the clamping device
80 will be described. As shown mainly in FIG.
1, the cramping device
80 is composed of first and second clamping devices
81,
82 which respectively support a cut end (i.e., right end) portion
of the pipe
20 and the other end (i.e., left end) portion opposite to the
cut end portion of the pipe
20. The first clamping device
81 is provided
on the machine base
11 and is adjacent to the cutting apparatus
30
at the right side of the same. The first clamping device
81 is fixedly mounted
on a slide base
84 which is provided to be slidable along a guide base
83
in a transfer direction (the right-left direction as viewed in FIG. 1). The slide
base
84 has secured to a lower surface thereof a nut (not shown) being in
screw engagement with a feed screw (not shown), which is provided to be bodily
rotatable with an output shaft of a feed motor
85 through a coupling (not
shown). Thus, upon rotation of the feed motor
85, the slide base
84
and hence, the first clamping device
81 are moved along the guide base
83.
The second clamping device
82 is provided to be movable in the transfer
direction on a pipe feed frame
12, which is arranged at the left side of
the machine base
11 to be adjacent thereto for transferring the pipe
20
toward the cutting apparatus
30. The second clamping device
82 is
provided with plural (preferably, three) chuck claws
82a (two only
shown in FIG. 1), which are engaged with the internal surface of a non-cut end
portion opposite to the cut end portion of the pipe
20 for holding or gripping
the non-cut end portion of the pipe
20. While gripping the non-cut end portion
of the pipe
20, the second clamping device
82 is moved on the pipe
feed frame
12 to follow the first clamping device
81 when the same
is moved bodily with the pipe
20 gripped thereby for positioning the pipe
20 relative to the cutting blade
79, as described later in more detail.
Plural rollers
13 are arranged on the top of the pipe feed frame
12
at regular intervals to extend in parallel relation with one another. Thus, in
transferring the pipe
20, it can be done easily and reliably to transfer
and position the pipe
20 to a desired cutting position. And, during the
cutting of the pipe
20, it can be done reliably to securely hold the non-cut
end of the pipe
20.
As shown mainly in FIG. 5, the first clamping device
81 is provided with
plural first chuck claws
91 and plural second chuck claws
92, which
respectively constitute first and second clamping mechanisms for respectively holding
a first portion of the pipe
20 to be cut away and a second portion of the
pipe
20 to be left without being cut away. Each set of the first and second
chuck claws
91,
92 are composed of e.g., three pieces in this particular
embodiment for supporting the internal surface of the pipe
20 by being inserted
into the pipe
20. The first chuck claws
91 are arranged at regular
angular intervals (120-degree intervals in this particular embodiment) in the circumferential
direction, and similarly, the second chuck claws
92 are arranged at the
same regular angular intervals in the circumferential direction so that the first
chuck claws
91 are opposed respectively to the second chuck claws
92
in the diametrical direction. The first chuck claws
91 are provided for
holding the first portion to be cut away from the pipe
20, that is, the
portion close to the right opening end of the pipe
20, while the second
chuck claws
92 are provided for holding the second portion which is to be
left without being cut away from the pipe
20, that is, the portion which
is back by a predetermined distance from the first portion held by the first chuck
claws
91. That is, the both of the first and second portions which are held
respectively by the first chuck claws
91 and the second chuck claws
92
are designed to be spaced by at least a distance (the predetermined distance) within
which the foregoing cutting blade
79 is able to cut the pipe
20,
as best shown in FIG. 3.
The first chuck claws
91 take plate-like shapes, whose root ends are secured
to first slide pieces
93 (one only shown in FIG. 5) which are mounted on
the left end surface of a main body
90 of the first clamping device
81
to be slidable in the radial direction. Since the first slide pieces
93
are reciprocally moved in the radial direction of the pipe
20, the first
chuck claws
91 are opened and closed by being also reciprocally moved together
therewith in the radial direction of the pipe
20. Contact portions
91a
contactable with the internal surface of the pipe
20 are protruded from
the outer surfaces of toe portions of the first chuck claws
91. Thus, the
first chuck claws
91 are able to grip the pipe
20 at the contact
portions
91a when in an open state indicated by the solid line in
FIG. 5 and to release the pipe
20 when in a closed state indicated by the
two-dot chain line in FIG. 5.
The second chuck claws
92 take plate-like shapes which are longer in the
axial direction of the pipe
20 than the first chuck claws
91. The
root ends of the second chuck claws
92 are secured to second slide pieces
94 (one only shown in FIG. 5) which are mounted on the left end surface
of the main body
90 of the first clamping device
81 to be slidable
in the radial direction. Since the second slide pieces
94 are reciprocally
moved in the radial direction of the pipe
20, the second chuck claws
92
are opened and closed by being also reciprocally moved together therewith in the
radial direction of the pipe
20. Contact portions
92a contactable
with the internal surface of the pipe
20 are protruded from the outer surfaces
of toe portions of the second chuck claws
91 at a position which is spaced
from the contact portions
91a of the first chuck claws
91
in the same direction as the second chuck claws
92 extend. Thus, the second
chuck claws
92 are able to grip the pipe
20 at the contact portions
92a when in an open state indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5 and
to release the pipe
20 when in a closed state indicated by the two-dot chain
line in FIG. 5. Further, recess portions
92b are formed on the radial
outer surfaces of the second chuck claws
92 at the side closer to the root
end portions than the contact portions
92a each to serve as a space
which permits the circumferential edge of the cutting blade
79 to intrude
thereinto. Thus, when cutting the pipe
20, the cutting blade
79 can
be prevented from cutting or damaging the second chuck claws
92.
The aforementioned first slide pieces
93 are radially slidden upon forward-rearward
movement of an inner rod
95 which is driven by an actuator (not shown).
More specifically, first links
97 (one only shown) of an L-letter shape
which are pivotally carried respectively on support pins
97a (one
only shown) are engaged at their one ends with an annular groove
95a
formed on one end portion of the inner rod
95 and are also engaged at
their other ends with slots
93a (one only shown) formed on the first
slide pieces
93, respectively. Thus, when the inner rod
95 is moved
to a left end position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, the first links
97
are pivoted to the positions (typically indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5)
to bring their other ends radially outward, whereby the first slide pieces
93
are brought into the open state to grip the pipe
20. On the contrary, when
the inner rod
95 is moved to a right end position indicated by the two-dot
chain line in FIG. 5, the first links
97 are pivoted to the positions (typically
indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) to bring their other ends radially
inward, whereby the first slide pieces
93 are brought into the closed state
to release the pipe
20.
The aforementioned second slide pieces
94 are also radially slidden upon
forward-rearward movement of an outer rod
96 which is driven by another
actuator (not shown) and which has the inner rod
95 inserted therethrough.
More specifically, second links
98 (one only shown) of an L-letter shape
which are pivotally carried respectively on support pins
98a (one
only shown) are engaged at their one ends with another annular groove
96a1
formed on a cup member
96a containing the aforementioned one end
portion of the inner rod
95. The second links
98 are also engaged
at their other ends with slots
94a (one only shown) formed on the
second slide pieces
94, respectively. Thus, when the outer rod
96
is moved to a left end position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, the second
links
98 are pivoted to the positions (typically indicated by the solid
line in FIG. 5) to bring their other ends radially outward, whereby the second
slide pieces
94 are brought into the open state to grip the pipe
20.
On the contrary, when the outer rod
96 is moved to a right end position,
the second links
98 are pivoted to the positions (typically indicated by
the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) to bring their other ends radially inward, whereby
the second slide pieces
94 are brought into the closed state to release
the pipe
20.
Next, description will be made regarding the operation in cutting the pipe
20 of the pipe cutting machine
10 as constructed above. After placing
the pipe
20 on the pipe feed frame
12, the operator causes the second
clamping device
82 to hold the left end (as viewed in FIG. 1) of the pipe
20 opposite to the right cut end portion to be cut away. Then, with the
pipe
20 being so held, the second clamping device
82 is moved toward
the cutting apparatus
30 to insert the cut end portion of the pipe
20
into the cutting section
40 of the cutting apparatus
30, that is,
into the respective center through holes of the revolution motion member
60,
the swing motion member
41 and the rotation motion member
42. This
causes the cut end portion of the pipe
20 to have the first and second chuck
claws
91,
92 of the first clamping device
81 inserted thereinto.
Then, the first and second chuck claws
91,
92 are brought by the
manipulation of the operator into the open states, whereby the first chuck claws
91 hold the first portion to be cut away of the pipe
20, while the
second chuck claws
92 hold the second portion of the pipe
20 which
is to be left without being cut away. In this state, the motor
85 is driven
to position the first clamping device
81 onto a desired position, whereby
the pipe
20 is positioned at a desired cutting position. During this positioning
operation, the second clamping device
82 is slidden on the pipe feed frame
12 to follow the movement of the first clamping device
81 through
the pipe
20, so that the same is positioned to the desired cutting position
with the opposite ends thereof being maintained held by the first and second clamping
devices
81,
82. Then, the cutting of the pipe
20 is performed
as follows.
That is, when the rotation motion member
42 is rotated by the rotation
drive motor
34, the second and first gears
78,
77 are rotated
respectively about their own axes to rotate the cutting blade drive gear
75,
and the cutting blade rotational shaft
76 and the cutting blade
79
are rotated about their own axis together with the cutting blade drive gear
75
at the position shown by the two-dot chain line within the arm support member
64
which is located at an upper position indicated by the solid line as viewed in
FIG. 4. When the swing motion member
41 is then rotated by the swing drive
motor
33, the swingable gear
72 and the pivot shaft
73 are
rotated about their own axis, whereby the arm
70 is swung to a cutting infeed
position. As a result, the cutting blade
79 now rotating is cut into the
pipe
20 at the position indicated by the solid line within the arm support
member
64 which is located at the upper position indicated by the solid
line as viewed in FIG. 4. Further, when the revolution motion member
60
swingably carrying the arm
70 is thereafter rotated by the revolution drive
motor
32 while the swing motion member
41 is also being swung by
the swing drive motor
33 in synchronized relation with the revolution. motion
member
60, the arm
70 is revolved around the pipe
20 with
the cutting blade
79 having been cut into the pipe
20, whereby the
rotating cutting blade
79 is revolved around the circumferential portion
of the pipe
20, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4. Thus, upon
completion of one full revolution motion of the revolution motion member
60,
the first portion of the pipe
20 which is held by the first chuck claws
91 is cut away from the remaining second portion of the pipe
20 which
is held by the second chuck claws
92.
Upon completion of the cutting in the manner as described above, the driving
of the rotation drive motor
34 is discontinued to stop the rotations of
the rotation motion member
42 and the cutting blade
79. The driving
of the revolution drive motor
32 and the swing drive motor
33 is
also discontinued to stop the rotations of the revolution motion member
60
and the swing motion member
41 and hence, to stop the revolution and swing
motions of the arm
70. Thereafter, when the swing motion member
41
is reversely rotated by the swing drive motor
33, the swingable gear
72
and the pivot shaft
73 are also reversely rotated, whereby the arm
70
is swung in the opposite direction from the cutting infeed position to the home position.
As understood from the foregoing description, in the present embodiment, the
rotation
motion member
42 is rotated by the rotation drive motor
34 to rotate
the cutting blade
79 about the axis of the same. Then, by swinging the arm
70 through the rotation of the swing motion member
41 driven by the
swing drive motor
33, the rotating cutting blade
79 is cut into the
pipe
20. Further, the revolution motion member
60 swingably carrying
the arm
70 is rotated by the revolution drive motor
32, whereby the
arm
70 and the rotating cutting blade
79 are revolved around the
pipe
20 to cut the same. Accordingly, since the pipe
20 can be cut
by the cutting blade
79, the arm
70, the revolution motion member
60, the swing motion member
41 and the rotation motion member
42,
the cutting apparatus
30 can be simplified in construction and can be downsized
as a whole. Further, since the respective motors
32 to
34 are not
mounted on the support member
50 nor on the respective rotational members
60,
41 and
42, but mounted on the main frame
31, the
respective rotational members
60,
41 and
42 and the support
member
50 which supports these rotational members
60,
41 and
42 can be prevented from becoming great, so that the cutting apparatus
30
can be downsized as a whole.
Further, the swing motion member
41 has the internal teeth
41b,
and the arm
70 is provided with the swingable gear
72 which is
in meshing with the internal teeth
41b to swing the arm
70.
This advantageously simplifies the construction for swinging the arm
70.
Further, the rotation motion member
42 has the internal teeth
42b,
and the arm
70 is provided with the cutting blade drive gear
75
which is in meshing with the internal teeth
42b through the first
and second gears
77,
78 to rotate the cutting blade
79. This
advantageously simplifies the construction for rotating the cutting blade
79.
Further, since the respective rotational members
60,
41 and
42 are rotatated by the respective motors
32 to
34 through
the respective belts
35 to
37, it can be realized to transmit the
driving powers of the respective motors
32 to
34 to the corresponding
rotational members
60,
41 and
42 through a simplified construction.
Further, since the motors
32,
33 for respectively driving
the revolution motion member
60 and the swing motion member
41 are
constructed by those which are each controllable in the rotational angle and the
rotational speed thereof, the rotations of the revolution motion member
60
and the swing motion member
41 can be linked reliably and can be controlled precisely.
In addition, the first clamping device
81 is provided with the plural
first
chuck claws
91 for holding the internal surface of the first portion which
is cut away from the pipe
20 and the plural second chuck claws
92
for holding the internal surface of the second portion of the pipe
20 which
is back by a predetermined distance from the first portion to be cut away, and
the pipe
20 is cut with the cutting blade
79 between the first and
second portions respectively held by the first and second chuck claws
91,
92. Thus, the cut-away first portion and the remaining second portion of
the pipe
20 can be prevented from being deformed or being vibrated during
the cutting operation. This advantageously results in precisely finishing the cut
surfaces of the pipe
20 as well as in performing the cutting operation safely.
Although in the foregoing embodiment, the driving belts
35,
36,
37 are employed as rotation transmission mechanisms which respectively interposed
between the respective motors
32,
33,
34 and the respective
rotational members
60,
41,
42, one gear or a gear train composed
of plural gears may be employed in place of each of the rotation transmission mechanisms.
Although in the foregoing embodiment, the first clamping device
81
is moved and positioned by the operation of the feed motor
85 to bring a
portion of the pipe
20 to be cut in alignment with the cutting blade
79,
it may be possible to move and position the cutting apparatus
30 instead
of the first clamping device
81.
Obviously, further numerous modifications and variations of the present
invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood
that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced
otherwise than as specifically described herein.
*
