TUBING STRAIGHTENER
A tubing straightener includes a housing having a tubing receiving end and a tubing ejection end. At least one set of drive rollers is positioned within the housing and disposed between the first end and the second end. The drive rollers engage tubing to be straightened such that, in use, the drive rollers apply a driving force to the tubing. Each drive roller has more than one circumferential profile for engaging tubing of different diameters. At least one top guide roller and at least one bottom guide roller for guiding the tubing through the housing.
A tubing straightener for straightening metal and other types of tubing.
BACKGROUNDDevices used to straighten metal tubes and the like are known, such as the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,293,156 (Mason) entitled “Straightening apparatus”.
SUMMARYThere is provided a tubing straightener, comprising a housing having a tubing receiving end and a tubing ejection end. At least one set of drive rollers is positioned within the housing and disposed between the first end and the second end. The drive rollers engage tubing to be straightened such that, in use, the drive rollers apply a driving force to the tubing. Each drive roller has more than one circumferential profile for engaging tubing of different diameters. At least one top guide roller and at least one bottom guide roller are provided for guiding the tubing through the housing.
According to another embodiment, there is provided a tubing straightener comprising a housing having a tubing receiving end and a tubing ejection end. At least one set of drive rollers is positioned within the housing and disposed between the first end and the second end. The drive rollers engage tubing to be straightened such that, in use, the drive rollers apply a driving force to the tubing. At least one top guide roller and at least one bottom guide roller are provided for guiding the tubing through the housing. A first connection is provided for removably connecting a first power source to the set of drive rollers. A second connection is provided for removably connecting a second power source to the set of drive rollers.
These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:
A tubing straightener generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to
Tubing straightener 10 is intended to provide a portable and versatile tool for straightening tubing. In order to do this, tubing straightener 10 has been designed to minimize the size and weight of straightener 10 relative to other prior art straighteners, as well as providing options on the types of tubing that can be handled and the type of power sources that can be used. These and other features will become apparent from the description below.
Referring to
Referring to
In the depicted embodiment, connections 32, 34 and 36 are shown as having a non-circular cross-section in order to be properly engaged by the desired power source. Other designs may be used, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art to ensure that a useful connection is made.
Operation:Referring to
By designing the tubing straightener to be driven using two different power sources, the straightener can be used in the shop where a motor may be more readily available, as well as on site, where there is not a power source available, or where, due to safety concerns, motors are not permitted. By not having a permanently fixed power source, the versatility and portability of the straightener is increased.
In addition, by designing the rollers to accommodate more than one tubing size, the straightener can be used with common sizes of tubing without having to have more than one straightener, or without having to switch out the rollers.
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
The following claims are to understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can be obviously substituted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope of the claims. The illustrated embodiments have been set forth only as examples and should not be taken as limiting the invention. It is to be understood that, within the scope of the following claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically illustrated and described.
Claims
1. A tubing straightener, comprising:
- a housing having a tubing receiving end and a tubing ejection end;
- at least one set of drive rollers positioned within the housing and disposed between the first end and the second end, the drive rollers engaging tubing to be straightened such that, in use, the drive rollers apply a driving force to the tubing, each drive roller having more than one circumferential profile for engaging tubing of different diameters; and
- at least one top guide roller and at least one bottom guide roller for guiding the tubing through the housing, the drive rollers and the guide rollers straightening the tubing as it passes through the housing.
2. The tubing straightener of claim 1, wherein the position of at least one guide roller is adjustable such that a desired bend is applied to the tubing.
3. The tubing straightener of claim 1, further comprising a first connection for removably connecting a first power source to the set of drive rollers, and a second connection for removably connecting a second power source to the set of drive rollers.
4. The tubing straightener of claim 3, wherein the first connection has a higher gear ratio than the second connection.
5. The tubing straightener of claim 3, wherein the second connection is connected to the set of rollers closest to the tubing ejection end of the housing.
6. The tubing straightener of claim 3, further comprising a third connection for removably connecting one of the first power source and the second power source to a set of drive rollers closest to the tubing ejection end of the housing.
7. The tubing straightener of claim 3, wherein the first power source is a manual crank, and the second power source is a motor.
8. A tubing straightener, comprising:
- a housing having a tubing receiving end and a tubing ejection end;
- at least one set of drive rollers positioned within the housing and disposed between the first end and the second end, the drive rollers engaging tubing to be straightened such that, in use, the drive rollers apply a driving force to the tubing;
- at least one top guide roller and at least one bottom guide roller for guiding the tubing through the housing, the drive rollers and the guide rollers straightening the tubing as it passes through the housing;
- a first connection for removably connecting a first power source to the set of drive rollers; and
- a second connection for removably connecting a second power source to the set of drive rollers.
9. The coil tubing straightener of claim 8, wherein each roller in a set of rollers rotates on a common plane of rotation.
10. The coil tubing straightener of claim 9, wherein each roller has more than one circumferential profile of differing sizes, such that the rollers define more than one tubing-receiving apertures of differing sizes.
11. The tubing straightener of claim 8, wherein the position of at least one guide roller is adjustable such that a desired bend is applied to the tubing.
12. The tubing straightener of claim 8, wherein the first connection has a higher gear ratio than the second connection.
13. The tubing straightener of claim 8, wherein the second connection is connected to the set of rollers closest to the tubing ejection end of the housing.
14. The tubing straightener of claim 8, further comprising a third connection for removably connecting one of the first power source and the second power source to a set of drive rollers closest to the tubing ejection end of the housing.
15. The tubing straightener of claim 8, wherein the first power source is a manual crank, and the second power source is a motor.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 22, 2009
Publication Date: Dec 10, 2009
Inventor: Glen CORBEIL (Bonnyville)
Application Number: 12/427,982
International Classification: B21D 3/05 (20060101);