CA1283518C - Apparatus for manufacturing resin tube - Google Patents
Apparatus for manufacturing resin tubeInfo
- Publication number
- CA1283518C CA1283518C CA000549055A CA549055A CA1283518C CA 1283518 C CA1283518 C CA 1283518C CA 000549055 A CA000549055 A CA 000549055A CA 549055 A CA549055 A CA 549055A CA 1283518 C CA1283518 C CA 1283518C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- central shaft
- rotatable forming
- resin tube
- forming rolls
- manufacturing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C41/00—Shaping by coating a mould, core or other substrate, i.e. by depositing material and stripping-off the shaped article; Apparatus therefor
- B29C41/02—Shaping by coating a mould, core or other substrate, i.e. by depositing material and stripping-off the shaped article; Apparatus therefor for making articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles
- B29C41/04—Rotational or centrifugal casting, i.e. coating the inside of a mould by rotating the mould
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C33/00—Moulds or cores; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B29C33/76—Cores
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C53/00—Shaping by bending, folding, twisting, straightening or flattening; Apparatus therefor
- B29C53/56—Winding and joining, e.g. winding spirally
- B29C53/58—Winding and joining, e.g. winding spirally helically
- B29C53/72—Winding and joining, e.g. winding spirally helically using external forming surfaces
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C53/00—Shaping by bending, folding, twisting, straightening or flattening; Apparatus therefor
- B29C53/80—Component parts, details or accessories; Auxiliary operations
- B29C53/82—Cores or mandrels
- B29C53/821—Mandrels especially adapted for winding and joining
- B29C53/825—Mandrels especially adapted for winding and joining for continuous winding
- B29C53/827—Mandrels especially adapted for winding and joining for continuous winding formed by several elements rotating about their own axes
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29D—PRODUCING PARTICULAR ARTICLES FROM PLASTICS OR FROM SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE
- B29D23/00—Producing tubular articles
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube compri-sing: (a) a support means; (b) a central support by the sup-port means and extending therefrom; (c) a pair of operating means supported by the central shaft at two separate posi-tions; (d) a plurality of rotatable forming rolls each sup-ported by the operating means at both ends thereof in such a manner that the rotatable forming rolls are arranged cir-cularly around the central shaft and that a cylindrical enve-lope formed by the rotatable forming rolls has a radius changeable by operation of the operating means; and (e) a plurality of flexible link means each connected between one end of each rotatable forming roll and a driving means for simultaneously rotating the rotatable forming rolls in the same direction at any radius of the envelope. Because of this structure, the apparatus can manufacture a resin tube of any size simply by operating the operating means.
An apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube compri-sing: (a) a support means; (b) a central support by the sup-port means and extending therefrom; (c) a pair of operating means supported by the central shaft at two separate posi-tions; (d) a plurality of rotatable forming rolls each sup-ported by the operating means at both ends thereof in such a manner that the rotatable forming rolls are arranged cir-cularly around the central shaft and that a cylindrical enve-lope formed by the rotatable forming rolls has a radius changeable by operation of the operating means; and (e) a plurality of flexible link means each connected between one end of each rotatable forming roll and a driving means for simultaneously rotating the rotatable forming rolls in the same direction at any radius of the envelope. Because of this structure, the apparatus can manufacture a resin tube of any size simply by operating the operating means.
Description
~3~
BACKGROL~ND (:~F THE INVENTlON
The ~resent invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing ~ resin tube, and particularly to an apparatus suitable for manufacturing a resin tube of a large diameter.
In general, a conventional apparatus for manufactur-ing a resin tube of a large diameter comprises a plurality of rotatable forming rolls arranged on a hypothetical cylindrical surface, one end of each rotatable forming roll being supported by a support base like a cantilever and operably connected with a driving means. Each rotatable forming roll is slightly inclined with respect to the axis of the above hypothetical cylindrical surface. An extruder is posi-tioned near the rotatable forming rolls, and an extruded resin ribbon is supplied to the forming rolls so that it is wound around the forming rolls with its side edges overlapped. With all of the forming rolls rotating simultaneously in the same direction, the resin ribbon is continuously conveyed toward the tip ends o~ the rotatable forming rolls while being formed into a tubular body with its edges overlapped. Since the resin ribbon is still sufficiently hot on the rotatable forming rolls, the partially overlapped resin ribbon is completely formed into a resin tube which is withdrawn continuously from the tip ends of -the rotatable forming rolls.
However, the resin tube-forming apparatus of the above structure cannot prcduce resin tubes of different diame-ters because the rotatable forming rolls are arranged at a fixed diameter. Further, the rotatable forming rolls of a cantilever type are likely to undergo deformation during the .
' ~283~
tube forming operations, because cantilevers cannot remain straight under a large load imposed by a resin tube being formed thereon, which has a large diameter.
OBJECT AND SUM~IARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an appara-tus capable of manufacturing a resin tube of a different diameter by changing a radius of an envelope formed by a plurality of rotatable forming rolls which remain completely straight even under a heavy load of a resin tube being formed.
Intense research in view of the above object has revealed that resin tubes of different diameters can be pro-duced without any problems as mentioned above by using a plu-nality of rotatable forming rolls which are supported at both ends and whose radi.al positions are changeable.
Thust the apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to the present invention comprises:
~a) a support member;
(b) a central shaft supported by the support member and e~tending therefrom;
(c) a pair of operating means supported by the central : shaft at two separate positions;
(d) a plurality of rotatable forming rolls each sup-ported by the operating means at both ends thereof in :~ such a manner that the rotatable forming rolls are arranged circularly around the central shaft and that a cylindrical envelope formed by the rotatable forming - ~ _ 33S~
rolls has a radius changeable by operating of the operating means; and (e) a plurality of flexible link means each connected between one end of each rotatable forming roll and a driving means for simultaneously rota-ting the rotatable forming rolls in the same direction at any radius of the envelope.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Fig. 1 is a side view of the apparatus for manufac-turing a resin tube according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a side view of the apparatus for manufac-turing a resin tube according to another embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. ~;
Fig. 7 is a partially cross-sectional side view of the apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to a further embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 7;
~ Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to a still further embodiment of the present invention; and ~283~i~8 Fig. 10 is a side cross-sectional view o~ the appa.ratus taken along the line VII-VII in Fig. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIME~TS
~ eferring -to Figs. l and 3, the apparatus for manu-facturing a resin tube according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a base 1, a support plate 2, a plurality of support rods 3 for fixing the support plate 2 to the base 1, a central shaft 4 extending from the base l and rotatably supported by the base l and the support plate 2 via bearing 5, 6.
According to this embodiment, the support plate 1 is provided with 6 radial slots 23 extending from near the bearing 6 to near a periphery of the support plate 2 with equal circular intervals as shown in Fig. 2. The support plate 2 is also fixedly provided with a lateral support member 16 extending laterally from the support plate 2 and having 6 support blades radially projecting therefrom with equal cir-cular intervals.
The central shaft 4 has a first threaded portion lla at a tip end thereof, a second threaded portion llb near the support plate 2 on the same side as the first threaded portion lla, and a third threaded portion llc near the support plate 2 on the opposite side to the first and second threaded portions lla, lIb. The first threaded portion lla and the second threaded portion llb have the same spiral direction, and the third threaded portion llc has an opposite spiral direction to those of the first and second threaded portions lla, llb.
33~
Movably mounted on the first threaded portion lla is a first operating means comprising a first movable member 12a having a threaded inner wall threadably engaging the first threaded portion lla, and a plurality of first link rods 15a pivotally connected to the first movable member 12a. The first link rods 15a extend from the first movable member 12a radially with equal intervals. In this embodiment, the number of the first link rods 15a is 6. Likewise, a second operating means comprising a second movable member 12b is threadably mounted on the second threaded portions llb, and 6 link rods 15b are pivotally connected to the second movable member 12b and extend therefrom radially with equal intervals. And a third operating means comprises a third movable member 12c threadably engaging the third threaded portion llc, and 6 link rods 15c pivotally connected -to the third movable member 12c and extending therefrom radially with equal intervals.
The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according ko this embodiment comprises a plurality of (6) rotatable Eorming rolls 7, and a tip end of each rotatable forming roll 7 is pivotally supported by one of the first link rods 15a at a tip end thereof via a first bearinq 8, and a rear end of each rotatable forming roll 7 is pivotally sup-ported by each second and third link rod 15b, 15c and flexibly connected with a flexible link means, which will be described in detail below.
Each flexible link means comprises a short shaft 7b connected to a roll body 7a of each rotatable forming roll 7 via a universal joint 10, a link rod 26 connected to the short ':" , ' , , ., ~ , 1~335~3 shaft 7b via a universal joint 24, and a shaft 27 connected to the link rod 26 via a universal joint 25 and rotatably sup-ported by bearings mounted on a front wall la and a rear wall lb of the base 1. The short shaft 7b is rotatably supported by a second bearing 9 which is slidably received in the radial slot 23 of the support plate 2. The second bearing 9 is pivo-tally supported by the second link rod 15b and the third link rod 15c on both sides with respect to the support plate 2.
In this embodiment, a tubular body 17 is fixed to the lateral support plate 16 in such a manner that it surrounds the central shaft 4. The tubular body 17 has a flange 17a at a tip end thereof, which is fixed to a flange 18a of an inner tube member 18 surrounding the central shaft 4 with a small gap which permits the central shaft 4 to rotate freely in the inner tube member 18. The inner tube member 18 is pro-vided with a spline extending axially on an outer surface therefore, and on outer tube member 19 fi~ed to the first movable member 12a i9 provided, on an inner surface thereof, with an axial spline engageable with the spline of the inner tube member 18. Because of this structure, the first movable member 12a can move back and force along the central shaft 4 without rotation by the rotation of the central shaft 4.
Incidentally, by changing an angular position of either of the inner tube member 18 or the outer tube member 19 around the axis of the central shaft 4, the direction of each rotatable forming roll 7 can be adjusted along the axis of the central shaft 4. Preferably, the rotatable forming rolls 7 are slightly inclined on an envelope formed thereby as shown in ~Z~33~18 Fig. 2. The angular adjustment of the first movable member 12a can also be achieved by changing the angular position of the inner tube member 18 relative to the tubular body 17.
The lateral support plate 16 has a stopper 22 around the central shaft 4, which regula~es the leftward movement of the second movable member 12b. Likewise r a lateral support plate 20 fixed to the support plate 2 has a stopper 21 around the central shaft 4, which regulates the rightward movement of the third movable member 12c. Due to the stoppers 21, 22, a minimum radius of the envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 7 is determined.
The central shaft 4 is fixedly provided with a gear 13 operably engageable with a timing belt 1~ which is con-nected with a driving means (not shown). Through the timing belt 14 and the gear 13, the central shaft 4 is rotated inde-pendently of the rota-table forming rolls 7.
As is clearly shown in Fig. 3, each shaft 27 is fixedly provided with a small gear 28 meshed with a large gear 30 fixed to a shaft rotatably supported by the base 1 via a bearing 29., and the above shaft is connected with a driving means M. Since each of the small gears 28 is meshed with the large gear 30, the rotatable forming rolls 7 rotate simulta-neously in the same direction.
An extruder 31 with a die 32 is positioned near the root portions of the rotatable forming rolls 7, and an extruded resin ribbon "a" is supplied to -the forming rolls with a proper inclination so that it is continuously wound around the rotatable forming rolls with its side edges .
overlapped. ~2~3~
With the above-described apparatus, the manufac-turing of a resin tube will be described in detail below.
First, to achieve the desired radius of envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 7, the central shaft 4 is rotated leftward or rightward to move the first movable member 12a along the central shaft 4 by the desired distance.
Since the first threaded portion lla and the second threaded portion llb have the same spiral direction and the third threaded portion llc has an opposi'~e spiral direction, the first movable member 12a and the second movable member 12b move in the same direction while the third movable member 12c moves in the opposite direction. Because the rotatable forming rolls 7 are supported by the first, second and third movable members 12a, 12b, 12c via pivotally movable link rods ].5a, 15b, 15c, the radial positions of the rotatable forming rolls 7 are changed by axially moving the movable members 12a, 12b, 12c. In other words, the radius o the envelope ~ormed by the rotatable ~orming rolls 7 is adjusted by rotating the central shaft 4, so that a resin tube to be ~ormed can have the desired diameter.
With this position, each rotatable forming roll 7 is rotated via each Elexible link means operably connected with the motor M simultaneously in the same direction. The resin ribbon l'a" ejected from the extruder 31 through the die 32 with the desired inclination with respect to the axis of the central shaft 4 is supplied onto the rotatable forming rolls t. The rotation speed of the rotatable forming rolls 7 and ,: ~ ' ' ~, ' ' , .
~2~3~
the inclination an~ supply speed of the resin ribbon "a" are ad~usted so that the resin ribbon "a" is wound around the rotatable forminy rolls 7 with its side edges overlapped to the desired degree. Since the resin ribbon "a" is still hot when overlapped, a partially overlapped resin ribbon is formed into a resin tube which is continuously withdrawn from the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7.
Next, if a resin tube of a different diameter is desired, the central shaft 4 is rotated to cause the rotatable forming rolls 7 to have the desired radius of envelope via the operating means. Like this, changing the radius of envelope of the rotatable forming rolls 7 can easily be conducted simply by rotating the central shaft 4.
In this embodiment, the link rods 15a, lSb, 15c have the same length, but it should be noted that the first link rods 15a may be slightly longer or shorter than the second link rods 15b and the third link rods 15c. If the first link rods 15a are longer than the second and third ones, the radius of envelope becomes larger near the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7, ensuring the lateral movement of a resin tube being formed, which is made of a rapidly solidifiable resin material, toward the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7. On the contrary~ if the first link rods 15a are shorter, the radius of envelope becomes smaller near the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7. Thus, smooth conveyance of a resin tube being formed toward the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls with little resistance can be achieved even if the resin tube is produced from a resin material shrinkable ~l2~335~L8 when solidified.
Further, the first movable member 12a may be advanced by several pitches than the second and third movable members 12b, 12c, so that the angle of the first link rods 15a to the axis of the central shaft 4 is larger than those of the second and third link rods lSb, 15c, resulting in a larger radius of envelope near the tip ends of the rotatable forrning rolls 7. Of course, it is also possible to make the angle of the first link rods 15a smaller than those of the second and third link rods 15b, 15c, by letting the first movable member 12a behind by several pitches. - I
Figs. 4-6 show another embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus of this embodiment comprises a base 101 and a cental shaEt 102 fixed to the base ]01 and having two polygonal portions 107, 108; a first poly~onal portion 107 near the tip end of the central shaEt 102 and a se~ond polygo-nal portion 108 near the base 101.
Fixed to the Eirst polygonal portion 107 of the central shaEt 102 are a plurality of hydraulic pistons 109 each provided with a radially projectable piston rod 109a. In this embodiment, the number of the hydraulic pistons is 8.
Likewise, ~ hydraulic pistons 110 each provided with a radially projectable piston rod llOa are fixed to the second polygonal portion 108 of the central shaft 102. Connected to a tip end of each piston rod lO9a, llOa via bearings 104, 105 is a rotatable forming roll 103. Because the hydraulic pistons lOg, 110 extend radially from the central shaft 102 with equal intervals, 8 rotatable forming rolls 103 connected ~ 835~a to the piston rods lO9a, llOa at both ends are arranged cir-cula.rly, forming a cylindrical envelope whose radius is deter-mined by the length of each piston rod lO9a, llOa. Further, as is shown in Fig. 5, each rota-table forming roll 103 is pre-ferably slightly inclined on the above cylindrical envelope with respect to the axis of the central shaft 102 to facilitate the formation of a resin tube from a resin ribbon.
As is clearly shown in Figs. 4, 6, each rotatable ~orming roll 103 comprising a roll body 103a, a universal joint 106 and a bearing 105 is connected to a flexible link means 115 comprising a short shaft 103b, universal joints 117, 118, a link rod 116 and a shaft 119. Each short shaft 103b is received in each radial slot 11.1 of the base 101, so that it can move radially in the radial slot 111 as the piston rods lO9a llOa are projecte.d or retracted from the hydraulic pistons 109, 110. Each short shaft 103b is connected to the link rod 116 via the universal joint 117, and the link rod 116 is connected to the shaft 119 via the universal joint 118.
Thus a rotational movement is conveyed from the shaft 119 to rotatable Eorming roll 103 through the flexible link means 115 of the above constitution at any radius of the envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 103.
Each shaft 119 is fixedly provided with a small gear 120 meshed with a large gear 121 which is in turn operably connected with a motor 114. Accordingly, the motor 114 can drive all of the shafts 119 simultaneously, which in turn rotate the rotatable forming rolls 103 via the flexible link means 115.
1~:835~
~ s is shown in Fig. 5, the centra]. shaft 102 has two paths axially extending therein: one denoted as 112 is for supplying a hydraulic Qil to each hydraulic piston 109, 110, and the other denoted as 113 is fo.r withdrawing a hydraulic oil from each hydraulic piston 109, 110.
In this embodiment too, an extruder 122 equipped with a die 123 for ejecting a resin ribbon "a" is positioned near the root portions of the rotatable forming rolls 103 with such an inclination as to ensure the partial overlapping of the resin ribbon being wound around the rotatable forming rolls 103.
The operation of this apparatus is essentially the same as that of Figs. 1-3. That is, the radius of envelope of the rotatable forming rolls 103 is adjusted to the desired one by operating the hydraulic pistons 109, 110 by supplying or withdrawing a hydraulic oil through the paths 112, 113. The rotatable forming rolls thus set at the desired radial posi-tion are rotated by the motor 114 via the flexible link means 115. With a proper combination of the rotation speed of the rotatable forming rolls, the radius of envelope, the linear speed and inclination of the resin ribbon "a" supplied from the extruder 122, the resin ribbon "a" is partially overlapped on both sides thereof, continuously providing a resin tube.
Like in the embodiment of Figs. 1-3, the rotatable forming rolls 103 may form a cylindrical envelope whose diameter differs between the tip ends and the root portions of the rota-table forming rolls 103. This can easily be achieved by adjusting a hydraulic oil supplied to or withdrawn from the ~2835~3 hydraulic pistons 109 and 110.
Incidentally, the hydraulic pistons in this embodi-ment may be replaced by electric motors each having a threaded rod projectable therefrom by rotation.
Figs. 7 and 8 show a further embodiment of the pre-sent invention. In this embodiment, a central shaft 202 is rotatably supported by a support base 201 and has two threaded portions: a first one denoted as 224 near a tip end thereof and a second one denoted as 225 near a root portion thereof.
As is clearly shown in Fig. 7, the threaded portions 224 and 225 have opposite spiral directions. Threadably engaging the first threaded portion 224 is a first conical cam body 226 having a plurality of grooves 228 extending axially on a coni-cal surface thereof. Slidably fitted in each groove 228 is a ridge of a cam follower 230 ixed to a rotatable forming roll 203 via a bearing 204. In this embodiment, since the groove 228 has a triangular cross section and the ridge of the cam follower 230 has a reversed triangular cross section, they are not detachable rom each other once engaged. I.ikewise, a second conical cam body 227 threadably engages the second threaded portion 225 in just the opposite direction~ and has a plurality of grooves 229 extending axially on a conical sur-face thereof. Slidably engaging each groove 229 is a ridge of each cam follower 231 fixed to the rotatable forming roll 203 via a bearing 205. In this embodiment, each of the first conical cam body 226 and the second conical cam body 227 has 8 grooves 228, 229. Accordingly, 8 rotatable forming rolls 203 are supported thereby via the cam followers 204, 205.
~2835~8 Each rotatable forming roll 203 comprising a roll body 203a and a universal joint 206 is connected with a driving means (not shown) via a flexible link means (only a short shaft 203b is depicted). With respect to the flexible link means, the apparatus of this embodiment may be the same as described above.
To operate this apparatus, the central shaft 202 is first rotated manually by a wheel 232. Alternatively, the central shaft 202 may be rotated by an electric motor (not shown). The rotation of the central shaft 202 moves thè first conical cam body 226 and the second conical cam body 227 axially toward or apart from each other, thereby the rotatable formlng rolls 203 are radially expanded or contracted via the cam followers 230, 231 having the ridges slidably engaging the grooves 228, 229 of the conical cam bodies 226, 227. The rotatable forming rolls 203 are rotated in essentially the same way by means oE flexible link means (not shown). In this embodiment too, each rotatable forming roll 203 is slightly inclined on a cylindrical envelope formed thereby, with respect to the axis oE the central shaft 202 as shown in Fig. 8.
Incidentally, the conical cam bodies 226, 227 have grooves 228, 229 slidably engageable with the ridges of the cam followers 230, 231 in this embodiment, but it should be noted that the conical cam bodies 226, 227 may have ridges slidably engageable with grooves of the cam followers 230, 231, in just the opposite manner to that as shown in Fig. 8 ~nd it should be noted that the central shaft itself may be fixed to the support base 201 and covered by a rotatable tube ~83~;~a having two threade~ portions as described above. Further, as long as the conical cam bodies 226, 227 can move along the central shaft 202, threadable engagement between the conical cam bodies 226, 227 and the central shaft 202 is not indispen-sable. In this case, both conical cam bodies may be slidably mounted on the central shaft and moved by plungers, etc.
Figs. 9 and 10 show a still further embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to Fig~ 9, a central shaft 302 fixed to a support base (not shown) is provided, near a tip end thereof, with a first rotatable cylindrical shaft 332, and near a root portion thereof, with a second rotatable cylindrical shaft 332'. Fixed to the first rotatable cylindrical shaft 332 i5 a first circular plate 333 having a spiral groove 335 on its inner side, and fixed to the second rotatable cylindrical shaft 332' is a second circular plate 334 having a spiral groove 336 on its inner side. ~ first circular support plate 337 is fixed to the central shaEt 302 adjacent to the first circular plate 333 inside thereof, and a second circu]ar sup-port plate 338 is fixed to the central shaEt 302 adjacent to the first circular plate 334 inside thereof.
Each of the first and second support plates 337, 338 has a plurality of radial slots 339, 340 extending radially from near the central shaft 302 to the periphery thereof as shown in Fig. lO. Slidably received in each radial slot 339, 340 is a movable piece 341, 342 fixed to both ends of a rota-table forming roll 303. Thus, a plurality of the rotatable forming rolls 303 are arranged circularly around the central ~L2a35~a shaft 302 with support by each pair of movable pieces 341, 342.
Each of the movable pieces 341, 342 has at least one ridge on an outer side of a lower projection thereof, and the ridge is slidably engageable with the groove of the adjacent circular plate 333, 33~.
In this structure, both of the first and second cir-cular plates 333, 334 are ro~ated simultaneously by means of a : motor, etc. (not shown), so that each movable piece 341, 342 slides along each radial slot inward or outward through sliding engagement between the groove of the circular plate 333, 334 and the ridge oE the movable piece 3~1, 342.
Accordingly, a radius of a cylindrical envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 303 is changeable by the rotation of each circular plate 333, 334.
As described above in detail, the apparatus of the present invention can produce a resin tube of any size simply by adjusting the radius of a cylindrical envelope formed by a plurality of rotatable forming rolls by means of operating means which can radially expand or contract by a simple action such as rotation. In addition, since the rotatable forming rolls are supported at both ends by the operating means, they are fully resistant to deformation during the resin tube forming operation. Further, by means of the flexible link means, a plurality of the rotatable forming rolls can be rotated simultaneously at any radius of a cylindrical envelope formed thereby. Because of this structure, the apparatus of the present invention is highly suitable particularly for the , ~" . .
3~1~
production of resin tubes of large diameter.
The present invention has been described referring to the drawings, but it should be noted that any modifications can be made thereto unless they deviate from the scope of the present invention defined in the claims attached hereto.
-' ' : ~'' ' ' '
BACKGROL~ND (:~F THE INVENTlON
The ~resent invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing ~ resin tube, and particularly to an apparatus suitable for manufacturing a resin tube of a large diameter.
In general, a conventional apparatus for manufactur-ing a resin tube of a large diameter comprises a plurality of rotatable forming rolls arranged on a hypothetical cylindrical surface, one end of each rotatable forming roll being supported by a support base like a cantilever and operably connected with a driving means. Each rotatable forming roll is slightly inclined with respect to the axis of the above hypothetical cylindrical surface. An extruder is posi-tioned near the rotatable forming rolls, and an extruded resin ribbon is supplied to the forming rolls so that it is wound around the forming rolls with its side edges overlapped. With all of the forming rolls rotating simultaneously in the same direction, the resin ribbon is continuously conveyed toward the tip ends o~ the rotatable forming rolls while being formed into a tubular body with its edges overlapped. Since the resin ribbon is still sufficiently hot on the rotatable forming rolls, the partially overlapped resin ribbon is completely formed into a resin tube which is withdrawn continuously from the tip ends of -the rotatable forming rolls.
However, the resin tube-forming apparatus of the above structure cannot prcduce resin tubes of different diame-ters because the rotatable forming rolls are arranged at a fixed diameter. Further, the rotatable forming rolls of a cantilever type are likely to undergo deformation during the .
' ~283~
tube forming operations, because cantilevers cannot remain straight under a large load imposed by a resin tube being formed thereon, which has a large diameter.
OBJECT AND SUM~IARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an appara-tus capable of manufacturing a resin tube of a different diameter by changing a radius of an envelope formed by a plurality of rotatable forming rolls which remain completely straight even under a heavy load of a resin tube being formed.
Intense research in view of the above object has revealed that resin tubes of different diameters can be pro-duced without any problems as mentioned above by using a plu-nality of rotatable forming rolls which are supported at both ends and whose radi.al positions are changeable.
Thust the apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to the present invention comprises:
~a) a support member;
(b) a central shaft supported by the support member and e~tending therefrom;
(c) a pair of operating means supported by the central : shaft at two separate positions;
(d) a plurality of rotatable forming rolls each sup-ported by the operating means at both ends thereof in :~ such a manner that the rotatable forming rolls are arranged circularly around the central shaft and that a cylindrical envelope formed by the rotatable forming - ~ _ 33S~
rolls has a radius changeable by operating of the operating means; and (e) a plurality of flexible link means each connected between one end of each rotatable forming roll and a driving means for simultaneously rota-ting the rotatable forming rolls in the same direction at any radius of the envelope.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Fig. 1 is a side view of the apparatus for manufac-turing a resin tube according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a side view of the apparatus for manufac-turing a resin tube according to another embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. ~;
Fig. 7 is a partially cross-sectional side view of the apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to a further embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 7;
~ Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to a still further embodiment of the present invention; and ~283~i~8 Fig. 10 is a side cross-sectional view o~ the appa.ratus taken along the line VII-VII in Fig. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIME~TS
~ eferring -to Figs. l and 3, the apparatus for manu-facturing a resin tube according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a base 1, a support plate 2, a plurality of support rods 3 for fixing the support plate 2 to the base 1, a central shaft 4 extending from the base l and rotatably supported by the base l and the support plate 2 via bearing 5, 6.
According to this embodiment, the support plate 1 is provided with 6 radial slots 23 extending from near the bearing 6 to near a periphery of the support plate 2 with equal circular intervals as shown in Fig. 2. The support plate 2 is also fixedly provided with a lateral support member 16 extending laterally from the support plate 2 and having 6 support blades radially projecting therefrom with equal cir-cular intervals.
The central shaft 4 has a first threaded portion lla at a tip end thereof, a second threaded portion llb near the support plate 2 on the same side as the first threaded portion lla, and a third threaded portion llc near the support plate 2 on the opposite side to the first and second threaded portions lla, lIb. The first threaded portion lla and the second threaded portion llb have the same spiral direction, and the third threaded portion llc has an opposite spiral direction to those of the first and second threaded portions lla, llb.
33~
Movably mounted on the first threaded portion lla is a first operating means comprising a first movable member 12a having a threaded inner wall threadably engaging the first threaded portion lla, and a plurality of first link rods 15a pivotally connected to the first movable member 12a. The first link rods 15a extend from the first movable member 12a radially with equal intervals. In this embodiment, the number of the first link rods 15a is 6. Likewise, a second operating means comprising a second movable member 12b is threadably mounted on the second threaded portions llb, and 6 link rods 15b are pivotally connected to the second movable member 12b and extend therefrom radially with equal intervals. And a third operating means comprises a third movable member 12c threadably engaging the third threaded portion llc, and 6 link rods 15c pivotally connected -to the third movable member 12c and extending therefrom radially with equal intervals.
The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according ko this embodiment comprises a plurality of (6) rotatable Eorming rolls 7, and a tip end of each rotatable forming roll 7 is pivotally supported by one of the first link rods 15a at a tip end thereof via a first bearinq 8, and a rear end of each rotatable forming roll 7 is pivotally sup-ported by each second and third link rod 15b, 15c and flexibly connected with a flexible link means, which will be described in detail below.
Each flexible link means comprises a short shaft 7b connected to a roll body 7a of each rotatable forming roll 7 via a universal joint 10, a link rod 26 connected to the short ':" , ' , , ., ~ , 1~335~3 shaft 7b via a universal joint 24, and a shaft 27 connected to the link rod 26 via a universal joint 25 and rotatably sup-ported by bearings mounted on a front wall la and a rear wall lb of the base 1. The short shaft 7b is rotatably supported by a second bearing 9 which is slidably received in the radial slot 23 of the support plate 2. The second bearing 9 is pivo-tally supported by the second link rod 15b and the third link rod 15c on both sides with respect to the support plate 2.
In this embodiment, a tubular body 17 is fixed to the lateral support plate 16 in such a manner that it surrounds the central shaft 4. The tubular body 17 has a flange 17a at a tip end thereof, which is fixed to a flange 18a of an inner tube member 18 surrounding the central shaft 4 with a small gap which permits the central shaft 4 to rotate freely in the inner tube member 18. The inner tube member 18 is pro-vided with a spline extending axially on an outer surface therefore, and on outer tube member 19 fi~ed to the first movable member 12a i9 provided, on an inner surface thereof, with an axial spline engageable with the spline of the inner tube member 18. Because of this structure, the first movable member 12a can move back and force along the central shaft 4 without rotation by the rotation of the central shaft 4.
Incidentally, by changing an angular position of either of the inner tube member 18 or the outer tube member 19 around the axis of the central shaft 4, the direction of each rotatable forming roll 7 can be adjusted along the axis of the central shaft 4. Preferably, the rotatable forming rolls 7 are slightly inclined on an envelope formed thereby as shown in ~Z~33~18 Fig. 2. The angular adjustment of the first movable member 12a can also be achieved by changing the angular position of the inner tube member 18 relative to the tubular body 17.
The lateral support plate 16 has a stopper 22 around the central shaft 4, which regula~es the leftward movement of the second movable member 12b. Likewise r a lateral support plate 20 fixed to the support plate 2 has a stopper 21 around the central shaft 4, which regulates the rightward movement of the third movable member 12c. Due to the stoppers 21, 22, a minimum radius of the envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 7 is determined.
The central shaft 4 is fixedly provided with a gear 13 operably engageable with a timing belt 1~ which is con-nected with a driving means (not shown). Through the timing belt 14 and the gear 13, the central shaft 4 is rotated inde-pendently of the rota-table forming rolls 7.
As is clearly shown in Fig. 3, each shaft 27 is fixedly provided with a small gear 28 meshed with a large gear 30 fixed to a shaft rotatably supported by the base 1 via a bearing 29., and the above shaft is connected with a driving means M. Since each of the small gears 28 is meshed with the large gear 30, the rotatable forming rolls 7 rotate simulta-neously in the same direction.
An extruder 31 with a die 32 is positioned near the root portions of the rotatable forming rolls 7, and an extruded resin ribbon "a" is supplied to -the forming rolls with a proper inclination so that it is continuously wound around the rotatable forming rolls with its side edges .
overlapped. ~2~3~
With the above-described apparatus, the manufac-turing of a resin tube will be described in detail below.
First, to achieve the desired radius of envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 7, the central shaft 4 is rotated leftward or rightward to move the first movable member 12a along the central shaft 4 by the desired distance.
Since the first threaded portion lla and the second threaded portion llb have the same spiral direction and the third threaded portion llc has an opposi'~e spiral direction, the first movable member 12a and the second movable member 12b move in the same direction while the third movable member 12c moves in the opposite direction. Because the rotatable forming rolls 7 are supported by the first, second and third movable members 12a, 12b, 12c via pivotally movable link rods ].5a, 15b, 15c, the radial positions of the rotatable forming rolls 7 are changed by axially moving the movable members 12a, 12b, 12c. In other words, the radius o the envelope ~ormed by the rotatable ~orming rolls 7 is adjusted by rotating the central shaft 4, so that a resin tube to be ~ormed can have the desired diameter.
With this position, each rotatable forming roll 7 is rotated via each Elexible link means operably connected with the motor M simultaneously in the same direction. The resin ribbon l'a" ejected from the extruder 31 through the die 32 with the desired inclination with respect to the axis of the central shaft 4 is supplied onto the rotatable forming rolls t. The rotation speed of the rotatable forming rolls 7 and ,: ~ ' ' ~, ' ' , .
~2~3~
the inclination an~ supply speed of the resin ribbon "a" are ad~usted so that the resin ribbon "a" is wound around the rotatable forminy rolls 7 with its side edges overlapped to the desired degree. Since the resin ribbon "a" is still hot when overlapped, a partially overlapped resin ribbon is formed into a resin tube which is continuously withdrawn from the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7.
Next, if a resin tube of a different diameter is desired, the central shaft 4 is rotated to cause the rotatable forming rolls 7 to have the desired radius of envelope via the operating means. Like this, changing the radius of envelope of the rotatable forming rolls 7 can easily be conducted simply by rotating the central shaft 4.
In this embodiment, the link rods 15a, lSb, 15c have the same length, but it should be noted that the first link rods 15a may be slightly longer or shorter than the second link rods 15b and the third link rods 15c. If the first link rods 15a are longer than the second and third ones, the radius of envelope becomes larger near the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7, ensuring the lateral movement of a resin tube being formed, which is made of a rapidly solidifiable resin material, toward the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7. On the contrary~ if the first link rods 15a are shorter, the radius of envelope becomes smaller near the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls 7. Thus, smooth conveyance of a resin tube being formed toward the tip ends of the rotatable forming rolls with little resistance can be achieved even if the resin tube is produced from a resin material shrinkable ~l2~335~L8 when solidified.
Further, the first movable member 12a may be advanced by several pitches than the second and third movable members 12b, 12c, so that the angle of the first link rods 15a to the axis of the central shaft 4 is larger than those of the second and third link rods lSb, 15c, resulting in a larger radius of envelope near the tip ends of the rotatable forrning rolls 7. Of course, it is also possible to make the angle of the first link rods 15a smaller than those of the second and third link rods 15b, 15c, by letting the first movable member 12a behind by several pitches. - I
Figs. 4-6 show another embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus of this embodiment comprises a base 101 and a cental shaEt 102 fixed to the base ]01 and having two polygonal portions 107, 108; a first poly~onal portion 107 near the tip end of the central shaEt 102 and a se~ond polygo-nal portion 108 near the base 101.
Fixed to the Eirst polygonal portion 107 of the central shaEt 102 are a plurality of hydraulic pistons 109 each provided with a radially projectable piston rod 109a. In this embodiment, the number of the hydraulic pistons is 8.
Likewise, ~ hydraulic pistons 110 each provided with a radially projectable piston rod llOa are fixed to the second polygonal portion 108 of the central shaft 102. Connected to a tip end of each piston rod lO9a, llOa via bearings 104, 105 is a rotatable forming roll 103. Because the hydraulic pistons lOg, 110 extend radially from the central shaft 102 with equal intervals, 8 rotatable forming rolls 103 connected ~ 835~a to the piston rods lO9a, llOa at both ends are arranged cir-cula.rly, forming a cylindrical envelope whose radius is deter-mined by the length of each piston rod lO9a, llOa. Further, as is shown in Fig. 5, each rota-table forming roll 103 is pre-ferably slightly inclined on the above cylindrical envelope with respect to the axis of the central shaft 102 to facilitate the formation of a resin tube from a resin ribbon.
As is clearly shown in Figs. 4, 6, each rotatable ~orming roll 103 comprising a roll body 103a, a universal joint 106 and a bearing 105 is connected to a flexible link means 115 comprising a short shaft 103b, universal joints 117, 118, a link rod 116 and a shaft 119. Each short shaft 103b is received in each radial slot 11.1 of the base 101, so that it can move radially in the radial slot 111 as the piston rods lO9a llOa are projecte.d or retracted from the hydraulic pistons 109, 110. Each short shaft 103b is connected to the link rod 116 via the universal joint 117, and the link rod 116 is connected to the shaft 119 via the universal joint 118.
Thus a rotational movement is conveyed from the shaft 119 to rotatable Eorming roll 103 through the flexible link means 115 of the above constitution at any radius of the envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 103.
Each shaft 119 is fixedly provided with a small gear 120 meshed with a large gear 121 which is in turn operably connected with a motor 114. Accordingly, the motor 114 can drive all of the shafts 119 simultaneously, which in turn rotate the rotatable forming rolls 103 via the flexible link means 115.
1~:835~
~ s is shown in Fig. 5, the centra]. shaft 102 has two paths axially extending therein: one denoted as 112 is for supplying a hydraulic Qil to each hydraulic piston 109, 110, and the other denoted as 113 is fo.r withdrawing a hydraulic oil from each hydraulic piston 109, 110.
In this embodiment too, an extruder 122 equipped with a die 123 for ejecting a resin ribbon "a" is positioned near the root portions of the rotatable forming rolls 103 with such an inclination as to ensure the partial overlapping of the resin ribbon being wound around the rotatable forming rolls 103.
The operation of this apparatus is essentially the same as that of Figs. 1-3. That is, the radius of envelope of the rotatable forming rolls 103 is adjusted to the desired one by operating the hydraulic pistons 109, 110 by supplying or withdrawing a hydraulic oil through the paths 112, 113. The rotatable forming rolls thus set at the desired radial posi-tion are rotated by the motor 114 via the flexible link means 115. With a proper combination of the rotation speed of the rotatable forming rolls, the radius of envelope, the linear speed and inclination of the resin ribbon "a" supplied from the extruder 122, the resin ribbon "a" is partially overlapped on both sides thereof, continuously providing a resin tube.
Like in the embodiment of Figs. 1-3, the rotatable forming rolls 103 may form a cylindrical envelope whose diameter differs between the tip ends and the root portions of the rota-table forming rolls 103. This can easily be achieved by adjusting a hydraulic oil supplied to or withdrawn from the ~2835~3 hydraulic pistons 109 and 110.
Incidentally, the hydraulic pistons in this embodi-ment may be replaced by electric motors each having a threaded rod projectable therefrom by rotation.
Figs. 7 and 8 show a further embodiment of the pre-sent invention. In this embodiment, a central shaft 202 is rotatably supported by a support base 201 and has two threaded portions: a first one denoted as 224 near a tip end thereof and a second one denoted as 225 near a root portion thereof.
As is clearly shown in Fig. 7, the threaded portions 224 and 225 have opposite spiral directions. Threadably engaging the first threaded portion 224 is a first conical cam body 226 having a plurality of grooves 228 extending axially on a coni-cal surface thereof. Slidably fitted in each groove 228 is a ridge of a cam follower 230 ixed to a rotatable forming roll 203 via a bearing 204. In this embodiment, since the groove 228 has a triangular cross section and the ridge of the cam follower 230 has a reversed triangular cross section, they are not detachable rom each other once engaged. I.ikewise, a second conical cam body 227 threadably engages the second threaded portion 225 in just the opposite direction~ and has a plurality of grooves 229 extending axially on a conical sur-face thereof. Slidably engaging each groove 229 is a ridge of each cam follower 231 fixed to the rotatable forming roll 203 via a bearing 205. In this embodiment, each of the first conical cam body 226 and the second conical cam body 227 has 8 grooves 228, 229. Accordingly, 8 rotatable forming rolls 203 are supported thereby via the cam followers 204, 205.
~2835~8 Each rotatable forming roll 203 comprising a roll body 203a and a universal joint 206 is connected with a driving means (not shown) via a flexible link means (only a short shaft 203b is depicted). With respect to the flexible link means, the apparatus of this embodiment may be the same as described above.
To operate this apparatus, the central shaft 202 is first rotated manually by a wheel 232. Alternatively, the central shaft 202 may be rotated by an electric motor (not shown). The rotation of the central shaft 202 moves thè first conical cam body 226 and the second conical cam body 227 axially toward or apart from each other, thereby the rotatable formlng rolls 203 are radially expanded or contracted via the cam followers 230, 231 having the ridges slidably engaging the grooves 228, 229 of the conical cam bodies 226, 227. The rotatable forming rolls 203 are rotated in essentially the same way by means oE flexible link means (not shown). In this embodiment too, each rotatable forming roll 203 is slightly inclined on a cylindrical envelope formed thereby, with respect to the axis oE the central shaft 202 as shown in Fig. 8.
Incidentally, the conical cam bodies 226, 227 have grooves 228, 229 slidably engageable with the ridges of the cam followers 230, 231 in this embodiment, but it should be noted that the conical cam bodies 226, 227 may have ridges slidably engageable with grooves of the cam followers 230, 231, in just the opposite manner to that as shown in Fig. 8 ~nd it should be noted that the central shaft itself may be fixed to the support base 201 and covered by a rotatable tube ~83~;~a having two threade~ portions as described above. Further, as long as the conical cam bodies 226, 227 can move along the central shaft 202, threadable engagement between the conical cam bodies 226, 227 and the central shaft 202 is not indispen-sable. In this case, both conical cam bodies may be slidably mounted on the central shaft and moved by plungers, etc.
Figs. 9 and 10 show a still further embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to Fig~ 9, a central shaft 302 fixed to a support base (not shown) is provided, near a tip end thereof, with a first rotatable cylindrical shaft 332, and near a root portion thereof, with a second rotatable cylindrical shaft 332'. Fixed to the first rotatable cylindrical shaft 332 i5 a first circular plate 333 having a spiral groove 335 on its inner side, and fixed to the second rotatable cylindrical shaft 332' is a second circular plate 334 having a spiral groove 336 on its inner side. ~ first circular support plate 337 is fixed to the central shaEt 302 adjacent to the first circular plate 333 inside thereof, and a second circu]ar sup-port plate 338 is fixed to the central shaEt 302 adjacent to the first circular plate 334 inside thereof.
Each of the first and second support plates 337, 338 has a plurality of radial slots 339, 340 extending radially from near the central shaft 302 to the periphery thereof as shown in Fig. lO. Slidably received in each radial slot 339, 340 is a movable piece 341, 342 fixed to both ends of a rota-table forming roll 303. Thus, a plurality of the rotatable forming rolls 303 are arranged circularly around the central ~L2a35~a shaft 302 with support by each pair of movable pieces 341, 342.
Each of the movable pieces 341, 342 has at least one ridge on an outer side of a lower projection thereof, and the ridge is slidably engageable with the groove of the adjacent circular plate 333, 33~.
In this structure, both of the first and second cir-cular plates 333, 334 are ro~ated simultaneously by means of a : motor, etc. (not shown), so that each movable piece 341, 342 slides along each radial slot inward or outward through sliding engagement between the groove of the circular plate 333, 334 and the ridge oE the movable piece 3~1, 342.
Accordingly, a radius of a cylindrical envelope formed by the rotatable forming rolls 303 is changeable by the rotation of each circular plate 333, 334.
As described above in detail, the apparatus of the present invention can produce a resin tube of any size simply by adjusting the radius of a cylindrical envelope formed by a plurality of rotatable forming rolls by means of operating means which can radially expand or contract by a simple action such as rotation. In addition, since the rotatable forming rolls are supported at both ends by the operating means, they are fully resistant to deformation during the resin tube forming operation. Further, by means of the flexible link means, a plurality of the rotatable forming rolls can be rotated simultaneously at any radius of a cylindrical envelope formed thereby. Because of this structure, the apparatus of the present invention is highly suitable particularly for the , ~" . .
3~1~
production of resin tubes of large diameter.
The present invention has been described referring to the drawings, but it should be noted that any modifications can be made thereto unless they deviate from the scope of the present invention defined in the claims attached hereto.
-' ' : ~'' ' ' '
Claims (14)
1. An apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube compri-sing:
(a) a support means;
(b) a central shaft supported by said support means and extending therefrom;
(c) a pair of operating means supported by said central shaft at two separate positions;
(d) a plurality of rotatable forming rolls each sup-ported by said operating means at both ends thereof in such a manner that said rotatable forming rolls are arranged circularly around said central shaft and that a cylindrical envelope formed by said rotatable forming rolls has a radius changeable by operation of said operating means; and (e) a plurality of flexible link means each connected between one end of each rotatable forming roll and a driving means for simultaneously rotating said rotatable forming rolls in the same direction at any radius of said envelope.
(a) a support means;
(b) a central shaft supported by said support means and extending therefrom;
(c) a pair of operating means supported by said central shaft at two separate positions;
(d) a plurality of rotatable forming rolls each sup-ported by said operating means at both ends thereof in such a manner that said rotatable forming rolls are arranged circularly around said central shaft and that a cylindrical envelope formed by said rotatable forming rolls has a radius changeable by operation of said operating means; and (e) a plurality of flexible link means each connected between one end of each rotatable forming roll and a driving means for simultaneously rotating said rotatable forming rolls in the same direction at any radius of said envelope.
2. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, wherein said central shaft is rotatably supported by said support means and provided with two threaded portions of opposite spiral directions; and each of said operating means comprises a movable member threadably engaging the threaded portion of said central shaft so that it can move axially by rotation of said central shaft, and a plurality of links each pivotally connected to said movable member and to an end of said rotatable forming roll, whereby the rotation of said central shaft moves a pair of said operating means in opposite directions along said central shaft, thereby changing the radius of said envelope formed by said rotatable forming rolls.
3. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 2, wherein said central shaft is provided with a first threaded portion located at a tip end thereof and a second threaded portion near said support means on the oppo-site side of said first threaded portion.
4. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 2, wherein each of said rotatable forming rolls is pivotally supported by each link of said operating means at both ends through bearings.
5. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 3, wherein said central shaft further comprises a third threaded portion of the same spiral direction as that of said first threaded portion near said support means on the same side of said first threaded portion, and a third operating means threadably engages said third threaded portion for supporting the root of each rotatable forming roll.
6. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 2, wherein said movable member has a splined inner surface, and said central shaft is partially covered by a tubular body with a gap, said tubular body having a splined outer surface which engages said splined inner sur-face of said movable member thereby keeping said operating means from rotating.
7. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, wherein said flexible link means compri-ses universal joints.
8. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 7, wherein said flexible link means compri-ses a link rod connected at both ends to said universal joints and movable radially in a radial slot provided on said support means for permitting the radius of said envelope to change.
9. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, wherein each of said flexible link means is operably connected with a driving means via gears.
10. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, further comprises a base for rotatably supporting one end of said central shaft and one end of each flexible link means.
11. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable forming rolls are slightly inclined with respect to the axis of said central shaft on said envelope formed thereby.
12. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, wherein each of said operating means comprises a hydraulic or electric piston having a piston rod which is radially movable back and forth, said piston rod being connected to the end of each rotatable forming roll, whereby the operation of said hydraulic or electric pistons changes the radius of said envelope formed by said rotatable forming rolls.
13. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, wherein said central shaft is rotatably supported by said support means and provided with two threaded portions of opposite spiral directions; each of said operating means is a conical cam body threadably engaging said threaded portion of the central shaft and provided with a plurality of axial splines on a conical surface thereof; and each rotatable forming roll comprises at both ends cam followers each having a splined surface which engages each spline of said conical cam body, whereby the rotation of said central shaft moves said conical cam bodies axially toward or apart from each other, thereby changing the radius of the envelope formed by said rotatable forming rolls.
14. The apparatus for manufacturing a resin tube according to claim 1, wherein said central shaft is fixedly supported by said support means and rotatably provided with two circular plates each having a spiral guide means on an inner surface thereof; and a pair of stationary plates are fixed to said central shaft inside said rotatable circular plates, each of said stationary plate having a plurality of radial slots; and a plurality of movable pieces each fixed to the end of each rotatable forming roll and having a splined outer surface engageable with said spiral guide means are movably received in said radial slots, whereby the rotation of said circular plates moves said movable pieces along said radial slots back and forth, thereby changing the radius of said envelope formed by said rotatable forming rolls.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP61241725A JPH0761678B2 (en) | 1986-10-11 | 1986-10-11 | Resin pipe manufacturing equipment |
| JP61-241726 | 1986-10-11 | ||
| JP61241726A JPS6394816A (en) | 1986-10-11 | 1986-10-11 | Production device of resin tube |
| JP61-241725 | 1986-10-11 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1283518C true CA1283518C (en) | 1991-04-30 |
Family
ID=26535413
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000549055A Expired - Lifetime CA1283518C (en) | 1986-10-11 | 1987-10-09 | Apparatus for manufacturing resin tube |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4867671A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0264244B1 (en) |
| KR (1) | KR920002399B1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU597733B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1283518C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3776257D1 (en) |
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-
1987
- 1987-10-08 US US07/105,781 patent/US4867671A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1987-10-09 CA CA000549055A patent/CA1283518C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1987-10-10 KR KR1019870011272A patent/KR920002399B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1987-10-12 DE DE8787308991T patent/DE3776257D1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1987-10-12 EP EP87308991A patent/EP0264244B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1987-10-12 AU AU79555/87A patent/AU597733B2/en not_active Ceased
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US4867671A (en) | 1989-09-19 |
| KR880004916A (en) | 1988-06-27 |
| KR920002399B1 (en) | 1992-03-23 |
| AU7955587A (en) | 1988-04-14 |
| AU597733B2 (en) | 1990-06-07 |
| EP0264244A3 (en) | 1988-11-17 |
| EP0264244A2 (en) | 1988-04-20 |
| DE3776257D1 (en) | 1992-03-05 |
| EP0264244B1 (en) | 1992-01-22 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |
Effective date: 19941101 |