Heat-exchange core assembly machine

Claim 2

In apparatus for inserting tubes into rows of holes in fins to form a heat exchanger core, a jig for holding a stack of fins having spaced-apart rows of aligned holes for receiving a tube, a tube guide for slidably guiding the tube into said holes, a powered means for forcing the tube along said guide and into said holes to position said tubes with ends extending a short distance out of said fins, and indexing means for moving said guide to sequentially register with said holes, the improvement comprising said guide having a tube-receiving slot extending for at least the length of said tube and snugly supporting said tube throughout the length of said tube, reciprocating means operatively associated with said guide for advancing and retracting said guide relative to said fins, said guide including a nose having a tunnel therethrough for receiving said tube and with said nose completely surrounding said tube, and said nose having an end portion of a cross-sectional size less than the spacing between the fin holes which are the closest on opposite sides of any fin holes which are receiving tubes, such that said end portion fits between said tube-extending ends during the insertion of said tubes and when said guide is in the advanced position toward said fins.

Claim 3

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said nose is a piece separable from the remainder of said guide, and releasable fastening means between said nose piece and the remainder of said guide for releasably attaching said nose piece to said remainder.

Claim 4

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said nose tunnel is aligned with said tube-receiving slot of said guide, and said nose having a tube-receiving slot contiguous to said slot of the remainder of said guide, and with said nose slot being tapered downwardly toward said fins for closely guiding said tubes int said fin holes.

Claim 5

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a slide included in said powered means and movable along said guide tube-receiving slot, and rollers on said slide for movably mounting said slide on said guide.

Claim 6

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a switch mounted in the path of movement of said slide for actuation in accordance with slide movement, said reciprocating means including a motor, and said switch being connected to said motor for actuation of said reciprocating means in the advancing and retracting of said guide relative to said fins.

Claim 7

The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, including a limit stop operative on said slide for limiting the movement of said slide relative to said guide and toward said fins, for insertion of said tubes to a limit position into said fins.

Claim 8

The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, including an adjustment mounting for said limit stop for selectively limiting the extent of insertion of said tubes into said fins.

Claim 9

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including an adjustable limit stop operative on said reciprocating means and in the path of movement of the latter toward said fins for limiting the advance and positioning of said nose toward said fins.

Claim 10

The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said index means includes a mounting for movably supporting said guide for movement of said guide in the direction transverse to the axes of said rows of said fin holes, and additional powered means operatively connected to said mounting for power-moving said mounting to align said guide slot with said fin holes.

Claim 11

The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said mounting includes a track for movement of said guide in both the horizontal and the vertical directions.

Claim 12

The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said powered means includes a fluid cylinder extending with its axis parallel to said guide slot for substantiallY the length of said guide slot, a piston slidable in said cylinder and a cable connected to said piston and said slide for powered reciprocation of said slide.

Claim 13

In apparatus for inserting tubes into rows of holes in fins to form a heat exchanger core, a jig for holding a stack of fins having spaced-apart rows of aligned holes for receiving a tube, a tube guide for slidably guiding the tube into said holes, a powered means for forcing the tube along said guide and into said holes to position said tubes with ends extending a short distance out of said fins, and indexing means for moving said guide to sequentially register with said holes, the improvement comprising said guide having a tube-receiving slot extending for at least the length of said tube and snugly supporting said tube throughout the length of said tube, reciprocating means operatively associated with said guide for advancing and retracting said guide relative to said fins, a slide included in said powered means for reciprocating movement on said guide and engagable with said tube for the forcing of said tube into said holes, a switch disposed in the path of movement of said slide and being actuated by said slide when said slide is reciprocated toward said fins, a power unit connected to said switch and being energized through said switch and being operatively connected to said slide for automatically retracting said slide from said fins and to ready said slide for the insertion of another said tube into said fins.

Claim 14

In apparatus for inserting tubes into rows of holes in fins to form a heat exchanger core, a jig for holding a stack of fins having spaced-apart rows of aligned holes for receiving a tube, a tube guide for slidably guiding the tube into said holes, a powered means for forcing the tube along said guide and into said holes to position said tubes with ends extending a short distance out of said fins, and indexing means for moving said guide to sequentially register with said holes, the improvement comprising said guide having a tube-receiving slot extending for at least the length of said tube and snugly supporting said tube throughout the length of said tube, reciprocating means operatively associated with said guide for advancing and retracting said guide relative to said fins, a slide included in said powered means for reciprocating movement on said guide and engagable with said tube for the forcing of said tube into said holes, a switch disposed in the path of movement of said slide and being actuated by said slide when said slide is reciprocated toward said fins, a power unit connected to said switch and being energized through said switch and being operatively connected to said slide for automatically retracting said slide from said fins and to ready said slide for the insertion of another said tube into said fins.

Claim 15

The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said reciprocating means for said guide is operatively connected to said switch for energizing said reciprocating means automatically through said switch.

Claim 16

The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, including a limit stop operative on said slide for limiting the movement of said slide relative to said guide and toward said fins, for insertion of said tubes to a limit position into said fins.

Claim 17

The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, including an adjustment mounting for said limit stop for selectively limiting the extent of insertion of said tubes into said fins.

Claim 18

The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said index means includes a mounting for movably supporting said guide for movement of said guide in the direction transverse to the axes of said rows of said fin holes, and additional powered means operatively connected to said mounting for power-moving said mounting to align said guide slot with said fin holes.

Claim 19

The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein said mounting includes a track for movement of said guide in both the horizontal and the vertical directions.

Claim 20

The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said powered means includes a fluid cylinder extending with its axis parallel to said guide slot for substantially the length of said guide slot, a piston slidable in said cylinder and a cable connected to said piston and said slide for powered reciprocation of said slide.