1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a device for assembling a connector to an end of a tube which is a resin tube having a relatively small diameter of about 20 mm or less and laid as a supply line for supplying oil or gas in automobiles in general or various types of machine and equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art:
As shown in FIG. 5, this type of device for assembling a connector to a tube is conventionally arranged such that two-split type chuck members 11, 11' are provided with a pair of clamping grooves 13, 13' arranged to face each other, and enlarged-diameter portions 12 of the clamping grooves of the chuck members 11, 11' on the front side thereof have a diameter slightly greater than a size in which the thickness of a resin tube T' is added to the outside diameter of a projecting corrugated cylindrical wall portion of the connector to be connected over a certain length thereof. In operation, with a portion of the resin tube T' adjacent to an end thereof being clamped by peripheral surfaces of the clamping grooves 13, 13', the corrugated cylindrical wall portion of the connector is forcedly inserted into an end portion of the tube manually or automatically by using an actuator or the like, thereby effecting the assembly.
With this conventional assembling device, however, in the state in which the resin tube T' is clamped by the peripheral surfaces of the clamping grooves 13, 13', a gap is produced between the resin tube T' and the inner peripheral surfaces of the enlarged-diameter portions 12 of the clamping grooves 13, 13' extending over a certain length on the tube end side. As a result, at the time when the corrugated cylindrical wall portion of the connector is forcedly inserted into the resin tube T' during assembly, the central axis of the end of the resin tube T' tends to be misaligned with the central axis of the corrugated cylindrical wall portion due to the presence of the gap. In addition, unstable displacement or bending tends to occur to the end of the tube which is soft and hence liable to bend. Consequently, there have been drawbacks that buckling of the tube end and faulty assembly can occur, involving a cumbersome centering operation. Thus, much time and labor have been involved in the assembling operation, causing a decline in the work efficiency.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds