Eaton Leonard, Inc.

Eaton Leonard Technologies, Inc.

Eagle Precision Technologies Inc.

Dew Mfg., Inc.

Werner G Hopf

Disclosed is an intra-wheel rear suspension system moveably supporting a rotating wheel relative to a frame via a concentric hub structure, the system exhibiting minimal side play or torsional play due to its unique bearing structure. The system includes an inner carrier assembly having an inner slide block with front curved bearing surface and a rear curved bearing surface. A non-rotating axle extends to either side of the inner slide block and is secured to the frame. An outer track frame that is adapted for rotatably supporting the wheel via any suitable concentric hub structure, has a curved aperture with front and rear curved bearing surfaces that engage the front and rear curved bearing surfaces of the inner slide block. The outer track frame moves arcuately up and down relative to the inner slide block in response to a shock absorbing displacement. In order to minimize lateral side play or torsional movement, the outer track frame has left and right side bearing surfaces, and the inner carrier assembly has a pair of side plates fixedly secured to its left and rights sides, each side plate having a front and rear flat bearing surface that slidably engage the left and right side flat bearing surfaces of the outer track frame.

Intra-wheel rear suspension system

A clamp die apparatus for co-operating with the bend die of a tube bending apparatus during tube bending has a support bolster adapted for adjustable mounting on a bend arm of a tube bending machine and a primary clamp die rigidly mounted on the support bolster for clamping a portion of a tube against a bend die of the bend arm. A secondary clamp die is movably mounted on the support bolster for movement between an extended position alongside the primary clamp die and a retracted position spaced rearwardly from the primary clamp die. Each clamp die has a clamping surface for bearing against a portion of a tube to be bent, and the clamping surfaces of the primary and secondary clamp dies are aligned to form a clamping surface of extended length when the secondary clamp die is in the extended position. The primary clamp die alone forms a reduced length clamping surface when the secondary clamp die is in the retracted position.

Adjustable clamp die for tube bending machine

A boost system (53) traveling behind the carriage (12) of a tube bending machine includes an hydraulic boost cylinder (58) that slidably receives a boost shaft (52) that is connected to the carriage. The boost cylinder has a piston fixed to the boost shaft, and the cylinder is slidably mounted on the machine bed (10) that slidably carries the carriage so that the boost cylinder (58) is carried along with the carriage (12) as the carriage moves toward and away from the bend head (24) mounted at a forward end of the machine bed for positioning a tube (22) to be bent at the bend head. When a bending operation commences, the boost cylinder (58) is locked to the machine bed by a movable pawl (94) that is driven into engagement with a rack (80) fixed to the bed. While the boost cylinder (58) is thus locked to the bed it is pressurized during a bending operation so as to drive the boost shaft (52), and thereby the carriage (12 ) and the tube (22) carried by the carriage, forwardly to exert a large compressive force on the tube while it is being bent. Upon completion of the bend the pawl (94) and rack (80) are disengaged so that the boost cylinder (58) may travel freely together with the carriage (12).

Carriage boost drive

A pipe holding collet is provided with an insert assembly that can be readily and quickly changed without the use of tools so as to adapt the collet to hold tubes of different sizes. The insert assembly is formed of a number of identical longitudinally separate segments, radially urged outwardly by compression springs and held together in a unitary assembly by a segment encircling retainer ring. The radially contractible and expandable assembly is releasably held within the bore of a master collet by means of an interengaging circumferential groove on the inner surfaces of the master collet fingers and circumferential ribs on the outer surfaces of the insert segments.

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San Marcos, CA, United States of America

Werner G Hopf