This invention relates to a device for treating pipes and is particularly concerned with a device for de- burring and chamfering the cut end of a pipe. BACKGROUND ART

In numerous pipe fitting jobs, the pipes are first cut to length and then joined to one or more other pipes by a variety of methods. Such methods include solder joints for copper pipes, pressure fittings for copper and plastic pipes, and solvent welding or glueing for plastic pipes. In any method, it is essential that the ends of the pipes are free from burrs, both externally in order to ensure a faultless fit of the pipe within the pipe fitting and internally to prevent turbulence in the internal water flow.

Hitherto it has been the common practice to file away any external burrs and to remove internal burrs either with a round or half-round file or to use an engineer's curved scraper.

In all the above instances the operation has been found to be tedious and time-consuming and the finished result has often been unsatisfactory so far as appearance and finish are concerned. Clearly each operation of internal and external de-burring had to be done separately. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for finishing the cut ends of pipes of any diameter over a predetermined range in a rapid and effective manner.

In accordance with this invention there is provided a device for treating an end of a pipe comprising a conical member, a guideway formed in, and extending along, the conical member, a tool mounted for

sliding movement along the guideway, and means for moving the tool along the guideway into engagement with the end of a pipe.

Preferably, the tool comprises a body and a blade projecting through the guideway.

The blade may have cutting edges for simultaneously cutting both inner and outer edges and the end of a pipe.

In one embodiment, the device further comprises a guide passage located within the conical member adjacent the guideway, the body of the tool being mounted in the guide passage for sliding movement along the guide passage. The moving means may comprise a spring mounted in the guide passage so as to act on the body of the tool. Alternatively, the moving means may comprise a screw threaded member rotatably mounted in the guide passage and threadedly engaged with the body of the tool and means for rotating the screw threaded member.

In another and preferred embodiment, the moving means comprises a second conical member rotatably mounted inside the first conical member, the second conical member having a spiral groove formed in its outer surface for receiving the body of the tool, rotation of the second conical member causing the tool to move along the guideway.

In a further embodiment, there are two guideways, the tool comprises a body and a pair of blades each of which projects through a respective one of said guideways, and the moving means comprises a screw threaded member rotatably mounted in the conical member and threadedly engaged with the body of the tool and means for rotating the screw threaded member. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the

drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a first pipe treating device embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a tool forming part of the device of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a view of part of the tool of Figure

4 to a larger scale;

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the device of Figure 1 showing the range of pipe diameters which may be treated by the device; Figure 7 is an elevational view of a second and preferred pipe treating device embodying this invention;

Figure 8 is a sectional view on the line VIII- VIII of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a bottom end view of the device of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a tool forming part of the device of Figure 7;

Figure 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a third pipe treating device embodying this invention; Figure 12 is a perspective view of a tool used in the device of Figure 11; and

Figure 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fourth pipe treating device embodying this invention. MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring now to Figures 1 to 6 , a pipe treating device 2 comprises a hollow conical member 4 having a nose piece 6 and a flange 8 which is formed with peripheral indentations 10. A cylindrical guide passage 12 is formed within the conical member 4 and a guideway or slot 14 is formed in the outer wall of the conical

member 4. Both the slot 14 and the guide passage 12 are parallel to the face of the conical member 4 as seen clearly in Figure 3. The guide passage 12 may, of course, be other than cylindrical if so desired, for example of square or other section.

A pipe treating tool 16 forming part of the device 2 comprises a blade 18 set in a short cyli' irical body 20. The tool 16 is slidably mounted in the nical member 4, the cylindrical body 20 being slidably mounted in the guide passage 12 and the blade 18 being constrained for upward and downward sliding movement only within the slot 14. The blade 18 projects through slot 14. The body member 20 may, if so desired, be of any other form to fit within an alternatively shaped guide passage 12 as mentioned above.

A spring 22 mounted in the lower portion of the guide passage 12 moves the blade 18 into engagement with a pipe P being treated. A user has merely to rotate the member 4 manually in order that the edge 24 of the blade 18 may de-burr and chamfer the outer edge of the pipe P while another edge 26 may de-burr and chamfer the inner edge of the pipe P. The blade 18 as seen in Figure 6 is provided with a cutting edge 27 to finish the end face of the pipe P particularly when used with pipes having substantial wall thickness. Alternatively, the tool 2 may be held stationary while the pipe P is rotated, or both tool and pipe may be rotated in opposite directions about their axes. The blade 18 is formed with further cutting edges 24A and 26A so that the tool 16 may be reversed when one set of cutting edges becomes blunt.

Alternatively, the further cutting faces may be spaced so as to be capable of chamfering the edges of a pipe of a different wall thickness.

A plug 28 prevents the spring 22 from moving the tool 16 out of the nose piece 6 of the device 2 and may

be removed in order to reverse or change the tool 16.

In use a pipe P is pushed lightly but firmly onto the conical member 4 until it is restricted from axial movement by engagement of its end portion with an identical diameter of the conical member 4. In so doing, the tool 16 is depressed against the spring 22 by the pipe but remains in contact with the end of the p ^~ P ^{e p} -

The user then rotates the conical member ' about its axis by grasping and twisting the indented flange 8 and this action simultaneously removes any burrs that were on the inner and outer edges of the pipe and also forms a chamfer on them. Rotation of the conical member 4 or the pipe is continued until the chamfers are sufficient for their purpose. Referring to Figure 6, as the tool 16 is slidable in a direction parallel to the angle of the conical member 4, the device 2 is capable of treating the ends of any pipes within a range of diameters from that of pipe PI to that of P2. Obviously, for pipes outside the range illustrated, a larger or smaller device is required. In the device 2, there is a single tool 16 mounted in one slot 14 and guide passage 12. By way of modification, there may be two or more slots 14 and guide passages 12 located around the conical member 4 to enable a plurality of tools 16 to be used simultaneously. This arrangement would make it possible to chamfer or de-burr a pipe by simply rotating the device through less than 360°.

Referring now to Figures 7 to 10, there is shown a pipe treating device 30, which is the second and preferred embodiment of this invention. The device 30 comprises a first or outer hollow conical member 32 and a second or inner solid conical member 34 rotatably mounted inside the outer conical member 32. By way of modification, the inner conical member may also be

hollow. Near its base, the inner conical member 34 has a bead 36 which is snap fitted into a groove 38 in the outer conical member 32. Recesses 40 and 42 are formed in the base of the inner conical member 34, leaving a bridge 44. The bridge 44 may be engaged by the hand of a user in order to rotate the inner conical member 34 relative to the outer conical member 32.

A guideway or slot 46 is formed in the outer conical member 32. A spiral groove 48 is formed in the outer surface of the inner conical member 34. A tool 50 for treating pipes has a body 52 and a blade 54. The body 52 is mounted in the groove 48 and the blade 54 projects through the slot 46. The blade 54 has inner and outer cutting edges 56 and 58. In use, a pipe to be treated is placed over the top end of the device 30 until its end engages the outer conical member 32. The inner conical member 34 is then rotated so as to bring the blade 54 into engagement with the end of the pipe. The tool 50 is then rotated so as to de-burr and chamfer the end of the pipe.

Referring now to Figures 11 and 12, there is shown a third pipe treating device 70 embodying this invention. The device 70 comprises a hollow cylindrical member 72 having a cylindrical skirt 74. A guideway or slot 75 is formed in the wall of the cylindrical member 72 and a square guide passage 76 is formed inside the cylindrical member 76 adjacent the slot 75.

A tool 78 comprises a blade 80 and a body 82. The body 82 is slidably mounted in the guide passage 76 and the blade 80 projects through the slot 75. The blade 80 has inner and outer cutting edges 84 and 86. The body 82 of tool 80 is threadedly engaged by a threaded shaft 88, which is rotatably mounted in the guide passage 76. The lower end of shaft 88 is secured to a knurled wheel 90. Part of the skirt 74 is removed to accommodate the

wheel 90. The wheel 90 together with shaft 88 is held in position by a bottom member 92. The bottom member 92 has a bead 94 which is snap fitted into a groove 96 in skirt 74. In use, a pipe P3 is placed over the conical member 72 until its end engages its outer surface. The wheel 90 is then rotated so as to move the blade 80 into engagement with the pipe P3. The tool 70 is then rotated so as to de-burr and chamfer the end of pipe P3. Referring to Figure 13, there is shown a fourth pipe treating device 100 embodying this invention. The device 100 comprises a hollow conical member 102 having a cylindrical top 103 and a cylindrical skirt 104. A pair of guideways or slots 106 and 108 are formed in the wall of the conical member 102 at diametrically opposed positions. The slots 106 and 108 extend between the top 103 and skirt 104.

A pipe treating tool 110 comprises a body 112 and a pair of opposed blades 114 and 116. The body 112 is located inside the conical member 102 and the blades 114 and 116 project through the slots 106 and 108. The body 112 is threadedly engaged with a threaded shaft 118, the upper end of which is rotatably mounted inside the top 103 of cylindrical member 102. At its lower end, the shaft 118 is secured to a collar 120 and a knurled wheel 122. Between the collar 120 and knurled wheel 122, the shaft 118 passes through a bore in a bottom member 124. Thus, the lower end of shaft 118 is rotatably mounted on the bottom member 124. The bottom member 124 has a bead 126 which is snap engaged in a groove 128 formed in skirt 104.

A pair of blades, not shown, are mounted on the outside conical surface of the conical member 102 for removing burrs from the inner edge of the end of a pipe. In use, the end of a pipe to be treated is placed

over the top 103 of the conical member 102 and brought into engagement with the conical member 102. The wheel 122 is then rotated so as to bring the blades 114 and 116 into engagement with the end of the pipe. The tool 100 is then rotated so as to de-burr the end of the pipe. The pipe treating tools 2, 30, 70 and 100 are capable of treating the ends of any pipes within a range of diameters.

Each of the devices 2, 30, 70 and 100 has been described with reference to its use as a hand tool. However, each of these devices may also be used as a machine tool. For example, the device 2 may be used as a machine tool by gripping the flange 8 in the chuck of a lathe and rotating the chuck at slow speed while manually pressing the end of the pipe against the conical member 4. It is beneficial to use the devices in this manner where there are a number of pipes to be treated.

Although the above embodiments of the invention show blades with cutting faces or edges, there may be provided instead means for abrading or polishing the end portion of the tube. For example, any of the blades may comprise a block of Carborundum or Carborundum impregnated rubber, or material readily available and well-known under the trade mark "Scotchbrite".