TAPPING FITTING

Abstract

The invention relates to a tapping fitting, having a saddle component for positioning on and cohesively connecting to a tubular component, and having a clamping device for clamping the saddle component on the tubular component, characterized in that the clamping device has a tiltable clamping lever with a sliding profile, wherein the clamping lever is mounted via the sliding profile in a bearing shell in a first peripheral portion of the saddle component, and wherein a clamping band is attached on one side to the clamping lever at a distance from a rotation axis about which the clamping lever is tiltable in the bearing shell, and on the other side to a second peripheral portion, located opposite the first peripheral portion, of the saddle component, such that in the case of a tapping fitting positioned on a tubular component, when the clamping lever is tilted, the clamping band is biased and the tapping fitting is pressed against the tubular component.

Claims

1.-12. (canceled)

13. A tapping fitting, having a saddle component for positioning on and cohesively connecting to a tubular component, and having a clamping device for clamping the saddle component on the tubular component, wherein the clamping device has a tiltable clamping lever with a sliding profile, wherein the clamping lever is mounted via the sliding profile in a bearing shell in a first peripheral portion of the saddle component, and wherein a clamping band is fastened on one side to the clamping lever at a distance from a rotation axis about which the clamping lever is tiltable in the bearing shell, and on the other side to a second peripheral portion, located opposite the first peripheral portion of the saddle component, such that, when the tapping fitting is positioned on a tubular component, when the clamping lever is tilted, the clamping band is biased and the tapping fitting is pressed against the tubular component, and wherein the sliding profile has an offset geometry, and the contact surface between the sliding profile and the bearing shell increases by progressively increasing the tilting in the direction of the closed position, so that the frictional coupling between the sliding profile and the bearing shell correspondingly increases and reaches its maximum when the closed position has been reached.

14. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping band is provided with a support pin on its end facing the clamping lever, which is housed within a support housing of the clamping lever.

15. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping lever is provided with a groove-like recess adjacent to the sliding profile, in which an edge of the first peripheral portion is supported, when the clamping lever is in an open position.

16. The tapping fitting according to claim 15, wherein the sliding profile of clamping lever in the open position is distanced from the bearing shell, such that the sliding profile after tilting of the clamping lever is moved by a certain angle around the edge from the open position to the closed position, in the bearing shell.

17. The tapping fitting according to claim 16, wherein the edge, the groove-like recess, the bearing shell and the sliding profile are mutually adapted to each other in such a way that the clamping lever, in case of further tilting by an angle exceeding the predetermined angle, is lifted from the edge, so that the clamping lever performs a tilting movement around the sliding profile in the bearing shell.

18. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping lever in a closed position is pressed in the bearing shell by a biasing of the clamping band, so that the clamping lever, due to a frictional resistance between the bearing shell and the sliding profile, is provided with a self-locking mechanism.

19. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping band, between an open position and a closed position, in which the clamping band grippingly surrounds a tubular component, has an extension of up to 10%.

20. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping band, between an open position and a closed position, in which the clamping band grippingly surrounds a tubular component, has an extension of between 1% and 8%.

21. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping band, between an open position and a closed position, in which the clamping band grippingly surrounds a tubular component, has an extension equal to 6%.

22. The tapping fitting according to claim 19, wherein the clamping band is made of a plastic material, which provides the extension.

23. The tapping fitting according to claim 19, wherein the clamping band is made of a polyethylene, a polypropylene or a polyamide.

24. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping band is removably mounted on the second peripheral portion, so that after completion of the cohesive connection of saddle component to the tubular component the clamping lever may be removed from the tapping fitting together with the clamping band.

25. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping lever, in the open and/or in the closed position, contacts an abutment.

26. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping lever is mounted in a replaceable way, so that by replacing the clamping lever with a clamping lever with a different sliding profile, according to the diameter of a tubular component, a defined clamping stroke may be provided.

27. The tapping fitting according to claim 13, wherein the clamping lever is formed in two parts, with a basis part, which has the sliding profile and which is connected to the clamping band, and with a lever and gripping part, which is connected to the basis part by means of a removable connection.

Description

[0023] Further details of the invention are described in detail by means of following figures. In particular:

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the tapping fitting according to the invention in an applied condition on a tubular component,

[0025] FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of clamping device of the embodiment according to FIG. 1; and

[0026] FIGS. 3-6a show a second embodiment of tapping fitting according to the invention in different angular positions of clamping lever and respective detailed view of clamping device.

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the tapping fitting according to the invention, which is applied on a tubular component 100. The clamping device 100 is provided with a clamping lever 11, which in FIG. 1 is shown once in the lower open position and once in the upper closed position. The clamping lever 11 has a sliding profile 12, which is supported in a bearing shell 2 in the edge area 3 of the saddle component 1. The sliding profile 12 has a non-spherical shape and an offset. Moreover, the clamping band 13 is attached to the clamping lever 11 with an offset with respect to the rotation axis of clamping lever 11. The clamping band 13 may be inserted in a support housing 14 of clamping lever 11.

[0028] The clamping band 13 therefore extends from the clamping lever 11 around a circumferential area of component 100, which is facing away from the saddle component 1, to a second peripheral portion 4 of saddle component 1, which faces the first peripheral portion 3, wherein the clamping band 13 is attached to the second edge area 4.

[0029] By tilting the clamping lever 11 from the lower open position to the upper closed position, the clamping band 13 is biased, due to offset of sliding profile 12 or support housing 14 of clamping band 13. The biasing force is provided by an extension of the clamping band 13. In the upper closed position, a frictional resistance between the sliding profile 12 and the bearing shell 2 provided a self-locking of the clamping lever 11, so that the clamping lever 11 is fixed in the upper closed position.

[0030] FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of clamping device 10. For ease of comprehension the clamping lever 11 is again shown both in the open position (lower left) and in the closed position (upper right). Letter A indicates the clamping stroke, which is performed by the end of the clamping band 13, which is attached to the clamping lever 11, in case of rotation of clamping lever 11 from the open to the closed position. The clamping stroke is just a measure of the extension experienced by the clamping band 13. The extension is in turn proportional to the bias of the clamping band 13 and therefore to the contact pressure, with which the tubular component 100 is pressed against the saddle component 1. The clamping stroke A may therefore be adapted in a way that in the closed position of the clamping lever 11, a contact pressure required for a cohesive connection between the saddle component 1 and the tubular component 100, for example by using the heated coil welding technology, is provided. The clamping stroke A may be precisely set by setting the offset of the sliding profile 12 in the closed position of clamping lever.

[0031] FIGS. 3 and 3a show a further embodiment of the tapping fitting according to the invention in the open position of clamping lever 11. In the open position, the clamping lever 11 is rotated out of the bearing shell 2 by an angle of 45°, i.e. only by tilting the clamping lever 11 by cited 45° from the open position shown in the direction of the closed position, the sliding profile 12 contacts the bearing shell 2. During the course of this tilting movement, the clamping lever 11 is connected, through the groove-like recess 15 adjacent to the sliding profile 12 with a support edge 5 on the outer edge of first peripheral portion 3 of saddle component 1. The edge 5 therefore forms just a support and tilting edge, around which the clamping lever 11 is tilted during the tilting movement by the first 45° from the open position shown towards the closed position.

[0032] The support housing 14, in which the clamping band 13 is attached to the clamping lever 11, is positioned with an offset with respect to the fulcrum formed by support edge 5 and groove-like recess 15, so that the clamping band 13 experiences a first biasing already during rotation by the first 45° from the open towards the closed position.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4a, the sliding profile 12, after the clamping lever 11 has been rotated by 45° from the open position towards the closed position, contacts the bearing shell 2 of saddle component 1 in an area adjacent to the support edge 5. The sliding profile 12, however, contacts, in the angular position of clamping lever 11 shown, the bearing shell 2 only over a relatively small portion of its length (see FIG. 4a).

[0034] Only by further tilting of the clamping lever from the set position of FIGS. 4 and 4a towards the closed position is it possible to increase the size of contact area between sliding profile 12 and bearing shell 2 (see FIGS. 5 and 5a), until finally reaching, in closed position shown in FIGS. 6 and 6a, the maximal surface contact between the sliding profile 12 and bearing shell 2. In the closed position of FIGS. 6 and 6a, the biasing of the clamping band 13 just generates a friction connection between the sliding profile 12 and the bearing shell 2, so that the clamping lever 11 in the closed position has a self-locking function.

[0035] The characteristics of the invention disclosed in the preceding description, in the drawings and in the claims may be relevant, individually as well as in any combination, for the execution of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0036] 1 saddle component

[0037] 2 bearing shell

[0038] 3 first peripheral portion

[0039] 4 second peripheral portion

[0040] 5 edge

[0041] 10 clamping device

[0042] 11 clamping lever

[0043] 12 sliding profile

[0044] 13 clamping band

[0045] 14 support housing

[0046] 15 groove-like recess

[0047] 100 tubular component