Rod holder for the assembly of heat exchangers

Claim 1

In a mechanical tube expander for expanding tubes into interlocked relationship with fins, comprising a frame, means for holding on said frame an assembly of fins loosely stacked on tubes, a pressure plate carrying a plurality of expander rods which are aligned with the tubes, said expander rods having tube-expanding means at one end thereof and detent-receiving means close to the opposite end thereof, means for releasably locking said expander rods to said pressure plate and means for reciprocating said expander rods with respect to said assembly in order to expand the tubes into interlocked relationship with the fins that are stacked thereon, the improvement comprising; said means for releasably locking said expander rods comprises a rod-holder plate having through openings for holding the expander rods and detent means receivable in said detent-receiving means on said expander rods for releasably securing said expander rods to said rod-holder plate, a movable, slide plate disposed beyond said detent-receiving means on said expander rods, said slide plate having through openings corresponding in number, spacing and arrangement to the number, spacing and arrangement of said expander rods, and means for moving said slide plate between a first position in which said detent means is received in said detent-receiving means and said through openings in said movable slide plate are out of alignment with said expander rods so that said expander rods are locked to said rod-holder plate and a second position in which said detent means is displaced outside said detent-receiving means and said through openings in said movable slide plate are in alignment with said expander rods so that said expander rods are released from locked relationship to said rod-holder plate.