FR2461367A1 - AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLY DEVICE FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL ACCUMULATOR COMPONENTS - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO THE MANUFACTURE OF ELECTROCHEMICAL ACCUMULATORS. AN ACCUMULATOR ASSEMBLY DEVICE INCLUDES IN PARTICULAR AN INDEXING TABLE 44 WHICH INCLUDES HOUSINGS 43 WHICH RECEIVE ACCUMULATOR BOXES WITHOUT THEIR COVER. THE TABLE PASSES THE BOXES THROUGH VARIOUS WORKSTATIONS DISTRIBUTED TO ITS CIRCUMFERENCE WHICH AUTOMATICALLY PERFORM ALL THE OPERATIONS NECESSARY FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF COVERS TO COMPLETE THE MANUFACTURE OF THE ACCUMULATORS. APPLICATION TO THE MANUFACTURE OF ACCUMULATORS IN CYLINDRICAL CASES.

Description

246 1367

  The present invention relates to a device which is intended to automatically assemble and close

  electrochemical elements on an assembly line.

  The invention relates more particularly to a device which is intended to assemble the components of rechargeable electrochemical elements, to make the electrical connections between the electrodes of the element and a terminal which is associated with the lid of the element, to insert the cover at the top of the housing of the element containing the

  electrodes, and then close the element.

  The electrochemical elements to which the invention

  Advantageously, these are of the rechargeable type, such as, for example, cadmium-nickel accumulators in a cylindrical housing, in which one of the electrical terminals is formed at the top of the accumulator. In the characteristic configuration that looks like a flashlight battery, the positive terminal of the accumulator is formed

  in the cover of the cylindrical box while the box

  tier forms itself the negative terminal. In these accumulations

  the materials constituting the positive and negative plates are cut into strips which are wound into a coil, with a separating material interposed between them. The wound coil is then introduced into the pre-formed cylindrical casing by the open end of the

housing.

  The wound electrode plates may be of the type which is described in U.S. Patents 3,695,935 and

  4,029,856. These accumulator coil structures comprise

  a positive electrode plate having a corrugated edge, a negative plate having a similar corrugated edge, and a

  separator between the two plates. Plates and sepals

  are wound to form the coil, with a

  mutual longitudinal gap between the two plates. In this way, the corrugated edge of one of the plates extends beyond the flat edge of the other plate, at each end of the plate.

  coil. When the wound electrode structure is introduced

  in the casing, the negative electrode plateViet6In electrical contact with the battery casing. There is a great difference between you and the people of the world, and you will be able to learn more about them. 9Tos ueuelu9 9ue 9rai no4 '4anaUri el uo no' s9Elquesse, GlAtnslnod inod xa-n InunoovIT 1aouLeAE fej uo 'uo! Oadsu! Sú agao ap 9lns9ai al uolaS -'poadsu u9ma9nbTpoTId qse I! 9 'ssuuimoEduie seo ap slnafsnld no one p' saiTE! Umamlddns ua @ amBtEf ap no 92Blquissep suOf! IEadop G CqoI qjg inaq -LInunooElI uo! Guo! Iqej ap snssaooid np saseqd sOGSIA! P sap slnoo nv '9ureAfns Il B uoTEIeado, p uo! $ Tsod eunp -inflnw ú0 -nooQe nbEqo.iotUeAE 9gej inb ao aoLUeAe 8EMxapulp Tlqep E anb 4uepuad 'a iEd a' s9u9miolo s @ l Suep sinfe4lnuinooe his [GlI3qD Uo - ,, squsui9oTo selidde 'FInalfnuinooE, p s9loode9oe ap aiqmou u ! E $ ao a @ "iodwoo! Nb aBexapuç, p @lqe eaun suep 9oLId his e'sapo1; oa [9, p aulqoq El op 4amos np ifIed / e SZ pue9,? S Tnb uo! Xsuuoo ap 8 $ ganruei AND q sapoiosaaIlp au! qoq El 'lIeTDoq eI queuoJdmoo 9au! mTiu Tuap B lnagIelnuinooe a & uot4uGAUTl e puodseîioo Inb JTfsodsTp a sueq onb! 9xxiaq $ had uemuud UO uj op aI $$ 4oq nB quemunbluBeoam eaPIa Zsa it no' laie4oq np 95 oz -aGAnoQ, BI aloiGAnoo ap 9Iljnfls El aDoEd uo sTnd gsepoi4oeDlqp aulqoq El ap iTnled B pu9a, s Inb 9oiîlbnpuoo aranuEtl el BI alzliAno0 ap a9n4onils El Gx j uO STllenbs @ p slnoo ne.- uappopad ad "np s lne4ilnEnoov sep 9iuqmuissE, T ap sadE>? 4UgIll4uUss @ au1oUOo U01OUGAU! 1, If aumu8 Tnb aTOlmAnoo ap ainfonls S ls afmloj sIs! nb GA -T! gsod auioq El g9 GA !! s0od enbEld El einu enbIioelI9 uo! x -auuoo ap uoifDouoj 4TEj 'saide-To 99 loap qse Fnb 'a; 3rLUBe EI 'elI4oq el sUep oulqoq EL ap uoTiesull saidE qTos 0t nUeAu ifos 9ATgfsod enbeld El B aqgntuelr 9ei 9o 9pnos qnad uo' GA41! Sod epoinoelap enbEld el ap nu e 9alnpuo ploq aapnos 4a uolxauuoo 9p GoD! Ionpuoo lan2tuei f aul anbTIpuTIDO i @ !! oq np 9in9-t9auT oled EL e pioq Go nue! Ial ua q 9 s @ au! qoq seponoolp sep a9naTia9xo aiids EL aumoj Inb '@Aji -EMau @nbEld El aP -Euipnf! TMuoT pioq a pam who wo q! os AT! geMu enbEld El aP plnpuo pioq ne @ pIa 4se Inb oq @ nr -ieI aun ioT! $ oq np puoj nBi quepnos ua q! os TOGo B 9uaAied 9úI9tZ

246 1367

immediate shutdown of the system.

  Lid structures, including their

  insulating joints, advance themselves to the

  under the action of a vertical indexing wheel

  It has a plurality of locations, each of which contains a cover structure with the associated insulating seal in the form of a coating. This lids feed wheel moves in synchronism with the accumulator indexing table and preferably comprises at least one station which makes it possible to apply to the edge of the battery.

  insulation seal a uniform coating of sealing material

  you. Advancing towards the welding station, the bootmakers

  accumulators pass through an orientation station of

  watch which automatically rotates each accumulator so that it arrives at the welding station with its tongue oriented parallel to the surface of the cover on which

  the tongue must be welded. After welding, the accumu-

  is directed to a lid folding station which,

  because of the particular orientation given to the

  vape and tab, allows to fold down the welded cover at the top of the battery box. The accumulator then advances to a rolling station which curves the upper edge of the battery box inwards, on

  the top of the lid folded down. The accumulator then

  to an automatic coin press which

  more the accumulator, in the vertical direction,

  with sufficient pressure to compress the insulating gasket

  around the edge of the lid.

  The rest of the description refers to the drawings

  appended which respectively represent: FIG. 1: an exploded perspective view of an electrochemical accumulator of a characteristic type that can be assembled in the device that corresponds to the invention; Figure 2 is an elevational and sectional representation of the upper portion of an assembled accumulator of the type shown in Figure 1;

  Figure 3: a plan view of a device corresponding to

  to the invention, which shows the indexing table for

  born to receive battery boxes and to pass them through several assembly stations, as well as the various units that perform operations on the accumulator;

  Figure 4 a representation in elevation, par-

  partly in section along line 4-4 of Figure 3, which

  shows the indexing-vertical wheel which is intended to receive

  see and bring battery cover structures

  to a desolating paving station and a fire station.

dage;

  Figure 5: a section of the vertical indexing wheel

  shims along line 5-5 of Figure 4; Figure 6: A section along the line 6-6 of Figure 4, showing part of the loading mechanism

  cover structures in the vertical indexing wheel

  Figure 7: a section along the line 7-7 of the

  figure 4 which shows another part of the mechanism of

  FIG. 8 is a representation, partly in section along the line 8-8 of FIG. 4, showing elements of the device which applies a sealing material to the cover structures. accumulator

  Figure 9: a partial representation, in elevation

  and enlarged, which shows the upper part of an accumula-

  emulator and the welding device for welding the connecting tab on the cover structure; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a suitable welding head that can be used in the system of Figure 4; FIG. 11: an elevational representation and partially in section along the line 11-11 of FIG. 3,

  showing the device that guides the connector tabs

  accumulator xion before welding

  Figure 12: a partial representation in elevation

  which is similar to Figure 11 and shows a portion of the tongue orientation device; Figure 13 is an elevational representation similar to Figure 11 and showing in section the upper portion of the tongue orientation device. Figure 14 is a section along the line 14-14 of Figure 11; Figure 15 is a side elevational view in the direction of the arrow 15 of Figure 3 and showing a lid folding device which can be used in the invention; Figure 16 is a view in the direction of line 16-16 of Figure 3 showing an accumulator with the lid structure welded to the connecting tab at the lid folding station, but before folding of the lid structure; and Fig. 17: a representation in the direction of the line 17-17 of Fig. 16 which shows the position of the movable member of the lid folding device, with respect to the accumulator, when the folding operation of

  lid is partially done.

  FIGS. 1 and 2 show firstly a characteristic electrochemical accumulator which comprises an accumulator housing 10, an electrode coil 12 which consists of positive and negative plates wound together with a

  interposed separator, a conductive connection tab

  this is welded to the upper edge of the positive electrode.

  coil, and a pierced lid structure, 15, which can be housed in the casing 10. A ring is used

  insulation 17 to cover the top of the coil of electro-

  and this ring has a central opening that

pour the tongue 14.

  The lid has the general shape of a disc and is constituted by the assembly of a main body 19,

  a terminal 20 and a valve, capable of restoring the

  This valve consists of a spring 21 and a valve disc 23. The valve is designed to allow excessive internal pressures to be discharged into the accumulator by

  holes 20, 26 of the cover structure. The tongue

  duct 14 is welded to the underside of the cover of

  way that the latter forms the positive terminal of the accumula-

  the case being connected to the negative winding electrode

  born by appropriate means (not shown) and

  thus killing the negative terminal. The hermeticity between the cover structure and the battery casing is

  provided by a cup-shaped insulator 28 which also

  The purpose of the invention is to provide electrical insulation between the cover and the housing. This insulator 28 is compressed

  around the edge of the lid, between the circumferential groove

  the 30 and the top rim folded 31 of the box.

  The invention relates to the assembly of the cover on the battery box and then the closing of the battery.

  General description and horizontal turntable

  Referring now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the accumulator assembly device described above receives accumulators 39 partially

  manufactured, arriving through a crane corridor 40. These accumulations

  emulators 39 have a throatless box that contains

  an electrode coil and a connection tab

  to the coil and extending upward towards the open end of the casing, from the top of

the positive electrode.

  The movement of the partially manufactured accumulators along the corridor 40 is controlled by

  appropriate means (not shown) so that, for example,

  ple, an accumulator may be momentarily stopped at a

  station 42 which introduces a fluid electrolyte through the

  open tee of the accumulator. This electrolyte is adsorbed into the separating material between the plates

  electrode. After introduction of the electrolyte, the accu-

  partially manufactured emulator continues its movement towards the end of the band o an escape mechanism

  (not shown) allows gravity to fall

  most advanced emulator in the battery receptacle

246 1367

  43, which is supported by a table of inde-

  rotating card 44 carrying the accumulator of the point of

  loading at the point of unloading.

  The indexing table 44 contains 24 such housings, one for each of the 24 physically separated positions around the circumference of the table. For convenience, each position has been numbered in FIG. 3, the position n0 1 being that at which an accumulator is loaded into the housing 43 which is located

  directly below the corridor 40.

  All the operations that are performed in the

  automated process of the device of Figure 1 are executed

  cut under the control of a digital controller, such as the 5TI controller which is manufactured by Texas Instruments, Inc. These controllers are well known in the industry. In general, they receive input signals from the manufacturing operations that are controlled and generate output signals that trigger or control the operation of the machines and components involved. Similarly, the controller receives input signals from sensors

  which * are distributed around the indexing table, for

  empty dwellings, defective components,

  operations performed incorrectly, etc. This information

  is stored in a shift register that is part of the controller and is used to monitor

  the state of an accumulator in a particular dwelling.

  Thus, such a shift register can have 24 memory positions to record the presence or absence of a

  bit that represents a particular condition that is associated with

to the dwelling in question.

  With regard to the housing that is at the

  position No. 1 in FIG. 3, a photoelectric sensor is used.

  at the end of the corridor 40 to determine

  if the housing has correctly received a battery

  made from the band. If not,

  a signal is generated and transmitted to the deceleration register.

  (not shown) which is associated with the controller, so

  no further operations are performed on this lodge.

  during indexing on the remaining 23 positions. We

  understands that the indexing table turns step by step

  predetermined steps, that is 1/24 turn per step.

  After each increment of movement the table remains fixed for a short time (downtime) during which operations are performed on the accumulators which are

find in the accommodations.

  The first manipulation operation on the battery

  The partially manufactured emulator takes place at position No. 4, in which the top insulator 17 is placed at the top of the accumulator. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when this insulator is in place, it virtually covers the exposed edges of the electrode coil, with the vertical tab housed in the central hole of the insulator. At position No. 5, the downward travel of a probe 48 detects the presence of an isolator 17 in the accumulator, in the absence of an isolator the probe sends an "inactive" status signal to the sensor. appropriate input of the shift register, and the accumulator considered will not be closed.

  accumulator may instead pass through the

  without any other operation being performed on him, and he will be ejected at position No. 23, as a

  defective accumulator or to be re-manufactured.

  If the sensor detects the absence of an isolator for at least

  two consecutive accumulators, the machine is automatic-

  stopped because this condition indicates that there is no supply of isolator power or any other problem that needs to be addressed. Similarly, any

  The downstream sensor can be programmed to generate

  leave an "idle" status signal or stop the machine as soon as a fault is detected or a cadence is detected

excessive anomalies.

  At position No. 8, the downward stroke of a die which is actuated by the throat forming unit forms a groove at the upper periphery of the accumulator casing. Here again, a sensor that is associated with the throat formation station detects whether the accumulator has

246 1367

  blocked in the matrix or if it has been properly released.

  A blocking condition commands the shutdown of the entire machine. At this point, the battery is ready for

  fastening of its cover structure to the green tongue

  tical connection. However, before this can be done, the tab must be properly aligned so that it is oriented parallel to the bottom surface of the cover when the accumulator arrives at the welding station. This is necessary because the tabs of the accumulators that are loaded on the indexing table are

  randomly oriented. In the invention, the orienta-

  The tongue assembly is accomplished at position No. 10, using the tongue orientation unit 52. Details will be described in connection with Figs. 11-14.

how this is accomplished.

  The battery cover structure is

  coupled to the tongue at station No. 13. In this operation,

  the accumulator, with its tongue correctly

  parallel to the bottom surface of the cover structure, is aligned with the cover structure, which is fed to the welding station by an indexing wheel

  vertical rotating 54 (Figures 4 and 5). A weld head

  55 (see Figure 10) which comprises two welding electrodes 56, 57 is then brought forward so as to press the flexible tongue 14 on the lid 15. The welding current is triggered after a certain delay , which establishes a mechanical and electrical connection between the tongue and the cover. After a second short time delay, the electrodes are retracted and simultaneously subjected to a pivoting movement which

  away from the trajectory of accumulators that advance.

  The welded lid is then ejected from the mandrel which

  maintains. Once the lid structure, now

  welded to the tongue, is moved forward and

  cleared from the chuck, the accumulator goes back to its

  and can then move it to the next position.

  At station 14, the accumulator encounters a detection

  photoelectric sensor 59 which detects the presence or absence

  a welded lid structure. In case of detection -

  of a suitably welded lid structure, a -

  "active" status signal remains present for housing

  particular, and the presence of such a signal causes the completion of the next operation. This operation involves folding the welded lid into the end

  open top of the battery box. At the completion

  In this operation, the accumulator presents the

  guration shown in FIG. 2, the cover structure and the insulating joint 28 being in place at the

  upper inner part of the casing 10.

  Leaving the lid folding device at station No. 15, the accumulator advances to station No. 16 at which the upper edge 31 of the casing

  is rolled on the upper part of the insulator disc 28.

  This is accomplished by the descending run of a tool of

  rolling 62a which is actuated by a rolling unit 62.

  Once again, a blocking detector checks the condition of the rolling tool to detect the existence of a blockage and controls the stopping of the indexing table in case of detection of an abnormal condition. At position No. 19, a sizing press 63 descends on the accumulator, which is the last manufacturing step. A detector is placed at the docking station

  to detect any jamming of the press by accumula-

tor.

  At item 21 of the indexing table, a provision

  tif 65 submits the battery to an electrical test. briefly

  The electrical control device comprises a probe which is lowered to bring it into contact with the terminals of the accumulator. While the probe is in contact with the terminals, a constant pulse of high current, of short duration, is applied to the terminals of the accumulator, so as to show a voltage of

  increased charge between the battery terminals. We exchange

  tills the battery voltage before, during and after

  the application of this current and we compare the values obtained

  naked with predetermined maximums and minimums. In most cases, this one measure and the comparison

  detect low-resistance short-circuits

  the presence of an insufficient quantity of electrolyte and an unsatisfactory battery voltage. After this electrical test, the accumulator advances to one of the two ejector chutes which are in positions n0 22 and n0 23. The accumulators are ejected upwards and they fall into vertical downcomers, the accumulators acceptable. through chute 66 at position 22, while discarded accumulators

  go through chute 67 to position # 23.

  It is recalled that the shift register that is in the main controller keeps the state of all

  accumulators, from the point of loading to the location

  No 1, to the ejection station at location 23.

  As long as the housing position retains an "active" status signal, the cell is considered acceptable and is evacuated by the chute 66 which is at position No. 22. If for any reason a housing is associated

  in an "inactive" state, the accumulator is ejected to the govern-

  lotte 67 at position n0 23. An inactive state is associated with

  all housing positions which are empty or which

  hold defective or incomplete accumulators.

  Vertical rotating wheel We will now consider FIGS. 4 and 5 which represent in detail the vertical indexing wheel 54 which transports the lid structures in synchronism

  with the horizontal indexing table. The vertical wheel

  is generally a wheel or disc 70 at the

  which are arranged a number of mandrels 71, evenly spaced. There are 24 mandrels, which

  is the number of positions in the index table.

  Each mandrel is adapted to receive and carry a cover structure 15 from the receiving point to a sealing liquid application device 73 and then to the position at which the tab is located.

  the accumulator is soldered to the lower surface

  top of the lid. In FIG. 4, the reception position

  the lid is marked in position 1. The vertical wheel

  wedge rotates clockwise, as indicated by the arrow, and

  the position numbers therefore increase in clockwise direction.

  The vertical wheel moves step by step, like the horizontal indexing table. It is during the downtime of the

  movement that operations are performed on the structures

  cover. Thus, during the downtime, a cou-

  circle is loaded into the chuck which is in the position

  In step # 2, a sensor (not shown) detects whether a part has been properly loaded. In case of

  detection of two consecutive conditions "no charge-

  the system is stopped because this indicates that the lid loading device is not working correctly.) At position 3 of the vertical wheel, the

  isolator disc 28 which is attached to the cover structure

  key is brought into contact with the surface of a rotating wheel.

  74 which is coated with sealing pitch. As the mandrel approaches the bare position 3, it is rotated (in a manner to be described later) in a direction opposite to the direction of the pitch application wheel, so as to apply a coating uniform pitch on the outer periphery of the cup-shaped insulator 28. In this respect, it should be noted that the application wheel

  of pitch has a slight shoulder so that the coating

  Pitch is also applied to a small portion of the underside of the insulator. After having left

  the pitch applicator 73 at the position n0 3, the mIadrin con-

  continue to rotate so that the

  cover structure and to produce a uniform distribution

  shape of the coating on the disc-shaped insulator. The rapid rotation of the lid structure continues to the No. 6 position, leaving the coating with sufficient time to "take", and prevents the coating material from escaping or dripping. At position # 22, a detector (not shown) detects the presence or absence of a cover structure on the mandrel. A condition "lid present" allows the unfolding of

  the next operation. However, if there is no cover

  key, the corresponding housing of the horizontal table may

  receive an inactive state, so that no further operations

  not be attempted on this partially manufactured battery during its transport.

  The following operation is performed on the structure

  lid position when it reaches position # 23. This position is the welding position and center of the mandrel

  is aligned vertically with the center of the battery

  emulator located at position # 13 on the horizontal indexing table. Because the indexing table

  horizontal axis and the vertical indexing wheel are synchronized

  the cover structure 15 which is in the position

  No. 23 of the vertical wheel is fixed when the battery case 10 which is at the position No. 13 is fixed. During the standstill time, the accumulator is lifted vertically, as shown in FIG. 4, to bring the vertical connection tab 14 into coincidence with the

  bottom surface of the lid structure 15.

  FIG. 4 represents in section the edge of the indexing table 44, which comprises the housing 43, at the station

  13, and an operating mechanism 76 which is intended to lift the accumulator which is in the housing, until

  level suitable for welding. As shown, this operating mechanism comprises a support bracket 77

  carried by a mounting platform 78. A cylinder

  pneumatic control 80 includes a piston 81 which can

  move upwards, through

  the bottom of the housing, to come into contact with the bottom of the partially manufactured battery housing 10, and

* lift this housing up to the desired vertical level. The extré-

  The upper end of the piston of the pneumatic cylinder comprises a magnetic end-piece 82, with a configuration in "I.sub.I" .This magnet tip stabilizes the accumulator by the action of magnetic forces during the time it is lifted by

  compared to its normal position. As such, the wall

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246 1367

  corridor at an angle inferior to that shown

  example a few degrees from the horizontal).

  A horizontal mechanical part 87 is placed at the

  the lower part of corridor section 89 and

  carries a cylindrical guide channel 90 which aligns the lowest cover structure with the mandrel which is in position -: 1. Referring to FIG. 7, it can be seen that when the cover structure reaches the guide channel, it is held by two fingers 92 biased by springs. At the appropriate time during the stop time of the vertical wheel, a pneumatic cylinder 93 is

  actuated to ensure that the pusher 94 which is

  the end of its piston pushes the structure of

  beyond the spring fingers, by passing through the guide channel 90 to bring it into contact with the mandrel. The piston of the pneumatic cylinder is then retracted allowing the next lid structure

  to fall into place at the end of the corridor, for charging-

the next mandrel.

  It should be noted that the insulator disk 78 which is associated with the cover 15 can be automatically placed on

  the lid while moving towards the wheel of india-

  vertical xage. We can do this by bringing in

  the covers 15 and the insulators 28, in separate lanes, then, in a manner similar to the loading of the mandrels of the vertical wheel, by bringing the piston of a pneumatic cylinder into contact with the disk

  isolator to push the latter around the edge of the cover.

  key. Under these conditions, the cover structures

  binaries would enter hallway 86.

  The details of the mandrels 71 on the vertical wheel 54, and the manner in which the lid structures are held on the mandrels, are more clearly apparent from the cross-sectional representation of Figure 5. The vertical wheel includes a hub. and a disc 70, of machined steel, which is made in one piece

  with the hub. Twenty-four bosses 99, uniformly spaced

  These are located on the periphery of the disc and each of them carries one of the mandrels. The vertical wheel is driven through a shaft which is keyed onto a second hub 100 which forms an element of an overload clutch.

  101. The training energy is transmitted to the wheel

  54 by the clutch 101, from a drive mechanism (not shown). The front hub 96 of the

  wheel and disc 70 comprise six ducts 103 which extend

  tooth radially outward from the center of the hub. A rotating pneumatic connection 104 extends from

  the front of the hub in order to establish a branch-

  with a pneumatic pipe in which the vacuum prevails. This vacuum, or a negative pressure, is applied to each of the 24 mandrels via the conduits 103, divided radially, and curved conduits 105 which

connect all the mandrels.

  Each mandrel 71 is carried by a rotating shaft

  chuck drive 107 which is mounted

  in a bearing 108 supported by the boss 99. At the rear of the boss, a pulley 110 for a belt

  is mounted on the rear of the drive shaft of the man-

  by being separated from the boss by an annular spacer

  111. The mandrel itself, as well as the drive shaft,

  associated member, comprise a central bore 113 in which an ejector finger 114 is slidably fitted by being biased by a spring in the retracted position which is shown. The front portion 114a of the finger has a reduced diameter. It slidably moves in a

  annular magnet 116 which is fixedly mounted in the former

  mandrel end. The vacuum is transferred to the end

  This is formed by the duct 118 which is formed in the bearing 108 and the hole 119 which passes through the drive shaft to open into the central bore of the mandrel. This negative pressure is transmitted to the end of the cup-shaped mandrel by the central bore 113 of

the drive shaft of the mandrel.

  When a cover structure with the insulator

  associated lid is pushed against the end of the man-

  drin by the mechanism of loading lids, a vacuum

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  is produced and this vacuum creates sufficient force to maintain

  hold the lid structure on the mandrel during its

  transport by the vertical wheel. It should be noted that the upper side

  of the cover structure abuts on the magnet element

  This magnet is located at the end of the mandrel, or is very close to abutting this element, so that magnetic forces help to retain the cover structure on the mandrel, in case of partial loss of the vacuum. Finger

  ejector, which is slidably mounted in the man-

  drin, is actuated as a result of the welding operation to release the cover structure of the action of vacuum and magnet after welding. For this purpose, the ejector finger has at the rear an enlarged and rounded end portion 114b with which comes into contact the piston of the pneumatic cylinder release mechanism 120 which

  appears in the lower part of Figure 5, on the back

  re of the vertical wheel. The mechanism for extracting

  v is turned on by the digital controller.

  Figure 8 shows the sealant application device. As previously mentioned, the fluid sealing material is applied to the edge of the insulating disc 28 by an application wheel 74. This wheel is driven continuously by a motor 121 which is mounted on a frame 122. A reservoir 123 which contains the liquid sealing material 124 is placed at the front of this frame. When the application wheel 74 turns, it takes

  the liquid sealing material 124 in the tank.

  The reservoir 123 comprises a cover 125 which is provided with a slot through which the revolving wheel 74 passes.

  that the portion of the application wheel 74 has a shoulder

  so that the sealing material is applied not only to the edge of the insulator disc 28, but

  also on a part of its lower surface.

  When the mandrel containing the structure of cou-

  The cladding belt 128 comes into contact with the transmission belt pulley 110 located at the rear of this mandrel. Referring again to Figure 4, it can be seen that the drive belt 128 is driven by a pulley 129 which is coupled to the drive motor 127 and which is guided by a series of pulleys 130-132. The pulleys 132 are placed so that the transmission belt pulleys 110 at the rear of the mandrels at the mandrel positions Nos. 3 to 6 are in contact with the moving belt. This turns all the chucks with which the drive belt comes in contact with these

  positions, as indicated previously.

  Welding Head FIG. 9 is an enlarged representation showing the relative positions of the welding head 55, the mandrel 71 which carries the cover structure to be welded, the battery housing and the housing 43 in the indexing table. The welding head is a commercial item that is manufactured by the firm Unitek, Inc. However, for convenience, its details are shown in the perspective view of FIG. 10. The soldering head 55 comprises two mounting blocks. current routing electrode

  for each of the two welding electrodes 56, 57, the elec-

  trode 56 being the positive welding electrode while the electrode 57 is the counter-electrode. Upper mounting blocks 140 are locked face to face around the welding head drive shaft, 142. Lower mounting blocks 143 are resiliently attached to the upper mounting blocks 144 by leaf springs which are screwed on on the front and rear faces of the blocks 143. These leaf springs have a thickness of about 0.4 mm and are made of spring steel. Blocks 140 and blocks 143 are separated from one another by a distance of about

  0.8 mm and the space between these blocks facing each other

  holds one or more insulating layers 147.

  The welding electrodes 56, 57 are mounted between the lower mounting blocks 143 and base blocks 148, the insulating layers 147 also being placed

  between the mounting blocks 148 located opposite each other.

  The operating shaft 142 is driven by a cylinder

  pneumatic dre 150. To achieve a weld, it operates

24 6 1367

  the pneumatic cylinder 150 to move forward

  the whole of the welding head, in the direction of the

  14 and the lid 15. The leaf springs 145 are

  provide an elastic coupling between the rigid shaft 142 and the welding electrodes 56, 57, which allows an automatic

  alignment of the welding electrodes with respect to the cover

  15. When the welding is complete, the pneumatic cylinder

  150 retracts the shaft 142. This shaft 142 is slidably housed in a bushing 151 which has two helical slots 152, each receiving a laterally extending lug 153 which is attached to the shaft 142. During the retraction of the shaft 142, the helical slots 152 rotate the assembly of the welding head 55 about the axis of the shaft 142 by a camming action. This rotates the welding head 55 out of the path that the accumulators travel when they are indexed from one position to the other.

the next one.

  Tongue orientation device

  Figures 11-14 show in detail the arrangement

  52. This device comprises

  a vertical support frame 155 which carries a horizontal plate

  lower zontal 156 and an upper horizontal plate 157 which are separated by a certain distance and are

  fixed by a spacer block 159. The lower plate

  The upper part comprises an operating arm 160 from which a block 161 of generally cylindrical shape extends downwardly through an opening 162 which is formed in the lower support plate 156. The block 161 carries two divergent flat fingers 164 , made of spring steel. These fingers form a combination similar to tweezers and can be moved together to the position that is

shown in Figure 12.

  The block 161 is grooved on opposite sides of its periphery so as to receive two vertical rods 166, 167 which extend downwardly from a support block 170. The support block 170 is itself mounted of

  rotating manner in a low-friction bearing 171 (FIG.

  13) which is carried by a piston 172 of a pneumatic cylinder

  A finger actuator 174 is mounted at the lower end of the pins 166, 167 and basically comprises a block having a narrow slot whose transverse dimension corresponds approximately to the combined thickness of the two fingers 164. It is thus understood that when the pneumatic cylinder 173 is actuated, its piston 172 goes down. This has the effect of lowering

  vertical rods 166, 167 to produce a downward stroke

  of the finger actuating member provided with a slot,

  174. This moves together the two fingers 164 of the

  pair of tweezers, as shown in Figure 12.

  Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, it can be seen that the axis of the vertical movement of the tongue orienting device 52 is aligned with the axis of a housing 43 of the indexing table 44. This housing is the one corresponding to at

  the position n0 10 of the indexing sequence. When the

  emulator is correctly positioned so that the fingers 164 come into contact with it, a closure of the fingers rotates the entire casing at the moment when the fingers

  come into contact with the flat vertical tongue 14.

  In FIG. 11, the fingers 164 are represented in the

  open position, before coming into contact with the

  In FIG. 12, the fingers are shown in the fully closed position, the tab 14 and the battery housing 10 having been rotated to a position such that the tab is between the closed fingers 164,

and be parallel to these fingers.

  It has been discovered that to achieve a reliable and reproducible orientation of the battery case, it is

  necessary to establish a low-friction support surface

  for the battery box. For this purpose, the provision

  It comprises a pneumatic cylinder 180 which is placed under the indexing table, so that its piston 181, when

  is actuated, climbs and enters the housing 43 in

  pouring the bottom of the latter. The piston 181 ends with.

  a ball bearing 182 to which is attached a magnet tip

  184. The magnetic end-piece 184 fixes the accumulator by a magnetic force and stabilizes the casing when the casing is lowered into the housing 43 at the time of assembly.

  retraction of the piston 181 of the pneumatic cylinder. The roll

  Ball bearing 182 is a low-friction pivoting support, which allows the accumulator to rotate under the effect of the application of very weak forces to the ballast.

  14. The flared walls of housing 43

  also relieve the elimination of friction with the

battery box 10.

  During operation, when the indexing table 44 is at standstill, the pneumatic cylinder is actuated to cause the extension of its piston 181 and to raise the battery case 10 to a position in which it comes into contact with the fingers 164. Once the piston 181 has been brought into

  complete extension, the pneumatic cylinder 173 of the

  The orientation of the tongue is actuated, causing the rods 166, 167 and the finger operation block 174 to descend to close the fingers. When these fingers 164 close, they come into contact with the tongue 14, which rotates the battery case until the tongue 14 is parallel to the fingers 164. The pneumatic cylinder 173 then ceases to be actuated so

  to raise the rods 166, 167 and the maneuvering element

  fingertips 174, which allows the fingers 164 to open

  by a spring effect. The pneumatic lift cylinder

  accumulator 180 then ceases to be actuated, which

  down the piston 181 and allows the battery box

  to descend fully to the rest position

in dwelling 43.

  Since a pivoting support is

  friction for the battery housing 10 during the orientation of the tongue, the accumulator can be rotated by exerting very weak forces on

  the tab this connection 14 which is quite fragile. nevertheless

  less, in the case where the tongue 14 is oriented substantially perpendicular to the plane of the fingers 164, we see that the fingers 164 could not close, or that the tongue 14 would be crushed, because the forces exerted by the fingers 164 act in this case in a direction approximately parallel to the edges of

the tongue 14.

  To avoid the possibility of deterioration resulting from this situation, a photoelectric detector, which is placed for example at the position n0 9 of the indexing table, detects the orientation of the tongue before the

  operation of the tongue orientation device 52.

  This detector (not shown) is designed to produce an electrical signal when the angle that is formed between the plane of the tongue and a reference plane exceeds a predetermined reference angle. Such a signal may for example be generated by projecting a light beam at the approximate position of the vertical tab at the station n0 9 of the indexing table, so that the light beam is interrupted when the angle of the tongue exceeds the reference angle. A photodetector reacts to

  interruption of light by generating an electrical signal

  than. This signal is applied to the controller

  send an order signal at the appropriate time to reorient

  close the fingers 164 before closing.

  The command signal causes the piston to retract

  your 186 of the pneumatic cylinder 187, which makes this

  piston from its normal position (Figures 11 and 14) to its posi-

  retracted (Figure 13). The free end of the pneumatic cylinder piston 186 is coupled by a pivot 189 to

  the lever portion 160a of the actuating arm 160. The movement

  The operation of the lever 160a acts on the pins 166, 167 to rotate the entire finger closing mechanism at its support point in the bearing 171, about the axis of the pneumatic cylinder piston 172. Thus, the block of support 161, as well as the rods 166, 167 and the finger closure element 174, turn from 900 to reorient to

  900 fingers 164. In the reoriented position by rotation

  the angle between the plane of the tongue and the plane of the fingers 164 is reduced to a very low value, which allows the fingers 164 to close without being disturbed or without damaging the tongue 14. With the fingers held in

246 1367

  when the position is closed, the pneumatic cylinder 187 is actuated so that its piston 186 and the actuating arm 160 are returned to the normal positions. This brings the fingers 164 back to their normal rotational positions before the pneumatic cylinder 173 ceases to be actuated to retract its piston and the elements attached thereto, in order to open the

  fingers and release the tab 14. The fingers are now

  held in this reoriented position while the pneumatic cylinder 173 is no longer actuated, to open the fingers 164. The battery casing is then lowered into its position.

  housing so that the tongue is released from the fingers 164.

  The pneumatic cylinder 187 is then actuated to return its piston 186 and the operating arm 160 to the normal positions, this being done before indexing the table.

  horizontal to the next position.

  To recap, the guidance device of

  tongue operates in normal mode, with the pneumatic cylinder

  in the position shown in Figures 11, 12 and 14. As long as the angle formed between the plane of the tongue 14 and the reference plane does not exceed a predetermined reference angle, the pneumatic cylinder remains in the normal position. In practice, the reference angle is about 750 to 800, this value being measured relative to a plane parallel to the plane of the fingers 164. If the tongue exceeds the reference angle, the pneumatic cylinder 187 is actuated before the closing fingers 164 and is returned to its normal position before

  the opening of the fingers and the descent of the stacker

  to his rest position in the dwelling 43.

Lid folding device

  Figure 15 is an elevational view of the device

  fold of cover (which is designated by the reference in Figure 3). This device is located at station 15 of the horizontal rotary indexing table 44. Due to the orientation of the battery case by the device

  tongue orientation 52, the accumulators which reach

  Station 15 are oriented in such a way that the tongue 14 and the cover 15 are in a plane which

  is generally parallel to the radius of the table of inde-

xage 44.

  The lid folding device generally comprises a vertical support frame 190 which carries an operating device 191 which, when actuated, rotates the output shaft 192 about its axis. A cover folding piece 193 is attached to the end of this shaft and has a lever 194 which surrounds the shaft 192 and a contact member with the cover, 195. The operating device 191 comprises a pneumatic cylinder which is actuated in a rotary manner and whose output member is coupled to the shaft 192. The operating device 191 is a double-acting device so as to produce, when

  is actuated, a displacement of the cover folding piece

  193 from the normal position shown in FIG. 15 to a full race position which is

  oriented at 900 relative to the normal position.

  The contact element with the cover, 195, of the rotating part 193 has a machined surface 199 which generally conforms to the geometrical configuration of the cover 15. As can be seen more particularly in FIG. 17, the surface 199 is partially limited by a circular lip 200 with which can come into contact the edge of the insulating disk 28 which is associated with the battery cover 15. A part of the surface 199 is notched in 201 so as to allow the vertical cover 15 to

  pass under the cover folding part 193, to reach

  dre its indexed fixed position. Figure 16 shows more clearly

  the location of the battery in this position

  indexed relative to the lid folding part 193.

  The cover 15 is slightly eccentric with respect to the battery case 10 and, to be folded, it must be moved both in rotation and downwards to enter the

  open top of the boot.

  When the workpiece 193 has rotated about 100, as shown in Fig. 16, the surface 199 comes into contact

  with the upper edge of the edge of the insulator disc 28.

  Then, when the piece 193 continues to rotate in the clockwise direction, the insulator disk 28 switches under the effect of

  his contact with the surface 199 and he thus performs simul-

  momentarily pivoting and downward movement as the workpiece 193 pivots. When the workpiece 193 has rotated about 45-500, as shown in Fig. 17, the wafer of the insulator disc 28 comes into contact with the lip 200 and the

  The lid structure is thus firmly housed in the

  contact with the lid, 195. The structure of

  vercle thus follows a curved trajectory such that the center

  the cover structure is aligned with a rotational arc

  The cover is thus moved coaxially with respect to the battery case 10 when the cover folding part 193 has made a complete rotation of 900. At this point, the cover structure is housed in the open end of the accumulator, substantially in the position which

  is shown in the section of Figure 2.

  It will be appreciated that the lid folding part 193 is constructed so that its surfaces do not touch, tear or otherwise damage the

  sealing coating 202 (which is represented by the

  hatched on the figures). It will also be noted that the pivoting part 193 comes into contact with the cover structure in such a way that the latter begins by making a rotational movement to trigger the folding of the flexible tongue 14, before any movement of

  descent of the lid structure. This ensures a

  correct trimming and folding of tab 14 while the entire lid structure is moved to

the open end of the boot.

  Once the cover folding piece 193 has been completely brought to a substantially horizontal position, the maneuvering device is reversed, which

  returns the piece 193 to the vertical position of FIG.

  It has been found that the accumulator assembly device described above improves the productivity of the manufacture of electrochemical accumulators. This productivity improvement includes an increase in the manufacturing rate, a reduction in the manual assembly operations that are required, better performance of the accumulators, which is partly due to a decrease in the variation of the quality of the components, a higher quality level, with a reduction in the number of defective accumulators that are manufactured, and the ability to control individual accumulators as they progress through the manufacturing process. In the embodiment that has just been

  describe, pneumatic devices are used to pro-

  the mechanical movements of accumulators or machine elements. However, we could certainly

  use for the same purpose electrical switching devices

  cudgels. In addition, different sensors can be used throughout the device. So, we can use in practice

  mechanical sensors instead of photoelectric sensors

  c. As another example of modification, the means that rotate the mandrels on the vertical wheel can be adapted to other transmission means. For example, a gear transmission could be used instead of a belt drive. Similarly, the use of other mechanisms of

loading lids.

Claims (30)

  1. Automatic assembly device of the components   electrochemical elements (39) on a production line, each of these elements comprising an element casing (10), an electrode structure (12) which is contained in the casing and an electrically conductive tab (14) which is connected between the electrode structure and a cover structure (15) which closes the element and forms an electrical terminal for the latter, characterized in that it comprises: indexing means   of elements (44) which have a plurality of locations   born to retain and transport elements by making them   go through a number of workstations that   take a loading station (No. 1), an intermediate welding station (No. 13) and an ejection station (66, 67, No. 23, No. 24), each bin containing an electrode structure that includes a conductive tab which extends from the electrode structure towards the open end of the element casing; indexing means of   cover structure (54) having a plurality of locations   ments for receiving and transporting a number of cover structures from a location of   loading to a welding location, synchronously   with the element indexing means, these means of inde-   cover structure having a position and an operation such that they position a structure of   cover on each element box that reaches the   welding, the cover structure and   born being aligned with the conductive tab that is   associated with the item cabinet that is at the support station   dage; and welding means (55) which establishes a   mechanical and electrical connection between the conductive tab   trice and cover structure at the welding station.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized   in that the element indexing means, such as the lid structure indexing means, have a rotational movement and the element components which they carry follow. a curved trajectory.   3. Device according to claim 1, characterized   in that the element indexing means, such as the lid structure indexing means, have a rotational movement about axes which are substantially perpendicular to one another.   4. Device according to claim 3, characterized   in that the rotary indexing element means carry elements in a horizontal plane and the   rotary indexing means of transom lid structure   carry the lid structures in a vertical plane.   5. Device according to any one of the   1 to 4, characterized in that the cover structure indexing means comprise a plurality of cover structure retainers which can move cyclically with these indexing means, via   a loading location and a location of   dage; and further comprising means (86, 89,) for advancing the cover structures 20 in series to a position which is aligned with the retainer at the loading location. , and   means (80) which bring a cover structure into   tact with the restraint when this structure   lid and the aligned retainer are stopped. your.   6. Device according to claim 5, characterized   in that each structure retaining device   cover comprises a suction head (113) which is   so as to receive a lid structure substantially hermetically, the structural indexing means   cover comprising means (103-105, 120) which apply   suction to each suction head so as to retain the lid structures, with the possibility of releasing them, in order to transport them from the   loading to the welding location.   7. Device according to claim 5, characterized   characterized in that each lid structure retainer comprises a rotating mandrel (171) which is adapted to receive a lid structure for rotating the lid structure about the axis of the mandrel; and in that it further comprises sealing material applying means (73) which are located downstream of the loading location, being adjacent to the trajectory of the males, for dispensing material liquid sealing which is intended to seal the seal which is   formed when the element box and the structure of   the mandrel which is adjacent to the application means enabling the rotation of the lid structures which are retained in this mandrel and are in contact with the sealing material so as to assume   with this material the surface of the edge of the structures of cou-   vercle. 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises means (121) which rotate the mandrel which retains the cover structure on which   the sealing material is applied.   9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the mandrel rotating means rotate the mandrels which are at a chosen indexing location, downstream of the sealing material application means, whereby the lid structure which is retained by this downstream mandrel rotates to facilitate the distribution of the sealant on the coated surface of the lid structure.   10. Device according to claim 7, characterized   in that each mandrel is associated with a part of   (107) and the mandrel rotational means   take drive means (110, 127, 129-131) with which the mandrel drive can   contact at selected indexing locations.   11. Device according to claim 10, characterized   in that the drive means which rotate the mandrel comprises an endless belt with which the mandrel driving means can come into tangential contact.   12. Device according to any one of the   1 to 11, characterized in that the element housings   are transported in a plane such as the structure of cou-   and the connecting tab which is to be welded to the cover structure is mutually offset at the welding station; and in that it further comprises means which   act while the housing indexing means   and cover structure are fixed so as to move the element housing in a direction which leads to   the connection tab associated with this housing in   dence with cover structure, for welding.   13. Device according to claim 12, characterized   in that each element housing is brought into position   vertically in a housing (43) which corresponds to the shape of the element housing, this housing being traversed by   an opening, and the means that move the housing   comprise an operating member which can pass through the opening so as to come into contact with the bottom of the housing and to move this housing axially in the housing,   in the direction of the cover structure to be welded.   14. Device according to claim 13, characterized   in that it comprises magnetic means (82) which move with the actuator and can come into operation   contact with the casing during the movement thereof.   15. Device according to any one of the   1 to 14, characterized in that it comprises tongue orienting means (52) which are located at a work station which precedes the welding station, said tongue orienting means being able to come into contact with the element housing and orienting the latter in rotation, so that the connecting tab which is associated with the housing has a predetermined geometric orientation with respect to the cover structure which must be fixed on this tongue.   16. Device according to claim 15, characterized   in that the tongue orientation means   take two parallel flat fingers (164) that can be moved   cer at will between an open position in which they are released relative to the connection tab and a closed position in which these fingers come into contact   with the connection tab and move it to the parallel to them.   17. Device according to claim 16, characterized   characterized in that it comprises means which detect any angular orientation of the connection tab which exceeds a reference angle; and means (160, 160a, 187, 189) responsive to the detecting means by rotating the parallel fingers from a normal position to an offset position to reduce the angle corresponding to the orientation of the tab , relative to the reference angle, before closing the fingers, and bringing the fingers back to their normal position before opening.   18. Device according to claim 16, characterized   characterized in that it comprises means which support the element housing on a low friction rotating surface (171) while the fingers are in contact with the connection tab.   19. Device according to claim 18, characterized   characterized in that the support means are movable between a normal position, in which the element is retained   by the element indexing means, and a position of extension   in which the element is moved so as to bring the tab associated with it into coincidence with the   weld cover structure on this tongue.   20. Device according to any one of the   1 to 19, characterized in that it comprises cover folding means (60) which are located at a station of   downstream of the welding station of the means of inde-   an element casing, said lid folding means being operable to engage the lid structure which is welded to the tongue   conductor, and to have this structure   a translational and rotational movement   to bring it into the open end of the case.   while this box is stopped.   21. Device according to claim 20, characterized   in that the lid folding means comprise   nent: a contact piece with the lid (191-193) that can be rotated at will between a rest position in which it is disengaged from the lid structure, and a second position in which it is located on the open end of the case   this contact piece with the cover   both a cam surface (199) engaging the cover, which is designed to engage with   an upper part of the slice of the structure of cou-   turn, then rotate the cover structure with respect to the axis of the member and deform the tab that is attached to the cover structure, while the contacting piece pivots toward the cover structure.   the open end of the element case.   22. Device according to claim 21, characterized   characterized in that the contact piece with the cover   takes a lip (200) which limits the cam surface and with which the upper part of the wafer of the cover structure can come into contact so as to position the cover structure on the cam surface, with the center of the structure of cover aligned with the arc of   rotation that passes through the axis of the element.   23. Device according to any one of the   1 to 22, characterized in that the means for supporting   die comprises: a welding head (55) having at least one welding electrode (56, 57); means (142, -153) which positions the welding head at will to effect the welding of the tongue on the cover structure; and means (140, 145, 143) which are associated with the welding head so as to provide an elastic coupling between the welding electrode and the welding means.   positioning, in the direction of the movement of the electro-   welding to the cover structure.   24. Device according to any one of the   Claims 1 to 22, characterized in that the welding means comprises: a welding head (55) having at least one welding electrode; and means which position at will the welding head to weld the tongue on the   cover structure, these positioning means comprise   a maneuvering device (142, 150) which comprises a   piston which can be moved axially so as to   expensive and away from the welding location, and cam means (151-153) which can engage the piston during its axial movement, to rotate   the welding head around the axis of the piston, between a first   first position, in which the welding head is disengaged from the path of the elements in the indexing means   of element, and the welding position.   25. Box orientation device for a   system which is intended to perform manufacturing operations   cation on electrochemical elements which comprise an element housing comprising a flat part (14) which   extends in a longitudinal direction from the bowl   tier, characterized in that it comprises means for retaining   bare of an element box to orient; and means for contacting the flat part of the element which comprise two flat and parallel fingers (164) which can be moved at will between an open position in which they are   clear of the flat part of the element and a closed position   in which these fingers come into contact with the flat piece of the element which is between them and they the   rotate to orient it parallel to them.   26. Device according to claim 25, characterized   characterized in that the contact means with the flat part comprise: means which support the fingers by one of their ends, so that the free ends of the   fingers are mutually divergent; a farm organ   fingertips which has a slot in which the fingers can slide; and means that move the finger closure member toward the diverging free ends of the fingers, thereby moving the fingers fingers towards each other.   27. Device according to claim 25, characterized   rised in that it comprises means that selectively rotate   the means of contact with the flat part of the   in order to redirect the fingers in rotation   compared to the flat part of the element.   28. Device according to claim 25, characterized   in that the element retaining means comprises an element support surface which is mounted so that   rotating in a low friction bearing.   29. Device according to claim 28, characterized   rised in that it comprises means that move axially-   element housing from a first position in which it is disengaged with respect to the fingers to a second position which is aligned longitudinally with the fingers, so that the latter can come into contact with the element boot.   30. Device according to claim 27, characterized   in that the rotation means comprise:   means which support in a rotating way the organ of   fingers; and a rotating maneuvering arm that carries   the finger support means and which slides in the body   do not close fingers, so as to perform a longitudinal movement relative to the axis of rotation of the operating arm, whereby the rotation of the actuating arm produces a rotation of the fingers and the closing member of the fingers, while allowing a longitudinal movement of   the closing member of the fingers in the position that it. occupies after rotation.