US2244595A - Guiding means, especially in machines for delivering rivets - Google Patents

Description

June 3; 1 941;" AMIOT 2,244,595 GUIDING MEANS, ESPECIALLY IN MACHINES FOR DELIVERING RIVETS 7 Filed Jan. 31, 1939 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l f FE],

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Patented June 3, 1941 UNITED s'rar rinses Felix Amiot, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France Application January 31, 1939, Serial Nat-53,926 In Luxemburg July 2, 1938 (C1. "id-49) 13 Claims.

The invention relates to means for the axial guiding, over a portion of its path, of a part having along its axis a variable transverse section and which part receives a movement of translation, and concerns more especially but not exclusively such means, in machines for delivering rivets, which cause each rivet to be guided at the moment it is about to enter the corresponding hole in the sheet 'metal or other assembly to be riveted.

In accordance with the principal feature of the invention, such axial guiding means comprise a plurality of guides which exert on the moving part resiliently controlled actions to produce a centering effect along the axis of the said part. Moreover, the guides are preferably divided into at least two groups which act, substantially, in two different places normal to the said axis.

A further feature of the invention consists in so constructing the axial guiding means for the parts (especially rivets) that they comprise means which, while effectively guiding the rivets as above set forth, release them one by one to the holes for their reception.

A still further feature of the invention (especially in the case where the parts such as rivets are ejected one by one) consists in providing means for automatically and successively filling the said device by one or more rivets and for causing the ejection. For example the device is mounted to reciprocate so as to align itself either with a loader or a hammer or other ejection-controlling member.

In addition to the above features the invention comprises further features which will appear in the course of the description.

In order that the invention may be better understood, it will. now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of example only and in which- Figs. 1 and 2 show respectively in axial section and in plan from below a rivet-delivering device constructed according to the invention.

Fig. 3 shows, to a smaller scale, the assembly of the said device with a loader and an ejecting hammer, together with controlling means for the various devices, the whole being constructed according to the invention.

The system shown in the drawings is arranged to assure the delivery of the rivets one by one. These, as known, comprise an enlargement or head I, for example conical, and a shank Z of cylindrical or other form. It further assures the guiding of these latter, so that the shank of each ment 5, preferably of circularinternal section, with a diameter suited to that of the exterior face of the head of the rivets, the said element having a height sufficient to contain several superposed rivets, and, on the other hand, means to assure the guiding of at least the rivet about to be ejected, these means being for example arranged in the following manner.

They comprise a plurality of guides to exert, on the rivet considered, resiliently controlled acons tending to maintain this latter aligned according to the axis of the tubular element 5 and therefore if the said element is itself arranged so that its prolonged axis coincides with that of the hole 3, the rivet comes accurately opposite the said hole.

The guides are shown in their preferred arrangement, that is divided into at least two groups arranged one above the other along the aforesaid axis, these two groups acting so that the shank of the rivet rests first in contact with both of the said groups, then that its head comes to rest on the guides of the first group which it clears by separating them under resilient control, after which it clears the second group in a similar manner, the rivet then being released.

It is understood that the various resilient actions cause a perfect guiding for accurate entry into the hole 3. This guiding is improved if the guides (for the actual guiding) comprise alone or preferably in addition to the other actual guiding means, bevelled surfaces with an inclination corresponding to that of the conical head I.

The guides are formed, for example, with a species of pawl (5 6 which pass through slits I in the tubular element 5 and preferably radiate. For the resilient control these pawls can be made resilient or subjected to the action of springs, or both these means may be combined, or other means utilised.

On the drawings resilient pawis are shown which are engaged by their bent extremities t inholes 9 disposed in the tubular element. They are retained in these holes by an exterior sleeve ill, the whole being held in place by a tubular nut H.

In the drawings the pawls, to the number of six, are divided into two groups, that is to say their active extremities I2 I2 are disposed three by three at two different levels. These extremities I 2 I2 comprise bevelled edges l3 inclined for example at 45 similar to the conicity of the heads I. The said pawls are subjected in addition to an auxiliary resilient action, produced by springs I4 Hi operatively connected to two sleeves I5 I5 which bear on heels I5 it com prised by the pawls.

The whole is completed, on the one hand, by means for filling the internal channel of the element 5 with rivets, such as a loader ii, and, on

the other hand, by means for causing the ejection, comprising for example, an ejecting hammer l8.

The operation of the system will be well understood from the foregoing without further description. It presents (in comparison with means of the kind in question already in existence) numerous advantages, especially that of assuring an absolute precision in the guiding of the rivets and that of having a very simple construction.

Although the arrangements thus far described are sufllcient, it is preferable also to adopt certain other arrangements such as the following.

In one of these which utilises a distributing system as described above, such system is combined, on the one hand, with a loader and, on the other hand, with an ejecting hammer (or other similar member) so that, by appropriate reciprocating movements of these various members, it is possible, automatically and successively, to effect the supply of rivets to the tubular element 5 and also the ejection.

To this end, the loader H and the ejecting hammer l8 could be carried for example by a turret, so as to bring, by pivoting the said turret, one or the other of these members in alignment with the tubular element which could be fixed.

It is advantageous, however, according to the arrangement represented on the drawings, to cause the distributor to be carried by a movable carriage, that is to say the assembly of the tubular element 5 and its associated members, and to actuate this carriage 59 by a reciprocating movement, so that the axis of the interior channel of the element 5 comes successively in the prolongation of the axis of the loader or of that of the hammer.

i The distributor is surmounted by a plate 20 on which (during the stroke of the said distributor to bring it towards the hammer) can slide the lower extremity of the rivet coming at the base of the loader (the rivets in the loader being acted upon by gravity or by any other means).

It is of course advantageous to combine the control of the carriage H) with that of the hammer. l8, so that it is possible to actuate the assembly from the same driving member such as a piston Z! (operable pneumatically or hydraulically) which is displaceable in a cylinder 22 and preferably subjected to the action of a return spring 23.

According to the embodiment shown on Fig. 3, the movement of the piston rod 2 can be communicated to a rocking device 25. This comprises on the one hand an arm 25 in contact with a part 2'! of the carriage l9, under the action of a spring Hand, on the other hand, a nose 29 adapted, in the course of the movement of the rocking device in the direction 1, to come into engagement with an abutment 30 of a lever 35 controlling the movements of the hammer I8.

The assembly operates as follows. On Fig; 3 the piston 2! is assumed to be at its rest position for'which the arm 26 has brought the passage of the element 5 aligned with the loader H; a rivet has therefore fallen into the'said pas'sage', so as to fill the empty space at the top due to the ejection of the last lowest rivet.

The fluid under pressure, being supplied through the conduit 32, raises the piston, which causes the rotation of the rocking device in the direction 1; the carriage l9 moves back under the action of the spring 28, then stops, owing to a stop 33, in a position for which the passage of element 5 is located in alignment above the hole or details of construction described, as these may be varied to suit particular cases.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America is: 1. Means of the kind described comprising a tubular guideway for the movable parts such as headed rivets, said guideway being slotted in angularly spacedpositions towards its lower end,

a support for the guideway, an inlet to the said guideway, a magazine fed from above for supplying parts to the guideway through the said inlet, a reciprocating hammer operative into and out of the inlet for feeding the parts through the guideway, means for relatively moving the sup port for the guideway alternately to bring the said inlet aligned with themagazine and the hammer, an outlet from the said guideway, a plurality of guiding members arranged towards the said-outlet," supporting means for each guiding member so disposed that the guiding members are-adapted to project into the said guideway in groups, through the angularly spaced slots at the lower end of the guideway, each group coming in a different plane normal to the axis of the guide way, to permit each guiding member to come into the path of and contact with the movable parts during their passage through the guideway, and resilient'means for keeping the guiding members pressed inwardly to maintain contact with the movable parts axially to centre the said parts prior to and at their emergence from the said outlet, the angularly spaced guiding members adjacent the actual outlet comprising means for effecting the release of theparts one by one from the guideway, upon operation of said hammer.

2. Means of the kind described comprising a tubular guideway for the movable parts such as headedrivets, said guideway being slotted in angularly-spaced positions towards its lower end, a support for the guideway including a holdup plate, saidsuppOrt being mounted in a slideway forreciprocation, an inlet to the said guideway, a magazine fed from above for supplying parts to the guideway through the said inlet and with an open lower end for the lowermost part in'the magazineto take support from the hold-up plate, a 'reciprocating hammer operative into and out of the inlet for feeding the parts through the guideway, rocker mechanism operatively associated with the support for the guideway alternatelyto bring the said inlet thereof aligned with the' magazine and the hammer, means in association with the rocker mechanism for operating the hammer whenaligned with the inlet, means for causing the timed operation of the rocker mechanism, an outlet from said guideway, a plurality of guiding members arranged towards thesa'id outlet, supporting means for each guiding'member so disposed that'the guiding members' are adapted to'project'into'the said guideway in groups, through the angularly spaced slots at thelowe'r end of the guideway, each group coming in a 'differentplane normal to the axis of the guideway, to permit each guiding member tov come into the path of and contact with the. movable parts during their passage through the guideway, and resilient means for keeping the guiding members pressed inwardly to maintain contact with the movable parts axially to centre the said parts prior to and at their emergence from the said outlet, the angularly space guiding members adjacent the actual outlet comprising means for effecting the release of the parts one by one from the guideway, upon operation of said hammer.

3. Means of the kind described, as claimed in claim 2, in which the means for operating the rocker mechanism comprises a piston, piston rod and cylinder assembly operated by fluid pressure, substantially as set forth.

4. Means of the kind described, as claimed in claim 2, in which the guiding members are formed resilient in themselves and mounted in apertures in the tubular guideway, and in which additional resilience is imparted thereto by helical springs operating through sleeves on shaped heels of the guiding members, substantially as set forth.

5. Means of the kind described, as claimed in claim 2, in which the guiding members include inclined surfaces for co-operating with similarly inclined portions on the movable parts such as rivets with conical heads when passing through the guideway, substantially as set forth.

6. Means of the kind described comprising a guideway for the movable parts such as headed rivets, a support for the guideway, an inlet to the said guideway, an outlet from the said guideway, a plurality of guiding members arranged towards the said outlet, supporting means for each guiding member so disposed that the guiding members are adapted to project into the path of said movable parts in at least two groups, said groups lying in different planes normal to the axis of the guideway, said planes having an axial distance less than the axial length of the movable parts, and resilient means for keeping the guiding members pressed inwardly to maintain contact with the movable parts axially to center the said parts prior to and at their emergence from the said outlet.

7. Means according to claim 6, in which the guiding members of each group have angularly spaced positions around the axis of said guideway.

8. Means according to claim 6, in which the guiding members of each group have angularly spaced positions around the axis of said guideway, the angular arrangement of the guiding members of the one group being different from the angular arrangement of the guiding members of the other group so that-there is only one guiding member of the one or the other group in each radial plane of the guideway.

9. Means of the kind described, comprising a uideway for feeding headed rivets, a support for the guideway, an inlet to the said guideway, an outlet from the said guideway, a plurality of guiding members arranged towards the said outlet, supporting means for each guiding member so disposed that the guiding members are adapted to project into the path of said rivets in at least two groups, said groups lying in different planes normal to the axis of the guideway and haw'ng an axial distance smaller than the length of the shank of each rivet, and resilient means for keeping the guiding members pressed inwardly to maintain contact with the rivets to center said rivets :during their axial movement through said guideway prior to and at their emergence from the said outlet.

10. Means according to claim 9, in which the support for the guideway and the supporting means for said guiding members are arranged in such a manner with respect to the part receiving the rivet that the one end of the rivet begins already its engagement with said part when the rivet is still guided by said two groups of guiding members.

11. Means of the kind described comprising a guideway for the movable parts such as headed rivets, a support for the guideway, an inlet to the said guideway, an outlet from the said guideway, a plurality of guiding members arranged towards the said outlet, supporting means for each guiding member so disposed that the guiding members are adapted to project into the path of said movable parts in at least two groups, each group being disposed in a different plane normal to the axis of the guideway, shaped heels on said guiding members, resilient means, a sleeve connected to said resilient means and acting on said heels of the guiding members of said two groups, so as to keep the guiding members pressed inwardly to maintain contact with the movable parts axially to center the said parts prior to and at their emergency from the said outlet.

12. Means of the kind described comprising a tubular guideway for the movable parts such as headed rivets, a support for the guideway, said support being mounted in a slideway for reciprocation, an inlet to the said guideway, a magazine fed from above for supplying parts to the guideway through the said inlet, a reciprocating hammer operative into and out of the inlet for feeding the parts through the guideway, rocker mechanism operatively associated with the support for the guideway alternately to bring the said inlet thereof aligned with the magazine and the hammer, means in association with the rocker mechanism for operating the hammer when aligned with the inlet, an outlet from the said guideway, a plurality of guiding members arranged towards the said outlet, and resilient means for keeping the guiding members pressed inwardly to maintain contact with the movable parts axially to center the said parts prior to and at their emergence from the said outlet.

13. Means of, the kind described comprising a guideway for the movable parts such as headed rivets, a support for the guideway, an inlet to the said guideway, an outlet from the said guideway, a plurality of guiding members arranged towards the said outlet, supporting means for each guide member so disposed that the guiding members are adapted to project into the path of said movable parts in angularly spaced positions, said guiding members and supporting means being at least partially resilient in themselves, spring means cooperating with the elasticity of said guiding members and supporting means for keeping the guiding members pressed inwardly to maintain contact with the movable parts axially to center the said parts prior to and at their emergence from the said outlet, a sleeve connected to said spring means, and shaped heels on said guiding members and acted upon by said sleeve.

FELIX AMIO'I.

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