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(11) | EP 0 496 499 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Apparatus for placing plastic nuts |
| (57) An apparatus for placing plastic nuts located in a magazine (16) onto a retention
pin fastened on a tool is proposed, comprising a housing (2) in which a device is
located which can be actuated with compressed air, successively displaces the plastic
nuts into a fitting position and presses them onto the pin, the magazine (16) being
provided as an elongate hollow body arranged parallel to and at a distance from the
axis of the displacement device (5) in the housing and a transfer arrangement (7)
being provided to remove nuts individually from the magazine (16) and to insert one
nut at a time into a receiving opening in the displacement device (5). |
[0001] The invention relates to an apparatus for placing plastic nuts located in a magazine onto retention pins fastened on a workpiece, comprising a housing in which a device is located which can be actuated with compressed air, and which successively displaces the plastic nuts into a fitting position and presses them onto the pin.
[0002] Such placing tools are used wherever components such as cables, cable holders, plates and nuts and the like are to be fastened on a base. The car industry provides one example. The wiring and electrical connectors and the like connected to the vehicle battery and elsewhere in a vehicle need to be fastened on the interior of the metal sheets; decorative strips also require clamping devices to fasten them securely on the body.
[0003] Placing tools are already known in which the individual components to be placed, in particular plastic nuts, are pressed by means of compressed air from a magazine, by means of air pressure to the fitting station whence they are pressed onto the metal pins arranged in the desired position of the base. Unfortunately, these known appliances are very susceptible to breakdown, giving rise to idle time if, for example, a component to be placed tilts in the supply line from the magazine to the tool and can only be removed with difficulty before the appliance is ready for use again.
[0004] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention, while avoiding such disadvantages, to provide an apparatus for placing plastic nuts which is not susceptible to breakdown and, while avoiding technically complex means, provides reliable transfer of plastic nuts from the magazine into the fitting position in which they can be pressed onto the corresponding, partially threaded pins.
[0005] According to the present invention apparatus for placing plastic nuts located in a magazine onto a retention pin fastened on a workpiece, comprising a housing in which a device is located which can be actuated with compressed air, and which successively displaces the plastic nuts into a fitting position and presses them onto the pin, is characterised in that the magazine, as an elongate hollow body, is arranged parallel to and at a distance from the axis (A) of displacement device in the housing and in that a transfer arrangement is provided to remove a single nut at a time from the magazine and to insert this nut into a receiving opening in the displacement device which has a cylindrical body.
[0006] Preferably, the transfer arrangement comprises a pivotal lever which is fastened with one end on an axially displaceable slide tube in a housing provided in the housing and has, at its free end, a receiver for a plastic nut which is to be removed from the magazine and wherein the pivotal lever is pivotally and axially displaceable via a rotary piston between its nut receiving position and a position in which it delivers the plastic nut to the displacement device.
[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, claw-like tongs are provided at the outlet end of the magazine and, for each operating cycle, releases just one of the plastic nuts pressed toward this outlet end by means of a spring-loaded piston, while retaining the subsequent line-up nuts in the magazine. A cone may be provided at the free end of the pivotal lever which engages with its front end into the opening of the magazine so that the tongs are spread apart.
[0008] Integration of the magazine into the housing of the apparatus in conjunction with the axially displaceable and pivotal transfer arrangement allows the entire apparatus to be very compact in construction while ensuring that, for each operating cycle, only one plastic nut is removed from the magazine and conveyed to the displacement device with which it can then be moved into a fitting position and there can be pressed or screwed onto threaded pins or the like. The housing preferably has the form of a gun which is manually guided and actuable.
[0009] In order that the present invention can be better understood, a preferred embodiment will now be described in greater detail by way of example with reference to the accompany drawings in which:-
Figure 1 shows a partially sectional side view of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention for placing etc plastic nuts;
Figure 2 shows a magazine located in the apparatus of Figure 1;
Figure 3 shows a front view of the apparatus of Figure 1 with the mouthpiece detached;
Figure 4 shows a partial view in which the transfer device is shown in continuous lines in the location in which a plastic nut is aligned with the displacement device of Figure 1 whereas she broken lines show the location of the transfer device in which it removes a plastic nut from the magazine;
Figure 5 shows a sectional view through the housing 3 in Figure 1, in order to illustrate the mechanism for moving the transfer device; and
Figures 6 and 7 show perspective partial illustrations in which the various positions of the transfer device are indicated.
[0010] Figure 1 shows apparatus according to the invention for placing the plastic nuts. It has the form of a compact gun with a housing 2 and a handle 12. A trigger button 36 with which operation of the apparatus is initiated is located on the front of the handle 12. In the upper pars of the housing 2 there is located a displacement device in the form of a positioning piston 5 which can be moved axially inside a hollow cylinder guide 45 by means of a percussion piston 4 which can be loaded with compresses air. This displacement device moves a plastic nut, which is inserted into its receiving opening by means of a transfer lever 7, axially to a fitting position located at the open end of a mouthpiece 13 fastened on the housing 2.
[0011] Figure 2 shows the magazine 16 which is an elongate hollow body in which the plastic nuts to be removed individually are lined up. A piston 18 is subjected to the pressure of a spring 21 and presses the plastic nuts toward the outlet end. The outlet end with the claw-like tongs 17 provided there is flexible and expandable so that each nut can be removed individually from the magazine.
[0012] For this purpose, the transfer lever 7 is articulated pivotably on a slide tube 26 which is axially displaceable inside a housing 3. A rotary piston 11 is also rotatably mounted in the housing 3 and enables the transfer lever 7 to pivot between two positions, as shown in Figure 4. The transfer lever 7 is shown there in continuous lines corresponding to the position of the lever 7 in Figure 1. In this position, the transfer lever 7 delivers a plastic nut which has been picked up from the magazine by it and has been moved from there to the displacement device in the form of the positioning piston 5 and is pressed into the receiving opening in the positioning piston 5. In the location shown in broken lines in Figure 4, the pivotal transfer lever with its free end is aligned with the outlet end of the magazine so that a plastic nut can be removed from the magazine. As shown, in partirular, in Figures 2 and 1, the transfer lever 7 has, at its free end, a conical portion 8 which ensures that the tongs 17 of the magazine are spread apart on contact therewith and an individual nut can therefore be picked up by the transfer lever.
[0013] According to Figure 5, the transfer lever 7 is fastened to the slide tube 26 by means of a countersunk screw 28. A tubular body 27 ensures that the tube 26 is guided during its axial displacement.
[0014] The magazine 16 can be removed from the housing 2 for reloading. For this purpose, a detachable lid 14 is provided on the rear of the apparatus.
[0015] A coupling 10 is provided in the housing 3 allows the transfer lever 7 to perform both a pivoting movement and an axial movement, as shown schematically in Figures 6 and 7. In the location designated by I in Figure 6, the transfer lever is located with its free end in front of the delivery opening of the magazine 16. A plastic nut is separated from the magazine and pressed onto the transfer lever. The transfer lever is then pressed axially outwardly, as indicated by position II. At its free end, it carries the plastic nut separated from the magazine 16 while the tongs 17 retain the subsequent plastic nuts in the magazine 16.
[0016] Figure 7 shows position III into which the transfer lever has been pivoted in front of the positioning cylinder 5. The pivoting lever then travels axially to the positioning cylinder 5, the plastic nut being pressed into the receiving opening of the positioning cylinder 5 (position IV).
[0017] The transfer lever then repeats the above-mentioned movements in order to remove a further plastic nut from the magazine and to press it into the displacement device 5. The displacement device 5 then guides the plastic nut into the fitting position which is provided at the opening of the mouthpiece 13 in Figure 1 and in which the plastic nut is placed onto a pin (not shown).
1. Apparatus for placing plastic nuts located in a magazine onto a retention pin fastened
on a workpiece, comprising a housing in which a device is located which can be actuated
with compressed air, and which, successively displaces the plastic nuts into a fitting
position and presses them onto the pin, is characterised in that magazine (16), as
an elongate hollow body, is arranged parallel to and at a distance from the axis (A)
of displacement device (5) in the housing (2) and in that a transfer arrangement (7)
is provided to remove a single nut at a time from the magazine (16) and to insert
this nut into a receiving opening in the displacement device which has a cylindrical
body (5).
2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the transfer arrangement (7) comprises a pivotal
lever which is fastened with one end on an axially displaceable slide tube (26) in
a housing (3) provided in the housing (2) and has, at its free end, a receiver (8)
for a plastic nut which is to be removed from the magazine and wherein the pivotal
lever (7) is pivotally and axially displaceable via a rotary piston (11) between its
nut receiving position and a position in which it delivers the plastic nut to the
displacement device (5).
3. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein claw-like tongs (17) are provided at the outlet
end of the magazine (16) and, for each operating cycle, releases just one of the plastic
nuts pressed toward this outlet end by means of a spring-loaded piston (18), while
retaining the subsequent lined-up nuts in the magazine (16).
4. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein a cone (8) is provided at the free end of
the pivotal lever (7) which engages with its front into the opening of the magazine
so that the tongs (17) are spread apart.
5. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein slide tube (26) is guided during its
axial movement by the internal wall of housing (3) and by a tubular body (guide) (27).
6. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the movement of pivotal lever (7) and of the
displacement device (5) can be initiated in a synchronised sequence by means of a
trigger (36) provided on handle (12) of a gun-like housing (2).