A device of this nature is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,344,127. This device is used to handle blind rivets which are suspended one behind the other in a rail and in the rail are forced towards the end of the rail by spring stress. At the end of the rail, there is a mechanism which closes off the opening of the rail which is present in that area and allows only a single blind rivet to be delivered each time. This delivery is carried out by means of a lever which is arranged on a setting tool and is mounted on the setting tool in such a manner that it can pivot about an axis. To deliver a blind rivet which is suspended in front of the opening in the rail, the lever is pivoted towards this opening, during which movement the lever is able to pick up a single blind rivet and pivot it into a position in which the blind rivet is inserted in the setting tool. The rail is arranged on the side of the setting tool and thus forms a single unit with the setting tool. The mechanism which is required to deliver a blind rivet while simultaneously unlocking the rail is of complicated design and is arranged on the setting tool in such a manner that it can be accessed freely from outside, so that if the tool is not handled carefully the delivery mechanism can easily become damaged. Moreover, this device is a relatively complicated structure.
The invention is based on the object of providing a device for conveying and fitting components which are to be inserted in a workpiece, of the type mentioned at the outset, which device is robust and of compact design with few parts. According to the invention, this is achieved by the fact that the opening merges into a receiving part for a single component, which receiving part is connected to the rail via a hinge and is aligned with this rail, and the rail, together with the receiving part, is mounted in a longitudinally displaceable manner in a guide in which the receiving part, in order to receive a component, is, in the pushed-back position of the rail, held in a receiving position in which it is aligned with the rail, the receiving part being arranged in such a way that, when the rail is pushed forward, the receiving part, together with the component, projects out of the guide and, via the hinge, pivots through approximately 90° into an eject position, in which the component, in order to be fitted, can be ejected from the receiving part by a ram arranged next to the guide and can be fitted in a workpiece.
In the pushed-back position of the rail, the receiving part, which is held in a receiving position aligned with the rail, acts as a component of the rail, and from this position the receiving part merely has to be pivoted away when the rail is pushed forward in order to move, together with a component, into the eject position. The ability of the receiving part to move with respect to the rail is ensured by the hinge, via which the receiving part is connected to the rail, and therefore components of simple structure are involved. The structure of the device in this case forms a closed arrangement, from which, in the eject position, only the relatively short receiving part is pivoted away, with the result that the device as a whole is protected from damage.
In order to feed a component to the receiving part, it is expedient to provide a stop on the rail, which stop, after a component has been fitted, stops the components in the rail when the latter is pushed back and presses these components towards the opening in the rail, the receiving part being pivoted back out of the eject position into its receiving position, which is aligned with the rail, by a deflector part which is arranged at the opening, so that the action of the stop causes the front component which is being guided in the rail to slide into the receiving part, the deflector part guiding the pivoting of the receiving part into the eject position when the rail is pushed forward. The deflector part, which may, for example, be formed by a rounded section arranged at the end of the rail, is a component of simple design which merely has to control the movement of the receiving part out of the receiving position into the eject position and back when the rail is pushed forward and pushed back.
In order to provide protection in particular against the components falling out of the rail when handling the device, the components are expediently guided in lateral longitudinal grooves in the rail, into which grooves projections of the components fit.
In order to protect against the component which has been guided into the eject position of the receiving part falling out when handling the device, it is expedient if clamping means for holding the component in the eject position are provided on the receiving part. However, it is also possible for this holding function to be given by the component itself, by providing appropriate clamping means on the component.
It is expedient to arrange a locking device, which releasably secures the receiving part in the eject position, on the guide. If the device, with the receiving part in the eject position, is then moved in any way with respect to a workpiece, in particular is guided into and held in a vertical position, the locking device secures the receiving part in its eject position, so that it cannot pivot under the influence of the force of gravity. The locking device used may be a magnet which uses its relatively low force to hold the receiving part in the eject position but readily releases the receiving part when the rail is pulled back, so that the receiving part can be pivoted back and transferred into its receiving position.
Furthermore, it is expedient to provide a magnet, which pulls the receiving part towards the deflector part, in the region of the receiving part and of the deflector part. Such a magnet makes the movement of the receiving part independent of gravity, since, by means of the magnet, the receiving part, when it pivots away from the rail, is pulled into the pivoted-away eject position by the force of the magnet, an operation which, under certain circumstances, has to be carried out against the force of gravity, when the device is being used in a corresponding way. This configuration therefore makes the device independent of the force of gravity and means that it can therefore be moved towards a workpiece which is to be fitted in any desired position.
No comments:
Post a Comment