GB2202605A

GB2202605A - Apparatus for affixing fasteners to a conveyor belt

Info

Publication number: GB2202605A
Application number: GB08704754A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Arthur Hargreaves
Original assignee: JH Fenner and Co Ltd
Current assignee: JH Fenner and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1987-02-28
Filing date: 1987-02-28
Publication date: 1988-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 2007-02-28
Also published as: ZA881299B; GB8704754D0; GB2202605B

Abstract

An apparatus for affixing a plurality of fasteners (12) to one end of a portion of a conveyor belt has an affixing head (30) which is movable stepwise across the end of the belt (10). The affixing head (30) has three separate portions, namely a fastener deforming and stapling head (54), a staple folding head (56) and a staple flattening head (58). Upper and lower portions of the affixing means (30) are relatively displaceable by means of a cam (66). As the upper and lower portions are brought together, the fastener deforming and stapling head (54) deforms a fastener (12) and clamps the arms of the fastener onto the belt. Simultaneously, the corresponding lower die portion inserts a staple through aligned holes in the arms of the fastener. After the upper and lower portions of the affixing means (30) have been brought together, the staple folding means turns over the ends of a staple protruding from a fastener. Simultaneously with the operation of the deforming head (54), a staple which has previously undergone the other two operations in previous cycles has the turned over ends of the staple pressed towards the fastener by the flattening head (58). The affixing means (30) is indexed stepwise in steps equal in length to the spacing of the fasteners, whereby each fastener is acted upon sequentially by the fastener deforming head (54), the staple folding head (56) and the staple flattening head (58) as the affixing head (30) is advanced. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION APPARATUS FOR AFFIXING FASTENERS TO A CONVEYOR BELT.

The present invention relates to apparatus for affixing fasteners to a conveyor belt.

When it is necessary to join together two portion's of a conveyor belt (either the two free ends of the belt or twQ ends of adjacent portions of the belt), it is common to affix a plurality of fasteners along each edge to be joined, the fasteners each comprising a generally U-shaped bracket, each of which is attached to the belt by means of a metal staple passing through aligned holes in parallel arms of the bracket and also passing through the belt.By affixing a plurality of aligned brackets along the edges of the two portions to be joined, a longitudinal passage is formed by each set of brackets, whereby the edge of the two belt portions may be joined by inserting the fasteners of one edge inbetween those of the other, thereby aligning the two passages, and then inserting an elongate securing member into the to aligned passages, thereby securing the two belt portions together.

When affixed, the fasteners comprise two elongate arms interconnected by a U-shaped head portion.

Before attachment to the belt, one of the arms is inclined to the other, and during attachment of the fastener this arm is deformed so that it lies parallel to the other arm, thereby gripping the belt between the two parallel arms and allowing the staple to be inserted and secured. The usual way of affixing the fasteners is to have and upper die and a lower punch positioned respectively above and below the fastener to be affixed.The die and punch are forced together to deform the inclined arm of the fastener, insert the arms of the staple through holes in one arm of the fastener and the belt and through holes aligned with the first holes in the other arm of the fastener, and to turn over the two free ends of the staple so that they lie side-by-side, to prevent the free ends of the staple from projecting beyond the level of the fastener. This is carried out in a single pressing operation, rather like the operation of a stapler for stapling together sheets of paper.

However, such securing of fasteners has several disadvantages. Firstly, with a spongey belt, the resiliency of the belt can give rise to deformation of the belt as the staple is inserted through it, and may not result in a fastener which is affixed accurately at the desired position. It has been found that, with conventional apparatus, on a 42 inch (106.68 cm) wide belt, the end fastener can be up to 1 inch (2.54 cm) inward of where it should be, leading to problems when it comes to aligning the fasteners of one portion with the corresponding fasteners of the edge of another portion.Also, in orcer to achieve the deformation of the fastener and the insertion and folding over the pins in a single operation, it is necessary to apply a large force to the upper die and lower puncn, and this can cause the conveyor belt to be squeezed and can cause the belt to spread laterally, which once again causes problems with misalignment with another set of fasteners. Moreover, it is found that rather than the projecting ends of the pins being turned over, they are sometimes merely crushed longitudinally. This produces satisfactory results initially, but it is found that during operation of the conveyor belt such staples work themselves loose and tend to tear the belt where they are secured, since they are not securely attached to the belt. This results in a shorter working life of the belt joint.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for securing fasteners onto the edge of a conveyor belt such that the fasteners are securely and safely held in position on the edge of the belt.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for affixing a plurality of fasteners, each comprising two arms joined by an arcuate portion,, to an end of a conveyor belt, comprises fastener locating means for locating a plurality of fasteners at substantially equally-spaced intervals with the legs of each fastener embracing a portion of the belt therebetween, affixing means for affixing the fasteners to the belt, the affixing means comprising fastener deforming and stapling means for clamping the arms of the fastener onto the belt and inserting a staple through the arms of the fastener and the belt therebetween, staple folding means, adjacent to the fastener deforming and stapling means, for turning over the ends of a staple protruding from a fastener, and staple squeezing means adjacent to the staple folding means for pressing the turned over ends of a staple towar i the fastener, and advancing means for advancing the affixing means in steps substantially equal in length to the spacing of the fasteners, whereby each fastener is acted upon sequentially by the fastener deforming and stapling means, staple folding means and the staple flattening means as the affixing means is advanced, thereby affixing the fasteners to the belt.

The separation of the affixing of the fasteners into three distinct steps increases the accuracy of insertion of the staples, which reduces the deformation of the belt. Also, the use of the three steps requires a smaller force for each step, which reduces squeezing of the belt and further reduces deformation of the belt.. Overall, it has been found that the present apparatus reduces the inaccuracies in affixing the fasteners to about one third of present values.

Preferably, the fastener affixing means comprises an upper portion and a lower portion which are relatively displaceable.

In one embodiment, the fastener deforming and stapling means comprises an upper engagement portion attached to the upper portion of the affixing means, for engagement with one arm of a fastener, and a lower engagement portion attached to the lower portion of the affixing means, for engagement with the head of a staple to be inserted through the arms of the fastener and through the belt.

Preferably, the staple folding means is attached to, and movable relative to, the upper portion of the affixing means, the staple folding means comprising a head adapted to be movable relative to the upper portion of the affixing means to turn over the protruding ends of a staple.

Preferably, the staple squeezing means comprises an upper engagement portion attached to the upper portion of the affixing means and adapted to be brought into engagement with the turned-over legs of a staple, and a lower engagement portion attached to the lower portion of the affixing means and adapted to engage the head of the staple.

The motion of the upper and lower portions of the affixing means may be controlled by a cam member having a plurality of camming surfaces. This permits accurate control of the affixing means and helps to ensure that when the upper and lower portions are moved towards each other to their maximum extent, the two portions are in a predetermined, fixed and specific position.

The apparatus may be driven manually or by a fluid-operated ram.

In accor dance with a second aspect of the present invention, a method for affixing a plurality of fasteners, each comprising two arms joined by an arcuate portion, to an end of a conveyor belt, comprises locating a plurality of fasteners at substantially equally-spaced intervals with the legs of each fastener embracing a portion of the belt therebetween, a first clamping step comprising clamping the arms of a first fastener onto the belt and inserting a staple through the said arms and the belt therebetween, a second clamping step comprising turning over the ends of a staple associated with a second fastener which staple has previously been subjected to the first clamping step, a third clamping step comprising pressing the turned-over ends of a staple associated with a third fastener, which staple has previously been subjected to the first and second clamping steps, and performing the first, second and third steps sequentially on each fastener and its associated staple.

Preferably, this method is performed with the apparatus as previously described.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for affixing a plurality of fasteners to an end of a conveyor belt comprises fastener locating means for locating a plurality of fasteners at substantially equally-spaced intervals, affixing means for affixing the fasteners, advancing means for advancing the affixing means stepwise, thereby to affix the fasteners sequentially to the belt, and second locating means for locating the affixing means and securing the affixing means in position for eacn step, the second locating means comprising a projection attached to the affixing means and which is insertable sequentially in a plurality of recesses which are fixed relative to the fastener retaining means and which correspond to the correct position of the affixing means for each step.

The projection may be in the form of a pin, e.g. a tapered pin, and may be advanceable and retractable by means of a fluid-operated ram, e.g. a double-acting pneumatic ram. There may be sensing means, e.g. a limit switch activated by the projection when inserted in a recess, which prevents operation of the affixing means unless the projection is inserted in a recess.

There may also be sensing means, e.g. a limit switch activated by the projection when withdrawn from a recess, which prevents the advancing means from advancing the affixing means unless the projection is withdrawn from a recess.

By way of example only, a specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig.l is a perspective view from below of a portion of one end of a conveyor belt flitted with connecting fasteners; Fig.2 is an exploded perspective view from above of one of the fasteners of Fig.l, together with a staple used to secure the fastener to the belt; Fig.3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of apparatus for affixing fasteners to a conveyor belt; Fig.4 is a cross-sectional side elevation of the fastener affixing head of the apparatus of Fig.3; Fig.5 is a plan view of the fastener affixing head illustrated in Fig.4; Fig.6 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the affixing head of Fig.4; Fig.7 is a side view of an advancing and locating mechanism for the fastener affixing head;; Fig.8 is a view of the mechanism in the direction of arrows VIII-VIII of Fig.7; Fig.9 is a view of the mechanism in the direction of arrows IX-IX in Fig.8; Fig.10 is a side elevation of the apparatus, showing a device for locating and securing the fastener affixing head; and Fig.ll is a cross-sectional side elevation of the fastener affixing head of a second embodiment of apparatus for affixing fasteners to a conveyor belt, in accordance with the present invention.

Referring firstly to Figs. 1 and 2, a conventional conveyor belt is cut transversely to its length and is provided with a plurality of fasteners 12 along the transverse edge so formed. The fasteners comprise two legs 14,16 which are deformed during application of the fasteners to grip the belt 10 therebetween, and a U-shaped head 18 which joins the two legs 14,16 together. The free ends of the legs 14,16 are widened and provided with respective outer 20a,20b and inner 22a,22b aligned holes, whereby the legs of a staple 24 may be passed through the aligned holes and its free ends deformed, in the direction of the arrows in Fig.2, to secure the staple to the fastener. The widened ends of the legs 14,16 are also provided with recesses 26a,26b to accommodate the head and free ends respectively of the staple.

Before application, one leg 16 of each fastener is inclined to the other, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.2.

In use, the fasteners are applied to the end of the belt by deforming the leg 16 of each fastener in turn to grip the belt, and inserting a staple through the aligned holes and the belt 10 therebetween. This is conventionally performed in a single deforming of the fastener, and insertion and deformation of the ends of the staple 24. By sequentially securing a plurality of fasteners, as in Fig.l, one side of a piano-type hinge is formed, whereby a similar end of another portion of conveyor belt may be attached by inserting the fasteners of the end of one belt between the fasteners of the end of the other belt and inserting an elongate securing member into the aligned loops of the fasteners of the two belt ends.

An apparatus for securing the fasteners to the belt is shown in Fig.3, and comprises a belt clamp 28, a fastener securing head 30 and front and rear elongate guide bars 32a, 32b secured between two lateral walls 34 of the apparatus, and along which bars the fastener securing head is slidable. The apparatus of this embodiment is driven by means of a double-acting pneumatic ram 36 positioned vertically on the fastener securing head 30, as will be explained. The apparatus may also be driven manually, as will be explained, for this embodiment and for the other embodiment.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and'5, the belt 10 is held in position by the clamp 28 and lies in contact with the upper surface of front and rear spaced-apart base plates 38a,38b, which base plates define an elongate gap 40 therebetween. As best seen in Fig.5, the opposed faces of the base plates 38a,33b are provided with a plurality of rectangular recesses 42 arranged in aligned pairs, one on each plate, and evenly spaced every 8mm along the plates. The spacing may be different for different applications. Each pair of recesses is adapted to hold a staple 24 with its two parallel arms positioned in the recesses and pointing upwardly with the ends of the staple arms slightly below the level of the surface of the base plates 38a,38b.An elongate bar 43 having a toothed rack portion 45 is secured to the rear of rear base plate 38b, to advance the affixing means, as will be explained. A plurality of dished locating recesses spaced 8 mm apart is situated in the bar 43 above the rack 45.

An elongate bar or "comb" 44 is secured along the rear base plate 38b and is provided with a plurality of slots 46, each of which is adapted to receive the U-shaped loop portion of a fastener 12, with the inclined leg 16 of each fastener uppermost. The comb is provided with a longitudinal hole 48 through which an elongate rod may be passed to retain the -fasteners rn position on the comb.

The fastener securing mechanism comprises a three-part upper die portion 50 and a lower punch portion 52. The upper die portion comprises an alignment head 54, a central, movable staple folding die 56 and a staple flattening head 58. The alignment head 54 and flattening head 58 are mounted on one end of an upper lever arm 60 which is pivotally mounted at pivot 62 between the side plates 63 enclosing the fastener securing head. The end of arm 60 opposite the upper die portion 50 is movable in a cam track 64 of a cam member 66 which is also pivotally mounted, on shaft 68, between the side plates of the fastener securing head.

The cam member 66 is provided with a sector gear 70 attached thereto, and is rotatable by extension of the pneumatic ram 36 whose piston rod 72 has a rack portion 74 which engages with the sector gear and which is guided by a channel section guide member 76.

The pneumatic operation may be replaced by a totally manually operated arm which is rotatable through the same angular range as for the pneumatic arm, as will be explained. For most of the rotation of the cam member 66 the cam Lack 64 slides past the arm 60 without moving it, until the end of the cam track, whereupon the arm 60 is pivoted clockwise or anti-clockwise, as appropriate, to move the upper die portion upwardly and downwardly respectively.

The staple folding die 56 is pivotally attached to a second lever arm 78 by means of pivot pin 80. Lever arm 78 is attached to the first lever arm 60 by means of a short connecting bar 82 which is pivotally connected to both lever arms. The opposite end of lever arm 78 is movable in a second cam Lack 84 in the cam member 66. As with the first lever arm 60, for most of the rotation of the cam member the cam track 84 slides past the end of the lever arm 78, but when the lever contacts the ends of the cam track 84, the lever arm 78, and thus the staple folding die 56, is moved forwards or backwards, as appropriate, supported by the short connecting bar 82. A tension spring 86 extends between the first and second lever arms 60,78, to bias the second lever arm upwardly, to prevent the arm 78 from dropping.

The lower punch portion 52 comprises a punch 88 which is shaped to move upwardly through the longitudinal gap 40 and to contact each of three adjacent staples 24. The top of the punch 88 is provided with a key 90 positioned to one side of the punch, whose sides are shaped to fit snugly in the gap 40, abutting the walls, thereby centralising the punch 58 in the gap and helping to ensure that the puncn contacts the heads of the staples 24. The punch is constrained to move vertically by two guide members 94a,94b, and is connected to a third lever arm 96 which is pivotally mounted at pivot 98 between the walls 63 of the housing. The end of the lever arm remote from the die is movable in a third cam track 100 of the cam member 66.As before, the lever. 96 is moved by the cam member only when it abuts the end of the cam track 100, whereupon it is moved upwardly or downwardly, as appropriate. In order to accommodate til relative movement of the lever 96 and punch 88, the punch 88 has a boss 102 pivotally mounted thereon which is slidable in a track 104 cut in the lever 96.

The upper die and lower punch are arranged so that they move independently. This is important in the operation of the device, as will be explained.

Referring to Fig.7 it can be seen that shaft 68, which is rotatable through a fixed angle by means of the rack 74 engaging with the sector gear 70 on the shaft, projects out of the housing 63. A cam 106 is mounted on the shaft and a connecting rod 108 having a longitudinal slot 110 is slidable with respect to a lug 112 situated on the lobe of the cam. One end of the connecting rod 108 is pivotally connected to a push block 113 which is constrained to move horizontally in a groove 114 disposed in a housing block 116 situated on the side of the affixing head.

The opposite end of the push block 113 is pivotally connected to a pivotally-mounted pawl member 118 which is heldin abutment with a rack 120 attached to the rear of the rear base plate 38b by means of a leaf spring 122 attached to the push block 113.

A second groove 124 is disposed above, and parallel to, the groove 114 in the housing block 116.

A short block 126 extends transversely across the groove 124 and a connecting rod 128 is pivotally connected to the upper block 126 and to the housing block 116. The upper block 116 is permitted to move only over a short linear range by virtue of a small slot 130 in the side of the housing block, and through which the block 126 extends. The block 126 is biassed forwardly by a compression spring 132 which is held in position by a grub screw 134. A pin 136 contacts the opposite side of the block 126 and bears on a metal ball 138 which is adapted to be seated in the corresponding dished recesses 47 in the rear of the rack.

A contacting arm 140 is slidably interposed between the housing block 116 and the housing of the fastening securing portion. The block 126 extends into a hole 142 in the arm, and the arm thus moves with the block 126, with a slight delay due to the block 126 being larger than the hole 142 in the arm.

One end of the arm is provided with a contacting portion 144 arranged at right angles to the arm.

In use, the cam 106 rotates through a fixed angle with shaft 68. As the cam rotates anti-clockwise (as seen-in Fig.6), the lug of the connecting rod 108 eventually contacts the upper end of the slot 110 and the cam continues rotating, thereby withdrawing the block 113 rearwardly, which disengages the pawl 118 from its tooth and engages it with the next tooth, due to the leaf spring 122. As the cam stops and then rotates clockwise, it eventually engages the lower end of the slot 110 of the connecting rod 108, thereby pushing the block 112 forwards.Since the pawl has already engaged with the next tooth, the effect of the forward movement of the block 112 is to displace the fastener securing portion by an amount equal to the spacing of the teeth on the rack, the spacing being 8mm in this case, such that the affixing head is advanced by an amount equal to the spacing of the fasteners.

The spring loaded ball 138 situated above the pawl is adapted to engage with one of a plurality of equally-spaced corresponding recesses, situated 8mm apart in this case, above the rack. The spring-loaded ball causes the head to be located accurately in one of a plurality of the dished recesses 47, thereby producing accurate affixing of the fasteners to the belt. When the head has reached the edge of the belt after a complete pass, the lever 128 may be pivoted anti-clockwise (as seen in Fig.7) to relieve the spring force on the ball 138. Pivoting the lever 128 also causes the contacting arm 140 to be withdrawn (to the left in Fig. 9) due to the engagement of the block 126 in the aperture 142. The contacting arm overlaps the pawl 118, and withdrawal of the arm 140 causes the pawl to be pivoted out of engagement with the rack 120.Thus, pivoting the lever 128, which relieves the spring force on ball 138 and disengages the pawl 118 from the rack 120 allows the head to be returned to the opposite edge of the belt.

A cylindrical boss 141 is provided on the cam 106, and a tubular bar (not shown) may be placed over the boss to enable the apparatus to be operated manually.

Since the cam 106 is mounted on the shaft 68, pinting of the cam by means of a bar and boss 141 replaces the pneumatic ram 36. This is particularly useful if the air supply to ram 36 is interrupted.

Referring to Fig' .10, a further means for locating the securing head accurately is illustrated, the further locating means being particularly useful when the apparatus is powered by a fluid-operated ram.

TLe locating means comprises a tapered pin 146 which is insertable in one of a plurality of recesses 148 in the base of the rear base plate 38b, each recess 148 correspondirg to a position of the securing head and therefore being 8mm apart in this case. The pin is displaceable into and out of the recesses 148 by means of a double-acting fluid ram, e.g. pneumatic ram 150, the pin bei , connected to the piston rod of the ram.

The pin 146 is provided with a collar 152 which is arranged to trip two limit switches 154,156 which are arranged to detect respectively when the pin is in position in a recess and when the pin has been withdrawn from the recess. The switches 154,156 are connected to control device 157 (illustrated schemavicallv which controls the flow of pressurised air, as will be explained. The pneumatic drive for the ram 150 is supplied when the main pneumatic cylinder 36 is in its'fully extended position, which is detected by a further limit switch (not shown) which is arranged to contact a portion of piston rod 72 and, to signal this to the control device 157 which allows the flow of.pressurised air to the ram 150.

In use, staples 24 are inserted into the recesses 42, spanning the elongate gap 40, and fasteners are placed into the comb 46 and are secured therein by inserting a rod through the hole 48 in the comb. In practice, a plurality of pre-spaced staples and/or fasteners are assembled on a card or an adhesive tape, in the form of a cartridge which can be insertedtogether into the relevant receiving recesses, thereby allowing a saving in time in their loading. The card or adhesive may be removed once the fasteners and/or staples are in position.

The fastener securing head 30 is moved to one end of the guide bars 32a, 32b and the end of the belt is clamped into the position shown in Fig.4. At this position, the ram 36 is fully retracted, thereby pivoting the arms 60 and 96 to move the upper die 50 and lower punch 52 away from each other. The apparatus is actuated, and assuming the limit switch adjacent to the piston rod 72 of ram 36 indicates that the ram 36 is retracted, the control means 157 allows the second pneumatic ram 150 to be extended, thereby extending the tapered pin 146 (Fig.9) into the first locating recess 148 and accurately aligning the upper and lower die portions with the first fastener 12 and staple 24. As the tapered pin moves into its recess, limit switch 154 is actuated by the collar 152 of the pin and indicates to the control means that the pin is in'position and that the next operation may take place.

Automatically, on receipt of the signal from the control means, the pneumatic ram 36 is extended, thereby rapidly pivoting the cam member 66 and the arms 60 and 96, and causing the upper die 50 and lower punch 52 to rapidly move towards each other. For the first actuation, the alignment head comes into contact with the inclined arm of the first fastener, between the two apertures 20b,22b, and the punch contacts the ccresponding staple 24. As the upper die and lower punch are forced together, the inclined arm of the fastener is deformed to lie parallel with the other arm of the fastener, and the staple is forced through the belt and its arms are forced through respective pairs of holes 20a, 20b and 22a, 22b which are now aligned. The narrow, elongate head of the alignment head is shaped to be received in the groove 26b, thereby preventing twisting and misalignment of the arm.Thus, the first fastener and staple will have the configuration shown in Fig.6, with the two legs of the staple pointing vertically.

It should be noted that at this point, the staple folding die 56 will already be in the position shown in Fig.6, such that it extends outwards from the upper die portion 50. As the ram 36 is further extended the cam continues to rotate in the same direction, drawing back the lever arm 78, and thus the staple folding die 56 is rapidly pulled into the head, thus folding over the protruding ends of the staple. If a staple having the configuration of Fig.6 were positioned in the path of the folding die, it can be seen that the projecting portions of the legs will be folded over into the recess 26b. Moreover, it can also be seen that if a staple whose projecting legs had been folded over was under the staple flattening die, the folded legs of the staple would already have been securely flattened into the recess 26b.

As the ram 36 is extended, its associated limit switch is actuated, and permits the tapered pin 146 (Fig.10) to be withdrawn from its recess, by retraction of the pneumatic ram 150. The limit switch 156 signals that the pin is withdrawn, and sends a signal that the main ram 36 retract. As the ram retracts, towards the end of the stroke of the ram the fastener securing head is advanced in equal steps, in this case steps of 8mm by operation of the pawl and rack mechanism, as previously described, due to rotation of shaft 68, to bring the head 52 adjacent the second fastener and staple.

The cycle is repeated, causing the fastener leg to be deformed and causing the second staple to be inserted through the belt 10, as described for the first staple. As the folding head is withdrawn, the projecting legs of the first staple are folded over.

The cycle continues once again, advancing the fastener securing head by the predetermined step, e.g.

8 mm, once again, and causing the third fastener to be deformed and its associated staple to be forced through the belt 10 and through the aligned holes in the fastener. Simultaneously, the flattening die 58 flattens the folded portions of the first staple which have been folded during the previous cycle. The projecting portions of the second staple are then folded over by the folding die 56.

The cycle is repeated, and it can be seen that for each cycle, operations are carried out on three adjacent fasteners and/or their associated staples.

During each cycle, one fastener is deformed to make its legs parallel and the staple is forced through the belt and the aligned holes 20a,20b, 22a, 22b, the adjacent staple which had the first operation performed during the previous cycle has its projecting portions folded over towards the recess 26b in the fastener, and the staple adjacent the second staple has its folded portions compressed and flattened into the recess 26b. The second operation occurs shortly after the first and third operations.

Thus, by repeating the cycle, a plurality of fasteners and clips can be attached to the end of the belt, as shown in Fig.l. The end of the belt may then be connected to a similar end of a different portion of belt, as previously described.

The fastener affixing head of a second embodiment of apparatus is illustrated in Fig.ll, and is adapted to be powered only by manual means. The apparatus is broadly similar to that of the first embodiment, and similar items have been given the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment. The front and rear guide bars 32a, 32b of the first embodiment have been dispensed with, and have been replaced with one cylindrical guide bar 160 which passes through the cam member 66. The affixing head is also supported by means of a projection 162 of lower punch block 164 wnich hooks over, and slides along, the rack 45 which forms part of the advancing mechanism, as previously described.

The cam member 66 is rigidly connected to a sleeve 166 which is slidable along the guide bar 160, and an actuating rod 168 is connected to one end of the sleeve, whereby pivoting the actuating rod 168 causes the cam member 66 to rotate about the guide bar 160, thereby operating the apparatus as described for the first embodiment. The rod 168 of this embodiment takes the place of the pneumatic ram 36 of the first embodiment, but the affixing of the fasteners and advancement of the head is otherwise substantially identical to that in the first embodiment.

However, since the apparatus is not fluidoperated, the device shown in Fig.10 does not form part of this embodiment. However, this is not important, since if the apparatus is manually operated, the operator can sense when the die and puncn are not correctly aligned, since a greater force is required on the rod 168, and thus he can then determine when alignment of the apparatus is necessary.

Claims

1. An apparatus for affixing a plurality of fasteners, each comprising two arms joined by an arcuate portion, to an end of a conveyor belt, comprising fastener locating means for locating a plurality of fasteners at substantially equally-spaced intervals with the legs of each fastener embracing a portion of the belt therebetween, affixing means for affixing the fasteners to the belt, the affixing means comprising fastener deforming and stapling means for clamping the arms of the fastener onto the belt and inserting a staple through the arms of the fastener and the belt therebetween, staple folding means, adjacent to the fastener deforming and stapling means, for turning over the ends of a staple protruding from a fastener, and staple squeezing means adjacent to the staple folding means for pressing the turned over ends of a staple towards the fastener, and advancing means for advancing the affixing means in steps substantially equal in length to the spacing of the fasteners, whereby each fastener is acted upon sequentially by the fastener deforming and stapling means, staple folding means and the staple flattening means as the affixing means is advanced, thereby affixing the fasteners to the belt.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastener affixing means comprises an upper portion and a lower portion which are relatively displaceable.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the upper and lower portions of the affixing means are controlled by a cam member.

4. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fastener deforming and stapling means comprises an upper engagement portion attached to the upper portion of the affixing means, for engagement with one arm of a fastener, and a lower engagement portion attached to the lower portion of the affixing means, for engagement with the head of a staple to be inserted through the arms of the fastener and through the belt.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the upper engagement portion is shaped to engage with a complementarily-shaped portion of a fastener.

6. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the staple folding means is attached to, and is movable relative to, the upper portion of the affixing means, and comprises a head adapted to be movable relative to the upper portion of the affixing means.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the movement of the staple folding means is governed by a cam member.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein in each cycle of operation, the staple folding means turns over the protruding ends of a staple after the fastener deforming and stapling means and the staple squeezing means have performed their respective functions on the fasteners and/or staples on either side of the staple being acted upon by the staple folding means.

9. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the staple squeezing means comprises an upper engagement portion attached to the upper portion of the affixing means for enagement with the turned-over legs of a staple, and a lower engagement portion attached to the lower portion of the affixing means for engagement with the head of the staple.

10. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a fluid-operated ram for driving the apparatus.

11. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 10, further comprising means for driving the apparatus manually.

12. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 11, further comprising advancing means for advancing the affixing means stepwise.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, further comprising locating means for locating the affixing means and securing the affixing means in position for each step.

14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the locating means for locating the affixing means comprises a movable locating member attached to the affixing means and which is insertable sequentially in a plurality of recesses which are fixed relative to the fastener locating means which correspond to the correct position of the affixing means for each step.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the movable locating member comprises a pin.

16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the movable locating member is advanceable and retractable by means of a fluid-operated ram.

17. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 14 to 16, further comprising control means activated by the locating member when inserted in a recess and adapted to prevent operation of the affixing means unless the locating member is inserted in one of the recesses.

18. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 14 to 17, further comprising control means activated by the locating member when withdrawn from a recess, and adapted to prevent the advancing means from advancing the affixing means unless the locating member is withdrawn from the recesses.

19. An apparatus as claimed in claim 17 or claim 18, wherein the sensing means comprises a limit switch.

20. A method for affixing a plurality of fasteners, each comprising two arms joined by an arcuate portion, to an end of a conveyor belt, comprising locating a plurality of fastenrs at substantially equally-spaced intervals with the legs of each fastener embracing a portion of the belt therebetween, a first clamping step comprising clamping the arms of a first fastener onto the belt and inserting a staple through the said arms and the belt therebetween, a second clamping step comprising turning over the ends of a staple associated with a second fastener which staple has previously been subjected to the first clamping step, a third clamping step comprising pressing the turned-over ends of a staple associated with a third fastener, which staple has previously been subjected to the first and second clamping steps, and performing the first, second and third steps sequentially on each fastener and its associated staple.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20, using the apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 19.

22. An apparatus for affixing a plurality of fasteners to an end of a conveyor belt comprising fastener locating means for locating a plurality of fasteners at substantially equally-spaced intervals, affixing means for affixing the fasteners, advancing means for advancing the affixing means stepwise, thereby to affix the fasteners sequentially to the belt, and locating means for locating the affixing means and securing the affixing means in position for each step, the locating means for locating the affixing means comprising a locating member attached to the affixing means and which is insertable sequentially in a plurality of recesses which are fixed relative to the fastener locating means and which correspond to the correct position of the affixing means for each step.

23. An apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein the locating member comprises a pin.

24. An apparatus as claimed in claim 22 or claim 23, further comprising a fluid-operated ram for driving the apparatus.

25. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 22 to 24, further comprising means for driving the apparatus manually.

26. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 22 to 25, further comprising control means adapted to prevent operation of the affixing means unless the locating member is inserted in one of the recesses.

27. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 22 to 26, further comprising control means adapted to prevent the advancing means from advancing the affixing means unless the locating means is withdrawn from the recesses.

28. An apparatus as claimed in claim 26 or 27, wherein the control means comprises a limit switch activated by the lodating member.

29. An apparatus for affixing a plurality of fasteners, each comprising two arms joined by an arcuate portion, to an end of a conveyor belt, substantially as herein described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figs. 1 to 10 or Figs. 1 to 10 as modified by Fig.ll, of the accompanying drawings.

30. A method of affixing a plurality of fasteners, each comprising two arms joined by an arcuate portion, to an end of a conveyor belt, substantially as herein described, with reference to, and-as illustrated in, Figs. 1 to 10, or Figs. 1 to 10 as modified by Fig.ll, of the accompanying drawings.

31. An apparatus for affixing a plurality of fasteners to an end of a conveyor belt substantially as herein described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figs. 1 to 10, or Figs. 1 to 10 as modified by Fig.ll, of the accompanying drawings.