JPH0225689B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an eyelet installation machine, and more particularly to a manually operated and weldable eyelet installation machine capable of performing the cold welding installation of eyelets and funnels to printed circuit boards. This invention relates to a machine for attaching eyelets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on U.S. Pat.
No. 3940590, as well as U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 583219 filed October 24, 1984.
Consists of improvements to the eyelet attachment machine by welding. The disclosures of each of the U.S. patents and patent applications cited above are incorporated herein by reference.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,141 discloses a welding eyelet setting machine having a C-shaped frame, the upper arm of which houses an upper tool, and the lower arm of which provides a resilient support for a lower tool. Contains a structure. The lower tool is
It is possible to predetermine the eyelet mounting pressure. The upper tool is brought into contact with the lower tool by a boosting structure, the boosting structure being pivotally mounted to the upper arm of the frame.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,590 discloses an improvement to the machine disclosed in the '141 patent. In the machine disclosed in the '590 patent, the upper arm of the C-shaped frame terminates in a pair of spaced apart tool support members, and between these support members there is a A double stop boost mechanism is provided to affect the movement of the upper tool.

The '219 patent application discloses a further improved welded eyelet attachment machine that incorporates a novel and simple support structure for resiliently biasing the lower arm. The upper tool is used to apply a predetermined force against which the upper tool acts during the eyelet setting operation. Said No. ’141
As in the machines described in the '590 patent, the upper tool is actuated by a booster structure.

One of the drawbacks associated with one of the configurations described above is that one of the respective tools is directed towards the other tool.
and to move it away from it.
This is caused by the use of a booster structure. In such booster structures, the length of the stroke is fixed, which often results in operational difficulties when substrates of different thicknesses or eyelets of different lengths are used. These difficulties are
This particularly occurs in the circuit board repair industry, which deals with circuit boards and eyelets of various thicknesses and lengths.
In this regard, the machine operator must be careful when applying each eyelet in order to apply and weld the desired eyelet to the substrate without crushing the substrate or deforming the eyelet. Must.

Another problem that arises from the use of boost actuation structures is that most boost mechanisms are manufactured to specifications with low tolerances, so that each time the boost structure is used, the and difficulties arise in achieving accurate and repeatable alignment of the lower tool.
This, in turn, can cause deformation of each eyelet as it is pressed against the substrate prior to welding, which in turn compromises the quality of the welded eyelet.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved eyelet installation machine that can be used with equal ease for eyelets and funnels of different dimensions and for printed circuit boards of different thicknesses. Our goal is to provide the following.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an eyelet setting machine using a new and simple tool moving structure, which allows each of the eyelet setting tools to move toward each other with a predetermined eyelet setting pressure. They will be aligned in contact, and this pressure will be
Despite continuous operation of the tool moving structure, after reaching the predetermined pressure, it cannot be exceeded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention, a machine for installing eyelets is provided, the machine comprising approximately
A frame having a shape having a pair of spaced apart support arms defining a workpiece receiving zone therebetween. a first tool is movably attached to one of the support arms, and a second tool is fixedly attached to the other of the support arms;
As a result, the second tool is axially opposed to the first tool. A tool moving means is connected to the first tool for moving the first tool into alignment in contact with the second tool with a predetermined eyelet loading pressure, the tool moving means being adapted to adjust includes possible torque limiting means;
This torque limiting means ensures that the predetermined eyelet loading pressure is not exceeded during continuous operation of the tool moving means.

According to another feature of the invention, a workpiece suspension structure is provided between the support arms of the U-shaped frame for vertically suspending the workpiece into the workpiece receiving zone. This structure allows the workpiece to hang vertically in a position proximate the first and second tools, and allows the operator to contact the first tool with an eyelet that is welded to the workpiece. While operating the tool moving means,
allowing the workpiece to finally be freely positioned relative to the first and second tools.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a machine, generally designated 10, for applying eyelets to printed circuit boards. The machine 10 has a U-shaped frame 1, suitably a cast metal frame.
It has 2. The frame 12 has a base area 18
It has a pair of support arms 14, 16 which are connected by and spaced apart from each other. Said base area 1
8 is preferably provided with a plurality of foot members 20,
The foot members 20 support the frame 12 and allow the machine to be attached to a worktable via each opening 22.

Opposing support arms 14, 16 of said frame
A first tool 24 and a second tool 26 are attached to the. The first tool 24 includes a mandrel 28 movably supported within a first tool support structure 30.
The second tool 26 is fixedly mounted within a second tool support structure 32 .
As shown in FIG.
The top of 4 terminates in a pair of tool support posts 34, 36 spaced apart from each other. The support column 34 houses the first tool support structure 30 and the support column 34 houses the first tool support structure 30 .
6 supports an adjustable torque screw 38, which will be explained in more detail later.

Referring to the first tool support structure 30, the mandrel 28 is slidably housed within a cylindrical support member 40, which along with an annular insulating bushing 42 is attached to the support column 34. It is press-fitted into a cylindrical opening 44 inside. The end 46 of the mandrel 28 has a threaded portion 48 on which a pair of nuts 5 are mounted.
0,52, and an electric cable 54 is fixed between these nuts. Therefore, the main purpose of the annular insulation bushing 42 is to
4 from the posts 34 and the frame 12.

The adjustable torque screw 38 is supported within the support column 36 and is attached to the shaft 5.
6, the shaft 56 has a threaded portion 58 and an unthreaded portion 60. The threaded portion 58 includes:
Threaded into a threaded aperture 62 in the post 36, the threaded aperture 62 connects the shaft 56 and the mandrel 2, as shown in FIG.
8 are positioned within post 36 such that they are axially aligned with each other. The adjustable torque screw 38 has a handle 64, the handle 64 has an adjustable torque mechanism 66 disposed within the handle, and the torque screw 38 has an adjustable torque mechanism 66 disposed within the handle.
Jergens, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
It may be of the type provided by. The handle 64 is connected to the threaded portion 58.
so that rotation of the handle 64 results in rotation of the shaft 56. A swivel bearing padding 68 is attached to the distal end of the unthreaded portion 60 and a stopper clip 70 connects the unthreaded portion 60 and the swivel bearing padding. 68 and is attached to a reduced diameter region on the shaft 56. A piece of flexible plastic tubing 72 connects the mandrel 28 and the adjustable torque screw 38 to each other so that the nut 52 and stopper clip 7
0 between the padding 68 of the swivel bearing and the end of the mandrel 28 in a stretched state. The importance of this connection will be discussed in more detail later. To further ensure complete insulation between the frame 12 and the electrical cable 54, an insulating ring 76 is attached to the nut 5.
0 and said annular insulating bushing 42, and an insulating padding 78 is provided on the area 80 extending between the support columns 34,36.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the upper portion of the support arm 16 has an upright support member 82.
has a cylindrical opening 98 passing through it. The second tool support structure 32 includes a support mandrel 84, and the support mandrel 84 fixedly accommodates the second tool 26 at one end 86. In addition, support core 84
The end portion 94 is threaded and has a pair of nuts 88, 90 and an electrical cable tightened therebetween. The support core 84 is a cylindrical insulating bush 9
6 , an insulating bushing 96 is press fit within a cylindrical opening 98 of the upright support member 82 . An enlarged diameter section 100 is provided on the support mandrel 84 and abuts the insulating bushing 96, thus making the support mandrel 84
can be firmly attached within the cylindrical insulating bushing 96 when tightening the nuts 88,90. As shown in FIG. 2, the support plate 102 is connected to the second tool support structure 3.
2 can be provided to provide further support.

Moreover, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the work piece suspension structure 10.
4 is also shown, which essentially includes an L-shaped member 106;
An adjustment arm 108 is telescopically received within the L-shaped member 106. As shown in FIG. 1, the support means, for example a clip 110, is attached to a workpiece, typically a circuit board.
12 vertically so that it hangs in the area between the support arms 14, 16 and has access to the first and second tools 24, 26. It is set in. Positioning of the circuit board 112 is accomplished by telescopically moving the adjustment arm 108 inside the L-shaped member, and when the desired position is reached, the adjustment arm 108
can be fixed in that position by a screw member 114. As shown, the suspension structure 104 is attached to a support column 34, but could be attached anywhere on the machine, such as on the upright support member 82. Furthermore, the suspension structure 104 may be mounted within the support column 34, so that it can be rotated about the axis of the vertically upright portion 107 of the L-shaped member, thereby It is facilitated to swing the circuit board 112 into and out of the workpiece receiving zone between the support arms 14,16.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 3 in which a stripper attachment 116 is provided at the end of the second tool 26. The lees removal attachment 116 includes a plastic ring 118 with a flat upper surface and a helical spring 120 secured to the plastic ring 118. The lees removing accessory 116 is a third
As shown, it is mounted around the second tool 26 such that its flat upper surface is flush with the tip of the second tool 26 and the helical spring 120 is attached to the support. It rests near the top of the mandrel 84. The purpose of the lees removing accessory 116 is to
the workpiece on the second tool 26 so that the eyelets or funnels are properly aligned on the workpiece before being contacted by the first tool 26; It becomes possible. During the setting operation, the lees removing attachment 116 is pressed along the second tool, in which case the presence of the lees removing attachment 116 influences the actual movement of the tools 24, 26. It should be noted that there is no The lees removing accessory 116
can be removed if there is not enough space on the workpiece.

The operation of the machine according to the invention will now be explained with reference to FIG. 4 of the drawings.

In FIG. 4, a workpiece, such as a printed circuit board 112, is shown having eyelets 112. In FIG. A pre-inserted eyelet or funnel 124 is positioned loosely within the hole 122 with its pre-formed head 126 facing the tool 24 side. The work piece 112 and the eyelet 124
is suitably moved into position between the first and second tools 24, 26 by suspending the workpiece from the clip 110, as shown in FIG. The workpiece 112 has an eyelet 1
24 is arranged to be located near a second tool 26, and said first tool 24 moves said adjusting torque screw 38 from the right to the left from position W, as seen in FIG. thereby forcing the eyelet 124 towards the preformed head 126, thereby causing the threaded portion 58 to threadably engage the threaded aperture 62, and then the adjustment Possible torque screw 38
Rotation causes the threaded portion 58 to be threaded into the threaded aperture 62, thereby propelling the second tool 24 into engagement with the eyelet 124. The adjustable torque screw 38 is preadjusted to a desired torque value, which typically ranges from 9.07 to 27.22
Kg (20-60 lbs), e.g. 14.51-18.14
Kg (32-40 lbs), usually around 15.88 Kg (35 lbs). Rotation of the handle 64 is continued until the torque value is reached and the desired eyelet installation pressure is achieved. As the desired eyelet installation pressure is reached, eyelet 124 upsets and cold hardens.
is sufficiently tight to prevent rotation within hole 122. Then, the eyelet or funnel is
The electrically generated heat causes the printed circuit board 11 to
2 is welded to the filling 128 on top. The dimensions of the first and second tools can be varied according to different dimensions of the eyelets or funnels used.

When welding of the eyelet or funnel 124 is complete, the first tool 24 is withdrawn from contact with the welded eyelet by rotating the handle 64, thereby removing the threaded portion of the eyelet. 58 from the threaded opening 62 and remove the mandrel 28 from the threaded opening 62, as seen in FIG.
and pulling the first tool 24 and the mandrel 28 from left to right as a result of the connection between the adjustable torque screw 38 by the flexible plastic tube 72. become. Although rotating the handle 64 to remove the threaded portion 58 from the threaded aperture 62 results in a relatively gradual withdrawal of the first tool 24 from the workpiece 112, this withdrawal The threaded portion 58 has disengaged from the threaded opening 62 so that the torque screw 38 together with the mandrel 28 of the tool 24 can be manually pulled into position W. When the speed is increased. When reaching position W, the stopper clip 70 is attached to the surface 1 of the tool support column 36.
30 in abutting engagement, thereby avoiding further withdrawal and the possibility of the screw 38 becoming dislodged from the machine 10. if,
If desired, surface 74 and handle 6 may be used to assist in movement of said adjustable torque screw 38 toward position W after disengaging from threaded aperture 62.
A spring (not shown) may be placed between the four.

If it is desired to carry out further eyelet welding operations, the workpiece, together with the inserted eyelets, can advantageously be suspended from the suspension structure 104, as described above, on the second tool. The first tool 24 is urged into contact with the eyelet by moving the torque screw 38 from right to left from position W, as shown in FIG. , thereby causing the threaded portion 58 to threadably engage the threaded aperture 62. Then, the handle 64 is rotated,
The first tool 24 is progressively advanced until it contacts the eyelet. In this regard, the flexible plastic tube 72 connects the end 46 of the mandrel 28 and the swivel bearing padding 68 when the torque screw 38 is pulled toward position W. It will be noted that the dimensions are such that it remains as it is. Said first tool 24
When the torque screw 38 is rotated to propel the shaft 5 toward the second tool 26, the shaft 5
6 rotates, but said swivel bearing pad 68 does not rotate with respect to the swivel pad connection. the result,
The rotation of the torque screw 38 is caused by the rotation of the first tool 2
4 is propelled towards the machining side, this does not result in rotation of the first tool 24.

From the above description, it will be appreciated that the machine of the present invention enjoys numerous advantages over conventional eyelet setting machines. In particular, the machine of the present invention utilizes a torque screw structure instead of a booster structure to move the first tool toward and away from the second tool. can be used to perform eyelet welding operations with eyelets of different lengths and/or circuit boards of different thicknesses. Additionally, the eyelet mounting pressure can be set to a predetermined value using the adjustable torque screw structure;
Accurate and repeatable eyelet loading pressures can therefore be applied, and crushing of the substrate or deformation of the eyelet is substantially eliminated. Additionally, by using the adjustable torque screw structure of the present invention, the accuracy of the axial alignment of the first and second tools is significantly improved beyond what is generally achievable. In addition, the torque of this application
The screw construction occupies less space, making it possible to house the machine in a compact unit. Yet another advantage arises from the fact that the second tool is fixed within the support arm 16, so that no biasing mechanism needs to be integrated in order to set the desired eyelet loading pressure. As discussed above, the eyelet loading pressure is completely controlled by the structure for moving the first tool together with the adjustable screw device, which makes the machine even more convenient and inexpensive. do.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a side perspective view of the machine of the invention; FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of an alternative embodiment; FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a printed circuit board and an eyelet mounted therein; FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Eyelet installation machine, 12... Frame, 14, 16... Support arm, 18... Base area, 20... Foot member, 22... Opening, 24... First tool, 26... Second Tools, 28... Core metal, 30
... first tool support structure, 32 ... second tool support structure, 34, 36 ... tool support column, 38 ... adjustable torque screw, 40 ... support member, 42 ...
Insulating bush, 44...opening, 46...end, 48
...Threaded part, 50, 52... Nut, 54... Electrical cable, 56... Shaft, 58... Threaded part, 60... Unthreaded part, 62... Screw An opening with a mountain, 64...
...Handle, 66...Adjustable torque mechanism, 68...
...Swivel bearing filling, 70...Stopper clip, 72...Tube body, 76...Insulation ring, 78...
... Insulating filling, 82 ... Supporting member, 84 ... Supporting core, 88, 90 ... Nut, 96 ... Insulating bushing, 98 ... Opening, 100 ... Enlarged diameter part, 10
2...Support plate, 104...Work piece suspension structure, 10
6... L-shaped member, 108... Adjustment arm, 11
0...Clip, 112...Workpiece, 114...
Screw member, 116... Accessory for removing lees, 118...
... Ring, 120 ... Spiral spring, 122 ... Eyelet hole,
124...eyelet or small funnel, 126...head, 128...filling, W...position.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A machine for attaching eyelets to printed circuit boards, etc., which provides a workpiece receiving zone between each other that can receive workpieces vertically;
a generally U-shaped upright frame having first and second spaced support arms; a workpiece suspension means for vertically suspending the workpiece within the workpiece receiving zone; and a workpiece suspension means for vertically suspending the workpiece within the workpiece receiving zone. 1st receptive band
a first tool movably attached to the first support arm at a side of the workpiece receiving zone; and fixedly attached to the second support arm at a second side of the workpiece receiving zone and relative to the first tool. a second tool axially aligned with a predetermined eyelet loading pressure, the first tool is moved to the a tool moving means connected to the first tool for movement into contact with a second tool, the tool moving means having a first end and a second end and having a threaded a rotationally adjustable torque screw having a shaped shaft and an adjustable torque handle at the first end, the adjustable torque handle continuously actuating the first tool; The eyelet is rotatable on the thread to a desired torque limit corresponding to the predetermined eyelet mounting pressure such that the predetermined eyelet mounting pressure is not exceeded even when the eyelet is installed. installation machine. 2. characterized in that the adjustable torque screw includes extraction means for rapidly moving the first tool towards or away from the second tool. A machine according to claim 1. 3. said extraction means comprises an unthreaded portion, said unthreaded portion extending from a point on said shaft between said first and second ends to said second end; A machine according to claim 2, characterized in that: 4. The machine of claim 3, wherein said adjustable torque screw has a swivel bearing padding attached to said second end of said shaft. 5. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that a stopper is provided near the second end of the shaft to stop the withdrawal of the first tool from the second tool. . 6. The machine of claim 5, further comprising connecting means for connecting the swivel bearing pad and the first tool to each other. 7. The connecting means is a piece of flexible plastic tubing that frictionally engages the swivel bearing stuffing and the first tool, and the frictional engagement connects the swivel bearing stuffing to the first tool. 7. Machine according to claim 6, characterized in that it is sufficient to enable the first tool to be withdrawn from the second tool without causing separation from the tool. 8. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said suspension means are attached to one of said support arms. 9 the first support arm includes first and second spaced apart tool support posts, a mandrel portion of the first tool is mounted within an opening in the first tool support post, and the tool movement Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that means are attached to said second tool support column.