US2564782A

US2564782A - Staking apparatus with movable work holder

Info

Publication number: US2564782A
Application number: US16123A
Authority: US
Inventors: Erwin E Franz
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1948-03-20
Filing date: 1948-03-20
Publication date: 1951-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 1968-08-21

Description

E- E. FRANZ STAKING APPARATUS WITH MOVABLE WORK HOLDER Aug. 21, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 20, 1948 lNl ENTOR E. E. FRANZ A TTORNEV Aug. 21, 1951 E. FRANZ STAKING APPARATUS WITH MOVABLE WORK HOLDER Filed March 20, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR E E. FRANZ AMP ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 21, 1951 .STG. APPARATUS l VITH, MOVABLE WORK HOLDER d, N'. J assignor to Westerii Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York .Application MarchZO, 1948, .Serial' No. 16,123

2' Glaims. 1

This invention relates to staking apparatus with movable work holdenrand'more particularly to apparatus for securing one article'to another bystaking the" first article within an apparatus of the second article.

In the manufacture of electricaiequipment' for the communication arts, metallic housings 'arerequired'for certain of' the electrical units. Some 'of' the housings become permanent parts of the electrical units in that the'units are. embedded in a sealing compound within the container or housings, While with other units; it is a requirement that the housings be removable. :In such instances,- it has-been found advantageous to secure a thumb nut or'any' other suitable internally threaded article to-the housings, a'portion of the article extending through an aperture" in the "housing becoming apermanent' part of the housings, yet free to rotate in=its'aperture.

*An object of the invention is to provide a staking apparatus which is-simple in structure, semi-automatic in operation, and highly efiicient in staking 'an article' wi-thin an aperture of another article.

'-' Withthis and other objects in-view; the invention comprises a staking apparatus having a frame-with asta'king unit mounted thereon and including a. reciprocable -plunger operable through singlecycles. A holder for an article is movably mounted :on the frame forx.movement between a loading position and anroperatingsposition' to hold the articles in their relative positions for assembly, one of vthearticles having a portion extending through an aperture of the other article. Meansis actuated uponmovement of the holder awiththe'articlesinto operating position to cause operation of .the .unit to actuate the plungerto stake one of the articles within the ap rtureof the othersarticle.

. .zThe. holder includes .an :anvil to support the apertured artiole'and is formed to cause outward flaring of the innerzportion of the secondarticle during the staking operation. .The: anvil is sentrally. aperturedxto-receive a-locating pin to centrally locate .thewsecond: article within the apertul'e Ofthe first article and to beforced downwardlyagainstits supporting, spring during the swaging operation. In the :presentembodiment of the invention, the swaging unit is a fluid-perated unit similar; to commercially .known riveters. .It is undenzthecontrol of a fluid valve actuated-by a solenoid which is energized by the closing of a microswitch during movement of the holder with the articlesinto operating position. ;.-'.Other objects and advantages :will ,be apparent from the gfollowing detailed description,- when considered in conjunction with vthe accompany- .ing drawings, wherein .ing the relationshipof the particlesatthe end of theswagingxoperation; and

Fig. 6 is-an enlargedfragmentary"detailed view ofjthe assembled articles.

. Referring now to "the "drawings; attention: is

first directed to thearticles-whichrareto beassembled-by the apparatus. The first article :H]

is a, sheet metalcontainer or housing having an open end II and a'.closed end"|2,. an aperture'l 4 being centrally located'in'the closed end-l 2"of the article. The second article I5 is in the form of a nuthaving arelativelylthin tubular portion r6 integral with thelower .portionof the article to extend freely through theapertureltldas. i1- lustratedin Figs. 4 .and 5.";The functionfof the apparatus is to .stake .the article ,.,I 5 within. the

aperture M ofthearticle lllso; that it will be a permanent part of the articlev lll but free to rotate .in theaperture [4 thereof whereby it may be securedrto a threadedportionofan electrical unit to be housed in the article ID.

. The apparatus includes a main. frame-l8, supporting a swaging unit. l9 .whicl-imay be.of:the

commerciallyknownfluid:operated type of swagving or riveting unit. Thelplunger 2fl-of the unit l9 isnormally heldnpwardly. and is moved downwardly by fluid under pressure supplied to'the unit [9 from a fluid line2i iwhen a valve 322 is :open.. Theyalve 22 includes aap1ungere23 normally closed in a conventional manner by. a spring and :openedby the :actuationrof a lever 25 during energization of a solenoid:26.l;'l2he;so-1e- .noid .25 is mounted-onthemainframer1:8 :as shown in Fig. land has :its;cor 12:! connected totan actuating rodrzs :through a .linkrZS- The actuating rod..28 has a vertical portion-i journalled .for rocking movementin anbearing 3l1-of ithe unit l 9.

The vupper.end:of the. rod extends through the lever .25: and is pinned :thereto. awhereby energize.- tion. ofqthesolenoid 26, willnock "the lever 25 clockwise to actuate the plunger 23 to open the valve 22.

A holder 33 of the contour shown has a bifurcated lower portion 34 straddling the adjacent portion of the frame I8 and pivotally secured to the frame at 35. The holder 33 is centrally apertured at 31 throughout its upper portion to support an anvil 38 in the upper end thereof, the anvil being supported by a threaded member 39 adjustably positioned in a threaded portion 40 of the aperture 31. The anvil 38 is circular in cross-section having a concaved annular groove H to receive the inner end of the tubular portion I6 of the article I5 and cause outward flaring of this portion, as illustrated in Fig. 5, during the swaging operation. The anvil 38 is centrally apertured at 42 to receive a locating pin 43 having a head portion 44 positioned within an enlarged portion of the aperture 42 and backed by a spring 45, normally urging the locating pin outwardly. The spring 45 is disposed in a central aperture 46 of the threaded member 39, a portion of the aperture being threaded to receive a screw 41 which supports the spring and by the aid of which the spring may be compressed as desired to vary the force applied to the locating pin, particularly during the swaging operation.

The holder 33 may be moved clockwise (Fig. 1) into its loading position, away from the plunger 20 where assembled articles may be removed from the holder and new articles I and I disposed thereon for assembly. A lever 50, pivotally supported at 5| on the frame I8, has an abutting block 52 carried by an arm 53 thereof, to be engaged by the article ID on the holder 33, when moved into operating position, to function not only in aligning the holder with the articles centrally of the plunger 20, but to cause actuation of a microswitch 55 to energize the solenoid 26. The other arm of the lever 50 carries an adjustable screw 56 positioned to engage a resilient portion 51 of the switch 55, which when flexed inwardly will actuate a plunger 58 to operate the normally open switch into closed position. Adjustment of the screw 56 W111 vary the point at which the switch will be closed during counterclockwise movement of the holder 33 with the articles I0 and I5 into the operating position.

Considering now the operation of the apparatus, let it be assumed that the holder 33 is in the loading position out of alignment with the plunger 20. The operator may at this time lower an article I0 onto the holder until its closed end comes to rest on the anvil 38. It will be noted that the outwardly flared upper end of the holder partially conforms to the article I0 and this formation, cooperating with the anvil, will position the article ID centrally on the holder with its centerline, coincident with the centerline of the holder and the anvil. Furthermore, the aperture l4, being centrally positioned within the closed end I2, will be accurately located to receive the tubular portion l6 of the article I5. When the article I5 is placed on the holder, it is accurately located with respect to the article It by the locating pin 43 extending substantially through the threaded aperture of the article.

The operator may then move the holder 33 with the articles I0 and I5 thereon in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1). During this movement, the article I0 will engage the abutting block 52 and rock the lever 50 clockwise about its pivot 5I, causing the screw 56 to flex the member 51 to depress the plunger 58 and operate the switch 55 into closed position. At this time, through the control of the lever 50, the holder 33, with its articles I0 and I5, will be in alignment with the plunger 20 which is operated through a single cycle as a result of energization of the solenoid 26 and operation of the valve 22. When the solenoid 26 is energized, the actuating rod 28 is rocked in a clockwise direction (Fig. 2) to rock the lever 25, depressing the plunger 23 and opening the valve 22, allowing fluid under pressure to pass through the valve into the unit I9 from the supply line 2I to actuate the plunger 20 through a single cycle. As the plunger 20 moves downwardly, it engages the article I5, forcing it toward the anvil 38, causing the inner end of the tubular portion I6 to flare outwardly where the outer edges thereof will extend beyond the periphery of the aperture I4, permanently securing the article I5 to the article I0, leaving the article I5 free to rotate within the aperture I4. In successive operations of the apparatus the same result will be accomplished owing to the dimensional requirements of the articles. The material of the articles or containers I0 must be of a given thickness or the articles will not be accepted. Certain limitations are also placed on the articles or nuts I5. Their dimensions must be within given limits otherwise they will not be accepted. Therefore, the operation of the apparatus on any accepted article I0 and article I5 will assure permanent connection of the articles, leaving article I5, not only free for rotation, but free for lateral or tilting movements to align the axis of the article with the centerline of the threaded element upon which the article is to be mounted.

When the staking operation has been com-- pleted, the operator returns the holder with the assembled articles to the loading position and in doing so, the lever moves by gravity and the force of the member 51 to allow the switch to open to deenergize the solenoid 26 and close the valve 22. The assembled articles may be re moved from the holder and two more articles I0 and I5 mounted thereon for the next operation of the apparatus.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the ap plication of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for connecting a nut, having a projecting portion with a periphery smaller than the main portion of the nut, to an apertured hollow article for rotation of the nut relative to the hollow article at the aperture thereof, the apparatus comprising an anvil having an outer surface and a. groove therein of a given depth to cause forming of the projecting portion, an element extending from the anvil to hold the nut in a given position and align the projecting portion with the groove, a holder supporting the anvil and the element at given relative positions and having an outer surface concentric therewith to engage the inner surface of the hollow article to align the aperture of the article with the groove of the anvil and cause the portion of the article adjacent the aperture to rest on the outer surface of the anvil, a frame, means on the frame to support the holder for movement between a loading position and an operating position, an operable unit mounted on the frame and having a ram reciprocable through an operating cyele and a t0 q ce the n ow h anvil whereby the projecting portion of the nut will be forced outwardly by the groove of the anvil sufficiently to connect the nut against displacement to the article and for free rotation of the nut relative to the article, and means actuated by the loaded holder upon movement thereof into the operating position to cause operation of the unit.

2. An apparatus for connecting a nut, having a projecting portion with a periphery smaller than the main portion of the nut, to an apertured hollow article for rotation of the nut relative to the hollow article at the aperture thereof, the apparatus comprising an anvil having an outer surface and a groove therein of a given depth to cause forming of the projecting portion, an element extending from the anvil to hold the nut in a given position and align the projecting portion with the groove, a holder supporting the anvil and the element at given relative positions and having an outer surface concentric therewith to engage the inner surface of the hollow article to align the aperture of the article with the groove of the anvil and cause the portion of the article adjacent the aperature to rest on the outer surface of the anvil, a frame, means on the frame to support the holder for movement between a loading position and an operating position, an operable unit mounted on the frame and having a ram reciprocable through an operating cycle and adapted to force the nut toward the anvil whereby the projecting portion of the nut will be forced outwardly by the groove of the anvil suficiently to connect the nut against displacement to the article and for free rotation of the nut relative to the article, control means actuable to cause operation of the unit, and an element movably supported by the frame to be engaged by the loaded holder upon movement thereof toward the operating position and to be moved thereby to actuate the control means to cause operation of the unit when the nut and the groove of the anvil are aligned with the ram.

ERWIN E. FRANZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS