US403374A - Electric riveting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

B. E. RIBS.

ELECTRIC RIVETING APPARATUS.

No. 403,374. Patented May 14, 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()EEIcE.

ELIAS E. RIES, OE BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ELECTRIC RIVETING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,374, dated May 14, 1889.

Original application filed September 15, 1888, Serial No. 285.555. Divided and this application filed March 5 1889. Serial No. 301,914. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ELIAS E. RIEs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Riveting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention has reference to machines or apparatus for riveting by the aid of electricity in the manner set forth in my application, Serial No. 285,555, filed September 15,1888, of which this is a division, and claimed in my application, Serial N 0. 293,069, filed December 10, 1888, which is also a division of my aforesaid application; and the object of my present invention is to provide the practical means by which the electrical riveting process can be practiced with ease and comfort.

Prior to my invention the riveting process has been practiced either by the aid of ordinary anvils and handtools or by the aid of organized machines, and in both cases the rivet was inserted into the rivet hole or holes either in a cold state, or it was first heated in a furnace or otherwise, and was then, after .insertion into the hole, headed by a rapid succession of blows upon the free end of its shank.

By the use of the instrumentalities which form the subject of my present invention the old process is entirely changed, and the inconveniences and imperfections of the same are overcome, as clearly set forth in my aforesaid applications.

Broadly speaking, my invention consists of an anvil and a heading-tool constituting the terminals of an electric circuit, which are bridged by the rivet itself during the operation. This rivet thereby becomes heated to any desired degree, which is controlled by any of the well-known current-regulators, so that the rivet is made plastic and may be maintained in that condition during the whole process of heading or during any part of the same, at the option of the operator.

My invention may assume a great variety of forms, and while I have shown one organized machine embodying my invention, parts of which may also be used as electric hand riveting-tools, I am by no means confined to the identical structures shown. All this will more fully appear from the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is an elevation of an electric riveting-machine embodying my invention, with the primary source of electricity shown in a conventional form and with some of the circuit-connections indicated in diagram; and Fig. 2, a detail view, upon an enlarged scale, of the anvil and heading-tool, showing the insulation of the former from its support.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in the two figures of drawings.

The frame 1 of the riveting-machine has three parallel projecting brackets, 2 3 4, the lowest one, 2, supporting the anvil 5, the middle bracket, 3, serving as a guide for the reciprocating die 6, and the upper bracket, 4:, having one of the links of a toggle, 7, pivoted to it. The other link of this toggle is pivoted to the reciprocating die 6, and the toggle is actuated by a piston-rod, 8, of a piston working in the cylinder 11, to which steam or compressed air is supplied by the pipe 12. The admission of steam to the cylinder is controlled and regulated by the valve 13, actuated by the valve-rod 1%, having a suitable handle, 15, within convenient reach of the operator.

The riveting-machine so far described is of ordinary construction, and its operation is well understood by those skilled in the art. The valve 13 is of a kind commonly used in such machines, which when turned to one position admits steam behind the piston, which then actuates the toggle to raise the die 6, and when turned to another position admits steam in front of the piston, which then actuates the toggle to depress the die 6.

For the purposes of my invention the anvil 5 is preferably, although not necessarily, formed with a massive head, as shown in Fig. 2, and with a shank, 16, which passes through the bracket 2. This shank is screw-threaded at its lower end, and the anvil is clamped to the bracket by a nut formed in a bindingpost, 17, which is screwed upon the projecting end of the shank 10.

The whole anvil is insulated from the frame of the machine by an insulating-brushing, 18, of suitable material, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper part of the anvil is preferably formed into a truncated cone, 19, and in the upper face is formed a cavity, as shown, for the reception of one end of the rivet 20, which, when placed in position, may or may not have a head formed at this end.

The construction of the anvil so far described is bysno means essential, since the same may be replaced by any ordinary anvil of any desired size, so long as it has one or more rivet-receiving cavities formed on its upper'face; but if such ordinary anvil be used it will be understood that the same must be insulated-as, for instance, by placing it upon a block of Wood, like any other stationary anviland it will be provided with suitable means for connection with an electrical conductor, 23. I a

The die 6, as shown, is a cylindrical body with a frusto-conical lower end, 21, provided on its lower face with a cavity to receive the free end of the rivet. This cavity is preferably conical, but may be of any other shape to correspond to the desired form of rivethead. The body of the die is formed into a binding-post having the clamp-screw 22, and this binding-post receives a conductor, 24, as shown.

The two conductors 23 24 lead to the terminals of a suitable generator, which furnishes a current of great quantity and low tension.

It will now be understood that the current coming from the generator will pass by the conductor 24 through die and rivet and then through the anvil back to the generator. The rivet offers a resistance to the passage of the current and becomes heated thereby, according to the current employed, to any degree of incandescence, and this heating may be continued so long as the heading-die remains in contact with the rivet, so that the latter may be maintained in a soft plastic condition until the riveting process is completed and the heading-die removed.

Any suitable source of electrical current, including the direct low-tension current of a dynamo or of a secondary battery, may be used; but by preference I use the alternating currents of low tension and great quantity furnished by the thick-wire secondary coil 25 of a transformer, 26, the fine-wire primary coil 27 of which is charged by alternating currents of high tension and small quantity by the circuit 28 28, derived from a main circuit, 29 29, which in turn is charged by an alternating-current dynamo, 30.

The conductor 23 includes a switch-lever, 31, which maybe moved by hand to make contact with'any one of a series of contact-plates, 32, connected, respectively, to difierent points of the secondary coil; and it will now be understood that all or a part of the secondary coil may be placed in circuit with the conductors 23 24, leading to the anvil and head- 'candescence.

rivet.

ing-die, and thus the current regulated or entirely cut off, as desired; or, in place of regulating the current by the switch, this may be done by moving the core 26' of the transformer within the coils; or I may use any other suitable means of controlling the current.

The whole operation will now be readily understood. A rivet is placed with its head (if there is a head) or with the head end upon the anvil in the cavity provided for this purpose, and the plates 33 34, to be joined by the rivets are placed with the rivet-holes over the shank of the rivet, one above the other. The operator now manipulates the valve-rod 14 to open the valve 13 more or less to admit steam to the cylinder in front of the piston to actuate the toggle and depress the die until in contact with the rivet. The switch-lever is then operated to closethe circuit and is moved until suflicient current is obtained to bring the rivet to the desired state of in- More steam is then admitted to the cylinder behind the piston and the heading-die-is forcibly moved downward upon the projecting end of the rivetshank and the latter headed by a single stroke; or, if it should be found necessary, this operation may be repeated a number of times upon the same During all this time the operator can regulate the 'incandescence of the rivet to a nicety by suitable manipulation of the switchlever or of the movable core of the transformer. The element of construction marked in Fig. 2 with the numeral 2 need not be a bracket forming part of the frame of a riveting-machine, but may be any suitable support for the anvil 5; or the latter maybe used without a specially-constructed support. It may be held by an assistant against the head of the rivet after the latter has been inserted into the rivet-hole. Similarly, the headingdie need not be actuated by a toggle, which in turn is actuated by steam or compressed air or other machine power, for it may be used like an ordinary blacksmiths heading-dieas a hand-toolwhich is grasped by one hand and placed with the die-cavity over the end of the rivetrshank, while the upper end of the die is struck with a hammer, as is well understood by those skilled in the art. In this case, however, the conductors 23 24 must be quite flexible, as will be readily understood; but owing to the Very low tension of the currents which are employed neither the anvil nor the heading-die need be insulated with special care. The most primitive insulating means will be sufficient.

In case of heavy work, it is not absolutely necessary that the rivet should be inserted when in a cold state; but it may first be heated in the ordinary manner in the furnace, then inserted into the rivet-hole, and the heat lost by radiation or conduction may then be supplied electrically in the manner hereinbefore.

described.

In the foregoing I have employed the terms anvil and 11eading-tool as descriptive of the means for upsetting the rivet, and I desire it to be understood that all means for eX- erting endwise pressure upon the rivet or rivet-blank are covered by these terms.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1.. An electric riveting apparatus consisting, essentially, of a metallic anvil and a metallic heading-tool, and a charged electric circuit including the anvil and tool, substantially as described.

2. An electric riveting apparatus consist ing, essentially, of a metallic anvil, a metallic heading-tool, an electric generator, and conductors leading from the generator and terminating in the anvil and tool, respectively, substantially as described.

An electric riveting apparatus consisting, essentially, of a relatively stationary metallic anvil, a reciprocating metallic headingtool, and a charged electric circuit including the said anvil and tool, substantially as described.

4. An electric riveting apparatus consisting of an insulated and relatively stationary metallic anvil, a reciprocating metallic heading-tool, an electric generator, and conductors leading from the latter to the anvil and heading-tool, respectively, substantially as described.

5. An electric riveting apparatus consisting of an insulated metallic anvil, a metallic heading-tool, an electric generator, conductors leading from the generator to the anvil and heading-tool, and a current-regulator, substantially as described.

6. A riveting apparatus consisting, essentially, of an anvil and a heading-tool, constituting the terminals of an electric circuit, which terminals are adapted to be bridged by a metallic rivet, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the terminals of a charged electric circuit adapted to pass a heating-current through and exert endwise pressure upon a rivet or rivet-blank, of a current-regulator for controlling the heat of the rivet while under such pressure, substan tially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELIAS E. RIES.

Witnesses:

E. H. PILSBURY, A. H. HENDERSON.

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