Apparatus for fluidically controlling the assembly and dynamic resistance adjustment of acoustic resistors

Claim 2

Apparatus for assembling a first part having at least one second part-receiving aperture therein with a second part exhibiting a compressive force-dependent density and a densitydependent resistance to the transmission of a flowable medium therethrough, comprising: first means for forcibly securing by material flow at least one second part within an associated aperture of said first part; second means for producing and directing at least a portion of a flowable medium through said second part, and third means responsive to the magnitude of said flowable medium for controlling the force exerted upon said first and second parts by said first means so that the density-dependent resistance exhibited by said second part to the transmission of said flowable medium therethrough may be controlled within a predetermined range.

Claim 3

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said third means includes a fluidic circuit responsive to the back pressure established By the resistance exhibited by said second part to the transmission of said flowable medium therethrough during the securement thereof within the aperture of said first part, said fluidic circuit further including means for generating a signal indicative of an unacceptable securement of a first part-second part assembly whenever the measured magnitude of back pressure does not fall within said predetermined range.

Claim 4

Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said first securing means comprises a pressure source and a piston driven pneumatically controlled cylinder, said piston supporting and driving securing punches corresponding in number with the second part receiving apertures formed in said first part, and wherein the actuating pressure supplied to said pneumatic cylinder is under the variably timed control of said fluidic circuit.

Claim 5

Apparatus for assembling first and second piece parts wherein said second piece part is of a porous nature allowing at least partial transmission of a flowable medium therethrough, comprising: an indexible nest carrying conveyor for transporting a succession of piece part receiving nests secured therealong to a succession of work stations; a first loading station including means for positioning first parts each having at least one second piece part receiving aperture therein in respective nests advanced by said conveyor to a position in alignment therewith; a second loading station including means for successively feeding a number of said second parts corresponding in number to the receiving apertures in said first part to and in seating relationship with said apertures; a pre-inspect station including means for sensing for the presence of and whether each of said second parts has been properly seated within a given aperture of said first part, and for generating a control signal in the event that a first part of said associated second parts have not been initially properly positioned relative to each other; a staking station including force controllable staking means for permanently securing properly positioned second parts within the respective receiving apertures of said first part, and for generating a control signal in the event that said first and second parts have not been satisfactorily staked, and means responsive to a control signal from either said pre-inspect station or said staking station for ejecting from a given nest of said conveyor any first part-second part assembly which resulted in the generation of a control signal.

Claim 6

Apparatus for assembling first and second piece parts wherein said second piece part is of a porous nature allowing at least partial transmission of a flowable medium therethrough, comprising: an indexible nest carrying conveyor for transporting a succession of piece part receiving nests secured therealong to a succession of work stations; a first loading station including means for positioning first parts each having at least one second piece part receiving aperture therein in respective nests advanced by said conveyor to a position in alignment therewith; a second loading station including means for successively feeding a number of said second parts corresponding in number to the receiving apertures in said first part to and in seating relationship with said apertures; a pre-inspect station including means for sensing for the presence of and whether each of said second parts has been properly seated within a given aperture of said first part, and for generating a control signal in the event that a first part of said associated second parts have not been initially properly positioned relative to each other; a staking station including force controllable staking means for permanently securing properly positioned second parts within the respective receiving apertures of said first part, and for generating a control signal in the event that said first and second parts have not been satisfactorily staked, and means responsive to a control signal from either said pre-inspect station or said staking station for ejecting from a given nest of said conveyor any first part-second part assembly which resulted in the generation of a control signal.

Claim 7

Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 wherein said means at said pre-inspect station for sensing for the presence and proper seating of said second parts relative to an associated first part comprises a fluidic circuit directing a controllable flowable medium to said first part and confined to only those areas where said second parts should normally be seated, and said circuit further including fluidic means for measuring the magnitude of the back pressure established because of the partial resistance exhibited by said second parts to the transmission of said flowable medium therethrough, and for differentiating between satisfactory and unsatisfactory magnitudes of back pressure, and for generating a control signal indicative of first and second piece parts which are not properly assembled loosely in the desired relationship.

Claim 8

Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein said force controllable staking means at said staking station comprises a pressure source and a pneumatically controlled, piston driven staking cylinder, said piston supporting and driving a number of staking punches corresponding in number with the second part-receiving apertures formed in said first part, and further including means for simultaneously establishing and directing a predetermined flowable medium partially through each of said second parts seated within associated apertures of said first part, and for measuring the magnitude of the back pressure established because of thE partial resistance exhibited by said second parts to the transmission of said flowable medium therethrough, the magnitude of said back pressure being utilized as a control parameter to control the pressure applied to said pneumatic cylinder and, thereby, to control the degree of permanent compressive force exerted by said piston driven punches on said first part-second part assembly during the staking operation, and said staking means further including circuit means for generating a control signal in response to a signal from said means for measuring the back pressure whenever a given first part-second part assembly cannot be permanently assembled by the staking operation so as to produce a measured back pressure falling within a predetermined range.

Claim 9

Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 further comprising: an orienting station comprising means for angularly moving each successively loaded first part to a desired position relative to and on an associated nest prior to said second piece parts being seated within respectively aligned apertures of said first part.

Claim 10

Apparatus for positioning and staking acoustic resistors exhibiting a compressive force-dependent density and a density-dependent resistance to the transmission of a flowable medium therethrough in pre-formed apertures of a frame member of an electrical transducer comprising: a nest carrying conveyor for feeding a succession of frame receiving nests secured therealong to a succession of work stations; a frame loading station including means for positioning successive frame members of an electrical transducer into successively advanced and aligned nests during each successive indexing of said conveyor; an acoustic resistor loading station including means for successively feeding a different acoustic resistor into each of said pre-formed apertures of a frame positioned in alignment therewith during each advancement of said conveyor; a resistor staking station including means for staking each acoustic resistor positioned within an associated aperture to said frame, and further including means for simultaneously creating a controllable flow of a predetermined medium through each acoustic resistor seated within a given aperture of said frame, and for monitoring the back pressure established by, and the magnitude of which is dependent on, the resistance exhibited by all of said resistors to the flow of said medium therethrough, the magnitude of said back pressure being utilized as a control parameter to control the degree of force exerted by said staking means against each aligned frame-resistor assembly so as to vary the density of and thereby dynamically adjust the value of acoustic resistance of the staked resistors within a predetermined acceptable range, said resistor staking station further including means for generating a reject control signal in response to a signal from said means for monitoring the back pressure whenever the acoustic resistors cannot be adjusted to a desired value during the staking operation, and a staked-resistor reject-accept station including means responsive to said reject control signal from said acoustic resistor staking station for actuating ejection means to remove a given defective staked resistor-frame assembly from a given nest when indexed to the staked resistor reject-accept station.

Claim 11

Apparatus for positioning and staking acoustic resistors exhibiting a compressive force-dependent density and a density-dependent resistance to the transmission of a flowable medium therethrough in pre-formed apertures of a frame member of an electrical transducer comprising: a nest carrying conveyor for feeding a succession of frame receiving nests secured therealong to a succession of work stations; a frame loading station including means for positioning successive frame members of an electrical transducer into successively advanced and aligned nests during each successive indexing of said conveyor; an acoustic resistor loading station including means for successively feeding a different acoustic resistor into each of said pre-formed apertures of a frame positioned in alignment therewith during each advancement of said conveyor; a resistor staking station including means for staking each acoustic resistor positioned within an associated aperture to said frame, and further including means for simultaneously creating a controllable flow of a predetermined medium through each acoustic resistor seated within a given aperture of said frame, and for monitoring the back pressure established by, and the magnitude of which is dependent on, the resistance exhibited by all of said resistors to the flow of said medium therethrough, the magnitude of said back pressure being utilized as a control parameter to control the degree of force exerted by said staking means against each aligned frame-resistor assembly so as to vary the density of and thereby dynamically adjust the value of acoustic resistance of the staked resistors within a predetermined acceptable range, said resistor staking station further including means for generating a reject control signal in response to a signal from said means for monitoring the back pressure whenever the acoustic resistors cannot be adjusted to a desired value during the staking operation, and a staked-resistor reject-accept station including means responsive to said reject control signal from said acoustic resistor staking station for actuating ejection means to remove a given defective staked resistor-frame assembly from a given nest when indexed to the staked resistor reject-accept station.

Claim 12

Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said means at said staking station for creating a controllable flow of a predetermined medium and for monitoring the back pressure produced by the presence of the acoustic resistors positioned within an associated frame comprises a fluidic circuit, with said medium comprising air.

Claim 13

Apparatus in accordance with claim 9 further comprising: a frame orienting station including means for angularly moving each of said frames to a desired position relative to and on an associated nest so as to consistently insure that said pre-formed apertures in said frame are in alignment with apparatus associated therewith at eaCh successive work station when advanced thereto.

Claim 14

Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 further comprising: a loaded acoustic resistor sensing station including means for sensing whether all of said acoustic resistors associated with a given frame have been fed to and properly seated within the respective pre-formed apertures of said frame, said sensing means including means for establishing a controllable flow of said predetermined medium through each of said seated acoustic resistors, and for monitoring the resultant back pressure established by the number of said resistors present, said last-mentioned means being capable of differentiating between a condition wherein all of said resistors are present and properly seated within the respective apertures in said frame from a condition wherein said resistors are not all present and properly seated, and for generating a second reject control signal whenever the latter condition exists, and wherein said apparatus further includes a loaded-resistor reject-accept station including means responsive to said second reject control signal from said sensing station for actuating ejection means to remove a given defective sensed loaded resistor-frame assembly from a given nest when indexed to the loaded resistor reject-accept station.