Fastener feeding apparatus

Claim 2

A fastener feeding apparatus for use in association with a power operated fastening tool, which comprises means adapted to contain therein a number of fasteners, a rotary drum forming a part of said container means and having a plurality of peripherally spaced scoop members, a drive means for rotating said rotary drum in one predetermined direction thereby permitting said scoop members to upwardly carry a plurality of fasteners in lots from within said container means as said rotary drum is rotated, a downwardly inclined track for downwardly guiding in a row the fasteners that have been carried by said scoop members, means rotatable in a direction counter to the rotational direction of said rotary drum for positively removing some of the fasteners guided by said track which are incorrectly mounted on or displaced from said track, said removing means being arranged such that the fasteners removed thereby can drop into said container means, and an escapement assembly operatively connected with said track and including a passage, means for successively separating each one of the row of the fasteners at the opening of said passage, at least one pair of slidable retaining blocks capable of sliding in opposite directions in response to said separating means in such a manner that, when said separating means is in position to separate successively the first of the fasteners in the row from the subsequent fasteners, said retaining blocks are moved close to each other with the space between these blocks ready to support the separated fastener and, when said separating means is in position to return to its original position, said retaining blocks are moved away from each other to release the fastener that has been retained thereby to permit said fastener to drop by gravity into the passage, and a compressed air supply control communicating with said passage for selectively supplying compressed air thereto from an air source thereby causing the fastener dropped into said passage to be rapidly fed to the power operated fastening tool.

Claim 3

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said container means comprises a fastener receiving funnel formed with a substantially semicircularly arched member having one lengthwise edge inwardly recessed and the other lengthwise edge being straight, and an inclined wall member secured to said recessed edge of said arched member forming a container chamber in cooperation with the rotary drum for accommodating therein the fasteners and said drive means includes an electrically operated motor having a drive shaft mounted with a rubber lined roller in contact with the peripheral surface of said rotary drum for rotating said rotary drum.

Claim 4

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said inclined wall member is formed with a plurality of horizontally extending projections facing toward the interior of the funnel for indicating the approximate number of the fasteners contained in the funnel.

Claim 5

The fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said track is formed with a pair of rails downwardly extending in a spaced relation with respect to each other from the interior of the funnel toward the escapement assembly, said rails being adjustably spaced to provide the desired track width.

Claim 6

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removing means comprises an impeller formed with a cylindrical member and a pair of blade wheels mounted on a common shaft and sandwiching said cylindrical member, said impeller being positioned above said track with said blade wheels overhanging said track.

Claim 7

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said track comprises a pair of rails downwardly extending in spaced relation with respect to each other from the interior of the funnel toward the escapement assembly and further comprising an electrical control circuit for selectively bringing said drive means into operative and inoperative positions to rotate and stop said rotary drum in response to the respective presence and absence of the row of fasteners on the track formed by said rails.

Claim 8

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said track, said escapement assembly and said fastener removing means are made into a single unit.

Claim 9

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said impeller includes a roller rigidly mounted on said common shaft and pressure contacted with the inner peripheral surface of said rotary drum whereby said impeller rotates counter to the rotational direction of said rotary drum.

Claim 10

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said escapement assembly further includes a hydraulically operated plunger movable between extended and retracted positions for operating both the separating means and the retaining blocks in response to the reciprocal movement of said plunger.

Claim 11

A fastener feeding apparatus for use in association with a power operated fastening tool, which comprises a fastener receiving funnel formed with a substantially semicircularly arched member having one lengthwise edge inwardly recessed and the other lengthwise edge being straight and an inclined wall member secured to said recessed edge of said arched member forming a container chamber in which a plurality of fasteners are accommodable, a rotary drum partially defining said container chamber and having a plurality of peripherally spaced scoop members, a drive means including an electrically operated motor having a drive shaft mounted with a rubber lined roller in contact with the inner peripheral surface of said rotary drum for rotating the latter thereby permitting said scoop members to upwardly carry a plurality of fasteners in lots from within said container chamber, at least one pair of spaced rails arranged in a downwardly inclined manner for providing a guide track along which a plurality of fasteners that have been carried by said scoop members are downwardly guided by gravity, a deflector secured to one of said rails at a portion adjacent to the rear of said track for guiding a plurality of lots of fasteners dropped from the scoop members on to said track, an impeller including a common shaft having one end portion rigidly mounted with a cylindrical member and a pair of blade wheels sandwiching said cylindrical mEmber and each rotatable with said cylindrical member and the other end portion rigidly mounted with a rubber lined roller whereby said impeller is rotatable counter to the rotational direction of the rotary drum and also counter to the direction of sliding movement of the row of the fasteners along the guide track for positively removing some of the fasteners in the row which are incorrectly mounted on or displaced from said guide track, said impeller being arranged such that the fasteners removed thereby can be dropped into said container chamber, and an escapement assembly operatively connected to the front of said track and including a passage, a hydraulically operated plunger movable between extended and retracted positions in a timed manner with respect to the operation of the power operated fastening tool, means for restricting the passage of fasteners to said passage when said plunger is in the retracted position and for separating the first of the row of the fasteners from the subsequent fasteners and then guiding said first fastener to the opening of said passage when said plunger is in the extended position, at least one pair of slidable retaining blocks capable of sliding in opposite directions in response to the reciprocal movement of said plunger in such a manner that, when said plunger is in the retracted position, said retaining blocks are moved close to each other with the space between these blocks ready to support the separated fastener, and, when said plunger is in the extended position, said retaining blocks are moved away from each other to release the fastener that has been retained thereby to permit said fastener to drop by gravity on to the passage, and a compressed air supply control for selectively supplying compressed air to said passage for causing the fastener dropped into said passage to be rapidly fed to the power operated fastening tool, the flow of said compressed air therethrough being substantially regulated in response to the reciprocal movement of said plunger.

Claim 12

A fastener feeding apparatus for use in association with a power operated fastening tool, which comprises a fastener receiving funnel formed with a substantially semicircularly arched member having one lengthwise edge inwardly recessed and the other lengthwise edge being straight and an inclined wall member secured to said recessed edge of said arched member forming a container chamber in which a plurality of fasteners are accommodable, a rotary drum partially defining said container chamber and having a plurality of peripherally spaced scoop members, a drive means including an electrically operated motor having a drive shaft mounted with a rubber lined roller in contact with the inner peripheral surface of said rotary drum for rotating the latter thereby permitting said scoop members to upwardly carry a plurality of fasteners in lots from within said container chamber, at least one pair of spaced rails arranged in a downwardly inclined manner for providing a guide track along which a plurality of fasteners that have been carried by said scoop members are downwardly guided by gravity, a deflector secured to one of said rails at a portion adjacent to the rear of said track for guiding a plurality of lots of fasteners dropped from the scoop members on to said track, an impeller including a common shaft having one end portion rigidly mounted with a cylindrical member and a pair of blade wheels sandwiching said cylindrical mEmber and each rotatable with said cylindrical member and the other end portion rigidly mounted with a rubber lined roller whereby said impeller is rotatable counter to the rotational direction of the rotary drum and also counter to the direction of sliding movement of the row of the fasteners along the guide track for positively removing some of the fasteners in the row which are incorrectly mounted on or displaced from said guide track, said impeller being arranged such that the fasteners removed thereby can be dropped into said container chamber, and an escapement assembly operatively connected to the front of said track and including a passage, a hydraulically operated plunger movable between extended and retracted positions in a timed manner with respect to the operation of the power operated fastening tool, means for restricting the passage of fasteners to said passage when said plunger is in the retracted position and for separating the first of the row of the fasteners from the subsequent fasteners and then guiding said first fastener to the opening of said passage when said plunger is in the extended position, at least one pair of slidable retaining blocks capable of sliding in opposite directions in response to the reciprocal movement of said plunger in such a manner that, when said plunger is in the retracted position, said retaining blocks are moved close to each other with the space between these blocks ready to support the separated fastener, and, when said plunger is in the extended position, said retaining blocks are moved away from each other to release the fastener that has been retained thereby to permit said fastener to drop by gravity on to the passage, and a compressed air supply control for selectively supplying compressed air to said passage for causing the fastener dropped into said passage to be rapidly fed to the power operated fastening tool, the flow of said compressed air therethrough being substantially regulated in response to the reciprocal movement of said plunger.

Claim 13

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising means for adjusting the contact pressure exerted between said rubber lined roller mounted on the drive shaft of the motor and the peripheral surface of said rotary drum.

Claim 14

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a electrical motor control circuit including a pair of electrodes mounted on one of said rails in a spaced relation with respect to each other and in an electrically insulated manner with respect to said rail, a power source, a parallel circuit including a relay having operatively associated first and second relay switches and a series connected circuit consisting of a resistor and a capacitor, said parallel circuit being series connected between said power source and one of said electrodes through said first switch and also the other of said rails, the other of said electrodes being directly connected with said power source, said second switch being connected between the motor and its power source, whereby, only when said two electrodes are shortcircuited due to the row of the fasteners sliding along the guide track, is said relay operated so as to open said second switch to intermit the rotation of said motor and concurrently to close said first switch to maintain said relay in the self-energized position so long as said other of said electrodes and said other of said rails are shortcircuited with respect to each other and, when the row of the fasteners slides by gravity past said other of said electrodes without shortcircuiting the latter to said other of said rails, said relay can be returned to the original condition.

Claim 15

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein a potentiometer is provided between said parallel circuit and said power source for regulating the value of potential supplied from the power source.

Claim 16

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein a guide is provided above the space between said two spaCed rails for preventing displacement of the fasteners as they slide by gravity down the track onto the escapement assembly, said guide having one end situated substantially below the impeller and the other end pivotally connected with a guide extension which overlies the passage of said escapement assembly.

Claim 17

A fastener feeding apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said rails, said escapement assembly and said impeller are made into a single unit.