U.S. patent number 3,683,483 [Application Number 05/107,129] was granted by the patent office on 1972-08-15 for apparatus for automatically attaching a sleeve to a cylindrical member.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Upjohn Company. Invention is credited to Walter G. Klettke.
United States Patent |
3,683,483 |
Klettke |
August 15, 1972 |
APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY ATTACHING A SLEEVE TO A CYLINDRICAL
MEMBER
Abstract
An apparatus for automatically attaching a malleable cylindrical
sleeve or hub to a cylindrical member, such as the neck on a
syringe barrel. The syringe barrel is rotatably supported in an
upright position axially aligned with and above a hub support which
is rotatably mounted upon the frame of the apparatus in axial
alignment with the syringe neck. The hub is simultaneously rotated
and moved upwardly into engagement with the neck of the syringe
barrel, which thereafter rotates with the hub. Deforming rolls
engage the upper edge of the hub and rotate with it as they spin
the hub onto the hub receiving neck of the syringe barrel. The
assembled barrel and hub are then carried away from the
apparatus.
Inventors: |
Klettke; Walter G. (Kalamazoo,
MI) |
Assignee: |
The Upjohn Company (Kalamazoo,
MI)
|
Family
ID: |
22315009 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/107,129 |
Filed: |
January 18, 1971 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
759875 |
Sep 16, 1968 |
3564806 |
Feb 23, 1971 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
29/777;
29/785 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B
3/006 (20130101); Y10T 29/53339 (20150115); Y10T
29/53374 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B65B
3/00 (20060101); B23p 019/04 (); B65b 003/10 ();
B65b 031/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;29/28B,28R
;53/22R,43,37 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Eager; Thomas H.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part application of my
copending application Ser. No. 759 875, filed Sept. 16, 1968, now
U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,806, Pat. Feb. 23, 1971.
Claims
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. An apparatus for automatically attaching a malleable cylindrical
sleeve onto the lower end of a cylindrical member, comprising:
frame means;
means on said frame means for rotatably supporting said cylindrical
member in an axially upright position;
holding means rotatably supported on said frame means and adapted
to hold said sleeve in axial alignment with said cylindrical
member, said holding means being axially movable toward and away
from said supporting means;
means effecting simultaneous rotation and axial movement of said
holding means with a sleeve thereon, whereby a sleeve is moved
upwardly and telescoped onto said lower end of a cylindrical member
held by said supporting means, the engagement of said sleeve with
said cylindrical member inducing rotation of said cylindrical
member;
roll means adapted to engage, and deform against said cylindrical
member, the upper edge of said sleeve during said rotation, thereby
to secure said sleeve to said cylindrical member.
2. The attaching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said
cylindrical member is a syringe barrel having a neck at said lower
end, said neck being of reduced diameter; and
wherein said roll means spins said upper edge of said sleeve onto
said neck.
3. The attaching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said neck
has an annular, outwardly projecting ridge adjacent its lower end,
and said upper edge of said sleeve is above said ridge.
4. The attaching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said roll
means comprises a pair of spaced rollers each having an annular rib
projecting radially outwardly therefrom and in radial alignment
with said neck on said syringe barrel, the spacing between the
annular ribs on said roller elements being greater than the
diameter of said neck but less than the diameter of said annular
ridge; and
wherein said barrel supporting means includes conveyor means
adapted to move said syringe into a position with said neck between
said annular ribs before said sleeve is telescoped onto said
neck.
5. The attaching apparatus according to claim 2, including means
controlling and effecting the engagement of a sleeve with said
sleeve holding means prior to movement of a syringe barrel into
axial alignment with said sleeve holding means.
6. The attaching apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said
controlling and effecting means includes a multi-station turret,
each station having means adapted to engage a sleeve and move same
into engagement with said lower end of said syringe barrel.
7. The attaching apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said
holding means includes plural holding members each adapted to
engage a sleeve, and mechanism for moving said holding members
sequentially into an attaching position where each sleeve is in
axial alignment with a syringe barrel, said mechanism thereafter
moving each sleeve into engagement with a syringe barrel; and
including feed means adapted to supply a sleeve to each of said
holding members before it reaches said attaching position.
8. The attaching apparatus according to claim 7, including conveyor
means adapted to move syringe barrels sequentially into a position
of alignment with a said sleeve; and
including control means for preventing a sleeve from moving into
engagement with a selected holding member which will not be aligned
with a syringe barrel when said selected holding member reaches
said attaching position.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for attaching one
cylindrical member to another and, more particularly, for spinning
a hub onto one end of a syringe barrel in the process of assembling
and filling a complete syringe, as shown in said copending
application Ser. No. 759 875.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
While the need for relatively inexpensive disposable syringes has
been readily recognized, it has been impossible to satisfy this
need inasmuch as it has been too costly to assemble such syringes
by hand and under sterile conditions. One of the more important
obstacles to the automatic assembly and filling of disposable
syringes has been the lack of suitable apparatus for attaching the
hub, which supports the cannula, to the syringe barrel.
More specifically, previous mechanisms for securing the hub to the
syringe barrel have not been capable of holding the syringe barrel
in an upright, upwardly opening position so that a liquid can be
automatically poured into the open upper end of the barrel
immediately after it is attached to the hub which has means for
sealing the lower end of the barrel. This arrangement is essential
to accurate, high speed assembly of the syringes and to
uncontaminated filling thereof.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to
provide an automatic hub assembling apparatus for use in an
automated syringe assembling machine, whereby the hub is attached
to the neck at the lower end of the upright syringe barrel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hub
assembling apparatus, as aforesaid, which is easily cleaned,
thereby reducing the downtime of the assembling machine of which it
is a part, and which can be quickly restored to a condition of
operability after the machine is stopped for some reason.
Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent
to persons acquainted with apparatus of this general type upon
reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a syringe assembling and
filling machine having a hub attaching apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a central, cross-sectional view of an assembled
syringe.
FIG. 3 is a broken and enlarged fragment of FIG. 1 which
illustrates the hub attaching apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV--IV in FIG.
3.
FIG. 5 is a broken sectional view substantially as taken along the
line V--V in FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI--VI in FIG.
3.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII--VII in FIG.
3.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII--VIII in FIG.
3.
FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX--IX in FIG.
3.
FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of the hub assembly
station.
FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI--XI in FIG.
4.
FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XII--XII in FIG.
9.
For convenience in reference, the words "up," "down," "left,"
"right," "front," and "rear" will have reference to the apparatus
in its normal position of operation, as appearing in FIG. 1, which
shows the front of the assembling machine. The words "inward" and
"outward" will refer to the geometric center of the apparatus and
designated parts thereof. Such terminology will include the words
above mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar
import.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objects and purposes of the invention have been met by
providing an apparatus for attaching a hub to the neck at the lower
end of a syringe barrel held in an upright position. The
cylindrical syringe barrel is rotatably supported in axial
alignment with and above hub carrying means which rotatably
supports the hub for axial movement toward the hub neck of the
syringe barrel. Engagement of the rotating hub with the syringe
barrel effects rotation of the syringe barrel. Deforming rolls are
provided for engaging the hub adjacent the upper edge thereof and
spinning the hub onto the neck during the rotation thereof to
secure the hub to the syringe barrel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The hub attaching apparatus described hereinafter may be adapted
for use in many different applications. However, for convenience of
discussion, said apparatus will be described with reference to its
use in a syringe assembling machine, the specific details of which
are disclosed in my aforementioned copending application Ser. No.
759,875.
Briefly the syringe assembly machine 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a
frame 11 which comprises a lower or base plate member 12 supported
in an elevated position parallel to and spaced from the floor 13 by
a plurality of vertically adjustable legs 14. A plurality of walls
16, 17 and 18 project upwardly from the lower plate 12 and are
secured in any convenient manner thereto. An intermediate plate
member 19 is located above and preferably parallel to the lower
plate member 12 and is secured to the walls 16 and 17 by convenient
means, such as welding. A cover plate 22 is secured to the upper
ends of the walls 16, 17 and 18 and constitutes a platform on which
the syringe assembling elements discussed hereinafter are
secured.
A drive motor 26 is mounted on the lower base member 12 and has a
gear type speed reducer 27 secured thereto with an output shaft 28.
A sprocket 29 is secured to the shaft 28.
A bearing housing 32 extends through and is secured to the
intermediate plate 19 in any convenient manner and rotatably
supports a shaft 31. A sprocket 33 is secured to the lower end of
the shaft 31 and is coplanar with the sprocket 29 secured to the
shaft 28. An endless chain 34 interconnects the sprockets 29 and
33. A beveled gear 36 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 31
and is rotatable therewith.
A motor 37 is secured to a bracket 38 which in turn is mounted on
the left side of the wall 16 and has a pulley 39 secured to the
output shaft 41 thereof.
An elongated cam shaft 42 is located between the top wall 22 and
the intermediate plate members 19 and 21 and is rotatably supported
by bearings 43 and 45 supported on the walls 16 and 17 by any
convenient means. A beveled gear 46 is secured to the shaft 42 and
is in driving engagement with the beveled gear 36. In this
particular embodiment, the gear 46 and shaft 42 are continuously
driven by the gear 36 and motor 26. It is recognized, however, that
other forms of this invention could utilize an intermittently
driven shaft 42.
A cam member 47 is secured to the left end of the shaft 42. The cam
47 is preferably cylindrical in shape and has a pair of annular and
axially spaced cam surfaces 48 and 49 facing each other.
A pillow-type block 51 is secured on the upper surface of the top
wall 22 in any convenient manner and a shaft 58 extends vertically
through the block 51. A plate 59 is secured to the lower end of the
shaft 58 and a plurality of cam followers 61 are mounted on the
underside thereof. The cam followers 61 are positioned so that they
are engaged, one after another, by the cam member 47 to cause the
plate 59 to rotate intermittently a predetermined number of degrees
with a selected, such as 360.degree., rotation of the shaft 42 and
cam member 47. In this particular embodiment, there are eight cam
followers 61 and the plate 59 is rotated 45 degrees with 360
degrees rotation of the shaft 42. The chain 65 is engaged by a
sprocket (not shown) which is mounted upon and rotated by the shaft
58.
The hollow, cylindrical barrel 91 (fig. 2) of syringe 89 has a
radially outwardly projecting flange 92 at the upper end thereof. A
neck 93 is located on the lower end and has a diameter less than
that of the barrel 91. A radially outwardly projecting and annular
ridge 94 is located on the free end of the neck 93 and has a
diameter greater than the neck portion 93 but less than the
diameter of the barrel 91.
The syringe 89 includes a malleable hub 96 preferably made of
aluminum and having a cylindrical sleeve 97 into which the neck 93
is slideably and snugly received after which said sleeve is spun on
the rib 94. A hollow portion 98, having a diameter less than that
of the cylindrical sleeve 97, is integral with said sleeve and
provides the lower end of the hub 96. A seal 102 is provided within
the cylindrical sleeve 97 and is sealingly held between the neck 93
and the shoulder created in the hub 96 by the hollow portion 98 to
prevent the flow of fluid through the hub 96. The number 103
represents the fluid which is inserted into the barrel.
A resilient piston 104 is adapted to be slidably and snugly
received into the barrel 91 for urging the fluid 103 through needle
118 after the needle penetrates the seal 102. The piston rod 107
may be cylindrical in shape and has a radially outwardly projecting
flange 108 located at the upper end thereof.
The syringe 89 also includes a needle or cannula assembly 113 and a
needle sheath 114. An elongated needle 118 projects coaxially
through an opening in the bottom wall 116 of a cup-shaped shell 117
and is secured in said opening by a sleeve member 120. The upper
portion of needle 118 is spaced radially from and projects axially
beyond the open end of the cup-shaped shell 117. The shell 117 is
telescoped upon the lower end of the neck 98 on hub 96.
A C-shaped support member 166 (FIG. 3) is secured to the underside
of the frame plate 19 of the machine frame by a plurality of bolts
167. The hub of a pulley 168 is mounted on the leg 169 of the
support member 166 by a nut 171 and is rotatable with respect
thereto. The pulley 168 is driven for rotation by an endless belt
172 which is connected to the pulley 39 (FIG. 1) on the output
shaft 41 of the motor 37.
An elongated tubular member 173 (FIG. 3) is located above and
coaxial with the pulley 168 and is slidably vertically disposed in
the opening 174 in the bushing 175 held by the frame plate 19. The
tubular member 173 also extends through the opening 176 (FIG. 4) in
the bushing 177 in the top plate 22.
A shaft 178 is slidably secured to the pulley 168 and held against
rotation by an elongated key 179. The shaft 178 is permitted to
slide axially of the pulley 168 for purposes which will become
apparent hereinbelow.
The shaft 178 extends upwardly through the tubular member 173 and
is rotatable with respect thereto, but held against relative axial
movement with respect thereto by any convenient means including the
collar 170.
A collar 191 (FIGS. 3 and 7) is secured to the elongated tubular
member 173 and is, in this embodiment, spaced below the top plate
22 of the machine frame.
An L-shaped arm 181 (FIGS. 4, 11 and 12) is secured to the upper
end of the tubular member 173 and houses a bearing 182 which
rotatably supports the upper end of the shaft 178. A socket member
183 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 178 and is rotatable
therewith. A cushion 184 is secured on top of the rearward end of
the leg 186. An L-shaped bracket 185 is secured to the arm 181 by
screws 189 and has a leg 190 extending rearwardly therefrom.
A disk cam 192 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is secured to the shaft 42 adjacent
the left side of the tubular member 173 and is rotatable therewith.
An arm 193 (FIG. 4) is held on the tubular member 173 by a bolt and
clamp arrangement 194. A bushing 196 is secured in one end of the
arm and slidably receives a guide rod 197 which is secured to and
extends between the middle plate 19 and the top plate 22, and is
parallel to the elongated tubular member 173. A cam follower 198 is
rotatably supported on the side of the arm 193 between the ends
thereof and is radially aligned with the disk cam 192. In this
particular embodiment, a pair of springs 199 and 200 are secured to
and extend between the underside of the top plate 22 and the arm
193 to resiliently urge the cam follower 198 upwardly against the
radially lower surface of the cam 192.
An arm 187 is secured to the tubular member 173 above the arm 193
and has an adjustment screw 188 threadedly engaging the arm 187 and
abutting against the upper surface of the arm 193. Thus, by moving
the adjustment screw 188 relative to the arm 187, the spacing
between the arm 187 and the arm 193 can be changed, thereby
adjusting the limit of the upward movement of the tubular member
173.
A turret 236 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 12) is rotatably supported on a
spindle 237 secured to the top plate 22 by a bolt 238. The turret
236 comprises a wheel 239 (FIG. 12) having a plurality of openings
241 uniformly spaced circumferentially around the perimeter. The
wheel 239 is rotatably supported on the spindle 237 by a pair of
vertically spaced bearings 242 and 243 separated by a spacer sleeve
244. A bearing retainer cap 245 is secured to the upper end of the
spindle 237 by a bolt 246. The turret assembly 236 also includes a
sprocket 247 which is secured to the lower side of the wheel 239
and is engaged by the endless chain 65.
A plurality of arbors 248 are slideably disposed in the openings
241. Each arbor is cylindrically shaped and has a flange 249
projecting radially outwardly therefrom adjacent but spaced
downwardly from the upper end thereof. Bushing elements 250 are
provided in the opening 241 and engage the underside of the flange
249 to support the arbors 248.
A flange 251 is secured to the lower end of each arbor 248 and is
axially aligned with the socket 183 on the shaft 178. The diameter
of the flange 251 is no greater than the diameter of the opening in
the bushing elements 250 so that the arbors 248 can be removed from
the wheel 239 for sterilization purposes. The arbor 248 has an
annular groove 260 just above the flange 251 into which the leg 190
of the bracket 185 is received when the arbor is axially aligned
with the socket 183. An opening 252 extends through the center of
the arbor 248 and diverges upwardly at the upper end for receiving
the neck 98 on the hub 96.
A latch mechanism 253 (FIGS. 9 and 12) comprises a frame 235
secured to the block 201 supported on plate 22 and has a latch
member 254 pivotally supported on frame 235 by a pin 255. The latch
member 254 has a cam surface 208 which is engageable with, and is
biased into the path of, the flange 249 on the arbor 248 by a
spring 209.
A pair of rod members 260 and 260A (FIGS. 3 and 11) are secured in
any convenient manner to the upper surface of the top plate 22 and
extend upwardly therefrom adjacent a theoretical circle defined by
the radially outermost edges of the arbors 248 in the turret
assembly 236. A pair of circular flanges 265 and 265A are secured
to the upper ends of the rods 260 and 260A, as best illustrated in
FIG. 9. The flanges 265 and 265A support a rubber ring 270 which
engages the arbors 248 along the radially outermost surfaces
thereof.
A horizontally oriented mounting plate 202 (FIG. 4) is secured to
the upper surface of the mounting block 201 and projects
frontwardly beyond the turret 236. The mounting plate 202 rotatably
supports a pair of spaced and axially parallel rollers 206 and 207.
The peripheries of the rollers 206 and 207 are spaced a distance
slightly greater than the diameter of the neck portion 93 on the
barrel 91 and said rollers are located so that a line connecting
the centers thereof intersects the extended axis of the shaft 178.
The roller 207 is urged by the spring 203 (FIG. 8) into a resilient
contact with a neck 93 of a barrel 91 as it passes thereby to
accommodate variations in the diameter of the necks.
The barrel detecting device 211 (FIG. 6) has a rod 213 rotatably
journaled in the top plate 22 and extending upwardly into a notch
204 in the guide 82 adjacent the row of barrels 91 supported in the
assembly line A by the conveyor screws 73 and 74 (FIG. 4). An arm
214 is secured to the upper end of the rod 213 and is movable into
the path of the barrels 91 in the assembly line A as illustrated in
broken lines in FIG. 4. The arm 214 is disposed in the notch 204
and is preferably positioned to engage the barrel 91A (FIG. 6)
located in the third root 163 of said screws 73 and 74 behind (or
leftwardly of) the axis of shaft 178 where it intersects said
assembly line A. For convenience, each pair of vertically aligned
roots on the screws 73 and 74 may be referred to hereinafter as an
index position along the assembly line A.
An arm 216 (FIGS. 3, 4, and 7) is secured to the lower end of the
rod 213, is rotatable therewith, and is movable into and out of
engagement with the collar 191 fixed to the tubular member 173.
That is, when a barrel 91 is in position 91A (FIG. 6) in the
assembly line A, the arm 214 will be held thereby in the solid line
position, thereby holding the arm 216 in the solid line position
illustrated in FIG. 7, contrary to the urging of resilient means
not shown.
A disk cam 217 (FIGS. 3 and 5) is secured to the shaft 42
rightwardly of the cam 192 and is rotatable therewith. A vertically
oriented rod 218 is slideable axially through a bushing 219 in the
middle plate 19 and an opening 221 in the top plate 22. A spring
222 is held under compression between the underside of the middle
plate 19 and a collar 215 fixed to the lower end of the rod 218 to
urge the rod 218 in a downward direction. An arm 223 is secured to
the rod 218 intermediate the ends in any convenient manner and
extends transversely above the axis of the shaft 42. A bushing 224
is located in the outer end of the arm 223 to slideably receive a
guide rod 226 which is secured to and extends between the middle
plate 19 and the top plate 22. A cam follower 227 is rotatably
supported on the arm 223 by convenient means between the rods 218
and 226 and is radially aligned with the cam 217. Thus, the spring
222 resiliently urges the cam follower 227 against the periphery of
the cam 217.
An arm 228 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is secured to the upper end of the rod
218 and extends transversely therefrom. A barrel holddown device
229 is secured to the free end of the arm 228 by means of a stud
231 and a nut 232. A pressure pad 233 is rotatably supported on the
lower end of the stud 231 by a bearing 234, and said pad 233
engages the flange 92 on the barrel 91 to prevent upward movement
of the barrel when the hub is attached thereto.
A track 124 (FIGS. 4 and 8), for delivering hubs 96 to the hub
assembly station 126, is supported on the plate 202 secured to the
mounting block 201. The lower end of the track 124 (FIG. 8)
terminates in a right angle turn 210 which communicates with an
opening 212 in plate 202. A keeper mechanism 220 comprises a base
member 225 which is secured to the plate 202 and has an arm 230
pivotally connected thereto. The outermost end of the arm 230
projects into the opening 212 to block the end of the track 124.
The keeper mechanism 220 serves to limit the flow of hubs 96 into
opening 212.
The center of the opening 212 is vertically aligned with the circle
defined by the axes of the arbors 248 on the turret assembly 236.
Also, the center line of the turn 210 in the track 124 is also
vertically aligned with the circle of the axes of the arbors
248.
OPERATION
The operation of the above-described machine embodying the
invention will be apparent to skilled persons examining such
description and the drawings. Thus, the operation will be
summarized hereinafter primarily for convenience.
Upon the energization of the motor 26 the gear 36 (FIG. 1) is
rotated to drive gear 46 and effect the continuous rotation of the
shaft 42. The cam 47 is rotatably driven by the shaft 42 and causes
a rotational movement of the plate 59 through engagement of the cam
followers 61 with the cam member 47. Accordingly, the shaft 58 is
intermittently rotated 45.degree. during each revolution of the cam
member 47.
The barrels 91 are advanced rightwardly (FIGS. 1, 6, and 10) one
index station at a time along the assembly line A by the
intermittent rotation of the screws 73 and 74. When a barrel 91
(FIG. 6) moves into the position adjacent the arm 214 of the barrel
detecting mechanism 211, the arm 214 will move from the dotted line
position to the solid line position illustrated in FIG. 6. Thus,
the arm 216 (FIG. 7) is moved from the dotted line position to the
solid line position wherein the arm 216 is out of position for
blocking engagement with the collar 191.
Simultaneously with the movement of a barrel into engagement with
the arm 214 of the barrel detecting mechanism 211, a hub 96 is
moved into the right angled turn 210 (FIGS. 8 and 12) and in
vertical alignment with an arbor 248A (FIGS. 9, 10, and 12).
Furthermore, the center line of another arbor 248B will move into
vertical alignment with the assembly line A, as illustrated in
FIGS. 10 and 12.
Rotation of the cam wheel 217 (FIG. 5) will result in a downward
movement of the arm 223 and shaft 218 under the urgence of the
spring 222 to cause the holding device 229 (FIG. 4) to come into
engagement with and guide the upper end of a barrel 91. The wheels
206 and 207 prevent the barrel from being moved upwardly.
The shaft 178 (FIG. 4) is driven by a belt 172 interconnecting the
pulleys 39 and 168 (FIG. 1). Rotation of the shaft 178 (FIG. 4)
also causes a rotation of the socket 183 (FIG. 12) secured to the
upper end thereof.
Cam wheel 192 is continuously driven by the shaft 42. As a result,
the cam follower 198, resiliently biased into engagement with wheel
192, by the springs 199 and 200, follows the cam wheel and results
in an up and down movement of the tubular member 173 and the shaft
178. A sliding engagement between the shaft 178 and the pulley 168
permits an upward movement of the shaft 178. When the tubular
member 173 is caused to move upwardly, the collar member 191 moves
upwardly therewith. Since a barrel 91 in the position of the barrel
detecting mechanism 211 has moved the arm 214 to the solid line
position in FIG. 6, the arm 216 (FIG. 7) has been moved out of the
path of the collar member 191. If no barrel had been in place at
the position indicated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, the arm 216 would have
blocked the upward movement of the collar 191 as well as the upward
movement of the tubular member 173 and shaft 178. The cam wheel 192
would continue to rotate with the shaft 42 and would result in no
structural damage to the machine components.
As the tubular member 173 and the shaft 178 are moved upwardly, two
things happen simultaneously. Referring to FIG. 12, the arbor 248A
will come into engagement with the pad 184 on the arm 186 of the
L-shaped arm 181. Further upward movement of the arm 181 will cause
the arbor 248A to move upwardly therewith so that the flange 249A
thereon will come into engagement with the surface 208 on the latch
member 254. The latch member 254 will pivot about the axis of the
pin 255 against the urgence of the spring 209 until the flange 294A
reaches the position illustrated by the dotted lines in FIG. 12. In
this position, the latch member 254 will snap into the position
illustrated below the flange 249A to hold the arbor 248A in the
position illustrated in dotted lines. In this position, the opening
252A will receive the neck 98A of the hub 96A.
Secondly, the flange 251 will come into engagement with the
rotating socket member 183 and due to engagement therebetween, the
arbor 248B will be rotatably driven thereby. Further upward
movement of the shaft 178 and tubular member 173 will cause the
arbor 248B carrying a hub member 96 to move to the dotted line
position illustrated in FIG. 12. Since the arbor 248B is rotating,
the hub 96 will be spun into engagement with the rollers 206 and
207 causing same to be curled over the ridge 94 as illustrated in
FIG. 12 for a rigid securement.
Further rotation of the cam wheel 192 will cause the arm 193,
tubular member 173 and shaft 178 to be moved downwardly away from
the barrel 91 and the assembled hub 96. As a result, the arbor 248B
will move downwardly with the socket member 183 under the influence
of its own weight. However, should the arbor 248B remain in the
position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 12, the leg 191 of the
bracket 185 will engage the upper surface of the flange 251 and
pull same downwardly therewith. On the other hand, the arbor 248A
will not move downwardly with the pad 184 and arm 186. Instead, the
arbor 248A will remain supported on the upper surface of the latch
member 254.
At the completion of the downward movement of the arm 181, the
screws 73 and 74 will be intermittently driven again to advance the
barrels along the assembly line A to the next index station.
Simultaneously therewith, the turret assembly 236 will be driven
one index station counterclockwise as viewed in FIGS. 9 and 10. As
a result of this movement, the flange 249A on the arbor 248A will
move off from the upper surface of the latch member 254 carrying
therewith a hub 96A. Simultaneously with the releasement of the
flange 249A on the arbor 248A from the upper surface of the latch
member 254, the radially outermost surface of the arbor 248A will
come into frictional engagement with the rubber ring 270 which
resists the downward movement of the arbor 248A. The arbor 248A is
urged downwardly until the flange 249A thereof engages the upper
surface of the bushing elements 250. The downward movement of the
arbor 248A is slowed by the ring 270 so that the hub 96 will not
bounce out of the opening 252A due to a sudden engagement of the
flange 249A with the upper surface of the bushing elements 250. At
the completion of an indexing movement of the turret assembly 236,
the hub assembling operation is repeated as set forth above.
Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has
been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be
recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed
apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the
scope of the present invention.
* * * * *