Material or article handling – Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into – within,... – Unstacking apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-21
2001-07-03
Fischetti, Joseph A. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...
Unstacking apparatus
C414S798900, C414S798700, C198S459700, C221S298000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06254332
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a nut feeder for the feeding of nuts for resistance welding.
Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2577177 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Gazette No. H06-238462) shows an example of a nut feeder for the feeding of nuts for resistance welding. This prior art nut feeder has a chute for feeding a plurality of nuts vertically continuously arranged one over the other with their respective threaded holes laying sideways and a piston rod which moves in a lateral direction under an opening of the chute, wherein a nut receiver is supported on an end of the piston rod and a pin which fits into the nut threaded hole is provided in an upper face of the nut receiver. In this nut feeding device, a nut at the lower end of the chute lands at the upper face of the piston rod. The piston rod is then moved backward, causing the nut receiver pin to be set against the lowermost nut. This is followed by tumbling-down of the nut so that the threaded hole of the nut fits onto the pin, wherein the nut is moved forward to arrive at under an upper electrode of the nut resistance welding equipment.
In accordance with the above-described nut feeder, it is however required that the chute be rocked vertically and the mechanism tends to be complicated. In other words, since a nut at the chute lower end lands on the piston rod upper face, it is required that the chute lower end be brought near the piston rod upper face for preventing the nut from falling and, on the other hand, when the nut receiver is moved backward to cause its pin to be set against the nut, it is necessary to separate the chute away from the piston rod upper face for allowing the nut to smoothly leave the chute.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a nut feeder having a simple structure capable of receiving, without fail, nuts from the chute for feeding to under the upper electrode.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a nut feeder for feeding nuts for resistance welding between upper and lower electrodes of nut resistance welding equipment capable of welding together a work and a nut placed between the upper and lower electrodes by turning on an electric current, the nut feeder comprising:
a chute for feeding a plurality of nuts vertically arranged one over the other with their respective threaded holes laying sideways;
a nut receiver, underlying the chute and having on its upper face a pin fittable in the nut threaded hole, for receiving the plurality of nuts from the chute;
a stopper which is so energized as to enter into the inside of the chute from a lower-end lateral side of the chute thereby to push a nut against an internal wall surface of the chute so that the nut is held there and prevented from falling out of the chute, the stopper having a projection part which projects towards the nut receiver more than the nut which is being held against the chute internal surface; and
nut receiver drive means by which:
(i) the nut receiver is moved backward together with the stopper with the nut receiver pin set against the projection part of the stopper so that the nut held against the chute internal surface is placed at a position ahead of the nut receiver pin while leaning against the stopper; and
(ii) then the nut receiver is moved forward so that the nut falls down in such a way as to allow the nut's threaded hole to come to fit onto the pin and is located under the upper electrode.
In accordance with the present invention, the provision of the stopper for holding and preventing a lowermost nut in the chute from falling prevents a nut from falling out of the chute while the nut receiver is moved backward and forward between under the chute and the upper electrode. When the nut receiver is moved backward with the pin of the nut receiver set against the projection part of the stopper, the stopper is pushed by the nut receiver pin to move backward. This makes it possible to drop the lowermost nut in the chute at a position ahead of the nut receiver pin with the threaded hole of the lowermost nut laying sideways. The nut receiver is moved forward to cause the nut to fall down, thereby allowing the threaded hole of the nut to fit onto the nut receiver pin. Accordingly, without having to rock the chute, it is possible to receive, without fail, nuts from the chute for feeding to under the upper electrode.
It is preferable that:
the chute is inclined so that a nut is fed sliding at its bearing surface that is welded to a work;
the stopper is so provided as to enter into the inside of the chute from an opening formed in a slide surface of the chute and when moved backward together with the nut receiver, a front face of the stopper becomes flush with the chute slide surface.
As a result of such arrangement, when the stopper is moved backward, a nut will smoothly slide down to land at a position ahead of the nut receiver pin while leaning against the stopper.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4058700 (1977-11-01), Ito et al.
patent: 4754116 (1988-06-01), Naruse et al.
patent: 4789768 (1988-12-01), Tobita et al.
patent: 5191720 (1993-03-01), Miura et al.
patent: 5360137 (1994-11-01), Shinjo et al.
patent: 6102193 (2000-08-01), River
patent: 6-238462 (1994-08-01), None
Miura Masaaki
Sakota Kouji
Fischetti Joseph A.
Peabody LLP Nixon
Robinson Eric J.
Seki Kogyo Co., Ltd.
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