Avdel Textron Limited

Aerpat A.g.

Avdel Limited

John William Saxon

Terence Gilbert

William H Frearson

David John Sheffield

Frederick A Summerlin

Raymond D Lacey

Hugh K McGauran

William Harvey Frearson

A fastener installation tool installs fasteners of the type in which a part of the fastener is broken off during the installation process. The tool has collection means for collecting broken off fastener parts during operation of the tool. The collection means (34) is removably connectable to the tool. A safety device in the tool is responsive to the collection means being connected to the tool or being not connected to the tool. The safety device (64,68,72) allows further operation of the tool only when the collection means is connected to the tool.

Fastener installation tool including collection means

In a fastener installation tool, return of a head piston (22) is effected by the application of air under pressure to the rear side of the piston. The end of the head cylinder body on the rear side of the piston is provided with a removable end member (34) which is displaceable away from a position in which it is safely secured to the head cylinder body (14). Also, the tool further includes a safety device in the form of air vent means (64) which, if the end member is displaced beyond a predetermined amount, opens to vent air under pressure from the head cylinder body on the rear side of the head piston (22), thereby preventing the return of the head piston and thus the further operation of the tool.

Fastener installation tool

In a fastener installation tool which is pneumatically powered to instal a blind rivet or bolt by a relative pulling action, a pneumatic/hydraulic intensifier (12, 13) is included to actuate hydraulically the pulling stroke of a head piston (22) which provides the relative pulling action. It is desirable to design such tools so that they have increased levels of safety for the persons using and operating them. In such a tool, there is provided a safety device including a valve for disabling the supply of air to one side of a pneumatic piston and cylinder device (15) and a push-rod (51) operative connected to the valve and extending along the inside of the air supply conduit The push rod normally contacts the displaceable end (43) of the cylinder when the displaceable end is in its safe position so as to operate the valve to allow the supply of air to the pneumatic chamber. The push-rod is movable, when the displaceable end of the cylinder is displaced from its safe position, to operate the valve so as to disable the supply of air under pressure to the cylinder on the aforesaid side of the piston.

Pneumatically powered fastener installation tool

In a fastener installation tool, a hydraulically actuated head piston (22) is actuated on its power stroke to install a fastener, and has return means for returning the head piston independently of the hydraulic arrangement. The tool also has a pneumatic hydraulic intensifier (12,13) for providing the hydraulic actuation above mentioned. The hydraulic intensifier has a hydraulic cylinder and a piston rod reciprocable in the hydraulic cylinder, and is provided with a seal (54) for sealing between the end of the piston rod and the wall (39) of the cylinder as the piston rod is driven into the cylinder. The seal is separate from the piston rod and is supported on the end face of the piston rod so as to allow radial movement of the end of the piston rod with respect to the seal. The seal may be provided by an assembly which comprises a substantially rigid support member (57) and an annular flexible sealing member (54). The latter contacts both the end face of the piston rod and the annular sealing member. The annular sealing member makes sealing contact with both the support member and the wall of the cylinder.

Fastener installation tool including an hydraulically actuated head

A device for orientating components each comprising an axially elongated body extendng unequal distances on opposite sides of a flange. Different components may have the center of gravity on different sides of the flange. The device comprises a slotted track along which components are fed by vibration, the slot being too narrow to pass the flange. A component is supported on the track by its flange about which it can pivot while on the first portion 28 of the track. A second portion 29 of the track can be entered only by a component orientated perpendicularly of the track with its longer part extending into the slot. The orientating device includes two air jets 38 and 39, one overlying each part of the track and spaced apart along the track by rather more than the length of one component. A component positioned on the track with its flange at the end of the first portion 28 adjacent the second portion 29 can have only its longer part acted on by one of the air jets, so as to urge the longer part into the slot and the component into the orientation in which it can enter the second portion 29 of the track.

Orientating device

In a blind riveting machine, in which a mandrel having a head is pulled downwardly by reciprocable and openable pulling jaws to draw the mandrel head through the bore of a tubular rivet supported at a setting station by normally closed, openable nose jaws, the nose jaws have yieldable detent means for resisting upward movement of the mandrel, and a reciprocable tube concentric with the mandrel for lifting further rivets along the mandrel, past the opened pulling jaws and nose jaws, to the setting station, has a spring detent which becomes frictionally engaged with the mandrel whereby the mandrel after being lifted with the rivets can be pulled downwardly again so that its head abuts the rivet at the setting station, thereby accurately adjusting the position of the mandrel relative to the pulling jaws, before the pulling jaws again grip the mandrel, in dependence upon the actual size of the rivet next to be set.

Blind riveting machine

A two-part fastener intended for securing, e.g., a panel 41 to a frame member 42 comprises a tubular shell 11 and a pin 12. The shell bore contains a tubular insert or slug 14 of resilient nylon material. The exterior of the pin is formed with annular barbs 30. When the pin is inserted into the shell, the barbs 30 engage in the resilient slug 14 to secure the pin and shell together. The pin includes a removable pintail 33 which protrudes beyond the shell and assists in the pulling of the pin into the shell by means of a suitable pulling tool.

Fastener

Hydraulic operated blind riveting apparatus includes a pneumatic/hydraulic intensifier 23 and a reservoir 45 of hydraulic fluid for making up loss of hydraulic fluid. The reservoir is connected to the hydraulic system by a quick acting priming valve 47, actuated by the pneumatic feed to the intensifier. This priming valve is arranged to open and close before there is any effective change in pressure in the hydraulic system due to the action of the intensifier.

Growing community of inventors

Sawtry, United Kingdom

John William Saxon