The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 28, 1987
Filed:
May. 01, 1985
Stuart L Rieben, Mt. Lebanon Township, Allegheny County, PA (US);
Mark E Wylie, Mt. Lebanon Township, Allegheny County, PA (US);
Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for applying an end plug to a nuclear fuel rod tube end includes a stationary base, a support carriage and a track assembly mounting the support carriage on the base for reciprocal movement relative to the base. The carriage is movable along a generally linear path between extreme positions located remote from and adjacent to the stationarily-positioned tube end to which the end plug is to be applied. The apparatus also includes a plugger guide supported on the carriage for movement therewith. The plugger guide has an elongated central bore with one end for receiving the end plug and an opposite end for receiving the tube end. An end plug supply magazine, mounted on the carriage and which in turn mounts the plugger guide, delivers the end plug into alignment with the one end of the plugger guide's central bore. An actuator stationarily disposed on the base adjacent to the carriage includes a drive member movable between retracted and extended positions and coupled to the carriage via a drive force aligning and transmitting assembly. The drive force transmitting assembly includes a plunger element aligned with the central bore of the plugger guide for transferring the end plug to the one end of the bore of the guide means and for reciprocally moving the carriage between its remote and adjacent positions as the drive member is moved between its respective retracted and extended positions to apply the end plug to the tube end.