Claims
- 1. An apparatus for slidably loading a plurality of circumjacent, radially arranged crimping members into crimping member holders of a crimping device, the holders being radially arranged about an axis of the crimping device, the apparatus comprising:
- a container for slidably receiving and holding the plurality of circumjacent, radially arranged crimping members, the container having an open top and through which the plurality of crimping members passes when being loaded into the crimping device, the container also having an open bottom end with restraining means attached thereto for preventing the plurality of crimping members from passing through the bottom end; and
- a plunger having a stem-like handle and push-pull means attached to an end of the handle, the push-pull means being sized and configured to pass through the bottom end to push the circumjacent, radially arranged crimping members out through the container's top end and slidably load the crimping members into the holders.
- 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the restraining means includes an annular lip projecting radially inwardly.
- 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the push-pull means is disc shaped.
- 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stem has a length which is greater than about twice the length of the container.
- 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the annular lip is integral with the container.
- 6. A method of slidably loading a plurality of circumjacent, radially arranged crimping members into crimping member holders of a crimping apparatus, the holders being radially arranged about a crimping axis of the crimping apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:
- containing the plurality of crimping members so that the crimping members are capable of being slidably loaded into the holders;
- axially aligning the plurality of contained crimping members with the crimping axis of the crimping apparatus;
- positioning the axially aligned and contained crimping members up against the holders; and
- pushing the positioned axially aligned and contained crimping members axially towards the holders to slide the crimping members onto the holders, thereby loading the crimping head with the crimping members.
- 7. A method as claimed in claim 6 further comprising the steps of:
- providing the crimping members and crimping member holders with complementary shaped slidable attaching means so as to secure the crimping members to the holders when the respective slidable attaching means are in slidable engagement with each other; and
- rotating the axially aligned crimping members so that the complimentary shaped slidable attaching means of the crimping members and holders are aligned with each other prior to pushing the crimping members axially into the holders.
- 8. A method as claimed in claim 6 further comprising the steps of:
- axially aligning an empty cylindrically shaped die holding container with the axis of the crimping apparatus;
- positioning the container up against a head of the crimping apparatus; and
- pulling the crimping members out of the crimping member holders into the axially aligned container which is positioned against the head of the crimping apparatus.
- 9. A method as claimed in claim 8 further comprising:
- storing the container holding the crimping members.
- 10. In a combination of a crimping apparatus and a loading and unloading apparatus for die fingers and of the type with first and second crimping rings that are arranged coaxially with and axially spaced apart from each other along the ring axis, the rings having facing frustoconical surfaces that engage oppositely facing frustoconical surfaces of crimping members that each include a die shoe connected to a die finger, and where the crimping members are interpositioned between the rings and arranged substantially circumjacently around the ring axis and where one ring is reciprocally moveable along the ring axis and effects a radial component of movement of the crimping members, and wherein the improvement comprises:
- each die shoe having an underside surface facing radially inwardly and oriented in the direction of the ring axis;
- each die finger having a surface facing radially outwardly and oriented in a direction of the ring axis, the so facing surfaces each having substantially complementary portions that together define a means for slideably attaching and slideably detaching each die finger to and from each die shoe in a direction of the ring axis; and
- said loading and unloading apparatus including means for simultaneously slideably loading the die fingers on the die shoes and simultaneously slideably unloading the die fingers from the die shoes and wherein said means comprises:
- a substantially cylindrically shaped container having an inside diameter that is open at a top end and partially closed at a bottom end with an integral annular lip, the container having an inside diameter sufficiently large enough to receive the circumjacently spaced die fingers, and having a length that is less than a length of each die finger; and
- a means for 1) pushing the die fingers from the container and slideably attaching them to the die shoes and 2) pulling the die fingers and slideably deattaching them from the die shoes and into the container.
- 11. The crimping apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the pushing and pulling means comprises a shaft with an end connected to a disc that has a diameter less than the diameter of the integral lip.
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/145,445 filed Jan. 19, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,928, issued Dec. 12, 1989.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
145445 |
Jan 1988 |
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