Patent Application
20180200916
This application claims priority to and the benefit of German Patent Application No. 10 2017 100 660.5, filed Jan. 13, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a driving module for driving fasteners into a workpiece, wherein the fasteners are interconnected by a connecting mechanism to form a fastener belt configured to be magazined and rolled up to form a belt roll, and wherein the driving module is mountable on a tool bridge in particular in the course of industrial production. These driving modules are configured to be used in the production of prefabricated housing modules, for example.
With various known driving modules such as the Toolmatic series CT550 distributed by ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH (ITW Fastening Systems Inc.), the tool bridge must be stopped when the fasteners in the magazine run short. Furthermore, several tools that must be filled at different times are often used on one tool bridge. Therefore, to minimize the number of stops, it is often necessary at a stop to even refill modules whose magazines are not yet completely empty, which results in the fasteners remaining in such magazines being discarded and no longer used.
One advantage of various embodiments of the present disclosure is to improve upon these disadvantages, and in particular to shorten the duration of machine downtime when refilling fasteners, and most preferably, reducing the number of required stops and, if possible, using all the fasteners in each of the magazines.
This advantage is achieved in particular by a driving module for driving fasteners into a workpiece, wherein the fasteners are interconnected by connecting mechanism to form a fastener belt that is magazined and rolled up to form a belt roll, wherein the driving module has a driving apparatus, wherein the driving module, preferably the apparatus support, if present (as discussed below), has a mounting portion for mounting the driving module on a tool bridge, wherein the driving apparatus has a driving drive that acts on the respective fasteners to be driven by way of a driving ram that can be displaced in the driving direction with a driving force, wherein the driving module is connected to a magazine having at least one exit portion, by way of which the fastener belt can be removed from the magazine by the belt roll, wherein the magazine has at least one fastening portion for fastening the magazine or parts thereof onto the driving module, wherein the magazine has at least two belt roll holders for receiving at least one belt roll.
The advantage is also achieved in particular by methods for driving fasteners into a workpiece, wherein the fasteners are interconnected by connecting mechanisms to form a fasten belt that is magazined and rolled up to form a belt roll, comprising the steps of: (a) mounting the driving module on a tool bridge; (b) automatically routing the fastener belt from the magazine by the belt roll via an exit portion of the magazine that is fastened to the driving module (or driving apparatus thereof) by a fastening portion; (c) displacement or displacing of a driving ram of a driving apparatus and thereby creating a driving force applied to the respective fasteners to be driven, so that the fastener is driven into the workpiece; and (d) using fasteners from belt rolls mounted from two different magazine for the driving operation.
The advantage is additionally achieved in particular by a magazine for a driving module according to the present disclosure and/or a magazine cartridge for a magazine according to the present disclosure.
The capacity of the fasteners available directly on the driving module is more or less doubled in this way, so that it saves on space because a rapid change to a second belt roll is possible when the first belt roll has been used up, whether this change is manual or automatic, because the belt roll need not first be carried to the driving module and suspended there.
The belt roll holders are preferably arranged side by side. The axes of the belt rolls inserted in the magazine into the belt roll holders are preferably essentially coaxial with one another. A belt roll holder preferably includes a compartment in the magazine and/or a predetermined space in the magazine for a belt roll that is preferably separated from the space defining another belt roll holder by way of a partition. The belt roll holder may be arranged permanently in/on the magazine and it can preferably be coupled and uncoupled in the form of a magazine cartridge. It preferably forms a housing surrounding the belt roll at least partially and/or a seat for the belt roll.
The magazine preferably has more than two belt roll holders, for example, three, four, or more belt roll holders.
The connecting mechanism preferably includes a wire, and especially preferably a plastic belt.
The fasteners are preferably nails.
The driving module is preferably mounted on the tool bridge by way of one or more screws in the area of the mounting portion.
The belt roll holder(s) preferably has (have) a centering unit, with at least three rollers that are arranged in a circle and are preferably displaceable radially, on which the belt roller can be placed so that it can rotate.
The magazine preferably has a cover that can preferably be locked onto a cover holder at different heights in order to be adjusted to various nail lengths.
The magazine preferably has a guide arm, preferably spring pre-stressed, and preferably a guide plate, which should ensure proper unwinding of the belt roll.
The driving module is preferably a pneumatically operated driving module.
Preferably, some or all of the mechanisms present on the driving module, which are explained in greater detail below, are controlled by a control unit. The control unit is preferably part of the driving module.
The magazine cartridge according to the present disclosure preferably has one or more features of the magazine cartridge(s) and/or belt roll holders described herein.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the belt roll holders are configured as magazine cartridges, and each of the two magazine cartridges has a fastening portion, and the magazine cartridges can be uncoupled from the driving module, preferably being separated from one another.
A magazine cartridge can be replaced easily and quickly in this way.
Each of the two magazine cartridges preferably has a centering unit, as described above, and/or covers and/or a guide arm.
The driving module preferably has a coupling rail for each cartridge, into which a corresponding coupling rail of the cartridge is inserted in order to connect the cartridge.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the belt roll holders can be positioned in alternation—i.e., when the one belt roll holder is in the dispensing position, the other belt roll holder(s) is (are) in the reserve position—the dispensing position, in which the fasteners are lifted from the belt roll held on the belt roll holder onto the driving apparatus, and a reserve position.
In another preferred method according to the present disclosure, the belt roll holders are positioned accordingly.
The dispensing of fasteners out of the belt roll holders is facilitated in this way, i.e., a simpler transport mechanism that carries the fastener belt from the magazine to the driving apparatus can be used because a position for the dispensing has been defined.
The belt roll holders can preferably be positioned in the dispensing position and the reserve position by way of a displacement which is preferably directed essentially at a right angle to the driving direction.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving module has a magazine changing mechanism with a magazine changing actuator that is preferably operated electrically or pneumatically or hydraulically, by way of which the belt roll holders can be positioned in the dispensing position and the reserve position. In another preferred method according to the present disclosure, the belt roll holders are positioned accordingly.
In this way, there can be an automatic change between the positions.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving module has a feed mechanism for the fastener belt and a threading mechanism, wherein the threading mechanism is equipped to carry out a threading operation, in which the start of the one fastener belt of the one belt roll is transferred from one of the two belt roll holders to the feed mechanism when the other fastener belt of the other belt roll from the other one of the two belt roll holders runs short or is used up. In another preferred method according to the present disclosure, a corresponding threading operation takes place when one of the two fastener belts runs short or is used up.
This permits a fully automatic change from one belt roll holder with a spent belt roll to a new belt roll holder with a fresh belt roll. Therefore, this doubles the capacity of the fasteners that can be driven in continuous operation without user interaction.
The feed mechanism is preferably equipped to further convey a fastener belt inserted into it with each renewed driving movement of the tool of a fastener.
The threading mechanism preferably has an actuator-operated traction and/or thrust element, preferably a towing hook, which is equipped for coupling onto one of the fasteners or onto the connecting mechanisms at the start of the fastener belt, preferably to hook the threading mechanism there and to then insert it into the feed mechanism, preferably as far as the end of the previous fastener belt, which is still inserted into the feed mechanism.
A threading operation preferably takes place after a belt roll holder-positioning operation. The threading operation preferably takes place after positioning of the belt roll holder, which preferably takes place by way of the magazine changing mechanism. The start of the respective fastener belt, which is inserted into the respective belt roll holder that was most recently positioned in the dispensing position, is preferably transferred.
The driving module preferably has a sensor, preferably an induction sensor, preferably in the area of the feed mechanism, for detecting the passage of the last fastener of a fastener belt.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, each one of the two belt roll holders has a starting portion, and each of these starting portions has a holder, preferably secured to prevent reversing, into which the start of the fastener belt can be inserted. In another preferred method according to the present disclosure, the start of the fastener belt is inserted accordingly.
In this way, the fastener belt can be brought into a predefined position, from which the threading mechanism can then receive the start of the belt in a recently filled belt roll holder.
The holder preferably has a snap wedge, preferably manually releasable, to prevent reversing.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the feed mechanism has a plurality of feed elements distributed along the feed direction and a plurality of restraint elements distributed along the feed direction. In another preferred method according to the present disclosure, the fastener belt is conveyed with a corresponding feed mechanism, preferably with each driving operation.
In this way, the spent fastener belt that is exiting and the new fasteners or fastener belt entering, which are consequently not interconnected, are reliably transported jointly at the same speed.
The feed elements are preferably snap wedges, preferably spring loaded, that can be shifted back and forth in the feed direction by way of an actuator.
The restraint elements are snap wedges, preferably stationary with respect to the feed direction and preferably spring loaded.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the feed elements and/or the restraint elements are held on a carrier part wherein the carrier part is pivotable in order to make a fastener belt inserted into the feed mechanism accessible or more readily accessible.
The carrier part is preferably mounted pivotably about a hinge on the driving module.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the driving module has an apparatus support, and the driving apparatus is arranged on the apparatus support, and the driving apparatus as such can be brought by way of an advancing movement drive, up to the respective workpiece in an advancing movement, preferably being pressable against the workpiece and guided for this purpose via an apparatus guide on the apparatus support, so that it is displaceable in the driving direction.
The advancing drive is preferably embodied as a wedge drive, i.e., the driving apparatus can be raised and lowered by way of the displacement of a wedge perpendicular to the driving direction, wherein the wedge is situated above the driving apparatus.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the magazine is coupled to the apparatus support in such a way that a belt roll inserted into the magazine, essentially preferably completely, is decoupled from the approaching movement of the driving apparatus.
It is possible in this way to use a larger magazine with a higher capacity for fastener. Due to the decoupling, the weight of the fasteners is not moved concurrently each time the driving apparatus is advanced, which thus saves energy and forms puts a lower load on the components, so that a greater magazine weight can be managed due to the increased magazine capacity.
This embodiment with an otherwise ordinary magazine is already suitable for rolled-up belts for fasteners (i.e., without multiple belt roll holders) for increasing the capacity of the magazine without any major negative side effects and thereby reducing the number of stops for refilling the magazine. Therefore, it is not necessary for the magazine to have at least two belt roll holders, each for accommodating at least one belt roll.
The phrase “essentially decoupled” is preferably understood to mean that the core of the roll or the midpoint of the roll is static and thus the portion of the roll that is still rolled up is also static, while the unrolled part of the belt can be moved along concurrently.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the exit portion of the magazine is mounted so that it is displaceable with respect to the fastening portion of the magazine, preferably being mounted, so that it is displaceable in parallel with the advancing motion.
It is possible in this way to produce a reliable routing of the fastener belt to the driving apparatus moving in relation to the magazine. The exit portion of the magazine or of the belt roll holder is preferably coupled to the driving apparatus in such a way that the exit portion moves along in parallel with the advancing motion. In the presence of a threading mechanism in particular, it is advantageous if the exit portion of the magazine is arranged so that it is stationary with regard to the forward mechanism and the driving apparatus because of its displaceability, such that there can then be a reliable automatic transition to a fresh belt roll on the other belt roll holder.
Additional features and advantages of the present disclosure are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the Figures.
The present disclosure will now be illustrated further on the basis of drawings as examples, in which:
The driving module 1 according to
The driving module 1 according to
The exemplary embodiment shown in
The belt roll holders 31 and 31′ are embodied as magazine cartridges, and each one of the two magazine cartridges has a fastening portion 32 and 32′, respectively. They can be decoupled separately from one another from the driving module 1. The driving module 1 has coupling rails 13 and 13′ (see
The feed mechanism 60 is equipped to carry out a threading operation, in which the start of the one fastener belts 102 and 102′ of the one belt rolls 101 and 101′ is transferred from one of the two belt roll holders 31 and 31′ into the feed mechanism 70 when the other fastener belts 102 and 102′ of the other belt rolls 101 and 101′ from the other one of the two belt roll holders 31 and 31′ is running short or has been used up.
It can also be seen well in
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It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present disclosure, and it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2017 100 660.5 | Jan 2017 | DE | national |
