Claims
- 1. A method of joining parts having little strength and which are easily broken, and comprising the steps of
- supporting the parts in the relationship in which they are to be joined,
- providing screw driver means for rotatably driving a screw into the supported parts to join the parts together and including a screw spindle defining a drive axis and having an outer end configured to engage the screw to effect rotation thereof, drive means for rotating said screw spindle about its drive axis, and spring biasing means for permitting limited movement of the screw spindle in an axial direction away from the screw being driven and while said screw spindle is being rotated by said drive means,
- adjustably positioning the screw driver means in each of only two lateral directions which are perpendicular to each other so as to permit an accurate alignment of the drive axis with the supported parts,
- advancing a screw to a ready position which is located between the supported parts to be joined and said screw spindle,
- engaging the thus positioned screw with the outer end of said screw spindle, and then
- operating the drive means to rotate the screw spindle as well as the engaged screw and so as to advance the screw into the supported parts and join the parts together.
- 2. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein the step of operating the drive means includes releasing the driving torque upon the driving torque exceeding a predetermined upper limit.
- 3. An apparatus for joining parts having little strength and which are easily broken, and comprising
- gripping means for supporting the parts in the relationship in which they are to be joined,
- screw driver means for rotatably driving a screw into the supported parts to join the parts together and including a screw spindle defining a drive axis and having an outer end configured to engage the screw to effect rotation thereof, drive means for rotating said screw spindle about its drive axis, and spring biasing means for permitting limited movement of the screw spindle in an axial direction away from the screw being driven and while said screw spindle is being rotated by said drive means, and
- means mounting said screw driver means adjacent said gripping means and so as to permit adjustment of its position laterally with respect to said drive axis of said screw spindle, said mounting means including means for effecting selective movement of said screw driver means in each of only two lateral directions which are perpendicular to each other.
- 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said spring biasing means is mounted between said screw spindle and said drive means.
- 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said spring biasing means comprises a coiled compression spring.
- 6. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said drive means includes clutch means for automatically releasing its driving torque upon the driving torque reaching a predetermined upper limit.
- 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said screw driver means further includes means for automatically positioning a screw in a ready position which is located between the supported parts to be joined and said screw spindle, and such that said screw spindle is adapted to engage the thus positioned screw and rotatably drive the same into the supported parts.
- 8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said screw driver means further includes sensor means for detecting the presence of a screw at said ready position.
- 9. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 wherein said screw driver means further includes clamping jaw means for releasably supporting a screw in said ready position, and with said clamping jaw means comprising a pair of opposing jaws and means for biasing said jaws toward each other.
- 10. The apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said screw driver means further includes air blowing means for engaging any particles released from the parts being joined together and removing such particles from the vicinity of said screw driver means.
- 11. The apparatus as defined in claim 7 further comprising means resiliently mounting said screw spindle so as to permit limited lateral movement thereof with respect to said drive axis and thereby permit the screw spindle to align itself with a screw at said ready position.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
39 11 635.2 |
Apr 1989 |
DEX |
|
40 04 903.5 |
Feb 1990 |
DEX |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation, of application Ser. No. 07/768,735, filed Oct. 10, 1991and now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2597776 |
Oct 1987 |
FRX |
2522161 |
Nov 1976 |
DEX |
2549601 |
May 1977 |
DEX |
3424911 |
Jan 1986 |
DEX |
53-44426 |
Apr 1978 |
JPX |
60-221227 |
Nov 1985 |
JPX |
63-34031 |
Feb 1988 |
JPX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Abstract of Japanese Patent Publication 57-84686 Published May 27, 1982. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
768735 |
Oct 1991 |
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