Patent ID: 9370819
Filing Date: 2016-06-21
CPC Classification: B21J,B25J,G05B,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A method of coupling a collar to a fastener in a confined space, said method comprising: detecting, using a first subsystem of a sensor system, a first position of a head of an assembly tool within the confined space, the head including a collar swaging tool that is moveable along a first axis, wherein the first subsystem comprises a first camera and is disposed on the assembly tool; positioning, using an actuator system, the head within the confined space, the actuator system communicatively coupled to the sensor system; moving a backlight coupled to the head from a home position to a deployed position, wherein the backlight in the deployed position creates a silhouette shadow of the fastener; detecting, using a second subsystem of the sensor system, a second position of the collar swaging tool relative to the fastener, wherein the second subsystem comprises a plurality of second cameras disposed on the assembly tool, wherein each second camera captures at least one image of the fastener from a respective angle to determine the second position, the backlight and at least one second camera of the plurality of second cameras being positioned on a common side of the fastener; feeding, using an arm of a collar dispensing system, the collar to a plurality of fingers of the automated collar dispensing system; and automatically moving the collar swaging tool along the first axis to position the collar swaging tool relative to the fastener based on the detected second position.