Patent ID: 6014801
Filing Date: 2000-01-18
Classification: B21J,Y10T

Abstract:
A swage fastening tool for setting a fastener including a pin and a collar, said swage fastening tool comprising:(A) a piston-cylinder assembly comprising:(i) a housing structure having a housing chamber positioned intermediate forward and aft ends of said housing structure extending along an axial direction, a forwardly opening cylindrical cavity coaxially aligned with the housing chamber, and a passage extending radially through said housing structure;(ii) a swaging assembly disposed in said forwardly opening cylindrical cavity, said swaging assembly including a jaw assembly constructed and arranged to grip and pull a pull portion of the pin and further including a swage anvil having a swage cavity constructed and arranged to engage and swage the collar radially inwardly onto the pin in response to a relative axial pull force between said jaw assembly and said swage anvil;(iii) a reciprocally movable piston supported in said housing chamber to be slidable along the axial direction between a forward home position and a rearward position, said piston being operatively connected to said swaging assembly so that slidable movement of said piston towards the rearward position applies the relative axial pull force between said jaw assembly and said swage anvil;(iv) a biasing member to urge said piston from the rearward position towards the forward home position;(v) a damper assembly having a damper chamber disposed in said housing chamber, said damper chamber being in communication with said passage and containing hydraulic fluid; and(vi) a slidable damper valve accommodated in said damper chamber and movable between a passage open position in which said passage is substantially unobstructed by said damper valve and a passage close position in which said passage is substantially covered by said damper valve to substantially restrict the flow of the hydraulic fluid through said passage; and(B) an actuator assembly comprising:(i) a trigger housing;(ii) a pressure-control-mechanism-receiving housing having a hydraulic fluid-containing chamber filled with the hydraulic fluid and in communication with said damper chamber via said passage;(iii) a trigger structure partially accommodated in said trigger housing; and(iv) a pressure-control mechanism operatively connected to said trigger structure and movable relative to said pressure-control-mechanism-receiving housing,wherein said trigger structure is operatively associated with said pressure-control mechanism so that (a) actuation of said trigger structure moves said pressure-control mechanism to pressurize the hydraulic fluid in said hydraulic fluid-containing chamber and thereby pass the hydraulic fluid through said passage and into said damper chamber so that the hydraulic fluid slides said piston rearward from the forward home position to the rearward position against an urging force of said biasing member and so that the hydraulic fluid slides said damper valve from the passage open position to the passage closed position, and (b) de-actuation of said trigger structure moves said pressure-control mechanism to depressurize the hydraulic fluid in said hydraulic fluid-containing chamber and permit the urging force of said biasing member to return said piston from the rearward position to the forward home position, returning movement of said piston toward the forward home position being initially regulated by return movement of said damper valve from the passage closed position to the passage open position.