Patent ID: 7798307
Filing Date: 2010-09-21
Classification: B21J,B23P,B25B

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for aligning fasteners having radially symmetrical polygonal heads in a device for feeding the fasteners to a processing station, in which a tubular piece has a feed channel for the fasteners comprising: axially running grooves formed in an interior of the tubular piece, said axially running grooves being provided in the feed channel for the fasteners, the number of the axially running grooves corresponding to the number of edges of the heads of the fasteners; an inlet side formed at a first end of the tubular piece; an outlet side formed at a second end of the tubular piece, said outlet side being displaced a predetermined distance relative to the inlet side; said axially running grooves including a curvature on the inlet side of the tubular piece being greater that a distance extending across the polygonal heads of the fasteners, the grooves tapering from a large width to a narrow width in a transport direction in such a way that fasteners entering the tubular piece are captured with a large clearance in relation to the grooves and leave the tubular piece with a narrow clearance and thus in their aligned position, whereby edges of the grooves turn into surfaces connecting the grooves from the inlet side of the tubular piece to the outlet side, the cross-sections of these surfaces being adapted to the polygonal heads of the fasteners in such a way that the fasteners exit with the narrow clearance on the outlet side in their aligned position.