Orienting device and method

Disclosed is an apparatus and method of orienting a cylinder with an oblique end such that the slant of same faces a preferred direction. To this end, a special fixture is used which includes a central axial bore having a cylindrical surface which engages in bearing-like fashion with the oblique-ended cylinder. On opposite sides of the bore, are a magnet for imposing a magnetic field across the bore and across therefrom a dowel pin stop. The magnetic field acts to rotate the oblique-ended cylinder about the common axis of the bore and cylinder into a generally preferred position wherefrom the oblique-ended cylinder can come to its final resting position against the dowel pin stop. The method for using this fixture requires the alignment of the axis of the fixture and the cylinder, the moving of the two together engaging their cylindrical bearing parts to permit controlled rotary motion under the influence of magnetism and the abutting against a stop which sets the slanted portion of the oblique ended cylinder in a precise position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This device relates to an apparatus and method for using same in connection 
with positioning a cylinder having an oblique end whereby the slant of 
that end is oriented relative to the rest of the cylinder in a 
pre-determined plane. Where the rotary position of the cylinder is not 
critical and speed as well as accuracy is not required, each cylinder can 
be positioned manually with respect to some type of fixture or jig. In a 
high speed operation cylinders with oblique ends have to be oriented 
precisely and the cylinders have to be positioned quickly in order for an 
automatic transfer mechanism to move into position for further assembly or 
operations. It is necessary to have an automatic orienting device which is 
simple and foolproof as well as accurate and reliable. The possible uses 
for such an apparatus are myriad including quality control, automatic 
assembly, alignment for measurement, ease of handling small components and 
the like. Heretofore, high-speed and accurate handling of cylindrical 
members with obliquely fashioned ends has been a manual operation or an 
inaccurate automatic technique. 
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
The apparatus disclosed herein includes a simple fixture having a hollow 
cylindrical inner surface which is designed for sliding mating engagement 
with the outer cylindrical surface of the oblique ended cylinder. The 
cylindrical mating surfaces of the fixture and work piece are designed to 
permit rotary and axial sliding movement relative to one another for ease 
of use. In the preferred embodiment, the fixture is stationary and the 
cylindrical member with an oblique end is moved along the common axis into 
engagement with that fixture. In its simplest form, the movement is caused 
by gravity acting upon the oblique-ended cylinder. Within the stationary 
fixture there is along one side thereof a magnet which imposes a magnetic 
field across the hollow of the fixture whereby axial sliding movement of 
the cylinder into and through the magnetic field will cause the oblique 
end thereof having greater mass to be rotated about its axis during toward 
the magnet. Thus, it can be seen that the magnet acts to preliminarily 
orient the oblique-ended cylinder such that the slant thereof faces away 
from the magnet. 
On the side of the fixture opposite where the magnet is is a transversely 
oriented pin positioned to engage the slant of the obliquely-ended 
cylinder and in a ramp-like manner precisely sets the final rotary 
orientation of the obliquely-ended cylinder relative to its fixture. It 
can be appreciated that the two-step procedure wherein the magnetic field 
first roughly orients the obliquely-ended cylinder relative to the fixture 
and then the pin precisely positions the obliquely-ended cylinder relative 
to the fixture are essential to providing the speed and accuracy necessary 
for the final relationship between them. In an automatic assembly process, 
the oriented obliquely-ended cylinder and its fixture can be moved to 
another location wherein further operations relative to the positioned 
obliquely-ended cylinder can be accurately performed. In particular, the 
orientation of the cylinder is now known relative to the fixture such that 
the location of any part of the cylinder is established for purposes of 
further work. 
The method of practicing the disclosed technique includes the steps of 
aligning the obliquely ended cylinder and the fixture along a common axis 
then moving the obliquely-ended cylinder into the hollow interior of the 
fixture while engaging cylindrical surfaces of each to support rotary and 
sliding motion therebetween. Thereafter rotating the cylinder relative to 
the fixture in response to the pull of a magnetic field on the major 
distal mass of the oblique end, and finally setting the slanted portion of 
the oblique end against a stop positioned within the hollow of the fixture 
across from the magnetic field.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show the fixture 10 centered about axis A. The only 
difference between the figures is the relative position of the 
obliquely-ended cylinder 20. That is to say that, in FIG. 1 the 
obliquely-ended cylinder 20 is axially aligned for entry into fixture 10. 
In FIG. 2, the obliquely-ended cylinder has entered fixture 10 and is 
almost to its seating position. In FIG. 3, the obliquely-ended cylinder 20 
has reached its seated position in the fixture 10. The referenced numerals 
are the same in all the figures. 
Turning now to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 the fixture 10 is hollowed and has a 
passage 11 extending therethrough with an inlet 11a and an outlet 11b. In 
the Figures the inlet 11a is shown at the top and the outlet 11b at the 
bottom. This positioning has nothing to do with the invention or the 
disclosure except to the extent that gravity is used to move the cylinder 
20 along axis A. Inlet 11a extends to an inlet taper 12 which narrows the 
inlet passage 11a down to a central axial bore 13 in a funnel-like manner, 
and taper 12 can be used to axially align cylinder 20 and fixture 10. 
Central axial bore 13 has a cylindrical surface 13a wherein there is a 
magnet 14 on one side and a transverse dowel pin stop 15 on the other. 
Magnet 14 is located in an external recess 13b in the side of fixture 10. 
The positioning of magnet 14 is such that it is proximate to the 
cylindrical surface 13a of central axial bore 13 whereby the magnetic 
field extends into the central axial bore 13 sufficiently to exert a force 
on the cylinder 20 without retaining same from further axial movement. 
Opposite the magnet 14 on the other side of central axial bore 13 is a 
transversely located dowel pin stop 15. The dowel pin stop 15 is 
positioned in a transverse opening 13c so that a small portion thereof 
extends across the opening of central axial bore 13. The exact position of 
dowel pin stop 15 and the diameter of same is a function of the particular 
geometry of oblique-ended cylinder 20. That is, the angle of slant, the 
diameter of the cylinder 20 and the force with which the cylinder and 
fixture are brought together. The dowel pin stop 15 is a simple press fit 
into a transverse hole drilled through fixture 10. 
FIG. 1 shows the oblique-ended cylinder 20 as it is moving along axis A 
toward central axial bore 13. Arrow B shows the direction of the travel of 
oblique-ended cylinder 20. In FIG. 2 oblique-ended cylinder 20 has moved 
into central axial bore 13 and the outer cylindrical surface of the 
oblique-ended cylinder 20 has engaged the cylindrical surface 13a of 
central axial bore 13 causing a bearing-like relationship. Arrow C in FIG. 
2 shows the twist imposed upon oblique-ended cylinder 20 as a consequence 
of the magnetic field imposed by magnet 14 across the central axial bore 
13. Consequently, the oblique-ended cylinder 20 has rotated in a 
clock-wise fashion as indicated by Arrow C from its position in FIG. 1 to 
its position in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 shows the final resting position of 
oblique-ended cylinder 20. In this figure, the slanted portion of the 
oblique-ended cylinder 20 sets against the dowel pin stop 15 in the only 
position in which oblique-ended cylinder 20 is fully seated. That is to 
say that, the oblique-ended cylinder 20 is oriented relative to its 
slanted end in but one position. This is a result of the magnetic field 
which first twists the oblique-ended cylinder 20 as same is slid along the 
axis A into central axial bore 13. The rotation of the oblique-ended 
cylinder 20 is controlled by the cylindrical surface 13a of central axial 
bore 13 as it is of the same dimension to provide a bearing support for 
the cylindrical end of oblique-ended cylinder 20. The greater mass of the 
distal portion of oblique-ended cylinder 20 is influenced by the magnetic 
field of magnet 14 such that the greater concentration of magnet permeable 
material in oblique-ended cylinder 20 is caused to be attracted to the 
magnet 14 rotating the cylinder 20 around as shown in FIG. 2. The final 
positioning of the oblique-ended cylinder 20 is a result of the last 
movement wherein the oblique end comes to rest against the dowel stop pin 
15 
As can be seen from the foregoing, the steps of operation involved in 
orienting the oblique-ended cylinder 20 requires aligning the axis A of 
the fixture 10 and the oblique-ended cylinder 20, moving them relative to 
one another along the axis A, engaging the cylindrical parts of each to 
support rotary motion therebetween rotating them relative to one another 
in response to the magnetic field, pulling on the major mass of the 
extended oblique end and the slanted portion thereof against a dowel pin 
to establish a precise final orientation. 
While a particular arrangement has been shown and described herein, skilled 
artisans will no doubt appreciate that the oblique-ended cylinder 20 could 
be a hollow tube or not entirely cylindrical so long as there is a portion 
that can conjugate for supported rotary motion with the central axial bore 
13. In that circumstance, however, the major diameter would have to be 
that cylindrical surface and all other surfaces be somewhat less than that 
in order to provide the requisite clearance for rotary motion. In 
addition, those engaging surfaces would have to be at the distal end near 
the oblique-ended part of the cylinder 20. Similarly, the oblique end 
could be faceted or less than flat so long as it is generally angular to 
present a portion from which to locate the cylinder. Similarly, the dowel 
pin stop 15 could be any kind of an abutment which would allow the 
oblique-ended cylinder 20 to come to a final resting position. Even the 
level of magnetism between the components has some range as long as there 
is the permitted relative axial and rotary motion. 
The fixture and oblique-ended cylinder are configured to evidence a 
particular positioning so that the precise placement of the oblique end is 
relative to the fixture when they are together. Other arrangements will be 
obvious to those of skill in the art and what is sought to be covered by 
the claims which follow are the apparatus and method which take advantage 
of the magnet and stop for rotating and setting the cylinder into its 
preferred resting position in the fixture.