Hog ring clamping device

Abstract: The present invention relates to a hog ring clamping device such as a C ring clamping device. In the hog ring clamping device of the invention, a knock pin (62) is mounted to a movable member (60) of a jaw driving unit, a pivotable member (70) is mounted to a hog ring clamping device body (10), the pivotable member is pushed against the knock pin by means of spring (77), a feed member (76) is mounted to the pivotable member so that it can come into contact with hog rings engaged with a magazine (20), and a presser wheel (80) is mounted to the hog ring clamping device body through a unidirectional rotating unit so as to be in contact with the hog rings engaged with the magazine.

Description: The present invention relates to a C ring clamping device. In a conventional C ring clamping device, a magazine is mounted near a clamping portion of the clamping device body, and one end of a spiral spring is attached to the clamping device body, while the other end of the spiral spring is attached to a C ring feed member having a hole. A large number of C rings are arranged in a row and an adhesive tape is bonded to the backs of the C rings to form a C ring assembly comprising a large number of such C rings. In the conventional C ring clamping device, by moving a C ring feed member against the spiral spring it is removed from the magazine, and in this state the C ring assembly is loaded onto the magazine. Then, the magazine is inserted into the hole of the C ring feed member. In this state, the force of the spiral spring is exerted on the C ring assembly through the C ring feed member, so that the C ring assembly is fed to the clamping portion. In such conventional C ring clamping device, however, since it is impossible to make the C ring assembly longer than the magazine, the number of C rings capable of being loaded at a time is limited and hence the C ring assembly loading operation must be done more frequently, resulting in that the C ring clamping operation becomes troublesome. DE-A-2410332 discloses a C-ring clamping device comprising a body part and movable clamping means actuated by reciprocating driving means; a rodlike C-ring magazine mounted to said body for holding a C-ring assembly; a movable knock pin co-operating with said driving means; a pivotable transmission member mounted on said body and co-operating with said knock pin; a spring serving to maintain contact between the transmission member and the knock pin; feed means co-operating with said transmission member and contacting the C-ring assembly to effect forward feeding of said C-ring assembly along said C-ring magazine towards the clamping means; and locking means serving to prevent backward movement of the C-ring assembly. Thus, this document corresponds to the pre-characterising part of claim 1. The moveable member of the drive means (and hence also the knock pin) moves in a direction perpendicular to that in which the C-rings are fed through the device. GB-A-2155386 describes a clip clinching tool through which clips from a magazine are pull-fed by pawls on a piston-operated crank member. The present invention seeks to provide a C-ring clamping device capable of greatly improving the efficiency of the C-ring clamping operation. According to the present invention, there is provided a C-ring clamping device comprising a body part and movable clamping means actuated by reciprocating driving means; a rodlike C-ring magazine mounted to said body for holding a C-ring assembly; a movable knock pin co-operating with said driving means; a pivotable transmission member mounted on said body and co-operating with said knock pin; a spring serving to maintain contact between the transmission member and the knock pin; feed means co-operating with said transmission member and contacting the C-ring assembly to effect forward feeding of said C-ring assembly along said C-ring magazine towards the clamping means; and locking means serving to prevent backward movement of the C-ring assembly; wherein: the pivotable transmission member is substantially L-shaped, having a first arm substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the reciprocable driving means and to the feed direction of the adjacent portion of the C-ring assembly, and having a second arm substantially perpendicular to the first arm and the direction of movement of the driving means and directed away from said driving means; the first arm of said transmission member is adapted to co-operate slidingly with the knock pin in such a way that reciprocating movement of the knock pin along the adjacent side of said first arm results in pivoting movement of the transmission member about its pivot point; the pivotable transmission member is pivoted to the body at the junction between said first and second arms; the feed means takes the form of two feed members mounted to the second arm of the transmission member in such a way that they contact opposite lateral side edges of the C-ring assembly on the C-ring magazine; the locking means comprises a presser wheel mounted to said body through a unidirectional rotating means and in a position for contacting the C-ring assembly engaged with said magazine. In the C-ring clamping device of the invention, when the driving unit is operated, the knock pin moves, so that the pivotable member moves pivotally and hence C-rings are fed by the feed member. Further, since the backward movement of the C-rings is prevented by the presser wheel, the C-ring assembly can be fed by pushing the forefront portion thereof. Consequently, the C-ring assembly can be made very long, so the C-ring assembly loading operation can be greatly simplified and hence the efficiency of the C-ring clamping operation can be improved to a great extent. An embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic front view showing a C-ring clamping device according to the present invention and a C-ring feeding device for feeding C-rings to the C-ring clamping device; Fig. 2 is a front view of the C-ring clamping device; Fig. 3 is a plan view showing part of the C-ring clamping device illustrated in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is an enlarged view as seen in the direction of arrow V in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VI -VI in FIG. 1; and FIG. 7 is a view explanatory of the operation of the C ring clamping device illustrated in FIG. 3, etc. As shown in FIG. 2, a C ring clamping device body 10 has a cylinder housing 12 which houses an air cylinder (not shown) therein, a valve housing 14 which houses therein a valve (not shown) for controlling the action of the air cylinder, a grip 16, and side plates 18a and 18b which are attached to the cylinder housing 12. Further, a magazine 20 is attached to the front end portion of the side plate 18a. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a large number of C rings 32 are arranged in a row, and an adhesive tape 34 is bonded to the backs of the C rings 32 to form a C ring assembly 30 comprising the C rings 32. The C ring assembly 30 is loaded onto the magazine 20. Jaws 40 are mounted pivotably to the side plates 18a and 18b are driven by the air cylinder accommodated in the cylinder housing 12. A piston rod 50 of the air cylinder in the cylinder housing 12 is positioned between the side plates 18a and 18b. A compressed air hose mounting portion 52 is attached to the bottom of the grip 16 and it is in communication with a valve inlet. A trigger 54 for operating the valve is mounted to the side plates 18a and 18b. A front-end member 60 is mounted to the front end portion of the piston rod 50. A knock pin 62 is mounted to the front-end member 60 and extends through a slit 19 formed in the side plate 18a. A pivotable member 70 is mounted pivotably to the side plate 18a and it can come into contact with the knock pin 62. The contact surface of the pivotable member 70 with the knock pin 62 is inclined downwards toward the left-hand side in FIG. 3. As shown in detail in FIG. 4, a support base 71 is mounted to the pivotable member 70, and a rod 72 is mounted on the support base 71. A movable member 73 is mounted movably on a rod 72. A columnar feed member 76 is mounted to the movable member 73. The feed member 76, which is formed of rubber for example, is provided in a position for contact with the C ring assembly 30 loaded onto the magazine 20. A spring 74 is provided between the support base 71 and the movable member 73. The feed member 76 is pushed against the C ring assembly 30 by cans of the spring 74. A stopper 75 is mounted on the rod 72 to restrict the movement of the movable member 73. A spring 77 is provided between the C ring clamping device body 10 and the pivotable member 70, the pivotable member 70 is pushed against the knock pin 62 by means of the spring 77. A presser wheel 80 is mounted to the side plate 18a through a one-way bearing (not shown) in a position for contact with the C ring assembly 30 loaded on the magazine 20. The said one-way bearing rotates only counterclockwise in FIG. 3. One end of a spring steel 90 is attached to an end portion of the magazine 20. The width of the spring steel 90 is smaller than the inside width of each C ring 32 and larger than the opening width of the same ring. As shown in FIG. 5, a hole 102 is formed in a support base 100, and a rotatable plate 104 is mounted rotatably to the support base 100. A positioning pin 112 is mounted to the rotatable plate 104 movably right- and leftwards in FIG. 5. The positioning pin 112 is provided in a position in which the front end thereof is engaged with the hole 102. A ring 114 is mounted on the pin 112, and a spring 116 is provided between the ring 114 and the rotatable plate 104 to push the positioning pin 112 leftwards in FIG. 5. The positioning pin 112, the ring 114 and the spring 116 constitute a positioning mechanism 110. There are provided four positioning mechanisms 110. A rod 122 is mounted to the rotatable plate 104, and a positioning plate 124 is mounted rotatably on the rod 122. Also, support members 126 are mounted rotatably on the rod 122. A pin hole 128 is formed in the front end portion of the rod 122. The rod 122, the positioning plate 124 and the support members 126 constitute a mounting mechanism 120. Four mounting mechanisms 120 are provided in correspondence to the positioning mechanisms 110. The C ring assembly 30 is wound round a paper tube 130. A positioning plate 140 is mounted removably on the rod 122, and a spring holding member 144 is also mounted on the rod 122 removably. Further, a spring is provided between the positioning plate 140 and the spring holding member 144, and a pin 146 is inserted into the pin hole 128. As shown in FIG. 6, a guide rod 150 is provided in parallel with the rod 122, and a movable member 152 is mounted movably on a guide rod 150. A mounting piece 154 is attached to the movable member 152, and the other end of the spring steel 90 is attached to the mounting piece 154. In the C ring clamping device and C ring feeding device described above, first the paper tube 130 with the C ring assembly 30 wound thereon is mounted to the mounting mechanism 120, then the positioning plate 140 and the spring holding member 144 are mounted on the rod 122 while the spring 142 is disposed therebetween, and the pin 146 is inserted into the pin hole 128. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the C ring assembly 30 is brought into engagement with the spring steel 90 and the front end of the C ring assembly 30 is positioned at the base portion of the magazine 20. In this state, the trigger 54 is pulled to perform the clamping operation, so that the feed member 76 pushes the C ring assembly 30 forward, whereby the C ring assembly 30 can be fed. More specifically, when the trigger 54 is pulled to operate the air cylinder for the clamping operation, the front-end member 60 and the knock 62 move right- and leftwards in FIG. 3. In the state shown in FIG. 3, when the knock pin 62 moves rightwards in FIG. 7, the pivotable member 70 pivots counterclockwise in FIG. 7 and the C ring assembly 30 is fed leftwards in the same figure by the feed member 76. On the other hand, in the state illustrated in FIG. 7, when the knock pin 62 moves leftwards in FIG. 3, the pivotable member 70 pivots clockwise in FIG. 3. In this case, a backward movement of the C ring assembly 30 is prevented by the presser wheel 80. Therefore, the C ring assembly 30 can be fed by pushing the forefront portion thereof. Consequently, the length of the C ring assembly 30 can be made very large and hence the C ring assembly loading operation can be greatly simplified, whereby the efficiency of the clamping operation using the C rings 32 can be improved to a great extent. With successive feed of the C rings 32 at the front end portion of the C ring assembly 30 to the clamping portion, the paper tube 130 rotates and the movable member 152 moves, whereby the C ring assembly 30 is fed from the paper tube 130 to the spring steel 90. Since the positioning plate 140 is pushed against the paper tube 130 by the spring 142, the rotation of the paper tube due to inertia is prevented, whereby the C ring assembly 30 can be prevented from becoming loose near the paper tube 130. When the C ring assembly wound round the paper tube 130 is used up during the clamping operation, the positioning pin 112 is moved rightwards in FIG. 5 against the spring 116 until the front end thereof is disengaged from the hole 102. Thereafter, the rotatable plate 104 is rotated to bring the front end of the next positioning pin 112 into engagement with the hole 102. In this state, an end portion of the C ring assembly 30 engaged with the spring steel 90 and an end portion of the C ring assembly 30 wound round the paper tube 130 are connected together with an adhesive tape. Although the above description concerns the C ring clamping device, it goes without saying that the present invention is also applicable to other hog ring clamping devices. Although in the above embodiment there are used two feed members 76, there may be used only one feed member.

Claims: A C-ring clamping device comprising a body part (10) and movable clamping means (40) actuated by reciprocating driving means (50); a rodlike C-ring magazine (20) mounted to said body (10) for holding a C-ring assembly (30); a movable knock pin (62) co-operating with said driving means (50); a pivotable transmission member (70) mounted on said body (10) and co-operating with said knock pin (62); a spring (77) serving to maintain contact between the transmission member (70) and the knock pin (62); feed means (76) co-operating with said transmission member (70) and contacting the C-ring assembly (30) to effect forward feeding of said C-ring assembly (30) along said C-ring magazine (20) towards the clamping means (40); and locking means (80) serving to prevent backward movement of the C-ring assembly (30); characterised in that: the pivotable transmission member (70) is substantially L-shaped, having a first arm substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the reciprocable driving means (50) and to the feed direction of the adjacent portion of the C-ring assembly (30), and having a second arm substantially perpendicular to the first arm and the direction of movement of the driving means (50) and directed away from said driving means (50); the first arm of said transmission member (70) is adapted to co-operate slidingly with the knock pin (62) in such a way that reciprocating movement of the knock pin (62) along the adjacent side of said first arm results in pivoting movement of the transmission member (70) about its pivot point; the pivotable transmission member (70) is pivoted to the body (10) at the junction between said first and second arms; the feed means (76) takes the form of two feed members mounted to the second arm of the transmission member (70) in such a way that they contact opposite lateral side edges of the C-ring assembly (30) on the C-ring magazine (20); the locking means (80) comprises a presser wheel mounted to said body (10) through a unidirectional rotating means and in a position for contacting the C-ring assembly (30) engaged with said magazine (20). A C-ring clamping device according to claim 1, wherein the second arm of said transmission member (70) carries a support base (71) which again carries a rod (72), wherein two movable parts (73) are mounted slidingly on said rod (72) on opposite sides of the adjacent C-ring assembly (30) and each carry a feed member (76), and wherein springs (74) are provided between said support base (71) and each said movable part (73). A C-ring clamping device according to claim 2, wherein stoppers (75) is mounted on said rod (72) for restricting the movement of said movable part (73).

Inventors: KAWABATA YOSOO, KAWABATA, YOSOO
Applicants: MEIHO CO LTD, MEIHO CO., LTD.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B25B27
IPC codes: B25B25, B25C5, B25B27, H01R43, B65B51, B25B31