Weld cap feed assemblies

Abstract

The present application relates to a weld cap feed assembly, which includes an escapement sub-assembly (300), a diversion sub-assembly, and two or more collet sub-assemblies. In the escapement sub-assembly (300), a shuttle box(320) that defines a slot (324) configured to receive an aligned weld cap and includes a shuttle block (326) configured to move within the slot (324) to release the aligned weld cap through an outlet (328) of the escapement sub-assembly (310). The diversion sub-assembly includes a single inlet that is configured to receive the aligned weld cap from the outlet (328) of the escapement sub-assembly (310) and a connector tube that is configured to receive the aligned weld cap from the single inlet and is movable between and configured to be independently aligned with two or more diversion outlets. Each collet sub-assembly includes an actuator assembly configured to receive the aligned weld cap from one of the two or more diversion outlets and to present the aligned weld cap to a welder (304).

Description

WELD CAP FEEDER ASSEMBLIESCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 678,919 filed August 2, 2024 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 730,124 filed December 10, 2024. The entire disclosure of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to feeding assemblies for providing weld caps to spot welders.BACKGROUND

[0003] The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

[0004] Spot welding robots, referred to herein as spot welders or simply welders, include electrode welding tips that utilize weld caps that must be replaced periodically over the electrode tip they cover. Thus, a weld cap changer, and occasionally a weld cap dresser, are typically provided near a spot welder. The weld cap changer includes a spring-loaded magazine, and weld caps are loaded into the magazine by hand. The weld caps are mechanically presented to the spot welder for changing the weld cap. Hand loading the weld caps into the weld cap changer can be cumbersome and often involves temporarily shutting down the operation of the robots to avoid accidents to the technician that may be manually hand-loading cartridges of weld caps.DRAWINGS

[0005] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example weld cap feed assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure, the weld cap feed assembly including a vibratory bowl sub-assembly, escapement sub-assemblies, collet sub-assemblies, and feed tubes extending between the different sub-assemblies;

[0007] FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the vibratory bowl sub-assembly of FIG. 1 ;

[0008] FIGS. 2B and 2C are perspective views of a variation of the vibratory bowl sub-assembly of FIG. 1 according to the principles of the present disclosure;

[0009] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of another example escapement sub-assembly of a weld cap feed assembly (like the weld cap feed assembly illustrated in FIG. 1 ) according to the principles of the present disclosure;

[0010] FIG. 3B is a section view of escapement sub-assembly of FIG. 3A;

[0011] FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views any one of the escapement sub-assemblies of FIG. 1 ;

[0012] FIGS. 4C through 4E are sectioned perspective views any one of the escapement sub-assemblies of FIG. 1 , with FIGS. 4D and 4E illustrating how pins of the escapement sub-assembly controls the advancement of weld caps therethrough;

[0013] FIGS. 4F and 4G are section views any one of the escapement sub-assemblies of FIG. 1 illustrating how a shuttle block of the escapement sub-assembly controls the advancement of weld caps therethrough;

[0014] FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of another example collet sub-assembly of a weld cap feed assembly (like the weld cap feed assembly illustrated in FIG. 1 ) according to the principles of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective views of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 1 ;

[0016] FIG. 6C is a sectioned perspective view of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 1 ;

[0017] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another example weld cap feed assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure, the weld cap feed assembly including a vibratory bowl sub-assembly, an escapement sub-assembly, a diversion subassembly, collet sub-assemblies, and feed tubes extending between the different sub-assemblies;

[0018] FIG. 8A is a bottom-up perspective view of the diversion sub-assembly of FIG. 7;

[0019] FIG. 8B is a top-down perspective view of the diversion sub-assembly of FIG. 7;

[0020] FIG. 8C is another top-down perspective view of the diversion sub-assembly of FIG. 7 with the housing removed for illustration purposes only;

[0021] FIG. 8D is another top-down perspective view of the diversion sub-assembly of FIG. 7 with the housing removed for illustration purposes only;

[0022] FIG. 8E is a first cross-section of the diversion sub-assembly of FIG. 7 where the feed tube is in a first position;

[0023] FIG. 8F is a second cross-section of the diversion sub-assembly of FIG. 7 where the feed tube is in another position;

[0024] FIG. 9A is a top-down perspective view of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 7 where the gripper holds a cap and is in a retracted position;

[0025] FIG. 9B is a top-down perspective view of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 7 where the gripper holds a cap and is in an extended position;

[0026] FIGS. 9C is a top-down perspective view of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 7 where a portion of the collet sub-assembly is removed for illustrative purposes and where the gripper is in a retracted position;

[0027] FIG. 9D is a top-down perspective view of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 7 where a portion of the collet sub-assembly is removed for illustrative purposes and where the gripper holds a cap and is in a retracted position;

[0028] FIG. 9E is a top-down perspective view of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 7 where a portion of the collet sub-assembly is removed for illustrative purposes and where the gripper holds a cap and is in as extended position;

[0029] FIG. 9F is partial exploded view of any one of the collet sub-assemblies of FIG. 7 illustrating a relationship between a gripper, a wedge block, and a housing block that defines a channel that receives the gripper and the wedge block;

[0030] FIG. 10A is an illustration of an example welder to be used with a weld cap feed assembly (like the weld cap feed assembly of FIG. 1 and / or the weld cap feed assembly of FIG. 7) according to the principles of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 10B is a side view of an example pedestal configured to support one or more collet sub-assemblies (like the collet sub-assembly of FIGS. 5A and 5B and / or the collet sub-assembly of FIGS. 6A-6C and / or the collet sub-assembly of 9A-9F) according to the principles of the present disclosure; and

[0032] FIG. 11 is a schematic of an example welding enclosure to be used with a weld cap feed assembly (like the weld cap feed assembly of FIG. 1 and / or the weld cap feed assembly of FIG. 7) according to the principles of the present disclosure

[0033] Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.SUMMARY

[0034] This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

[0035] At least one example embodiment provides a weld cap feed assembly.

[0036] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly includes an escapement sub-assembly. The escapement sub-assembly may include a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive a weld cap. The shuttle box may include a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly.

[0037] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a vibratory bowl sub-assembly. The vibratory bowl sub-assembly may be configured to provide the weld cap to the escapement sub-assembly. The vibratory bowl sub-assembly may include at least one alignment device for orientating the weld cap.

[0038] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one alignment device may include a pin, a wiper, and a tunnel.

[0039] In at least one example embodiment, the escapement sub-assembly may further include a receiving channel configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in an orientated position from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly.

[0040] In at least one example embodiment, the escapement sub-assembly may further include a pin and an actuator operable to move the pin between an extended position, in which the pin extends into the receiving channel, and a retracted position, in which the pin does not extend into the receiving channel.

[0041] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a collet sub-assembly. The collet sub-assembly may include an actuator assembly configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly and to present the weld cap to a welder.

[0042] In at least one example embodiment, the actuator assembly may include a gripper configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly and a linear actuator operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position.

[0043] In at least one example embodiment, the gripper may include a first portion having a first end and a second end, the second end supporting a first curved portion; a second portion parallel with the first portion and having a third end and a fourth end, the fourth end supporting a second curved portion; and a third portion that joins together firstend of the first portion and the third end of the second portion, where a first distance between the first end of the first portion and the first end of the second portion may be greater than a second distance between the second end of the first portion and the second end of the second portion.

[0044] In at least one example embodiment, the collet sub-assembly may further include a housing block that defines a channel, where the actuator assembly is configured to move within the channel from a first position where actuator assembly receives the weld to a second position where the actuator assembly presents the weld cap to the welder.

[0045] In at least one example embodiment, the collet sub-assembly may further include one or more wedge blocks that extends into the channel to shape the channel and that are configured to apply a pressure on the first and second portions of the gripper when the actuator assembly is in the second position.

[0046] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a diversion sub-assembly. The diversion sub-assembly may include a single inlet that is configured to receive the weld cap from the outlet of the escapement sub-assembly, two or more outlets that are in communication with two or more collet subassemblies configured to present the weld cap to a welder, and a connector tube configured to deliver the weld cap from the single inlet to one of the two or more outlets. The connector tube may be movable between and configured to be independently aligned with the individual outlets of the two or more outlets.

[0047] In at least one example embodiment, the diversion sub-assembly may further include an actuator that is configured to move the connector tube between the individual outlets of the two or more outlets.

[0048] In at least one example embodiment, the actuator may include a roller screw.

[0049] At least one example embodiment relates to a weld cap feed assembly.

[0050] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may include an escapement sub-assembly, a diversion sub-assembly, and two or more collet sub-assemblies. The escapement sub-assembly may include a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive an aligned weld cap. The shuttle box may include a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the aligned weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly. The diversion sub-assembly may include a single inlet that is configured to receive the aligned weld cap from the outlet of the escapement sub-assembly and a connector tube that is configured to receive the aligned weld cap from the single inlet and is movable betweenand configured to be independently aligned with two or more diversion outlets. Each collet sub-assembly of the two or more collet sub-assemblies may include an actuator assembly configured to receive the aligned weld cap from one of the two or more diversion outlets and to present the aligned weld cap to a welder.

[0051] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include an alignment sub-assembly. The alignment sub-assembly may be configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in a single loading operation, align the weld caps in a desired orientation, and output the aligned weld caps to the escapement sub-assembly.

[0052] In at least one example embodiment, the alignment sub-assembly may include a vibratory bowl and at least one alignment device within the vibratory bowl.

[0053] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a first feed tube that establishes communication between the escapement sub-assembly and the alignment sub-assembly, a second feed tube that establishes communication between the escapement sub-assembly and the diversion sub-assembly, a third feed tube that establishes communication between a first diversion outlet of the two or move diversion outlets and a first collet sub-assemblies of the two or more collet sub-assemblies, and a fourth feed tube that establishes communication between a second diversion outlet of the two or more diversion outlets and a second collet subassemblies of the two or more collet sub-assemblies.

[0054] In at least one example embodiment, the actuator assembly may include a gripper and a linear actuator. The gripper may be configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly. The linear actuator may be operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position. Each collet sub-assembly may further include a sensor configured to detect when the aligned weld cap is in the gripper and to generate a signal indicating the same. The weld cap feed assembly may further include a controller configured to communicate with the sensor to control the linear actuator to move the gripper from a first position where actuator assembly receives the aligned weld cap to a second position where the actuator assembly presents the aligned weld cap to the welder.

[0055] In at least one example embodiment, the linear actuator may be a first actuator, and the diversion sub-assembly may further include a second actuator that is configured to move the connector tube between the individual outlets of the two or more outlets. The controller may be further configured to control the second actuator to move the connectortube between the individual outlets of the two or more outlets in response to a signal from the welder.

[0056] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a third actuator. The third actuator may be configured to move the shuttle block between the closed position and the open position. The controller may be further configured to control the third actuator to move the shuttle block from the closed position to the open position in response to a signal from the welder.

[0057] In at least one example embodiment, each of the two or more collet sub-assemblies may further include a housing block that defines a channel. The actuator assembly may be configured to move within the channel from a first position where actuator assembly receives the weld to a second position where the actuator assembly presents the weld cap to the welder. Each of the two or more collet sub-assemblies may further include one or more wedge blocks that extend into the channel to shape the channel and are configured to apply a pressure on the gripper when the actuator assembly is in the second position.

[0058] At least one example embodiment relates to a weld cap feed assembly.

[0059] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may include a diversion sub-assembly. The diversion sub-assembly may include a single inlet that is configured to receive a weld cap and a connector tube that is configured to receive the weld cap from the single inlet and is movable between and configured to be independently aligned with two or more diversion outlets.

[0060] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include an alignment sub-assembly. The alignment sub-assembly may be configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in a single loading operation, align the weld caps in a desired orientation, and output the weld caps as aligned to the diversion sub-assembly.

[0061] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include an escapement sub-assembly. The escapement sub-assembly may include a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive the weld cap. The shuttle box may include a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly to the single inlet of the diversion sub-assembly.

[0062] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a collet sub-assembly. The collet sub-assembly may include an actuator assembly configured to receive the weld cap from the diversion sub-assembly and topresent the weld cap to a welder. The actuator assembly may include a gripper configured to receive the weld cap from the diversion sub-assembly and a linear actuator operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position.

[0063] In at least one example embodiment, the gripper may include a first portion having a first end and a second end, the second end supporting a first curved portion; a second portion parallel with the first portion and having a third end and a fourth end, the fourth end supporting a second curved portion; and a third portion that joins together first end of the first portion and the third end of the second portion, where a first distance between the first end of the first portion and the first end of the second portion may be greater than a second distance between the second end of the first portion and the second end of the second portion.

[0064] In at least one example embodiment, the collet sub-assembly may further include a housing block that defines a channel. The actuator assembly may be configured to move within the channel from a first position where actuator assembly receives the weld to a second position where the actuator assembly presents the weld cap to the welder. The collet sub-assembly may further include one or more wedge blocks that extend into the channel to shape the channel and are configured to apply a pressure on the first and second portions of the gripper when the actuator assembly is in the second position.

[0065] At least one example embodiment relates to a weld cap feed assembly.

[0066] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may include an escapement sub-assembly. The escapement sub-assembly may include a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive a weld cap. The shuttle box may include a shuttle block that is configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly.

[0067] In at least one example embodiment, the open position may be a first open position, the outlet may be a first outlet, and the shuttle block may be configured to move from the closed position to a second open position that is different from the first open position to release the weld cap through a second outlet of the escapement sub-assembly.

[0068] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a vibratory bowl sub-assembly in communication with the escapement sub-assembly. The vibratory bowl sub-assembly may include at least one alignment device for orientating the weld cap.

[0069] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one alignment device may include a pin, a wiper, and a tunnel.

[0070] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a feed tube that establishes the communication between the vibratory bowl sub-assembly and the escapement sub-assembly.

[0071] In at least one example embodiment, the escapement sub-assembly may further include a receiving channel configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in an orientated position from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly.

[0072] In at least one example embodiment, the escapement sub-assembly may further include a pin and an actuator operable to move the pin between an extended position, in which the pin extends into the receiving channel, and a retracted position, in which the pin does not extend into the receiving channel.

[0073] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a collet sub-assembly in communication with the escapement sub-assembly. The collet sub-assembly may include an actuator assembly configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly and to present the weld cap to a welder.

[0074] In at least one example embodiment, the actuator assembly may include a gripper configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly and a linear actuator operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position.

[0075] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a feed tube that establishes the communication between the collet sub-assembly and the escapement sub-assembly.

[0076] At least one example embodiment relates to a weld cap feed assembly.

[0077] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may include an alignment sub-assembly configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in a single loading operation, align the weld caps in a desired orientation, and output the aligned weld caps; and a collet sub-assembly including an actuator assembly configured to receive one of the aligned weld caps and automatically present the aligned weld cap to a welder.

[0078] In at least one example embodiment, the alignment sub-assembly may include a vibratory bowl and at least one alignment device within the vibratory bowl.

[0079] In at least one example embodiment, the actuator assembly may include a gripper configured to receive and hold the aligned weld cap and a linear actuator operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position.

[0080] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include a sensor configured to detect when the aligned weld cap is in the gripper and to generate a signal indicating the same and a controller configured to control the linear actuator to move the gripper from the receiving position to the presenting position in response to the signal.

[0081] In at least one example embodiment, the collet sub-assembly may further include a collet configured to slow movement of the gripper as the gripper travels from the escapement sub-assembly to the gripper.

[0082] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include an escapement sub-assembly. The escapement sub-assembly may be configured to receive the aligned weld caps from the alignment sub-assembly and to deliver one of the aligned weld caps to the collet sub-assembly.

[0083] In at least one example embodiment, the escapement sub-assembly may include a receiving channel configured to receive a stack of the aligned weld caps and a shuttle box configured to release one of the aligned weld caps from the stack through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly.

[0084] In at least one example embodiment, the shuttle box may define a slot and may include a shuttle block moveable between a closed position and an open position. The shuttle block may be configured to deliver one of the aligned weld caps from the receiving channel to the outlet as the shuttle block moves from the closed position to the open position.

[0085] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may further include an actuator configured to move the shuttle block between the closed position and the open position and a controller configured to control the actuator to move the shuttle block from the closed position to the open position in response to a signal from a welder.

[0086] In at least one example embodiment, the open position may be a first open position, the outlet may be a first outlet, the welder may be a first welder, and the controller may be configured to control the actuator to move the shuttle block from the closed position to a second open position to release the weld cap through a second outlet of the escapement sub-assembly in response to a signal from a second welder.

[0087] At least one example embodiment relates to a weld cap feed assembly.

[0088] In at least one example embodiment, the weld cap feed assembly may include an escapement sub-assembly and a weld working cell. The escapement sub-assembly may include a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive an aligned weld cap, the shuttle box including a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the aligned weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly. The weld working cell may include two or more collet sub-assemblies. Each collet sub-assembly of the two or more collet sub-assemblies may include an actuator assembly configured to consecutively receive individual weld caps from the escapement sub-assembly and to consecutively present the individual weld caps to a welder as received without interruption to the weld working cell to load or replace weld cap cartridges. The escapement sub-assembly is external to the weld working cell.

[0089] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0090] A weld cap feeder assembly according to the present disclosure is configured to automatically supply or feed a weld cap to a welder. For example, the weld cap feeder assembly is configured to receive a plurality of weld caps, orient the weld caps in a desired orientation, separate one of the oriented weld caps from the other weld caps, and present the weld cap to a welder without human intervention. Thus, the weld cap feeder assembly eliminates the need to hand load weld caps into a weld cap changer. In addition, the weld caps can be supplied to the weld cap feeder assembly en masse (e.g., all at once using a hopper), which is less cumbersome than hand loading weld caps into a spring-loaded magazine of a weld cap changer.

[0091] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an automatic weld cap feeder or feed assembly 100. The weld cap feed assembly 100 as drawn includes an alignment or vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200, escapement sub-assemblies 400, and collet sub-assemblies 600. In various embodiments, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include an escapement sub-assembly 300 in place of one or each of the escapement sub-assemblies 400. Additionally, or alternatively, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include a collet sub-assembly 500 in place of one or more (e.g., each) of the collet sub-assemblies 600. Additionally, or alternatively, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include a collet sub-assembly 1600 in place of one or more (e.g., each) of the collet sub-assemblies 600.Although not illustrated, it should be appreciated that, in various example embodiments, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may further include one or more pedestals that are configured to support the collet sub-assemblies 600. For example, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include two pedestals, where each pedestal is configured to support two individual collet sub-assemblies 600. A side view of such an example pedestal 4000 that may be used to support the collet sub-assemblies 600 is illustrated in FIG. 10B.

[0092] With renewed reference to FIG. 1 , in at least one example embodiment, as illustrated by the dash line 3100, the collet sub-assemblies 600 may be enclosed by a fence 3100, or other barrier, physical or illustrative, that is configured to delimit a welding cell area ( / .e., weld working area), with the fence preventing or limiting human access to the collet sub-assemblies 600 and at least a portion of one or more welders (e.g., welder 3000) engaging with the collet sub-assemblies 600 during a welding process. In at least one example embodiment, each pair of collet sub-assemblies 600 may be surrounded by an individual barrier. In other example embodiments, each individual barrier may include two or more pairs of collet sub-assemblies 600. A pair of collect sub-assemblies 600 may be used for one or more welders. In this manner, the barrier(s) 3100 define(s) one or more an internal, or local, portions of the weld cap feed assembly 100 that includes the collect sub-assemblies 600 and at least the portions of the one or more welders and an external, or exterior, portion of the weld cap feed assembly 100 that includes the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 and the escapement sub-assemblies 400. By way of example, FIG. 1 1 is a schematic view of a welding enclosure including the barrier 3100. As illustrated, the barrier 3100 may delimit a welding cell area and surround at least a portion of one or more welding stations 3200 including, or engaging with, components to be welded in addition to the one or more welders 3000. The welding cell area may have one or more access points or doors, and a control system may be used to cause the welders to shut down or otherwise prevent an accident when a human operator or technician attempts to access the welding cell area. The weld cap feed assembly 100 may be configured to hold a door 3110 in a locked ( / .e., lock-out, tag out) position during welding operations, confirming that when using the weld cap feed assembly 100, there is no need to interrupt or stop the welding processing, or to enter particular welding work cells as defined by the barrier, to load or replace cartridges, or the like, including the caps 1 10.

[0093] FIG. 2A is perspective view of the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200. The vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 sorts and places weld caps 1 10 in the desiredorientation and releases them to the escapement sub-assembly 300, 400 (for example, via a feed tube such as feed tubes 700 shown in FIG. 1 ). In at least one example embodiment, the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 is configured to receive a plurality of caps 110 (such as from the hopper) and to substantially align the caps 1 10. For example, each cap 1 10 may have a first end or head 1 12 and an opposing second end or tail 114, and the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 may be configured to align the caps 1 10 as received in a head-to-tail configuration or a tail-to-head configuration.

[0094] The vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 may align the caps 1 10 using a pin or screw 210, a wiper 220, a tunnel 230, or any combination thereof as the caps 1 10 travel around a track 240 extending along the inner side of a perimeter wall 250 of a bowl 260 of the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200. The vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 includes a vibration actuator or motor that vibrates the bowl 260 and thereby causes the caps 1 10 to travel around the track 240. The pin 210 may push or reject caps 110 that are not appropriately aligned (for example, head-to-tail orientation when tail-to-head orientation is preferred or tail-to-head orientation when head-to-tail orientation is preferred) into a floor 270 of the bowl 260. For example, the pin 210 may not reject the cap 110 to the immediate left thereof as shown in FIG. 2A since that cap 1 10 is in a head-to-tail configuration ( / .e., the head is at the forward end as the cap 1 10 travels clockwise around the bowl 260 toward the tunnel 230). Conversely, the pin 210 may reject the cap 1 10 to the immediate right of the cap 110 that is labelled since that cap 1 10 is in a tail-to-head configuration ( / .e., the tail is at the forward end as the cap 1 10 travels clockwise around the bowl 260 toward the tunnel 230).

[0095] The wiper 220 may push or reject caps 110 that are not appropriately aligned (for example, standing orientation when side-to-side orientation is preferred) into the floor 270 of the bowl 260. In the example shown, if the caps 110 are in a standing orientation, the wiper 220 pushes the caps 1 10 into the floor 270 as the caps 1 10 travel past the wiper 220 in a clockwise direction. Conversely, if the caps 1 10 are in a side-to-side orientation, the caps 110 pass underneath the wiper 220 as the caps 1 10 travel past the wiper 220 in the clockwise direction. In the example shown, the wiper 220 is a rectangular strip including a first portion 222 that is mounted to and flush against the perimeter wall 250 of the bowl 260 and a second portion 224 that is angled radially inward relative to the first portion 222 and spaced apart from the perimeter wall 250. Once the caps 1 10 are appropriately aligned, the tunnel 230 may work to maintain the alignment as the caps 1 10 are transferred from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 to the escapementsub-assembly 300, 400. In the example shown, the tunnel 230 includes an enclosed portion 232 that is mounted to the bowl 260 and an arm 234 extending from one end of the enclosed portion 232 along the edge of the track 240.

[0096] FIGS. 2B and 2C are perspective views of a variation of the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 of FIG. 2A. In this variation, the bowl 260 includes a first recess 272 in the track 240 below the wiper 220 and a second recess 274 in the track 240 just before the tunnel 230 in the direction of motion of the caps 1 10 along the track 240 from the floor 270 to the tunnel 230. The portion of the track 240 extending alongside the recesses 272, 274 is wide enough to accommodate one of the caps 1 10. However, if two of the caps 1 10 are moving along the track side-by-side, the recesses 272, 274 cause one of the caps 1 10 to fall to the floor 270 of the bowl 200. The tunnel 230 also includes a bottom wall 276 and a sidewall 278 that extend from the end of the enclosed portion 232 from which the arm 234 extends, and the arm 234 is shorter or narrower than shown in FIG. 2A. In addition, two of the pins 210 extend through the sidewall 278 of the tunnel 230 instead of extending through the perimeter wall 250 of the bowl 260.

[0097] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the escapement sub-assembly 300, and FIG. 3B is a section view of the escapement sub-assembly 300. The escapement sub-assembly 300 receives the caps 1 10 from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 and is configured to release a single cap 1 10 to the collet sub-assembly 500, 600 (for example, via a feed tube such as one of the feed tubes 700 shown in FIG. 1 ). The escapement sub-assembly 300 includes a receiving channel 310 that is in communication with the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 (for example, via the feed tube) and is configured to receive a series or stack of caps 1 10 as aligned by the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 (for example, tail-to-head orientation or in head-to-tail orientation (as illustrated)) from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200. The caps 1 10 as received may move through the receiving channel 310 to a shuttle box 320 due to a pressure differential and / or the force of gravity. In at least one example embodiment, the escapement sub-assembly 300 may include a pin 312 that extends into the receiving channel 310 when in an extended position and does not extend into the receiving channel 310 when in a retracted position (shown). An actuator 314 actuates the pin 312 between its extended and retracted positions.

[0098] The shuttle box 320 may include an outer housing 322 that defines a slot 324, where the slot 324 receives the caps 110 from the receiving channel 310 and includes a shuttle block 326 that is configured to move linearly within the slot 324. The shuttle block 326 may move within the slot 324 between a first or closed position and a second oropened position within the slot 324. In the closed position (as illustrated), the shuttle block 326 may prevent the advancement of the cap 1 10 from the receiving channel 310 to the collet sub-assembly 500, 600. As the shuttle block 326 moves from the closed position to the open position, the shuttle block 326 may permit a single cap 110 to advance from the receiving channel 310 to an outlet 328 of the escapement sub-assembly 300, from which the cap 110 is released to the collet sub-assembly 500, 600. In at least one example embodiment, the shuttle block 326 may be pneumatically actuated by an actuator 330. In at least one example embodiment, movement or advancement of the cap 1 10 out of the escapement sub-assembly 300 to the collet sub-assembly 500, 600 may be due to the movement of the shuttle block 326 and pressure differentials created as a result thereof.

[0099] The escapement sub-assembly 300 may be a staging area for the caps 110. For example, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include one or more sensors and a controller 302 configured to receive information from the one or more sensors and to send instructions to one or more actuators (e.g., actuator 314 and / or actuator 330). Further, the controller 302 and / or the one or more sensors of the weld cap feed assembly 100 may be in communication with a welder 304. The weld cap feed assembly 100, and more specifically, the controller 302 and / or the one or more sensors of the weld cap feed assembly 100, may receive a signal, or other communication, from the welder 304 indicating that a cap 1 10 is needed. In response to the signal, the weld cap feed assembly 100, and more specifically, the controller 302 of the weld cap feed assembly 100, may then control the actuator 330 to move the shuttle block 326 from the closed position to the open position and thereby release the cap 1 10 through the outlet 328. The controller 302 may then control the actuator 330 to move the shuttle block 326 from the open position to the closed position and control the actuator 314 to release another cap 1 10 from receiving channel 310 to the shuttle box 320.

[0100] The pin 312 may be actuated between its extended and retracted positions to permit a single cap 1 10 to advance to the shuttle box 320. The pin 312 is actuated to retracted position to allow the stack of caps 1 10 to fall (due to the force of gravity) until the bottom cap 1 10 engages a flat top surface 331 of the shuttle block 326 as shown. The pin 312 is then actuated to its extended position until it contacts the cap 1 10 disposed directly above the bottom cap 1 10 ( / .e., the cap 1 10 aligned with the pin 312 along the receiving channel 310). Then, as the shuttle block 326 moves to the right from its position shown in FIG. 3A, the bottom cap 1 10 falls into a cavity 332 in the shuttle block 326 whilethe pin 312 prevents the rest of the stack of the caps 1 10 from falling into the cavity 332. As the shuttle block 326 moves further to the right to its position shown in FIG. 3B, the bottom cap 1 10 falls from the cavity 332 in the shuttle block 326 and through the outlet 328. When the shuttle block 326 is returned to its position shown in FIG. 3, this process of releasing a single cap 1 10 may be executed once again.

[0101] FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of the escapement sub-assembly 400, FIGS. 4C through 4E are sectioned perspective views of the escapement sub-assembly 400, and FIGS. 4F and 4G are section views of the escapement sub-assembly 400. The escapement sub-assembly 400 receives caps 1 10 from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 and is configured to release caps 1 10 to separate first and second collet subassemblies (for example, via two of the feed tubes 700 shown in FIG. 1 ), where the first and second collet sub-assemblies are in communication with first and second welders 404 and 406, respectively. The first and second collet sub-assemblies may be the same or different than one another. For example, the first and second collet sub-assemblies may have the same configuration as the collet sub-assembly 500, 600.

[0102] Similar to the escapement sub-assembly 300, the escapement sub-assembly 400 may include a receiving channel 410 that is in communication with the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 (for example, via a feed tube such as one of the feed tubes 700 shown in FIG. 1 ) and is configured to receive a series or stack of caps 1 10 as aligned by the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200 (for example, tail-to-head orientation or in head-to-tail orientation) from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200. The caps 1 10 as received may move through may move through the receiving channel 410 to a shuttle box 420 due to an air pressure differential and / or the force of gravity. In at least one example embodiment, the escapement sub-assembly 400 may include a pair of pins 412 (see, e.g., FIGS. 4C through 4E), where each pin 412 extends into the receiving channel 410 when in an extended position and does not extend into the receiving channel 410 when in a retracted position. An actuator 414 actuates each pin 412 between its extended and retracted positions. The pins 412 may hold the stack of caps 1 10 in place while permitting a single cap 1 10 to advance to the shuttle box 420.

[0103] The shuttle box 420 may include an outer housing 422 that defines a slot 424 where the slot 424 receives the caps 1 10 from the receiving channel 410. The shuttle box 420 may also include a shuttle block 426 that is configured to move linearly within the slot 424. The shuttle block 426 may move within the slot 424 between a first or closed position, a second or opened position (or first opened position; shown in FIG. 4F), and athird or another opened position (or second opened position; shown in FIG. 4G). The first position is between the second and third positions. In the first position, the shuttle block 426 may prevent the advancement of the cap 1 10 from the receiving channel 410 to the first or second collet sub-assemblies. As the shuttle block 426 moves from the third position to the second position, the shuttle block 426 may advance a single cap 110 to a first outlet 428 of the escapement sub-assembly 400, from which the cap 1 10 may be released to the first collet sub-assembly. As the shuttle block 426 moves from the second position to the third position, the shuttle block 426 may advance a single cap 1 10 to a second outlet 429 of the escapement sub-assembly 400, from which the cap 1 10 may be released to the second collet sub-assembly. In at least one example embodiment, the shuttle block 426 may be pneumatically actuated by an actuator 430. In at least one example embodiment, movement or advancement of the cap 1 10 out of the escapement sub-assembly 400 to one of the first and second collet sub-assemblies may be a result of the movement of the shuttle block 426 and pressure differentials created as a result thereof.

[0104] The escapement sub-assembly 400 may be a staging area for the caps 110. For example, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include one or more sensors and a controller 402 configured to receive information from the one or more sensors and send instructions to one or more actuators. Further, the controller 402 and / or the one or more sensors of the weld cap feed assembly 100 may be in communication with the first and second welders 404 and 406. The weld cap feed assembly 100, and more specifically, the controller 402 and / or the one or more sensors of the weld cap feed assembly 100, may receive a signal, or other communication, from the first welder 404 and / or the second welder 406 indicating that a cap 1 10 is needed. In response to the signal, the weld cap feed assembly 100, and more specifically, the controller 402 of the weld cap feed assembly 100, may then control the actuator 430 to move the shuttle block 426 to move from the closed position to the first opened position to release the cap 1 10 through the first outlet 428 and / or from the closed position to the second opened position to release the cap 1 10 through the second outlet 429. The controller 402 may then control the actuator 430 to move the shuttle block 426 from the first or second open position to the closed position and control the actuator 414 to release another cap 1 10 from receiving channel 410 to the shuttle box 420.

[0105] With particular reference to FIGS. 4D and 4E, actuation of the pins 412 to hold a stack of caps 1 10 in place while permitting a single cap 1 10 to advance to the shuttle box420 will now be explained in further detail. In FIG. 4D, the pin 412 on the left (the lower pin 412) is in its extended position to prevent all of the caps 1 10 in the stack from advancing to the shuttle box 420, while the pin 412 on the right (the upper pin 412) is in its retracted position. In FIG. 4E, the pin 412 on the left is in its retracted position to allow the cap 1 10 beneath it to advance to the shuttle box 420, while the pin 412 on the right is in its extended position to contact the cap 1 10 beneath it and thereby prevent the rest of the caps 1 10 in the stack from advancing to the shuttle box 420. The pins 412 and actuators 414 are operated in this manner to allow only one cap 1 10 to enter the shuttle box 420 and thereby prevent any caps 1 10 from binding when the shuttle block 426 moves into a desired position.

[0106] With particular reference to FIGS. 4F and 4G, actuation of the shuttle block 426 to advance the advance a single cap 1 10 to one of the outlets 428, 429 of the escapement sub-assembly 400 will now be explained in further detail. The shuttle block 426 has a pair of cavities 432 that are each configured to receive one of the caps 1 10, and a dividing wall 434 between the cavities 432. When the shuttle block 426 is in the second position as shown in FIG. 4F, the pins 412 may be actuated to release a single cap 1 10 into the cavity 432 on the left. The shuttle block 426 may then be actuated from the second position to the third position shown in FIG. 4G to release the cap 110 through the first outlet 428. While the shuttle block 426 is in the third position, the pins 412 may be actuated to release a single cap 1 10 into the cavity 432 on the right. The shuttle block 426 may then be actuated from the third position to the second position shown in FIG. 4F to release the cap 110 through the second outlet 429.

[0107] The dividing wall 434 has a top surface 436, which is not flat but rather has a conical taper shape (in contrast to the flat top surface 331 of the shuttle block 326 of FIGS. 3A and 3B). Thus, the shuttle block 426 does not have a flat surface for the caps 1 10 to rest on when starting a feed cycle. This is why the escapement sub-assembly 400 includes two pins 412 and two actuators 414 instead of a single pin and a single actuator like the escapement sub-assembly 300.

[0108] FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of the collet sub-assembly 500. The collet sub-assembly 500 receives caps 1 10 from either one of the escapement sub-assemblies 300, 400 and is configured to move the caps 1 10 from the weld cap feed assembly 100 to a welder 504. The collet sub-assembly 500 may include an actuator assembly 510 that is configured to receive the cap 1 10 in the head-to-tail orientation or the tail-to-head orientation and to present the as-received cap 1 10 in the receivedorientation to the welder 504. That is, the collet sub-assembly 500 is not configured for rotational movement. The only alignment of the cap 1 10 (for example, from a head-to-tail orientation to a tail-to-head orientation or from a tail-to-head orientation to a head-to-tail orientation) occurs in the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200.

[0109] The actuator assembly 510 may include a linear actuator 512 and a gripper 514 coupled thereto, where the linear actuator 512 is movable between a first or receiving position and a second or presenting position, and the gripper 514 is configured to receive caps 1 10 in both the head-to-tail orientation and the tail-to-head orientation. The first or receiving position may be a retracted position within a holder or housing block 520 of the collet sub-assembly 500. The second or presenting position may be an extended position within the housing block 520 of the collet sub-assembly 500. The housing block 520 may define a slot or channel 522 into which the linear actuator 512 and gripper 514 extend. Although not illustrated, it should be appreciated that, in various example embodiments, the collet sub-assembly 500 may include one or more sensors that are configured to verify receipt of the cap 1 10 by the collet sub-assembly 500. In at least one example embodiments, the one or more sensors are embedded in the housing block 520.

[0110] The gripper 514 may have a general c-shape or u-shape and may receive the cap 1 10. The c-shape or u-shaped gripper 514 may receive the cap 1 10 from a vertical position (relative to a feed tube, such as one of the feed tubes 700 shown in FIG. 1 , which establishes communication between the gripper 514 and the escapement sub-assembly 300, 400). The welder 504 may engage the cap 1 10 from the same vertical position while applying a removing force on the cap 1 10 in a horizontal direction that is perpendicular to the vertical position. In at least one example embodiment, the gripper 514 may be flexible to ease the removal of the cap 1 10 by the welder 504 from the gripper 514 and / or the welder 504 may engage top and bottom (or end) surfaces of the cap 1 10.

[0111] A controller 502 and / or the one or more sensors of the collet sub-assembly 500 may be in communication with the welder 504. The controller 502 may receive a signal from the welder 504 indicating that a cap 1 10 is needed. In response to the signal, the controller 502 may control the linear actuator 512 to move the gripper 514 from the first position to the second position and thereby present the cap 1 10 to the welder 504. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 502 may control the linear actuator 512 to move the gripper 514 from the first position to the second position in response to a signal from the one or more sensors verifying receipt of the cap 1 10 by the collet sub-assembly 500. After the welder 504 has removed the cap 1 10 from the gripper 514, the controller502 may control the linear actuator 512 to move the gripper 514 from the second position to the first position so that the gripper 514 is positioned and ready to receive another cap 1 10. The one or more sensors of the collet sub-assembly 500 may detect when the cap 1 10 is removed from the gripper 514 and send a signal to the controller 502 indicating the same.

[0112] FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective views of the collet sub-assembly 600, and FIG. 6C is a sectioned perspective view of the collet sub-assembly 600. The collet sub-assembly 600 receives caps 1 10 from the escapement sub-assemblies 300, 400 and is configured to move the caps 110 from the weld cap feed assembly 100 to a welder 604. Similar to the collet sub-assembly 500, the collet sub-assembly 600 may include an actuator assembly 610 that is configured to receive the cap 1 10 in the head-to-tail orientation or the tail-to-head orientation and to present the as-received cap 1 10 in the received orientation to the welder 604. That is, the collet sub-assembly 600 is not configured for rotational movement. The only alignment of the cap 1 10 (for example, from a head-to-tail orientation to a tail-to-head orientation or from a tail-to-head orientation to a head-to-tail orientation) occurs in the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 200.

[0113] The actuator assembly 610 may include a linear actuator 612 and a gripper 614 coupled thereto, where the linear actuator 612 is movable between a first or receiving position and a second or presenting position and the gripper 614 is configured to receive caps 1 10 in both the head-to-tail orientation and the tail-to-head orientation. The first or receiving position may be a retracted position within a holder or housing block 620 of the collet sub-assembly 600. The second or presenting position may be an extended position within the housing block 620 of the collet sub-assembly 600. The housing block 620 may have a general c-shape or u-shape cross section and may define a slot or channel 622 into which the linear actuator 612 and gripper 614 extend. In various example embodiments, the collet sub-assembly 600 may include one or more sensors 630 that are configured to verify receipt of the cap 1 10 by the collet sub-assembly 600. The sensor(s) 630 may be embedded in the housing block 520.

[0114] The gripper 614 may have a general c-shape or u-shape and may receive the cap 1 10. The c-shape or u-shaped gripper 614 may receive the cap 1 10 from a vertical position (relative to a feed tube, such as one of the feed tubes 700 shown in FIG. 1 , which establishes communication between the gripper 614 and the escapement sub-assembly 300, 400). The welder 604 may engage the cap 1 10 from the same vertical position while applying a removing force on the cap 1 10 in a horizontal direction that is perpendicularto the vertical position. In at least one example embodiment, the gripper 614 may be flexible to ease the removal of the cap 1 10 by the welder 604 from the gripper 614 and / or the welder 604 may engage top and bottom (or end) surfaces of the cap 1 10.

[0115] The collet sub-assembly 600 may include a clamp block 632 and a collet block 634 holding a collet 640. The clamp block 632 is configured to hold one end of the feed tube. The collet 640 may be disposed between the escapement sub-assembly 300, 400 and the gripper 614, and more specifically, between the feed tube and the gripper 614. The collet 640 may be configured to slow down the movement of the cap 1 10 as the cap 1 10 moves from the escapement sub-assembly 300, 400 to the gripper 614. The collet 640 may also be configured to limit bounce of the cap 1 10 off of the gripper 614 and back into the feed tube and to prevent bounce of the cap 1 10 against a floor 624 of the housing block 620 when received by the gripper 614 from the escapement sub-assembly 300, 400. In at least one example embodiment, the collet 640 may have a general funnel shape. The collet 640 may have a first end and a second opposing end, where the first end has a first diameter and the second end has a second diameter that is different from (for example, less than) the first diameter. The smaller diameter of the collet 640 is disposed nearer to gripper 614 than the larger diameter.

[0116] A controller 602 and / or the one or more sensors 630 may be in communication with the welder 604. The controller 602 may receive a signal from the welder 604 indicating that a cap 1 10 is needed. In response to the signal, the controller 602 may control the linear actuator 612 to move the gripper 614 from the first position to the second position and thereby present the cap 110 to the welder 604. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 602 may control the linear actuator 612 to move the gripper 614 from the first position to the second position in response to a signal from the one or more sensors 630 verifying receipt of the cap 110 by the collet sub-assembly 600. After the welder 604 has removed the cap 110 from the gripper 614, the controller 602 may control the linear actuator 612 to move the gripper 614 from the second position to the first position so that the gripper 614 is positioned and ready to receive another cap 1 10. The one or more sensors 630 may detect when the cap 1 10 is removed from the gripper 614 and send a signal to the controller 602 indicating the same.

[0117] Although different reference numbers are used herein for the controllers and welders shown in FIGS. 3, 4A, 4B, 5A, and 6B, it should be understood that the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include a single controller that controls all of the actuators of the escapement sub-assembly 300 or 400 and the collet sub-assembly 500 or 600. Forexample, the controller 302 of FIG. 3 and the controller 502 of FIG. 5A may be the same controller, or the controller 402 of FIGS. 4A and 4B and the controller 602 of FIG. 6B may be the same controller. Similarly, the controller of the weld cap feed assembly 100 may control all of these actuators in response to a signal received from a single welder or a single pair of welders. For example, the welder 304 of FIG. 3 and the welder 504 of FIG. 5A may be the same welder, or the first or second welder 404 or 406 of FIGS. 4A and 4B and the welder 604 of FIG. 6B may be the same welder.

[0118] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another example weld cap feeder or feed assembly 1000. The weld cap feed assembly 100 includes a vibratory bowl sub-assembly 1200, an escapement sub-assembly 1300, a diversion sub-assembly 1500, and collet sub-assemblies 1600. The vibratory bowl sub-assembly 1200 sorts and places weld caps 1 10 in the desired orientation and releases them to the escapement sub-assembly 1300. The vibratory bowl sub-assembly 1200 may be the same as the vibrator bowl subassembly 200 as detailed above in the instance of the first example weld cap feeder assembly 100. The escapement sub-assembly 1300 receives the caps 1 10 from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 1200 and is configured to release a single cap 110 to the diversion sub-assembly 1500 (for example, via a feed tube such as one of the feed tubes 2100 shown). The escapement sub-assembly 1300 may be the same as the escapement sub-assembly 300 as detailed above in the instance of the first example weld cap feeder assembly 100. The diversion sub-assembly 1500 is configured to direct the single cap 1 10 to a collet sub-assembly 1600 in need therefor (for example, via feed tube such as one of the feed tubes 2200 shown).

[0119] Although not illustrated, it should be appreciated that, in various example embodiments, like the collet sub-assemblies 600, the collet sub-assemblies 1600 may be enclosed by a fence, or other barrier, that is configured to prevent, or limit, access to the collet sub-assemblies 1600 and at least a portion of one or more welders (e.g., welder 3000) engaging with the collet sub-assemblies 1600 during a welding process. Further, in at least one example embodiments, the collet sub-assemblies 1600 may be supported by one or more pedestal 1700. For example, as illustrated, the weld cap feed assembly 100 may include four pedestals, where each pedestal 1700 may be configured to support two collet sub-assemblies 1600. Each pedestal 1700 may support the respective two collet sub-assemblies 1600 in different orientations such that the individual caps 1 10 are presented to a welder in opposing directions that correspond, for example, withcorresponding first and second electrodes of the welder. For example, FIG. 10A illustrates an example welder 3000 having top and bottom electrodes 3010A, 301 OB.

[0120] FIGS. 8A and 8B are perspective views of the diversion sub-assembly 1500; FIGS. 8C and 8D are perspective view of the diversion sub-assembly 1500 with a portion of the housing 1502 removed for illustrative purposes only; and FIGS. 8E and 8F are cross-sections of the diversion sub-assembly 1500. The diversion sub-assembly 1500 is configured to receive a single cap 1 10 from the escapement sub-assembly 1300 and to direct the cap 1 10 to one of the collet sub-assemblies 1600. The diversion sub-assembly 1500 includes an inlet 1510 that is coupled to a feed tube 2100 that is also coupled to the escapement sub-assembly 1300. The inlet 1510 may be an extension of, or coupled to, an internal (or connector) tube 1512 of the diversion sub-assembly 1500. The internal tube 1512, and in turn, the inlet 1510 and the feed tube 2100, are movable between two or more positions to align the internal tube 1512, and also the inlet 1510 and the feed tube 2100, with one of two or more different outlets 1514, where the two or more different outlets 1514 are in turn coupled, individually, with different collet sub-assemblies 1600 using other feed tubes 2200, such that the diversion sub-assembly 1500 is configured to move and direct individual caps 1 10 to different collet sub-assemblies 1600.

[0121] The internal tube 1512 (and thereby the inlet 1510 and the feed tube 2100) may be configured to be engaged by a roller screw 1516 — for example, the internal tube 1512 (or a component attached thereto) may include threads that engage with corresponding threads of the roller screw 1516 — such that the internal tube 1512 may be re-positioned at different points or positions along the length of the roller screw 1516. The different positions along the length of the roller screw 1516 corresponding with the two or more different outlets 1514. For example, when the diversion sub-assembly 1500 includes eight different outlets 1514 as shown, the internal tube 1512 may be movable between eight different positions along the length of the roller screw 1516. The diversion sub-assembly 1500 may include a track 1520 that helps to guide the internal tube 1512 to the different positions along the length of the roller screw 1516.

[0122] Movement of the roller screw 1516 is driven by an actuator 1518 (e.g., a drive motor) attached to the housing 1502 of the diversion sub-assembly 1500. In at least one example embodiment, the actuator 1518 may be configured to receive instructions from the controller 302, for example, when the controller 302 receives a signal, or other communication, from the welder 304 indicating that a cap 1 10 is needed. In response to the signal, the weld cap feed assembly 1000, and more specifically, the controller 302 ofthe weld cap feed assembly 1000, may then control the actuator 1518 to move the internal tube 1512 from a first position to a second position to guide the cap 1 10 to a selected collet sub-assembly 1600 associated with the welder 304 in need of a cap 1 10. In other example embodiments, the actuator 1518 may be configured to receive instructions from one or more of the two or more collet sub-assemblies 1600 and / or directly from the welder 304. The diversion sub-assembly 1500 may service ( / .e., provide a cap to) the two or more collet sub-assembly 1600 on a first come first serve basis. When the weld cap feed assembly 1000 is first initiated and all of the collet sub-assemblies 1600 requires cap 110, the diversion sub-assembly 1500 may be configured to service the collet sub-assemblies 1600 in a sequential order (e.g., by stopping at each position while moving the internal tube 1512 in a direction from left to right or vice versa as shown in FIGS. 8E and 8F).

[0123] FIG. 9A is a perspective of the collet sub-assembly 1600 where the gripper 1622 holds the cap 1 10 and is in a retracted position; FIG. 9B is a perspective view of a collet sub-assembly 1600 where the gripper 1622 holds the cap 1 10 and is in an extended position; FIGS. 9C is a perspective view of the collet sub-assembly 1600, where a portion of the collet sub-assembly is removed for illustrative purposes and where the gripper 1622 is in the retracted position; FIG. 9D is a perspective view of any one of the collet sub-assembly 1600, where a portion of the collet sub-assembly is removed for illustrative purposes and where the gripper 1622 holds a cap 100 and is in the retracted position; FIG. 9E is a perspective view of the collet sub-assembly 1600, where a portion of the collet sub-assembly is removed for illustrative purposes and where the gripper 1622 holds a cap 100 and is in the extended position; and FIG. 9F is a partial exploded view of the collet sub-assembly 1600 illustrating a relationship between a gripper 1622, a wedge block 1640, and a housing block 1616.

[0124] The collet sub-assembly 1600 receives caps 110 from the diversion sub-assembly 1500 and is configured to present the caps 1 10 to a welder. Similar to the collet sub-assembly 500 and / or the collet sub-assembly 500, the collet sub-assembly 1600 includes an actuator assembly that is configured to receive the cap 1 10 in the head- to-tail orientation or the tail-to-head orientation and to present the as-received cap 1 10 in the received orientation to the welder. That is, the collet sub-assembly 1600 is not configured for rotational movement. The only alignment of the cap 100 (for example, from a head-to-tail orientation to a tail-to-head orientation or from a tail-to-head orientation to a head-to-tail orientation) occurs in the vibratory bowl sub-assembly 1200).

[0125] The actuator assembly may include a linear actuator 1624 and a gripper 1622 coupled thereof, where the linear actuator 1624 is movable between a first or receiving position (see FIGS. 9A, 9C, and 9D) and a second or presenting position (see FIGS. 9B and 9E) and the gripper 1622 is configured to receive caps 100 in both the head-to-tail orientation and the tail-to-head orientation. The first or receiving position may be a retracted position within a holder or housing block 1616 of the collet sub-assembly 1600. The second or presenting position may be an extended position within the housing block 1616 of the collet sub-assembly 1600. The housing block 1616 may define a slot or channel 1614 into which the linear actuator 1624 and the gripper 1622 extend. In various example embodiments, the collet sub-assembly 1600 may include one or more sensors 1628 that are configured to verify receipt of the cap 1 10 by the collet sub-assembly 1600 and / or the absence of a cap 100 in the channel 1614. The sensor(s) 1628 may be extend from or may be embedded in the housing block 1616.

[0126] The gripper 1622 may include a first portion or leg 1630A, a second portion or leg 1630B, and a third portion 1632 that joins together the first leg 1630A and the second leg 1630B, where the second leg 1630B is generally parallel with and mirrors the first leg 1630A, in both resting and holding positions. First ends 1634 of the first leg 1630A and the second leg 1630B are coupled to the third portion 1632, while the linear actuator 1624 is couped to the third portion 1632 of the gripper 1622. Second ends 1638 of the first leg 1630A and the second leg 1630B each include a curved portion 1636 attached thereto, where the curved portions of the first and second legs 1630A, 1630B together define a general c-shape or u-shape configured to receive and support the cap 1 10. That is, the respective curved portions 1636 the first and second legs 1630A, 1630B are selected to compliment the curvature of the cap 1 10.

[0127] Material or wall thicknesses defining the first ends 1634 of each of the first and second legs 1630A, 1630B is greater than the material or wall thicknesses defining the second ends 1638 of each of the first and second legs 1630A, 1630B, such a distance between the first end 1634 of the first leg 1630A and the first end 1634 of the second leg 1630B is larger than a distance between the second end 1638 of the first leg 1630A and the second end 1638 of the second leg 1630B, in both retracted and the extended positions. The differing distances between the first ends 1634 and the second ends 1638 of the first and second legs 1630A, 1630B may allow a greater variance of caps sizes and tolerances to be accommodated by the collet sub-assembly 1600.

[0128] The collet sub-assembly 1600 includes an inlet or clamp block 1612 that is configured to receive and / or be coupled to the feed tube 2200, the feed tube 2200 also being coupled to an individual outlet 1514 of the diversion sub-assembly 1500. The inlet 1612 is configured to position the feed tube 2200 above, and in communication with, the gripper 1622 when in the retracted position. Although illustrated as separable from the housing block 1616, it should be appreciated that, in various example embodiments, the inlet 1612 may be formed integrally with the housing block 1616.

[0129] The collet sub-assembly 1600 includes a wedge block 1640 including a floor 1642 and a first wedge portion 1644A disposed on or along a first side of the floor 1642 and a second wedge portion 1644B disposed on or along a second side of the floor 1642 and opposing the first wedge 1644A. The wedge block 1640 is seated within the channel 1614 and narrows the width of a portion of the channel 1614. The gripper 1622 is positioned to move through the wedge block 1640 ( / .e., over the floor 1642 and between the first and second wedge portions 1644A, 1644B) from the retracted position to the extended position. In the extended position, the wedge portions 1644A, 1644B of the wedge block 1640 apply a pressure on the first and second legs 1630A, 1630B by reducing the width of the of the channel 1614 and in turn tighten the hold of the gripper 1622 on the cap 1 10. Although the wedge block 1640 is illustrated as separable from the housing block 1616, it should be appreciated that, in various example embodiments, the wedge block 1640 may be formed integrally with the housing block 1616. Further still, in other example embodiment, the wedge block 1640 may omit the wedge floor 1642 and may include a first individual wedge block disposed or positioned on a first side of the channel 1614 and a second individual wedge block separably disposed or positioned on a second side of the channel 1614.

[0130] A controller 1670 and / or the one or more sensors 1628 may be in communication with a welder 1680. The controller 1670 may receive a signal from the welder 1680 indicating that a cap 110 is needed. In response to the signal, the controller 1670 may control the linear actuator 1624 to mover the gripper 1622 from the retracted position to the extended position and thereby present the cap 110 to the welder 1680. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 1670 may control the linear actuator 1624 to move the gripper 1622 from the retracted position to the extended position in response to a signal form the one or more sensors 1628 verifying receipt of the cap 1 10 by the collet subassembly 1600. After the welder 1680 has removed the cap 1 10 from the gripper 1622, the controller 1670 may control the linear actuator 1624 to move the gripper 1622 fromthe extended position to the retracted position so that the gripper 1622 is positioned and ready to receive another cap 1 10. The one or more sensors 1628 may detect when the cap 1 10 is removed from the gripper 1622 and send a signal to the controller 1670 indicating the same.

[0131] When the weld cap feed assembly 100 includes two or more collet sub-assembly 1600, the controller 1670 of each collet sub-assembly 1600 may be in communication with a controller 302 of the weld cap feed assembly 1000. It should be appreciated that, in other example embodiments, the weld cap feed assembly 1000 may include a single controller that controls all of the actuators of the collet sub-assemblies 1600. The single controller may also control the actuator of the escapement sub-assembly 300 and / or the diversion sub-assembly 1500 and / or other sub-assemblies of the weld cap feed assembly 1000.

[0132] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and / or combined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if that combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or more embodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.

[0133] When an element or layer is referred to as being "on," “engaged to,” "connected to," or "coupled to" another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," “directly engaged to,” "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).

[0134] Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.

[0135] Spatially relative terms, such as "inner," "outer," "beneath," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the example term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0136] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”

[0137] In this application, including the definitions below, the term "controller" may be replaced with the term "circuit." The term " “controller” may refer to, be part of, or include: an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system-on-chip.

[0138] The controller may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuits may include wired or wireless interfaces that are connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or combinations thereof. The functionality of any given controller of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiple controllers that are connected via interface circuits. For example, multiple controllers may allow load balancing. In a further example, a server (also known as remote, or cloud) controller may accomplish some functionality on behalf of a client controller.

[0139] The term code, as used above, may include software, firmware, and / or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and / or objects. The term shared processor circuit encompasses a single processor circuit that executes some or all code from multiple controllers. The term group processor circuit encompasses a processor circuit that, in combination with additional processor circuits, executes some or all code from one or more controllers. References to multiple processor circuits encompass multiple processor circuits on discrete dies, multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiple cores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor circuit, or a combination of the above. The term shared memory circuit encompasses a single memory circuit that stores some or all code from multiple controllers. The term group memory circuit encompasses a memory circuit that, in combination with additional memories, stores some or all code from one or more controllers.

[0140] The term memory circuit is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. The term computer-readable medium, as used herein, does not encompass transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagating through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); the term computer-readable medium may therefore be considered tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium are nonvolatile memory circuits (such as a flash memory circuit, an erasable programmable read-only memory circuit, or a mask read-only memory circuit), volatile memory circuits (such as a static random access memory circuit or a dynamic random access memory circuit), magnetic storage media (such as an analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard disk drive), and optical storage media (such as a CD, a DVD, or a Blu-ray Disc).

[0141] The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created by configuring a general purpose computer to execute one or more particular functions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications, which can be translated into the computer programs by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

[0142] The computer programs include processor-executable instructions that are stored on at least one non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium. The computer programs may also include or rely on stored data. The computer programs may encompass a basic input / output system (BIOS) that interacts with hardware of the special purpose computer, device drivers that interact with particular devices of the special purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

[0143] The computer programs may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed, such as HTML (hypertext markup language), XML (extensible markup language), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) (ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated from source code by a compiler, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter, (v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-time compiler, etc. As examples only, source code may be written using syntax from languages including C, C++, C#, Objective C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5th revision), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK, and Python®.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:1 . A weld cap feed assembly comprising: an escapement sub-assembly including a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive a weld cap, the shuttle box including a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly.

2. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 1 , further comprising: a vibratory bowl sub-assembly configured to provide the weld cap to the escapement sub-assembly, the vibratory bowl sub-assembly including at least one alignment device for orientating the weld cap.

3. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 2, wherein the at least one alignment device includes a pin, a wiper, and a tunnel.

4. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 3, wherein the escapement sub-assembly further includes a receiving channel configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in an orientated position from the vibratory bowl sub-assembly.

5. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 4, wherein the escapement sub-assembly further includes a pin and an actuator operable to move the pin between an extended position, in which the pin extends into the receiving channel, and a retracted position, in which the pin does not extend into the receiving channel.

6. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 1 , further comprising: a collet sub-assembly including an actuator assembly configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly and to present the weld cap to a welder.

7. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 6, wherein the actuator assembly includes a gripper configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly and a linear actuator operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position.

8. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 7, wherein the gripper includes a first portion having a first end and a second end, the second end supporting a first curved portion; a second portion parallel with the first portion and having a third end and a fourth end, the fourth end supporting a second curved portion; and a third portion that joins together first end of the first portion and the third end of the second portion, a first distance between the first end of the first portion and the first end of the second portion being greater than a second distance between the second end of the first portion and the second end of the second portion.

9. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 8, wherein the collet sub-assembly further includes: a housing block that defines a channel, the actuator assembly being configured to move within the channel from a first position where actuator assembly receives the weld to a second position where the actuator assembly presents the weld cap to the welder; and one or more wedge blocks extending into the channel to shape the channel and configured to apply a pressure on the first and second portions of the gripper when the actuator assembly is in the second position.

10. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 1 , further comprising: a diversion sub-assembly including a single inlet that is configured to receive the weld cap from the outlet of the escapement sub-assembly, two or more outlets that are in communication with two or more collet sub-assemblies configured to present the weld cap to a welder, and a connector tube configured to deliver the weld cap from the single inlet to one of the two or more outlets, the connector tube being movable between and configured to be independently aligned with the individual outlets of the two or more outlets.1 1. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 10, wherein the diversion sub-assembly further includes an actuator that is configured to move the connector tube between the individual outlets of the two or more outlets.

12. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 1 1 , wherein the actuator includes a roller screw.

13. A weld cap feed assembly comprising: an escapement sub-assembly including a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive an aligned weld cap, the shuttle box including a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the aligned weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly; a diversion sub-assembly including a single inlet that is configured to receive the aligned weld cap from the outlet of the escapement sub-assembly and a connector tube that is configured to receive the aligned weld cap from the single inlet and is movable between and configured to be independently aligned with two or more diversion outlets; and two or more collet sub-assemblies, each collet sub-assembly of the two or more collet sub-assemblies including an actuator assembly configured to receive the aligned weld cap from one of the two or more diversion outlets and to present the aligned weld cap to a welder.

14. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 13, further comprising an alignment sub-assembly configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in a single loading operation, align the weld caps in a desired orientation, and output the aligned weld caps to the escapement sub-assembly.

15. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 14, wherein the alignment sub-assembly includes a vibratory bowl and at least one alignment device within the vibratory bowl.

16. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 14, further comprising: a first feed tube that establishes communication between the escapement sub-assembly and the alignment sub-assembly; a second feed tube that establishes communication between the escapement subassembly and the diversion sub-assembly; a third feed tube that establishes communication between a first diversion outlet of the two or move diversion outlets and a first collet sub-assemblies of the two or more collet sub-assemblies; anda fourth feed tube that establishes communication between a second diversion outlet of the two or more diversion outlets and a second collet sub-assemblies of the two or more collet sub-assemblies.

17. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 13, wherein the actuator assembly includes a gripper configured to receive the weld cap from the escapement sub-assembly and a linear actuator operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position, each collet sub-assembly further includes a sensor configured to detect when the aligned weld cap is in the gripper and to generate a signal indicating the same, and the weld cap feed assembly further includes a controller configured to communicate with the sensor to control the linear actuator to move the gripper from a first position where actuator assembly receives the aligned weld cap to a second position where the actuator assembly presents the aligned weld cap to the welder.

18. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 16, wherein the linear actuator is a first actuator, and the diversion sub-assembly further includes a second actuator that is configured to move the connector tube between the individual outlets of the two or more outlets, the controller being further configured to control the second actuator to move the connector tube between the individual outlets of the two or more outlets in response to a signal from the welder.

19. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 18, further comprising: a third actuator configured to move the shuttle block between the closed position and the open position, the controller being further configured to control the third actuator to move the shuttle block from the closed position to the open position in response to a signal from the welder.

20. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 17, wherein each of the two or more collet sub-assemblies further includes: a housing block that defines a channel, the actuator assembly being configured to move within the channel from a first position where actuator assembly receives the weldto a second position where the actuator assembly presents the weld cap to the welder; and one or more wedge blocks extending into the channel to shape the channel and are configured apply a pressure on the gripper when the actuator assembly is in the second position.21 . A weld cap feed assembly comprising: a diversion sub-assembly including a single inlet that is configured to receive a weld cap and a connector tube that is configured to receive the weld cap from the single inlet and is movable between and configured to be independently aligned with two or more diversion outlets.

22. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 21 , further comprising: an alignment sub-assembly configured to receive a plurality of weld caps in a single loading operation, align the weld caps in a desired orientation, and output the weld caps as aligned to the diversion sub-assembly.

23. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 21 , further comprising: an escapement sub-assembly including a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive the weld cap, the shuttle box including a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly to the single inlet of the diversion subassembly.

24. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 21 , further comprising: a collet sub-assembly including an actuator assembly configured to receive the weld cap from the diversion sub-assembly and to present the weld cap to a welder, the actuator assembly including a gripper configured to receive the weld cap from the diversion sub-assembly and a linear actuator operable to move the gripper between a receiving position and a presenting position.

25. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 24, wherein the gripper includes a first portion having a first end and a second end, the second end supporting a first curved portion;a second portion parallel with the first portion and having a third end and a fourth end, the fourth end supporting a second curved portion; and a third portion that joins together first end of the first portion and the third end of the second portion, a first distance between the first end of the first portion and the first end of the second portion being greater than a second distance between the second end of the first portion and the second end of the second portion.

26. The weld cap feed assembly of claim 25, wherein the collet sub-assembly further includes: a housing block that defines a channel, the actuator assembly being configured to move within the channel from a first position where actuator assembly receives the weld to a second position where the actuator assembly presents the weld cap to the welder; and one or more wedge blocks extending into the channel to shape the channel and are configured to apply a pressure on the first and second portions of the gripper when the actuator assembly is in the second position.

27. A weld cap feed assembly comprising: an escapement sub-assembly including a shuttle box that defines a slot configured to receive an aligned weld cap, the shuttle box including a shuttle block configured to move within the slot from a closed position to an open position to release the aligned weld cap through an outlet of the escapement sub-assembly; and a weld working cell including two or more collet sub-assemblies, each collet sub-assembly of the two or more collet sub-assemblies including an actuator assembly configured to consecutively receive individual weld caps from the escapement sub-assembly and to consecutively present the individual weld caps to a welder as received without interruption to the weld working cell to load or replace weld cap cartridges, the escapement sub-assembly being external to the weld working cell.

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