Rivet Cartridge Loading With Pre-Sorted Rivet Geometry Checks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods fail to ensure that rivet elements fit properly into bores before reaching the rivet head, leading to potential faults and inability to assign them to specific batches or producers for complaint management, resulting in suboptimal rivet joint quality.
Innovation Solution
A rivet loading station that detects pre-determined characteristics of rivet elements relevant to the drilling and riveting processes before supplying them to a cartridge, allowing for early testing, sorting, and comprehensive complaint management, using a testing unit with sensors and a control unit to measure geometric characteristics and assign rivet elements to appropriate cartridges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If rivet elements are measured along the transport section in the direction of a rivet machine, then rivet geometry can be determined, but it is not ascertained whether the rivet element fits the bore until it is on the way to the rivet head and comprehensive complaint management is not possible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements measurement of rivet elements at the loading station before they are supplied to the rivet cartridge, enabling preliminary verification of rivet geometry and fit suitability. This early measurement approach allows the system to determine whether rivet elements match bore requirements before committing them to the riveting process, thereby resolving the contradiction between geometry determination and fit verification reliability
2Ease of manufacture
If statistical batch measurement is used to determine tolerance ranges, then a certain amount of batch-specific adjustment can be affixed, but the tolerance ranges are in part too large to avoid faults when producing a bore rivet joint
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces statistical batch measurement with individual rivet element measurement using optical or sensor-based measurement systems. This substitution enables precise determination of each rivet's actual dimensions, allowing the system to account for individual deviations rather than relying on broad statistical tolerance ranges, thereby improving manufacturing precision while maintaining ease of manufacture through automated individual assessment
3Reliability
If early detection of rivet characteristics is implemented at the loading station, then comprehensive testing and complaint management are enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the measurement function with the existing rivet loading station by integrating measurement devices into the cartridge filling process. The measurement takes place as rivet elements are being loaded into cartridges, combining the loading and measurement operations into a single integrated process. This merging approach enables comprehensive testing and complaint management while minimizing the increase in device complexity by utilizing the existing loading infrastructure
Data Source
AI summary
A method is provided for filling a rivet cartridge with rivet elements by means of a rivet loading station having a rivet delivery unit for delivering the rivet elements and having a rivet cartridge receiving means for receiving a rivet cartridge. The rivet elements are supplied from the rivet delivery unit to a rivet cartridge which is received in the rivet cartridge receiving means and are received therein in an aligned manner. The rivet loading station detects pre-determined characteristics of the rivet elements that are relevant to the drilling process and/or the riveting process prior to supplying them to the rivet cartridge.