Self-Piercing Rivet Tape Feed With Reverse Pawl Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tape feed systems for self-piercing rivet machines generate significant waste that is costly to clean up, as the exhausted tape is not efficiently managed, leading to substantial cleanup expenses for manufacturers.
Innovation Solution
A tape feed apparatus and method that includes a supply reel, an exhaust reel, and a receiver assembly with a reverse locking pawl system, allowing the tape to circulate in a loop, where the tape path extends from the supply reel through the receiver and back to the exhaust reel, enabling the tape to be reused and minimizing waste by accurately positioning self-piercing rivets for efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a ratcheting wheel engages holes along the tape to push the tape into the receiver, then the tape can be fed forward, but the exhausted tape cannot be retrieved and must be discarded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies reverse locking pawls that allow forward movement of the tape while preventing backward movement, creating a one-way feeding mechanism. This inversion of the traditional ratcheting concept enables the tape to be fed forward into the receiver but prevents the exhausted tape from being pulled back, thereby eliminating tape retrieval and reducing waste accumulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a tape recycling system where the tape path extends from the supply reel through the receiver assembly and back to an exhaust reel. The reverse locking pawl mechanism ensures that only forward movement is permitted, allowing continuous circulation of the tape while preventing backward movement that would cause waste. This enables the system to recover and reuse the tape continuously.
2Device complexity
If the exhausted tape is left as a free end and allowed to fall on the floor, then the system operates simply, but cleanup costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problematic free-end tape disposal issue by implementing a closed-loop tape path that returns from the exhaust reel through the receiver assembly back to the supply reel. This extraction eliminates the need for tape to fall on the floor by providing a designated return path, thereby removing the cleanup requirement while maintaining system simplicity.
3Ease of operation
If the tape path allows reverse movement, then the tape can be repositioned, but positioning precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses reverse locking pawls that selectively permit forward movement while blocking backward movement. This creates a controlled one-way positioning system where the tape can be fed forward to the correct position but cannot move backward, ensuring precise rivet alignment with the punch while maintaining operational simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A receiver assembly can be coupled to a spindle to receive self-piercing rivets carried by a tape along a tape path below a punch. A reverse locking pawl can be designed to permit movement of the tape relative to the reverse locking pawl along the tape path in a forward direction and to engage a positioning aperture of the tape to stop movement of the tape in the reverse direction when a lead rivet is aligned with the punch. A method can include moving the tape forward along the tape path until a lead rivet of the tape is at a position along the tape path that is beyond an alignment position with the punch, and moving the tape in reverse to engage the corresponding positioning aperture.