Operator safety device for attaching apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An attaching apparatus for attaching first and second mating fastener elements to material at a setting station including:
- support means and ram means at the setting station;
first disposing means for disposing a first fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by one of said support means and said ram means;
second disposing means for disposing a second fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by the other of said support means and said ram means;
moving means for creating relative movement between said support means and said ram means to attach the first fastener element and the second fastener element to each other at the setting station;
activation control means for controlling movement of each of said ram means and said support means by said moving means during a cycle of operation of said attaching apparatus;
and control preventing means for preventing said moving means from moving said ram means into an area in which an extremity of an operator of said attaching apparatus will be struck by said ram means when the operator has an extremity in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means including;
vertically movable engaging means for engaging an operator'"'"'s extremity when the extremity is disposed in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means;
causing means for causing movement of said vertically movable engaging means away from its home position at the start of each cycle of operation of said attaching apparatus to a detecting position to detect whether an extremity of the operator is in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means;
return means for returning said vertically movable engaging means to its home position in which said vertically movable engaging means will not engage an operator'"'"'s extremity when the extremity is disposed in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means;
first preventing means for preventing said moving means from moving said ram means into the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means if said vertically movable engaging means engages an extremity of the operator in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means;
and rendering means for rendering said first preventing means ineffective only after said first preventing means is effective to stop the cycle of operation before it is completed until said vertically movable engaging means is returned to its home position by said return means and another cycle of operation is started and said vertically movable engaging means does not engage an extremity of the operator in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cycle of operation of an attaching apparatus begins with determining whether an operator'"'"'s extremity is in an area in which it can be struck by a downwardly moving ram during attachment of two fasteners to each other and to a material therebetween. If it is determined that the operator'"'"'s extremity is not in the area in which it can be struck by the downwardly moving ram, the remainder of the cycle of operation is completed. If it is determined that the operator'"'"'s extremity is in the area in which it can be struck by the downwardly moving ram, the cycle of operation must begin again.
95 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An attaching apparatus for attaching first and second mating fastener elements to material at a setting station including:
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support means and ram means at the setting station; first disposing means for disposing a first fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by one of said support means and said ram means; second disposing means for disposing a second fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by the other of said support means and said ram means; moving means for creating relative movement between said support means and said ram means to attach the first fastener element and the second fastener element to each other at the setting station; activation control means for controlling movement of each of said ram means and said support means by said moving means during a cycle of operation of said attaching apparatus; and control preventing means for preventing said moving means from moving said ram means into an area in which an extremity of an operator of said attaching apparatus will be struck by said ram means when the operator has an extremity in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means including; vertically movable engaging means for engaging an operator'"'"'s extremity when the extremity is disposed in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means; causing means for causing movement of said vertically movable engaging means away from its home position at the start of each cycle of operation of said attaching apparatus to a detecting position to detect whether an extremity of the operator is in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means; return means for returning said vertically movable engaging means to its home position in which said vertically movable engaging means will not engage an operator'"'"'s extremity when the extremity is disposed in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means; first preventing means for preventing said moving means from moving said ram means into the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means if said vertically movable engaging means engages an extremity of the operator in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means; and rendering means for rendering said first preventing means ineffective only after said first preventing means is effective to stop the cycle of operation before it is completed until said vertically movable engaging means is returned to its home position by said return means and another cycle of operation is started and said vertically movable engaging means does not engage an extremity of the operator in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An attaching apparatus for attaching first and second mating fastener elements to material at a setting station including:
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support means and ram means at the setting station; first disposing means for disposing a first fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by one of said support means and said ram means; second disposing means for disposing a second fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by the other of said support means and said ram means; moving means for creating relative movement between said support means and said ram means to attach the first fastener element and the second fastener element to each other at the setting station; said moving means including; driving means; and rotatable means driven by said driving means for creating relative movement between said support means and said ram means; selective connecting means for selectively connecting said driving means to said rotatable means to start a cycle of operation of said attaching apparatus; and said selective connecting means including; first holding means for holding said rotatable means at its home position; means for releasing said first holding means when a cycle of operation of said attaching apparatus is started; second holding means for holding said rotatable means at a position advanced from the home position after said releasing means is effective if an operator'"'"'s extremity is in an area in which the operator'"'"'s extremity will be struck by said ram means when said ram means is moved into the area in which the operator'"'"'s extremity will be struck by said ram means; and means for rendering said second holding means ineffective in the next cycle of operation only if no operator'"'"'s extremity is in an area in which the operator'"'"'s extremity will be struck by said ram means when said ram means is moved into the area in which the operator'"'"'s extremity will be struck by said ram means. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. An attaching apparatus for attaching first and second mating fastener elements to material at a setting station including:
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support means and ram means at the setting station; first disposing means for disposing a first fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by one of said support means and said ram means; second disposing means for disposing a second fastener element at the setting station in a specific orientation for engagement by the other of said support means and said ram means; moving means for creating relative movement between said support means and said ram means to attach the first fastener element and the second fastener element to each other at the setting station; activation control means for controlling activation of each of said ram means and said support means by said moving means during a cycle of operation of said attaching apparatus; control preventing means for preventing said moving means from moving said ram means into an area in which an extremity of an operator of said attaching apparatus will be struck by said ram means when the extremity is in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means; said control preventing means including determining means for determining in an initial portion of each cycle of operation if an extremity of an operator of said attaching apparatus will be struck by said ram means when the extremity is in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means; and said control preventing means including stopping means for stopping the cycle of operation before its completion after it is determined by said determining means that the operator'"'"'s extremity is in the area in which the extremity will be struck by said ram means during movement of said ram means with said activation control means remaining in the position to which it has been moved prior to the cycle of operation being stopped before its completion by said stopping means. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification