Abstract: A trigger adaptor allowing a conventional pistol-grip type hand held power tool to be used when suspended pointing vertically downwards, so that the operator may grip the tool and position it where desired and still be able to actuate the tool trigger. The adaptor includes a tubular grip surrounding the tool barrel and freely rotatable around it. The grip extends between upper and lower annular securing parts each of which is secured to the tool barrel. A longitudinal groove in the grip carries an auxiliary trigger bar pivoted at a lower end thereof on a pin. When the trigger bar is squeezed inwardly, its upper end bears on the underside of a flange at the top of a tube. When the flange rises it drives up a pushrod, which contacts the tool trigger and moves it to actuate the tool.

Abstract: A pin-type fastener capable of dual-function includes a pin which can be used in fastening workpieces together. The pin has a pintail capable of being removed from the remainder of the pin after the pin has been installed as a fastener in a workpiece, and the pintail can then be used as a weldstud and welded to the same workpiece as the pin-type fastener, or to another workpiece. The pin-type fastener can be a two-part fastener, for example a lockbolt including a nut or swageable collar engageable with the pin. The pin may have a breakneck to facilitate removal of the pintail. The pin itself may be a weldstud. In use, the pin-type fastener is installed in a workpiece and the pintail is removed, and then the pintail is used as a weldstud, being welded to a workpiece. Electric welding is employed. The advantage of the fastener is in economy through second use of the pintail as a stud.

Abstract: A removable rivet which includes a shank and a preformed head located at at least one end of the shank, the shank being insertable through workpieces and being capable of being permanently deformed to rivet the workpieces together. The rivet includes an annular groove at the junction of the shank and the head, the annular groove extending radially inwardly of the diameter of the shank, thereby to facilitate separation of the head from the shank when a drill of diameter substantially equal to that of the shank is applied to the head of an installed rivet co-axially with the shank until the drill meets the annular groove; an annular rim carried by the head of the rivet for cooperating with a drill, thereby to locate the drill co-axially with the annular groove; and abutment faces carried by the head of the rivet for engaging dogs of a non-rotating sleeve of the drilling apparatus thereby to prevent rotation of the rivet under the influence of the rotating drill.

Abstract: A tubular body (74, 102) having a deformable internal annular skirt is made from a blank (10, 80) having a stopped bore (20) which terminates at an end wall (24). First, an aperture (40) is formed in the end wall (24) to provided a through bore, of which a main region is provided by the formerly stopped bore (20). The aperture (40) is made to taper towards the main region and to a diameter substantially smaller than that of the main region. Material peripherally of the aperture (40) is then swaged towards and into the main region, and radially outwardly in the main region, thereby forming the swaged material into a skirt. The tapering aperture (40) can be formed by use of a punch (30) and a die (32) having a die aperture (36) larger than the punch diameter. By making the aperture (40) not radially symmetrical, the resulting skirt (70, 98) can be made of unequal lengths on opposite radii.

Abstract: A riveting tool of the kind having an elongate, headed, mandrel on which a plurality of tubular rivets are supported as a column, and which can be gripped and reciprocated relative to an abutment by reciprocable gripping jaws so as to draw the head of the mandrel through each rivet supported in turn by the abutment, and having a mechanism for feeding the column of rivets towards the head of the mandrel, has both the rivet feeding mechanism and the gripping of the mandrel by the jaws operated pneumatically, each respectively being under the control of a manually operable valve. In order to avoid the possibility of the feeding mechanism being actuated at a time when the mandrel is not gripped by the jaws, the valves are interengaged with a detent arranged to prevent opening of the valve which controls the rivet feeding mechanism when the valve which controls the jaws is closed.

Abstract: A self-plugging blind fastener suitable for fastening apertured sheets together, and of the type comprising a body having a shank, headed at one end, and an axial bore in which is disposed an elongate stem which, in use, is pulled to expand the shank and lock part of the stem in the body, has an improvement for locking the stem in the body. The head end of the bore is of reduced diameter and presents a stop-shoulder. The stop-shoulder is an annular skirt partly separated from surrounding material by an annular cleavage, and presents a planar stop-face facing away from the head-end. The stem comprises a plug which is connected by a breakneck to a stem-tail for pulling the plug into the bore of the body. The plug has an annular locking recess spaced from the breakneck, and is radially enlarged on the side of the locking recess remote from the breakneck to provide a plug-shoulder and shank-enlarging means.

Abstract: An apparatus for the pull-through blind installation of a headless tubular ferrule in a hole in a workpiece at a position therealong spaced from the nearer face of the workpiece includes an annular anvil for supporting the ferrule inside the workpiece hole; anvil supporting means for initially supporting the anvil at a position inside the workpiece hole; a mandrel having a stem extending through the anvil aperture; and an enlarged head.

Abstract: A self-plugging blind rivet, of the kind comprising a tubular body having a head and a shank which is deformed by means of a headed stem which is disposed in the body and pulled so as to form a blind head and, if necessary, to cause the shank to bulb so as to grip workpieces of lesser thickness than the maximum for which the rivet is designed, is so shaped and dimensioned as to avoid the need for a crimping or hardening operation to be performed on the shank. Thus the shank is made of uniform hardness, and has a waist and a tail portion, the waist being of reduced external diameter compared with the tail portion, and the tail portion having a length B and an external diameter D which are related to satisfy the expressionB=mD+nwhereinB is the length in millimeters, of the tail portion;D is the external diameter, in millimeters, of the tail portion;n is a length, in millimeters, of from 2.15 to 2.73 millimeters, andm is a number from 0.373 to 0.527 inclusive.

Abstract: A self-plugging blind rivet 10 comprises a tubular body 14 having a preformed head 34 at one end, and in the bore 36 of which a headed stem 12 is disposed. The stem 12 projects from the head 34 end of the body 14, and the head 18 of the stem 12 is substantially enclosed by a region 42 of the body 14 remote from the preformed head 34. The head 18 of the stem 12 abuts a shoulder 44 provided by a region 43 of the body 14 in which the diameter of the bore 36 is reduced and the wall is thickened. Axially spaced apart annular grooves 46, 48 in the external surface of the body 14 define between them a portion 50 which will collapse to form a blind head when the body 14 is compressed axially by pulling the stem 12 while supporting the preformed head 34. Finally, the stem head 18 may be pulled into the reduced diameter region 40 of the bore 36 and thereby cause the blind head to be reshaped and forced into compressive engagement with work being fastened.

Abstract: A nosepiece assembly for a blind pull-through riveting tool has long nosepiece jaws (11a, 11a) for access into deep, narrow cavities. The inside of the nosepiece assembly is provided with a device for locking the jaws together at least when a rivet is being installed. The locking device includes a frusto-conical locking face (35) on the front end of a tube (34) fixed to the tool barrel (18), co-operating with two half frusto-conical faces on the inside of the jaws. The locking faces are normally urged out of engagement by the spring (20) and are urged into locking engagement by the rearwards axial force exerted on the jaw anvil (25) by the head (33) of the rivet being installed. In a modification, the spring (20) normally urges the locking faces (35, 36) into engagement, and they are urged out of engagement by the next rivet being fed forwardly through the anvil parts (13, 13).

Abstract: Apparatus for presenting blind rivets (11) of the type comprising a shell (12) and a projecting stem (13), one at a time for pick-up by the nosepiece (28) of a rivet setting tool, includes gate means comprising a pair of guide members (24) for receiving a rivet (11) blown by air along a hose (39). The guide membes are urged by a spring (25) into their closed position, in which they arrest each rivet and position it in uniform orientation with its stem (13) projecting. Locating means (30) receives the nose piece (28) and guides it into the correct position and orientation for picking up the rivet by its projecting stem. A proximity detector (37) detects when the tool nose tip is correctly located, and actuates a pneumatically driven plunger (18) which pushes the guide members (24) apart to release the rivet into the tool nosepiece (28).

Abstract: For use in a robotically operated workstation, apparatus for installing fasteners, for example tubular blind rivets, comprises a pneumatically operated fastener installation tool 16. The tool 16 has a part in the form of a headed mandrel 22 which is loaded with and carries a finite supply of the fasteners, a gripping and pulling actuator 26 and a nose assembly 21 which provides an abutment 18 for supporting successive rivets while the mandrel is pulled to draw its head through and set the rivet. For reloading the tool with further fasteners, after use, the apparatus includes a nest 96b for detaching and receiving the mandrel 22, together with the nose assembly 21, from the actuator 26, and a similar nest 96a provided with another nose assembly and another mandrel fully loaded with fasteners which it presents and attaches to the actuator 26.

Abstract: Repetition pull-through blind riveting apparatus (10), of the type comprising a reusable and reloadable mandrel with an enlarged head which is pulled through each tubular rivet in turn to install the rivet is provided with a safety device (141) for counting the total number of times the mandrel has been pulled. The apparatus includes pneumatically-operated mandrel pulling device, and a counter (132) counts the number of times the pressure of the air powering the pulling device reaches a pressure slightly below that required to pull the mandrel head through a rivet. The counter (132) is arranged to actuate, when a safe limit number of pulls has been counted, both a shut-off valve (137) to shut-off the supply of pressure air to the mandrel pulling device, and a visual indicator (135). The visual indicator (135) may be actuated at a warning count number rather lower than the safe limit number.

Abstract: A fastener, intended for fastening a sandwich panel (b) to a support (a), and including a headed bolt (1) having a break off tail portion, and a flanged tubular body (4) into which the main portion of the shank (3) of the bolt is pulled so as to lockingly interengage the body and set the fastener, includes a deformable tubular spacer (10) disposed on the shank (3) of the bolt (1) between the body (4) and the head (2) of the bolt (1). The spacer (10) is in the form of a sleeve having a tubular central core, and peripheral grooves (12) between which are annular fins (11). The spacer is capable of being deformed to a substantially shorter axial length by axial compression under substantially constant predetermined load.

Abstract: Fastener installation apparatus, for installing fasteners such as blind rivets of the type which includes a washer-like member (13) which is free to fall away from the installed fastener, is provided with temporary retaining means for temporarily retaining the washer-like member on the installation apparatus after installation of the fastener. The temporary retaining means comprises a pair of gripping faces (42, 42) which project forwardly from the reaction faces (25, 25) of a pair of members (40 or 48) which are part of the nosepiece of the apparatus. The gripping faces (42, 42) close together automatically to grip the washer-like member as the installation apparatus installs a fastener, and draw apart again to release the washer-like member as the installation apparatus returns to be ready to receive a further fastener for installation.

Abstract: Discharge apparatus for discharging broken-off fastener parts (such as the stems of blind rivets) from fastener installation apparatus, comprises a passageway (13) along which the parts (37) are conveyed away from the installation apparatus (11) by a flow of air generated by a vacuum pump (14). The end of the passageway (13) remote from the installation apparatus (11) is normally sealed against the entry of air by a discharge valve (16). A broken-off part (37) approaching the discharge valve (16) is detected by an approach sensor (34) which is connected by a latching relay unit (33) and a control valve (25) to actuate a pneumatic ram (22) to open the discharge valve (16). At the same time the vacuum pump (14) is turned off to prevent a reverse flow of air through the open valve (16). The part (37) is discharged through the valve (16) and into a receptacle (19) which is outside the vacuum system.

Abstract: A breakstem rivet installation tool includes a jaw mechanism (12) for gripping the stem of a rivet, and a pneumatically actuated piston and cylinder device (13) for applying pulling force to the jaw mechanism. It is provided with a damping valve (22) for damping the flow of air from the piston and cylinder device (13) when the force is suddenly released on breaking of a rivet stem (23), thereby to reduce mechanical shock to the tool, and noise of fast-escaping air. The damping valve (22) comprises a resilient steel circular disc (32) which is secured at its center to the apex of a domed member (28) provided with vent holes (26). The undeformed shape of the disc (32) is flat. When, in use of the tool, a rivet stem breaks and the restraining force on the piston (15) is released, the velocity of air flow past the disc (32) urges the disc to bend towards the domed surface of the member (28), thereby restricting the air flow through the vents (26).

Abstract: A blind rivet able to be anchored in material such as softwood, without the need to break through the blind face of the material, comprises a tubular shell and a stem which extends through the shell. The shell has a preformed heat at one end of a shank. An end portion of the shank remote from the head has a thinner wall than the main, next adjacent, portion of the shank, and is thus weakened and made more easily expandible. The stem has a plugging portion having an expander head adjacent the thin-walled end portion of the shell, a breakneck, and a pulling portion which projects from the head end of the shell. The expander head increases in diameter away from the pulling portion, and presents a plurality of longitudinal cutting elements generally towards the weakened end portion of the shell. On gripping the pulling portion and pulling the stem, the cutting elements split the end portion of the shell into a plurality of legs, while the expander head enters into the end portion and forces the legs outwardly.

Abstract: A self-plugging blind fastener of the type having a tubular, headed, body, and a stem which is pulled and locked relative to the body to set the fastener, has improved locking means provided in the form of a deformable annular locking collar which is disposed on the stem, a locking groove on the plug part of the stem, and an annular recess at the head end of the body provided as an enlargement of the bore. The recess has a generally cylindrical outer region of substantially greater diameter than the main region of the bore, and a tapered inner region in which the diameter of the recess reduces to that of the main region of the bore. The recess can be stepped between the outer and inner regions.

Abstract: A breakstem river installation tool includes a jaw mechanism (12) for gripping the stem of a rivet, and a pneumatically actuated piston and cylinder device (13) for applying pulling force to the jaw mechanism. It is provided with a damping valve (22) for damping the flow of air from the piston and cylinder device (13) when the force is suddenly released on breaking of a rivet stem (23), thereby to reduce mechanical shock to the tool, and noise of fast-escaping air. The damping valve (22) comprises a resilient steel circular disc (32) which is secured at its center to the apex of a domed member (28) provided with vent holes (26). The undeformed shape of the disc (32) is flat. When, in use of the tool, a rivet stem breaks and the restraining force on the piston (15) is released, the velocity of air flow past the disc (32) urges the disc to bend towards the domed surface of the member (28), thereby restricting the air flow through the vents (26).