Functional element
An apparatus and a method for attaching functional elements, e.g. composed of metal, to a component, in particular to a component comprising fiber-reinforced plastic, while using a setting head, wherein the functional element has a contact surface provided with adhesive and wherein the adhesive can be supplied to the setting head in individual depots adapted to the functional elements on a carrier band is characterized in that the functional elements are taken over by a guide device and are each pressable to an adhesive depot and are subsequently guidable with the adhering adhesive depots and separately from the carrier band in the setting head to the setting position in front of a setting die.
1. An apparatus for attaching functional elements to a component while using a setting head having a setting plunger, the apparatus comprising:
a supply device for supplying the functional elements in a row to a guide device, each of the functional elements having a contact surface and the guide device having a guide rail for feeding the functional elements to a setting position of the setting head in front of the setting plunger,
a carrier band carrying individual adhesive depots provided with an adhesive and adapted to adhere to the contact surfaces of the functional elements,
a movable device at the guide device adapted to bring the contact surfaces of the functional elements into contact with the adhesive depots on the carrier band, to separate the functional elements with the adhesive depots from the carrier band and to move them on the guide rail to the setting head,
the guide rail being present in a mouth piece of the setting head,
the movable device being one of a rotatable wheel with receivers for the functional elements which takes over the functional elements from the supply device, which presses them against the adhesive depots carried by the carrier band and which directly conveys them onto the guide rail of the mouth piece, and a revolving conveyor with receivers for the functional elements which takes over the functional elements from the guide device, which presses them against the adhesive depots carried by the carrier band and directly conveys them onto the guide rail of the mouth piece,
wherein the carrier band consists of a support band carrying the adhesive depots and a removable protective film, the carrier band wound up to form a roll,
wherein the receivers of the movable device in the form of the rotating wheel or the revolving conveyor face radially outwardly from the movable device,
wherein the movable device is integrated into the mouth piece.
2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the functional elements are composed of metal.
3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the component comprises fiber-reinforced plastic.
4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein a guide track of the supply device is formed by a guide passage, guide tube, or guide rail.
5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the functional elements are supplied to the guide device in a plurality of rows next to one another.
6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the carrier band with the adhesive depots is covered in front of the setting head by a cover band removable from the adhesive, with the adhesive depots being disposed between the carrier band and the cover band.
7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the cover band is separable from the carrier band via a deflection roller.
8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the deflection roller is arranged above the carrier band, beneath a supply device guiding the functional elements to the guide device and is arranged on an inflow side of the mouth piece.
9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the carrier band can be led off to the bottom about a deflection roller that is located in a cut-out of the mouth piece.
10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the deflection roller is arranged such that the functional elements are movable tangentially to the surface of the deflection roller of the carrier band directly on the guide rail of the mouth piece.
11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein at least one of the adhesive depots and the carrier band is configured such that the adhesive depots adhere less strongly to the carrier band than to the functional elements.
12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the mouth piece of the supply device is releasably connected to the setting head by means of a movable latching nose.
13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is adapted either to push a functional element immediately into a die channel of the setting head or only to bring it into a waiting position in front of the die channel after application of the adhesive to said functional element.
14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein a flushing system is integrated in the setting head to flush adhesive residues out of the setting head as required.