The invention relates to an apparatus for braking and holding a processing element that has a head and that is automatically supplied to a tool. The apparatus has a guide channel for the processing element; and a braking element that is movably supported between a braking position and a release position and that can be at least partly introduced into the guide channel to brake and hold the processing element supplied. A part of the braking element that projects into the guide channel in the braking position and thereby narrows the guide channel has an end face that faces the guide channel and that forms a latch recess for holding the head of the processing element.

The invention relates to a magazine (24) for holding a plurality of joining elements (10) and for feeding said joining elements (10) to a joining device (27), comprising two storage grooves (38) for storing and guiding the joining elements (10), said storage grooves extending at least in sections along two mutually concentric circular paths.

A nose arrangement for a fastener setting tool having a punch for setting fasteners comprises a support that receives the punch and a nosepiece for guiding the punch and a fastener during a fastener setting operation. The nose arrangement defines first and second fastener transfer areas where wait to be transferred under the punch. A transfer mechanism transfers the fasteners from the first and second fastener transfer areas under the punch and comprises a movable member that can be moved between first and second configurations. In the first configuration the movable member holds a first fastener in a stand-by position under the punch while it collects a second fastener from the first fastener transfer area. In the second configuration, the movable member holds the second fastener in the stand-by position while it collects a third fastener from the second fastener transfer area.

A system and method for forming a foundation truss for a box spring or mattress foundation frame includes a first truss rail assembly station having a series of block feeders, a top rail hopper and a filler strip hopper that received stacks of truss components such as blocks, top rails and filler strips and feed such truss components into stacked registration. The stacked truss components are moved into engagement with a series of staplers that secure the filler strips, top rails and blocks together to form first truss rail portions, which are then fed to a second truss rail assembly station where a bottom rail is automatically applied thereto.

An assembling apparatus is provided for continuously assembling male fasteners and female fasteners on a carrier sheet. The assembling apparatus includes two rollers each having a plurality of retaining holes, a suction device coupled to apply vacuum to the retaining holes, and two feeding devices for feeding male and female fasteners respectively to the two rollers. In the process of continuously advancing the carrier sheet to pass through the narrowest gap between the rollers, each male fastener retained on one of the rollers, once passing the narrowest gap, is permitted to extend through the carrier sheet to be brought into fastening engagement with the corresponding female fastener retained on the other one of the rollers.

An automatic process is provided for continuously assembling male and female fasteners on a carrier sheet, and includes a) continuously advancing the carrier sheet to pass through a narrowest gap between first and second rollers, b) sequentially feeding the male and female fasteners onto the first and second rollers, respectively, and c) rotating the first and second rollers to permit the male and female fasteners respectively on the first and second rollers to sequentially move into the narrowest gap. Each of the male fasteners, once moving into the narrowest gap, extends through the carrier sheet to be brought into fastening engagement with the corresponding female fastener in the narrowest gap.

There are provided a bolt caulking method and a bolt caulking device which ensure supply and caulking of a bolt as a single operation. The method is a bolt caulking method including supplying a bolt into a nose piece having a vertical hole, and lowering a punch from above to drive the bolt into a metal plate. The bolt is supplied through a pipe connected to a side of the nose piece, and dropped into a vertical hole formed in the nose piece along an inclined hole formed at a tip end of the pipe with a head part of the bolt being located on the topside. Thereafter, the punch which ejects air from a central hole is lowered within the vertical hole to drive the bolt into a metal plate while holding the bolt at a lower part of the vertical hole by the ejecting air flow.

A self-piercing rivet escapement mechanism for a rivet setting machine includes a self-piercing rivet track in which self-piercing rivets are receivable. A first resiliently biased jaw is biased towards a closed configuration in which the first resiliently biased jaw retains self-piercing rivets in the self-piercing rivet track. The first resiliently biased jaw is moveable to an open configuration in which a self-piercing rivet can escape the self-piercing rivet track. The first resiliently biased jaw is configured to move from the closed configuration to the open configuration upon exertion of a load upon the first resiliently biased jaw.

The invention relates to a switch arrangement (10, 40) for the selection of joining elements (30), which comprises a switch (14, 42) that comprises at least three supply points (12a, . . . f, 44a, . . . f) in which joining elements (30) can be supplied to the switch (14, 42) in a position-oriented manner. Furthermore, an output point (22, 66) is provided where joining elements (30) can be output in a position-oriented manner, said switch (14, 42) comprising a conveying element (18, 52) which has at least three receiving compartments (20a, . . . f, 56a, . . . f) each being adapted to receive a supplied joining element (30) each at the supply point (12a, . . f, 44a . . . f). A conveying element (18, 52) can convey the joining elements from a receiving position to an output position from the supply point (12a, . . . f, 44a, . . . f) to an output point (22, 66), which is fixed relative to the supply points (12a, . . . f, 44a, . . . f), and output.

A pre-separating device includes a channel which has a feed opening and an outlet opening and through which joining elements can be conveyed. A first channel-blocking element has a first actuating device and a second channel-blocking element has a second actuating device. Each of the first channel-blocking element and the second channel-blocking element is movable between a blocking position and a passage position. The second channel-blocking element is disposed downstream of the first channel-blocking element in a conveying direction of the joining elements. A first compressed-air supply opening leads into the channel upstream of the first channel-blocking element in the conveying direction and a second compressed-air supply opening leads into the channel between the first channel-blocking element and the second channel-blocking element.