PISTON RINGING APPARATUS

摘要

Piston-ringing apparatus comprises a tubular piston nest member for receiving each piston to locate the piston groove in a predetermined ring-receiving position, a plurality of ring cartridges positionable one at a time in alignment with the piston nest member. The aligned ring cartridge is engaged to the piston nest member to permit transfer of rings from the ring cartridge to the piston nest member and disengage the aligned ring cartridge when empty of rings. The stack of rings on the cartridge is moved by opposing fingers toward the piston groove to position an endmost ring residing on the nest member in the groove of each successive piston received in the nest member while the aligned ring cartridge is engaged thereto. A fiber optic switch is provided for directing a light beam tangentially through the piston groove to determine whether a ring is positioned therein. The switch provides a finger motor drive signal to stop feeding of a ring to the piston groove when a ring is present in the piston groove. When the aligned ring cartridge empty of rings is disengaged from the piston nest member for replacement by another ring cartridge full of rings, the opposing fingers are operable to move the stack of rings residing only on the nest member to position an endmost ring thereof in the groove of each successive piston received in the nest member. In this way, there is no interruption in the ringing of successive pistons when the aligned ring cartridge is disengaged from the nest member for replacement.