Inflation manifold, method of and apparatus for heading plastic safety pins therein

Abstract

A method of heading a thermoplastic safety pin in a manifold for use with an inflatable article such as a life vest, life raft, and the like. Before operation, a manifold has a capsule containing compressed gas mounted thereon, the manifold being actuated to inflate the inflatable article by pulling a lanyard attached to a lever which thrusts a capsule-piercing pin into the soft metal seal on the capsule. Before the operation of the manifold, the lever is held in locked-inoperative position by a frangible plastic pin which extends through a hole in the lever and aligned holes in the body of the manifold on both sides of a longitudinal slot therein which receives the lever when the latter is in inoperative position. When the operator swings the lever in order to advance the capsule-piercing pin to pierce the seal on the capsule, the plastic pin is broken. In accordance with the method of the invention, after the pin has been mounted in the manifold, the previously unheaded end of the pin is partially melted and compressed so as to flow laterally to form a head thereon. The die which engages the initially unheaded end of the pin is heated to a temperature which markedly exceeds the melting point of the plastic material of which the pin is made. In accordance with the method of the invention, such die is brought forcibly into contact with and is removed from engagement with the initially unheaded end of the pin several times a second, so as to avoid the complete melting of the pin and the sticking of the plastic material to the heated die.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.