Component feeder

Details Component feeder Component feeder

1999-07-22

2001-02-20

Noland, Kenneth W. (Department: 3651)

Article dispensing

With orienting

Segregation of aligned articles according to orientation

C221S277000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06189733

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a component feeder for feeding a large number of chip components aligned in a line.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventional component feeders, bulk feeders and vibrating hopper feeders are known. The bulk feeders may be roughly classified into the disentanglement-by-air type and the disentanglement-by-thrust-up-pin type. In the air type, there is a problem of difficulty in adjusting the amount and the direction of air, while in the thrust-up pin type, there is a problem in that components are prone to be damaged as the pin strikes components at each stroke. Since chip components are simultaneously directed toward a funnel-shaped outlet in either of these types, even if an entanglement is broken once, another entanglement will form, resulting in decreased feeding efficiency. In contrast, in the vibrating hopper feeder, although entanglements are difficult to form, there are problems in that the apparatus is expensive, vibrations may be transmitted to other apparatuses, and a large space is required for installation.
In order to solve these problems, Japanese Patent Application No. 9-180348 of the same assignee (which is not published yet), proposed a component feeder having a simple structure and high efficiency in aligning and discharging components. This component feeder comprises a component storage housing for accommodating chip components disposed between a fixed drum and a rotary drum, an aligning groove disposed on the inner surface of the fixed drum to slide the chip components downward aligned in a predetermined direction, a gate disposed in the bottom end of the aligning groove to pass chip components individually to slide down along the aligning groove in a predetermined orientation therethrough, and a discharge path for discharging the chip component passed through the gate in an aligned state. On the inner surface of the rotary drum, lug members are provided for urging a component stopping at the gate in an abnormal orientation to move toward the direction opposite to discharge so as to undo the blockage.
In this component feeder, chip components are dropped into the aligning groove so as to be aligned in a predetermined direction, then are passed through the gate so as to be aligned in a predetermined orientation, and moreover, blockages are cleared by the lug members of the rotary drum, resulting in high efficiency in aligning and discharging components. However, since chip components are directly supplied to the component storage housing, in consideration of efficiency in aligning and discharging of chip components, it is not preferable to supply a large number of chip components. When a large number of chip components is supplied in an enlarged component storage housing, extended agitation time of chip components produces a risk of damage to components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a component feeder with a small risk of damage to chip components and which has high efficiency in supplying components by aligning them in one line.
In order to accomplish the above-mentioned object, in accordance with the present invention, a component feeder comprises a feeder body; a rotary drum rotating relative to the feeder body about a horizontal axis; a component storage housing formed between the feeder body and the rotary drum for storing chip components; a circumferential wall formed in the rotary drum, which divides the component storage housing into an inner housing and an outer housing; supplying means for supplying a predetermined number of chip components at a time from the inner housing to the outer housing in accordance with the rotation of the rotary drum; an aligning and discharging section disposed in the outer housing for aligning chip components in a line and discharging them; a return path for returning chip components from the outer housing to the inner housing; and raking-up means rotating along the outer housing for raking up excess chip components in the outer housing so as to return them to the inner housing via the return path.
The chip components supplied to the inner housing of the component storage housing are transferred at the rate of a predetermined number thereof from the inner housing to the outer housing by the supplying means in accordance with the rotation of the rotary drum. The chip components entered in the outer housing are discharged by the aligning and discharging section aligned in a line. When the number of chip components in the outer housing is excess, problems may arise such as the possibilities of entanglement, decreased aligning efficiency, and damage to components by meshing with each other. However, since the excess chip components in the outer housing are raked up by the raking means to be returned to the inner housing via the return path, the number of components in the outer housing is comparatively small, resulting in increasing aligning efficiency and reduction of damage to components.
In a component feeder according to the present invention, the supplying means may comprise a pocket disposed in the circumferential wall for raking up a predetermined number of chip components in the inner housing at a time in accordance with the rotation of the rotary drum, a reception inlet disposed in a position of the feeder body facing to the inner housing for receiving chip components raked by the pocket, and a guide path disposed in the feeder body for guiding chip components received by the reception inlet to the outer housing, or the supplying means may be a communicating path formed so as to form connections between the inner peripheral side of the circumferential wall and the outer peripheral side thereof for transferring chip components from the inner housing to the outer housing in accordance with the rotation of the rotary drum.
The above-mentioned raking-up means may be formed separated from the rotary drum; when it is unitarily formed with the rotary drum, the raking-up means rotates unitarily with the rotary drum without requiring another power source, resulting in a simple structure. It is preferable that the raking up means generally have the same sectional shape as the cross-section of the outer housing.
When chip components are supplied to the return path by raking means at the high rotating speed of the rotary drum, the flipped chip components are difficult to enter into the return path. Therefore, excess components accumulate in the outer housing so as to decrease aligning efficiency. Accordingly, the raking-up means may preferably be a return lug member protrudingly formed on the outer peripheral surface of the circumferential wall, wherein the return path is a communicating path which passes through the circumferential wall from the immediately front position of the return lug member in the rotational direction so as to communicate with the inner peripheral side of the circumferential wall, being inclined toward the outer diameter of the rotary drum relative to the rotational direction thereof. That is, the chip components struck by the return lug member can easily enter into the return path by positioning the aperture of the return path at the immediately front position of the return lug member in the rotational direction. Since the return path is inclined toward the outer diameter of the rotary drum relative to the rotational direction thereof, when the return path is rotated to the upper portion of the rotary drum, the inclination angle thereof is steep so that the chip components in the return path can be easily dropped into the inner housing. In contrast, when the return path is rotated to the lower portion of the rotary drum, the inclination angle thereof is gentle and the chip components pass through over the aperture of the return path in the outer housing side, resulting in preventing the chip components from reversing from the inner housing to the outer housing.
A component feeder further may preferably comprise an external storage housing disposed in

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