Article dispensing – With discharge assistant – Delivering segregated articles to holddown means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-27
2002-02-12
Bollinger, David H. (Department: 3651)
Article dispensing
With discharge assistant
Delivering segregated articles to holddown means
C221S251000, C221S290000, C221S294000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06345728
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a component feeding apparatus and method and a component mounting apparatus having the component feeding apparatus to be used in a component mounting apparatus and method for sequentially mounting components stored in a stick (stick-shaped magazine) onto circuit formation bodies such as circuit boards, components, casings, frames, or the like, whereby components are sequentially supplied to a predetermined position, for example, a component feed position where a component holding member of the component mounting apparatus holds the component.
A stick is employed in one form of feeding components. A conventional feed method and an apparatus therefor will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
FIGS. 13 and 14
, a component feeding apparatus of the type referred to above includes a holder
3
for holding a stick
1
storing components
2
, an inclined chute
4
set with an inclination to pass the components
2
from the stick
1
and provided with a separating device
5
at a leading end part for separating the leading component only, and a rotary device
40
for holding and rotating the separated leading component
2
to a horizontal position
6
.
The conventional rotary device
40
is constituted of a rotary block
42
set rotatably to a fulcrum
41
in the vicinity of the leading end of the inclined chute
4
, a driving source
43
for rotating the rotary block
42
, a lever
44
for transmitting a driving force of the driving source
43
to the rotary block
42
, a shutter
45
which slides to open and close at normal times to prevent the component
2
from popping outside, a driving source
46
for opening and closing the shutter
45
, and a lever
47
for transmitting a driving force of the driving source
46
to the shutter
45
. Both the driving source
43
for the rotary device
40
and the driving source
46
for opening and closing the shutter
45
are set outside the apparatus to be shared with the other component feeding apparatuses.
The rotary device
40
presses the lever
44
through driving of the driving source
43
, thereby rotating the rotary block
42
to move the leading component
2
to the horizontal position
6
. Thereafter, the driving source
46
is driven to press the lever
47
, whereby the shutter
45
slides to open. Then, the component
2
is sucked by a nozzle
82
of a head part
81
of a component mounting apparatus as shown in FIG.
12
and mounted to a printed board
84
by an XY robot
83
set for moving the head part
81
.
In the above-described constitution, the apparatus has the driving sources set outside to be shared with the other component feeding apparatuses and therefore an availability is low. In order to hold and move the component
2
to the horizontal position
6
, the apparatus uses both the driving source
43
for rotating the rotary block
42
and the driving source
46
for opening and closing the shutter
45
which is normally closed to prevent the popping-out of the component
2
. As such, a driving operation timing as shown in
FIG. 15
with which the driving source
45
and the driving source
46
operate constantly interlockingly is sometimes obstructed. A wide installation space is also required. In addition, the shutter of a slide system requires complicated assembling and processing of its components.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above issues and to provide a component feeding apparatus and method and a component mounting apparatus with the component feeding apparatus whereby a rotary device and a component pop-out preventing device for preventing components from popping outside can be driven by the same driving device set inside individually.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to accomplish the above objective, the present invention is constituted as follows.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component feeding apparatus for feeding components to a predetermined position, which comprises:
a holder for holding a stick capable of storing the components;
an inclined chute set with an inclination so that the components can slide in an array from the stick;
a separating device for separating only a leading component in the inclined chute from the other components;
a rotary device including a rotary member for holding the leading component separated by the separating device, which moves the rotary member from a component hold position inclined along the inclined chute where the leading component separated by the separating device is to be held by the rotary member, to a component feed position where the component is to be placed in a position for component supply;
a component pop-out preventing device which prevents the leading component held by the rotary member from popping outside for a period after the leading component separated by the separating device is held at the component hold position by the rotary member before the rotary member reaches the component feed position, and releases the the leading component held by the rotary member after the rotary member reaches the component feed position; and
a single driving device for moving the rotary member of the rotary device between the component hold position and the component feed position and causing the component pop-out preventing device to release the leading component at the component feed position of the rotary member.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component feeding apparatus according to the first aspect, in which the driving device linearly moves a rod between a front position and a back position, so that at the back position of the rod, the rotary member is positioned at the component hold position and the leading component held by the rotary member is prevented from popping outside by the component pop-out preventing device, while at the front position of the rod, the leading component held by the rotary member is released by the component pop-out preventing device after the rotary member is positioned at the component feed position.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component feeding apparatus according to the first or second aspect, in which the driving device comprises:
an air cylinder for linearly moving the rod between the front position and the back position; and
an urging member for urging the rotary member to rotate to the component feed position, having an urging force regulated at the back position of the rod,
so that the rotary member is positioned at the component hold position at the back position of the rod, then the rotary member is urged to rotate to the component feed position by the urging force of the urging member through deregulation of the urging force of the urging member when the rod moves from the back position to the front position, and
a driving force from the rod is transmitted, thereby causing the component pop-out preventing device to release the leading component held by the rotary member when the rod reaches the front position after the rotary member is urged to rotate to the component feed position.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component feeding apparatus in any one of the first through third aspects in which the component pop-out preventing device comprises:
a shutter set openably relative to the rotary member, for movement between a component pop-out prevention position for preventing the leading component from popping outside and a retreat position for releasing the leading component;
a shaft coupled to the shutter;
a lever coupled to the shutter via the shaft and which comes in contact with the rod of the driving device when the rod linearly moves, thereby rotating the shutter from the component pop-out prevention position to the retreat position; and
an urging member for always urging the shutter to rotate from the retreat position to the component pop-out prevention position.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a comp
Endo Tadashi
Kabeshita Akira
Kashiwazaki Takao
Kawaguchi Satoshi
Kubota Shuichi
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