Package making – With means responsive to a sensed condition – Separate delivery of incomplete or defective package
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-27
2003-06-03
Kim, Eugene (Department: 3721)
Package making
With means responsive to a sensed condition
Separate delivery of incomplete or defective package
C053S055000, C053S430000, C053S500000, C029S712000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06571530
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to method and apparatus for taping components. The invention relates to component taping method and apparatus for taping components in such a way that the components are formed into continuous taped components, at least by using a component holder in which a multiplicity of component storages for storing components are provided longitudinally so as to be opened over one surface, and by storing and holding the components one by one in the individual component storages of the component holder.
BACKGROUND ART
This type of taping is applied, for example, to automatic feed of components in producing electronic circuit boards by mounting a multiplicity of, and a variety of, types of minute electronic components onto circuit boards. With components taped, it becomes easy to achieve the automatic feed of stored components to a specified position for use in the succeeding stage with high speed and high reliability, by conveying the taped components along their longitudinal direction, even if minute and numerous components are involved.
The component holder is designed to have a width matching the type of components. For automatically taping the components by using this component holder, the component taping apparatus treats the components, in most cases, in a way so that the component holder is automatically conveyed while being guided along a specified path, so that the components are made available for storage to the individual storages.
Guide or conveyor means of the component taping apparatus, if mismatched to the width of the component holder, would be unable to achieve a precision conveyance matching the minute components, causing mis-storage of components. Thus, a guide mechanism “a” and a conveyance mechanism “b” as shown in
FIG. 18
have conventionally been used. In the guide mechanism “a”, right-and-left guides “p” are attached on a right-and-left pair of support walls “c”, and right-and-left edges “e” of a component holder “d” are placed on stepped-down surfaces “p
1
” of this right-and-left pair of guides “p”, respectively, so that the component holder “d” is guided so as to be conveyed along a specified direction at a specified height. In the conveyance mechanism “b”, a right-and-left pair of sprockets “g” are fitted to feed holes “f” provided at the right-and-left edges “e” of the guided component holder “d” so as to convey the component holder “d” along the guides “p”. These sprockets “g” are provided in the front and rear of the conveyance direction and driven by transmission of power from a drive motor “h”.
Both right and left sprockets “g” on the upstream side of the conveyance direction are supported by a spline shaft “j” transversely provided on a base “i”, so that those sprockets “g” are axially movable and integrally rotatable. Both right and left sprockets “g” on the downstream side of the conveyance direction are supported by another spline shaft “k” transversely provided on the base “i”, so that those sprockets “g” are axially movable and integrally rotatable.
Also, the right-hand sprockets “g” are fitted to the right-hand support wall “c” so as to be axially and integrally movable in the axial direction of the sprocket and singly rotatable, while the left-hand sprockets “g” are fitted to the left-hand support wall “c” so as to be axially and integrally movable in the axial direction of the sprocket and singly rotatable. Screw shafts “m” transversely provided on the base “i” are screwed to the right-and-left support walls “c” on their upstream and downstream sides in the conveyance direction. The screws are reverse directed between a portion of each screw shaft “m” screwed to the right-hand support wall “c” and another portion screwed to the left-hand support wall “c”, where a handle “n” coupled to one screw shaft “m” is provided while the screw shafts “m” are coupled to each other with a belt “O”.
Rotating the screw shafts “m” forward or reverse by operation of the handle “n” causes the right-and-left support walls “c” to be moved away from or closer to each other by the reversed screws so that the spacing therebetween is expanded or contracted. By this operation, the spacing between the right-and-left guides “p” as well as the spacing between the right-and-left sprockets “g” can be adjusted so as to match the widths of various types of the component holder “d” involved case by case, so that the component holder “d” can be guided and conveyed with high precision and therefore made available for the storing of components with stability.
On the other hand, the present applicant has previously proposed a component holder that prevents components stored in the component storages from falling out, and that allows the components to be stably held in the storage state and treated without cover tape which has conventionally been used for the component holder (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-156562). In this case, each component storage of the component holder is provided with engaging pieces which are projected in the opening of the component storage so as to prevent the component stored in the component storage from falling off. The engaging pieces are molded integrally with the component storage and elastically deformable. When components are stored in the component storages, the engaging pieces are forcedly operated to be retreated out of the opening of the component storages. Therefore, the engaging pieces will not hinder the components from being stored in the component storages, and will be restored to their original positions and closed when released from the retreating operation after the storing of the components. Thus, the components stored in the component storages are engagedly fitted to the component storages in the stored state, and prevented from falling out.
However, in the conventional component taping apparatus shown in
FIG. 18
, the spacing between the guides “p” as well as the spacing between the sprockets “g” can be freely adjusted. However, there are no marks for matching the spacings to the width of the component holder “d” involved case by case so that a correct matching can hardly be achieved. As a result, the spacing adjustment would take longer time through iterated operations during ontrial conveyance of the component holder “d” or other processes, and the guidance and conveyance of the component holder “d” would in some rasps become unstable, causing mis-storage or mis-holding of components. Besides, the guide mechanism “a” and the conveyance mechanism “b” are wholly given in a unit form, resulting in complex structure and high cost.
Also, the engaging pieces of the component holder previously proposed by the present applicant are operated to be retreated both when components are stored in the component storages and when components used for the feeding of components in the form of taped components in which the components are stored in the individual component storages of the component holder are taken out. However, the engaging pieces will lower by the force of restoration to the closed state due to a creeping phenomenon or the like during iterated use of the component holder, so that the holding of components becomes unstable in some cases, causing mis-storage and mis-holding of components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a component taping method and apparatus which are unlikely to cause such mis-storage and mis-holding of components, as well as to solve the aforementioned various problems.
In accomplishing these and other aspects, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component taping method comprising handling a component holder by winding the component holder around a reel, in which the component holder has a multiplicity of component storages (i.e., storage compartments) provided longitudinally and has an opening on one surface. Each of the component storages stores a component therein, and has a shutter which becomes stable both at a projectional position where the shutter is projected into the o
Hikita Osamu
Kubo Susumu
Oshima Kazunori
Harmon Christopher
Kim Eugene
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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