Advancing material of indeterminate length – Plural material-moving means – With plural paths for material
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-10
2001-03-13
Mansen, Michael R. (Department: 3653)
Advancing material of indeterminate length
Plural material-moving means
With plural paths for material
C226S128000, C226S148000, C156S566000, C414S416060
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199738
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric-component supplying method and apparatus and particularly to the art of improving the efficiency of supplying of electric components.
2. Related Art Statement
Japanese Patent Application laid open for public inspection under Publication No. 7(1995)-9381 discloses a plurality of electric-component (“EC”) supplying units each of which stores a plurality of electric components (“ECs”) each as an element of an electric circuit (e.g., an electronic circuit) and is moved to supply the ECs to an object device such as an EC mounting device. The plurality of EC supplying units are supported on a support table such that respective EC-supply portions of the units are arranged along a straight line and, when the support table is moved by a table moving device, the respective EC-supply portions of the units are sequentially positioned at an EC-supply position where each of the units supplies one or more ECs to the object device. In each unit, the ECs are fed one by one to the EC-supply portion. A drive device which includes a drive member is provided in the vicinity of the EC-supply device. The drive device operates the drive member to drive a driven member of each unit being positioned at the EC-supply position, so that the ECs are fed one by one to the EC-supply portion. Each of the units disclosed in the above-identified application includes an EC feeding device which performs an EC feeding action and an EC-feeding preparing action while the support table is not moved by the table moving device, i.e., the each unit is stopped.
In the art of supplying ECs, it has been required to shorten an EC-supply cycle time, that is, a time period that is needed for the EC-supply portion of each unit to reach the EC-supply position and supply one EC to the object device, after its preceding unit supplies one EC to the object device. For example, in the case where the object device is the EC mounting device, it has been required, for the purpose of improving the efficiency of mounting of ECs, to shorten an EC-mount cycle time, that is, a time period that is needed for each EC to be mounted on a printed circuit board (“PCB”) as a sort of circuit substrate, after its preceding EC is mounted on the PCB. To this end, it is required to shorten a time period that is needed for the EC mounting device to pick up the each EC from the EC-supply portion of each unit.
However, each of the conventional EC supplying units performs both the EC feeding action and the EC-feeding preparing action while the each unit is stopped. Therefore, shortening the EC-supply cycle time needs at least one of shortening a time period needed for the table moving device to move the support table, or shortening a time period needed for the EC feeding device to feed each EC. The former time period may be shortened by increasing the acceleration and/or deceleration of moving of the support table, and the latter time period may be shortened by increasing the acceleration and/or deceleration of feeding of each EC. However, if the acceleration and/or deceleration are/is increased in each case, a great vibration is produced when the moving of the table or the feeding of each EC is started or stopped. This leads to lowering the accuracy or reliability of supplying of each EC. That is, the great vibration may lower the accuracy of positioning of the EC-supply portion of each unit relative to an EC holder of the EC mounting device that picks up each EC from the each unit, may change the attitude of each EC being positioned at the EC-supply portion in each unit, or may cause each EC from jumping out of each unit. In each case, each unit may fail to supply each EC to the EC holder of the EC mounting device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electric-component supplying method which can shorten the electric-component-supply cycle time without lowering the accuracy of supplying of each electric component.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric-component supplying unit which can shorten the electric-component-supply cycle time without lowering the accuracy of supplying of each electric component.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric-component supplying apparatus which can shorten the electric-component-supply cycle time without lowering the accuracy of supplying of each electric component.
The present invention provides an electric-component supplying method, an electric-component supplying unit, and an electric-component supplying apparatus that have one or more of the technical features that are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (17). Any technical feature that includes another technical feature shall do so by referring, at the beginning, to the parenthesized sequential number given to that feature. Thus, two or more of the following features may be combined, if appropriate. Each technical feature may be accompanied by a supplemental explanation, as needed. However, the following technical features and the appropriate combinations thereof are just examples to which the present invention is by no means limited.
(1) According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided a method of moving a plurality of component supplying units each of which carries a plurality of electric components, along a reference line along which respective component-supply portions of the component supplying units are arranged, so as to sequentially position the respective component-supply portions at a component-supply position, and causing an external drive device to operate a drive member thereof to drive a driven member of the each component supplying unit and thereby feed the electric components of the each unit, one by one, to the component-supply portion of the each unit, the method comprising the steps of storing, in each component supplying unit, an energy which is transmitted from the drive member to the driven member of each unit, and operating a feeding device of each component supplying unit to utilize, after the drive member is moved off the driven member of the each unit, the stored energy for performing at least a portion of at least one of a component feeding action and a component-feeding preparing action, the component feeding action causing one of the electric components of each unit to be fed to the component-supply portion of each unit, the component-feeding preparing action causing the feeding device to be prepared for the component feeding action. An electric-component (“EC”) feeding operation of each of the EC supplying units may consist of both the EC feeding action and the EC-feeding preparing action of the feeding device, or of the EC feeding action only. In the former case, the feeding device may perform either of the EC feeding action and the EC-feeding preparing action, when the drive member drives the driven member. One EC feeding operation of each unit may, or may not, cause one EC to be fed to the EC-supply portion of each unit. For example, in the case of a large EC, each unit performs a plurality of EC feeding operations to feed the large EC to the EC-supply portion. The feeding device of each unit may be one which feeds, to the EC-supply portion thereof, an EC carrier tape carrying a plurality of ECs at a regular interval of distance, or one which arranges a plurality of ECs stored in a casing, into an array of ECs, by utilizing vibration, inclination, air flow, and/or one or more belts, and feeds the ECs one by one to the EC-supply portion. Even if the drive member is moved off the driven member, the feeding device can utilize the stored energy for performing at least a portion of at least one of the EC feeding action and the EC-feeding preparing action. After the drive member is moved off the driven member, the current EC supplying unit being positioned at the EC-supply position can start moving from the EC-supply position, and the feeding device thereo
Kondo Yoshiyuki
Terashima Toshikatsu
Tsuda Mamoru
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Mansen Michael R.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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