Special receptacle or package – Holder for a removable electrical component – Bar or tapelike carrier for plural components
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-23
2001-09-25
Luong, Shian (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
Holder for a removable electrical component
Bar or tapelike carrier for plural components
C206S725000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293404
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to elongated flexible tapes having longitudinal spaced pockets for holding electronic components, such as microchips. The tapes are wound on reels used to transport the tapes to facilities to load electric components into the pockets. The tapes carrying the electronic components are shipped to manufacturing locations where the electric components are removed from the tapes and assembled into electronic devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Plastic tapes for storing electronic components, such as microchips, have a series of identical pockets which hold electronic components. An example of a microchip carrier tape with a cover tape to retain microchips in the pockets in the tape is disclosed by D. B. Chenoweth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,393. The tape is an elongated strip of flexible plastic having pockets made with the use of male and female die sets. The tape has thickness of about 0.025 centimeter whereby the tape can readily be bent, twisted and crushed. The tape, having pockets, moves from the die sets in an elongated continuous ribbon toward a reel. The reel rotates to take up the tape and store the tape in superimposed wraps or spiral turns. An example of a reel assembly for accommodating microchip carrier tape is disclosed by D. B. Chenoweth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,534. The die sets are operated to deform a heated thermoplastic strip to produce generally rectangular pockets along the length of the strip. The tape has end walls, side walls, and a bottom wall defining each pocket. The end and side walls have a draft or taper to allow the dies sets to separate or release from the tape. The area of the bottom wall is smaller than the are of the top opening of the pocket. The draft in the side and end walls and size of the bottom wall of the tape allows the superimposed or adjacent sections of the tape to nest or interengage when wound on a reel. The outer surfaces of the end and side walls of the nested portions of the tape have a relatively tight fit with the inner surfaces of the end and side walls of the adjacent portions of the tape. The nested portions of the tape can be locked together. A substantial pulling force is required to separate the nested portions of the tape. This force causes uneven unwinding of the tape from the reel and can deform the tape so that it cannot be used with automatic microchip loading and unloading machines. A component carrier tape having anti-nesting shoulders on the pocket side walls of the tape is disclosed by T. Skrtic and T. J. Juntunen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,275. The recesses are located in the walls of each pocket. The transverse strength of the tape is compromised with recesses in the middle sections of the tapes'side walls. Identical sized recesses and locations of the recesses in the diagonal corners of all of the pockets of the tape does not prohibit nesting of superimposed portions of the tape. The recesses in the diagonal corner of the tape also allows diagonal flexing of the tape. The vertical wall forming the recesses open to the pockets reduces the wall thickness. There are high stress points which can result in rupture of the side walls of the tape.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The microchip carrier tape of the invention has sets of identical pockets for accommodating microchips. Each set of pockets has recesses in selected corners of the pockets provided by outwardly directed side wall portions located adjacent end walls of the pockets. The bottoms of the recesses are closed with extensions of the bottom walls of the pockets whereby the extensions are projections which inhibit nesting or copulation of portions of the tape that are on top of each other. The transverse and twisting strength is not materially compromised as there are no recesses in the middle portion of the side walls of the tape and the thickness of the side walls of the tape is not reduced in the areas of the recesses.
The microchip carrier tape is an elongated flexible plastic strip having a plurality of sets or series of a plurality of pockets for holding microchips. Each set of pockets has five pockets. The number of pockets in each set of pockets can very and include more than five (5) pockets. The strip has longitudinal tapered end walls and transverse tapered side walls joined to a bottom wall defining each pocket. The bottom wall is generally flat. Ribs and projections raised from the bottom wall are used in some tapes to support microchips in the pockets. Recesses open to the pockets are located in only one side wall of each pocket at the junction of the one side wall and the end wall adjacent the one side wall. The bottom walls have extensions that close the bottoms of the recesses. The extensions are projections or stops that inhibit nesting of the end walls and side walls into superimposed sets of pockets when the. tape is wound on a reel. The side walls of the pocket have side walls portions extended about the recesses. The side wall portions are located in longitudinal directions away from the pockets and have a taper or draft and thickness that is substantially the same as the draft and thickness as the main side walls of the pockets. The side wall portions have generally semi-cylindrical or V-shaped continuous shapes which sustain the crushing strength of the tape.
In the preferred embodiment of the tape, the plastic strip has side flanges and transverse bridges joined to the side flanges. The bridges are located between adjacent the pockets of each set of pockets and between each set of pockets. The bridges allow the tape to transversely flex or bend without substantially altering the shape, size and function of the pockets. The strip for each set of pockets has five (5) pairs or longitudinal end walls and five (5) pairs of transverse side walls joined to a bottom wall. Each of the pockets has a generally rectangular shape with four (4) corners at the junctures of adjacent end walls and side walls. The first pocket clockwise from the top right corner of the tape has a first recess in the first corner of the pocket. The second pocket does not have any recesses. The third pocket has a second recess in the third corner thereof. The fourth pocket has a third recess in the fourth corner thereof. The fifth pocket has a fourth recess in the second corner thereof. The bottom walls have extensions that close the bottoms of the recesses whereby the extensions are projections and stops that inhibit nesting of all of the end walls and side walls into superimposed portions of the tape.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4702370 (1987-10-01), Honda
patent: 4726534 (1988-02-01), Chenoweth
patent: 4898275 (1990-02-01), Skrtic et al.
patent: 5152393 (1992-10-01), Chenoweth
patent: 5361901 (1994-11-01), Schenz et al.
patent: 5746319 (1998-05-01), Murphy
Advantek Inc.
Luong Shian
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