Part feeder system

Electric heating – Metal heating – Work holders

Reexamination Certificate

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Reexamination Certificate

active

06236018

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a system for feeding parts and more specifically to a system which supplies parts in an automated manner to a machine for placement of those parts, for example, by sequentially welding a series of such parts to an automotive vehicle body in an assembly line.
It is generally known in the electrical industry to employ a series of progressive dies to punch and fold a connected web or strip of electrical terminals for later attachment to discretely insulated wires. Such a traditional web of terminals is often temporarily stored on a spool or reel prior to wire fastening.
It is also known to weld brackets and studs on automotive vehicle bodies. For example, reference should be made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,303 entitled “Tack Gripper for a Tack Welding Gun and Process for Connecting a Strip-Form Workpiece to a Component” which issued to Roser on Feb. 9, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,728 entitled “Process and Device for the Application of Components which are Strung Together in the Manner of a Belt onto Workpieces” which issued to Mauer et al. on Nov. 10, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,152 entitled “Process for the Electric Welding of Two Weld Parts” which issued to Renner on Sep. 20, 1994; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,959 entitled “Arc Welding of a Weld Stud” which issued to Schmitt et al. on Dec. 15, 1992. These patents are incorporated by reference herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, the preferred embodiment of a part feeder system includes a shipping container having a web of connected parts and a part presentation unit which performs work on the parts prior to installation or assembly of the finished parts. In another aspect of the present invention, the web of parts is automatically fed from the shipping container to the part presentation unit when the shipping container is in a predetermined position relative to the part presentation unit. A further aspect of the present invention provides one or more reels within the shipping container for storing a web of the parts. The parts are automatically located and severed from each other by the part presentation unit in still another aspect of the present invention. An additional aspect of the present invention returns scrap from the part presentation unit back to the shipping container. In another aspect of the present invention, the finished parts are singly presented in a discrete manner to a robot or other machine for final welding, assembly or installation. A method of automatically transporting parts between a container and a part processing unit is also provided.
The part feeder system of the present invention is advantageous ver conventional devices in that the present invention is fully automated for use in an assembly plant. The web of parts are first manually set up in the part shipping container at an off-site facility or otherwise remotely located area, by the part supplier. The sealed shipping container is subsequently shipped to the customer assembly facility where assembly line space is at a premium. Furthermore, the automation of the present invention is extremely advantageous in the assembly plant due to the very fast nature of final part assembly onto automotive vehicles, for example, on a moving assembly line. There is little time or space for manual movement, processing and orientation of small parts for subsequent welding operations or the like. Accordingly, the automated feeding, locating, part severing, part orientation and scrap return achieved by the present invention greatly saves labor, time, factory space and cost in the final assembly plant while also enhancing the ability to use the parts with a robotic application.
The part feeder system of the present invention is also advantageous by being shippable in a returnable container which can be simply reloaded and reinitialized. Furthermore, the shipping container of the present invention is sealed from dirt and moisture prior to installation in the part presentation unit. Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3312810 (1967-04-01), Neumeir
patent: 4420674 (1983-12-01), Jordan
patent: 5171959 (1992-12-01), Schmitt et al.
patent: 5349152 (1994-09-01), Renner
patent: 5834728 (1998-11-01), Mauer et al.
patent: 5868303 (1999-02-01), Roser
Emhart Fastening Teknologies—Weldfast, Emhart Automated Fastening Equipment, http://www.emhart.com/products/weldfast.html, May 21, 1999, 2 pages.

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