Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system having auxiliary section for storing items...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-02
2002-04-02
Bidwell, James R. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system having auxiliary section for storing items...
C198S778000, C193S012000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06364088
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a storage arrangement comprising a channel for accommodating chip-like electronic components in predefined order and alignment.
German application laid open to public inspection 42 20 700 discloses a storage arrangement for electronic components, which comprises an, in essence, disc-like body in whose inside is arranged an, in essence, helical channel and an opening as a continuation of the helical channel, so that the channel is connected to the outside of the disc-like body. In the channel of this storage arrangement can be stored electronic components in a predefined order. For feeding the storage arrangement with electronic components, vibrations are applied to the storage arrangement and the components are supplied via a vibrating feeding arrangement. This storage arrangement may be designed such that it can be used as a feeding source for feeding the electronic components to a mounting head of an automatic mounting device for mounting the electronic components on printed circuit boards. For this purpose, the storage arrangement particularly has air supply holes which are connected to an air supply source through which the air is fed to the helical channel, so that the electronic components can be moved forward along the helical channel to the opening of the storage arrangement. The electronic components can then be taken out of the storage arrangement by means of the air supplied to the helical channel by the air supply source through the air supply holes.
Compared to a line-up of electronic components on so-called tapes or the like, such storage arrangements are advantageous in that they can be reused. They can be easily maintained and are mechanically robust.
However, it has appeared that maintaining the shape of the storage arrangement known from DE-OS 42 20 700 has several disadvantages. It is true, the disc-like configuration of the body of the storage arrangement according to DE-OS 42 20 700 has the advantage that, when placed on end, it requires only little space on a mounting device of the described type. In contrast to this, however, there is the disadvantage of the compulsorily diminishing channel radius from the opening of the channel to the inside of the storage arrangement, and the fact that this channel can be filled or emptied only through this single opening. In addition, different arrangements are necessary for filling and emptying, that is, on the one hand, a vibration device, and on the other, a compressed air device. The latter property alone already considerably increases the cost of maintenance of the known storage arrangement. The channel radius of the storage arrangement, which diminishes towards the inside of the disc-like body, may lead to the fact that electronic components that have certain outside dimensions, which can still without any obstruction be led to regions of the channel having a larger radius, can be moved only with difficulty or tend to jam in regions of the channel having a small radius. This may lead to problems during filling and, more particularly, during the emptying of the storage arrangement while the disc is being put in said mounting device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a storage arrangement for accommodating chip-like electronic components, by which arrangement the disadvantages of the known storage arrangement described above are eliminated.
This object is achieved according to the invention with a storage arrangement of the type defined in the opening paragraph, in that the channel for accommodating the components between a first and a second end is at least largely led along a helical line.
Whereas the radius of a helical channel along the longitudinal extension of this channel from the end of the channel compulsorily becomes ever smaller, the radius of a helical line can be adapted at will to the requirements. In this respect, a helical line is understood to be a spatial curve that can be described in the following manner in cylindrical co-ordinates comprising longitudinal co-ordinates, radius and angle of rotation:
The longitudinal co-ordinate is a monotonously increasing function of the angle of rotation, whereas the radius in the most general form of the thus defined helical line is a constant function of the angle of rotation, whose function values are always positive. Contrary to a spiral that expands in a plane, a helical line represents something three-dimensional. With such a helical line, the radius may be selected at will. A channel in the form of a helical line may then have over its entire length a radius that guarantees that the components can be aligned in predefined manner without an unwanted change and without being jammed. A channel in the form of a helical line may also be arranged to be accessible from either end and at the same time be monitored or observed over its entire length. As a result, the storage arrangement can be filled and emptied with the same direction of motion of the components in the channel. Irregularities during operation can be detected and eliminated more quickly and more easily. In addition, for example a first end of such a channel in the form of a helical line can be spatially arranged in a storage arrangement according to the invention in a simple manner with a second end of a second storage arrangement according to the invention, so that a simple transition of components is enabled between the channels of the two storage arrangements.
With such a helical line, the longitudinal co-ordinate of said cylindrical co-ordinates is also denoted a helical axis here.
For the connection of the channels of various storage arrangements according to the invention, that is to say, for the stackability, it is advantageous for the channel in the form of a helical line to have at least largely matching radiuses at its ends.
In an advantageous embodiment of the storage arrangement according to the invention, the channel is led, in essence, along a cylindrical helical line. A cylindrical helical line is understood to mean a helical line that is led at least in essence along the generated surface of a cylinder. A cylinder is then understood to be a body that is bounded by a cylinder surface with a closed directrix and two planes which, in essence, run in parallel. A cylinder surface is then understood to be the surface that is enclosed by a straight line, the so-called generatrix, when this generatrix glides along a curved, preferably closed line, the so-called directrix, without a change of its direction.
In the storage arrangement according to the invention, the described directrix of the cylinder surface along which runs the cylindrical helical line, may preferably have an elliptical or an oval shape. As a result, in a direction perpendicular to the helical axis the helical line can have a smaller diameter than in a second radial direction preferably directed perpendicular to the helical axis. In this manner a storage arrangement may be obtained with an enlarged storage capacity, without an enlargement of one of the dimensions perpendicular to the helical axis.
A very simply embodied storage arrangement according to the invention is obtained when the channel is led, in essence, along a circular cylindrical helical line. This circular cylindrical helical line stretches out along the generated surface of a circular cylinder. A channel embodied like this has the same radius at each position of a longitudinal extension and, with respect to the helical axis, also the same gradient or pitch, respectively. As a result, a thus designed storage arrangement cannot only be manufactured in a simple manner, but has at each position of the channel the same properties for the components stored therein. Consequently, highly favorable uniform conditions are created for the movements of the components in the channel, which conditions make handling of the components easier.
With a circular cylindrical helical line of this type, the directrix of the cylinder surface along which the helical line is led is formed by a
Martens Jörg
Steffens Engelbert
Bidwell James R.
Biren Steven R.
U. S. Philips Corporation
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