Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor for changing attitude of item relative to conveyed... – By conveying randomly faced items and turning items to...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-17
2001-05-08
Kramer, Dean J. (Department: 3652)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor for changing attitude of item relative to conveyed...
By conveying randomly faced items and turning items to...
C221S167000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227345
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a transfer apparatus which transfers chip components such as chip-type electronic components from one conveying medium to another conveying medium, while separating the chip components from one another.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a chip component is transferred to a recess provided in the periphery of a rotor from a parts feeder. After performing the measurement by rotating the chip components intermittently and by maintaining the chip components within the recess, the chip components are transferred from the rotor to a carrier tape and the chip components are provided on the carrier tape. Such a separating conveyor apparatus is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent No. 7-157071, for example.
In this type of the separating conveyor, a feed zone of the parts feeder does not rotate. The rotor needs to be stopped when a chip component is supplied to the rotor. Therefore, the rotor needs to be rotated intermittently (step rotation). Similarly, the carrier tape is driven intermittently.
However, if a rotor requiring step rotation is used, there is a limit on how fast the transfer velocity can become. For example, using the conventional mechanism it is difficult to perform a high-speed transfer more than 2000 pieces/min. Moreover, the inertial force of a rotor is applied to a driving mechanism every time a one-pitch step rotation is performed. For this reason, a strong and large type driving mechanism is required. Additionally, in the conventional conveyor there is a problem that an oscillation is generated whenever the rotor stopped. Especially, in order to perform multiple measurements of the chip components, when using a large-sized rotor, the above mentioned problems become remarkable.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer apparatus of the chip components, wherein a high-speed transfer is made possible compared to the conventional step rotation mechanism, and a driving mechanism can be made simple and small-sized such that the generation of oscillations is less.
In order to achieve the above described objectives, the present invention provides a transfer apparatus of chip components comprising: a transfer side conveying disc provided with a plurality of cavities for containing chip components one by one, said plurality of cavities being provided at equal pitch intervals in outer peripheral portions of said transfer side conveying disc; a transferred side conveying medium provided with a plurality of cavities for receiving the chip components one by one, said plurality of cavities being provided at equal pitch intervals in said transferred side conveying medium; a driving means for driving continuously the transfer side conveying disc and the transferred side conveying medium with synchronization, enabling that the cavities of the transfer side conveying disc oppose to the cavities of the transferred side conveying medium in the closest position between the transfer side conveying disc and the transferred side conveying medium.
The chip component held in the cavity of the transfer side conveying disc is driven continuously so that the cavity of the transfer side conveying disc is opposed to the cavity of the transferred side conveying medium with synchronization in the closest position between the transfer side conveying disc and the transferred side conveying medium. Thus, there is little relative velocity between the cavity of the transfer side conveying disc and the cavity of the transferred side conveying medium, and the chip components can be smoothly transferred. Specifically, according to the present invention, the transfer side conveying disc and the transferred side conveying medium are driven not intermittently but continuously. Therefore, high-speed transfer is possible and the generation of oscillations can be suppressed. Further, the driving mechanism is simplified compared with the mechanism in driving intermittently, thereby reducing the size of the apparatus.
In order to transfer chip components, air may be injected from the transfer side conveying disc, or air may be sucked from the transferred side conveying medium. Moreover, gravity may be used for transferring the chip components.
The present invention provides a transfer apparatus of chip components wherein the transfer side conveying disc is disposed so that the upper surface thereof is inclined to a horizontal surface, and the transfer side conveying disc is a scattering disc having a plurality of scattering grooves for aligning the chip components, the grooves being provided from an inner radial side to an outer radial side on the surface of the scattering disc and being extending to the cavities of the transfer side conveying disc, wherein an inclined highest or near highest portion of the scattering disc is in the closest proximity to the transferred side conveying medium. In such an apparatus, when a number of chip components are thrown into the scattering disc in a disorderly mass, those chip components are gathered to a lower part of the scattering disc because of its inclination. In accordance with the rotation of the scattering disc, a part of the chip components fall down into the scattering grooves and aligned in the predetermined direction. In a case of the chip components having a rectangular-parallelepiped shape, if the width of the scattering groove is set to be larger than the shorter side of the chip component and smaller than the longer side of the chip component, the chip components can be aligned in the longitudinal direction within the scattering grooves. Since the scattering grooves are formed to be continuous from the inner radial side to the outer radial side of the scattering disc, the probability of the chip components falling into the scattering grooves is high. The chip components which have fallen into the scattering grooves slide to the outer peripheral end portions of the scattering disc by gravity and enter into the cavities thereof. When the scattering groove is rotated upwards, the chip components slide downward (in the central direction) by gravity, and only the chip components held in the cavities are left. In this way, since the chip components separated one by one are transferred to the cavities of the transferred side conveying medium according to the present invention, the transfer efficiency can be greatly improved compared with the conventional transfer from a parts feeder to a rotor.
The present invention provides a transfer apparatus of chip components wherein the cavities of the transfer side conveying disc hold the chip components in such a state that the chip components project outwardly from the outer peripheral surface of the transfer side conveying disc. Due to such a configuration, when the chip components are transferred from the cavity of the transfer side conveying disc to the cavity of the transferred side conveying medium, the chip components ride on both cavities, thereby making the transfer smooth.
The present invention provides a transfer apparatus of chip components wherein the transferred side conveying medium is a rotating disc provided with a plurality of cavities disposed at equal pitch intervals in the outer peripheral portions of the transferred side conveying medium. In such a case, when the cavity of the transfer side conveying disc is opposed to the cavity of the transferred side conveying medium at the closest position, quite a smooth transfer of the chip components, like the engagement of gears, can be performed by setting the rotating velocity of the disc the same as that of the medium.
The present invention provides a transfer apparatus of chip components wherein the transferred side conveying medium is a continuous conveying body provided with a plurality of cavities disposed at equal pitch intervals on the upper surface of the transferred conveying medium. In such a case, the smooth transfer of the chip components from the transfer side conveying disc to the continuous con
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Kramer Dean J.
Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
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