Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor – Presses or press platen structures – per se
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-17
2001-08-07
Osele, Mark A. (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor
Presses or press platen structures, per se
C156S345420, C221S025000, C221S072000, C221S087000, C414S411000, C414S416060
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269860
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a top-cover-tape feeding apparatus for feeding a top cover tape as an element of an electric-component tape and a top-cover-tape treating apparatus for treating a top cover tape, and in particular to the art of improving the reliability or stability of feeding of a top cover tape.
2. Related Art Statement
There is known an electric-component (“EC”) tape which includes (A) a carrier tape having a plurality of pockets which are formed in a lengthwise direction thereof and which accommodate a plurality of ECs, respectively, and (B) a top cover tape which closes respective upper openings of the pockets. When the ECs are supplied from the EC tape, the top cover tape is peeled from the carrier tape at a position on an upstream side of an EC-supply position where each EC is taken from the pocket, as seen in a tape-feed direction in which the EC tape is fed forward, and then is fed by a top-cover-tape feeding device. The top cover tape is treated in various manners.
For example, Japanese Patent Application laid open for inspection purposes under Publication No. 6(1994)-232593 discloses an EC supplying unit which includes a collecting box for collecting a top cover tape peeled from a carrier tape of an EC tape. The EC supplying unit has a top-cover-tape feeding device which includes a pair of tape-feed rotatable members, and a rotary drive device for rotating one of the two rotatable members. The top cover tape peeled from the carrier tape is pinched by the two rotatable members, which are rotated in synchronism with the feeding of the EC tape by an EC-tape feeding device. Thus, the top cover tape is fed while being peeled from the carrier tape, and is collected into the collecting box.
However, since, usually, a top cover tape is thin and flexible, it has been difficult to feed the top cover tape with stability or collect the same into the collecting box with stability. In a particular case where a tacky material is left on one surface of the top cover tape that has been adhered to the carrier tape, the top cover tape may cling to one of the two rotatable members that contacts the tacky surface of the top cover tape, thereby interfering the feeding of the same, or cling to an wall surface of the collecting box that defines an introduction passage through which the top cover tape is collected into the box, thereby interfering with the collecting of the same into the box. Thus, the prior top-cover-tape feeding and treating devices suffer from the problem that the reliability or stability of feeding or treating of the top cover tape is low.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a top-cover-tape feeding apparatus which feeds a top cover tape with reliability and stability.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a top-cover-tape treating apparatus which treats a top cover tape with stability.
The present invention provides a top-cover-tape feeding apparatus and a top-cover-tape treating apparatus which have one or more of the technical features that are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (28). Any technical feature which includes another technical feature shall do so by referring, at the beginning, to the parenthesized sequential number given to that technical feature. Thus, two or more of the following technical 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 top-cover-tape feeding apparatus for feeding a top cover tape peeled from an electric-component tape which additionally includes a carrier tape having a plurality of pockets which are formed in a lengthwise direction of the carrier tape, which accommodate a plurality of electric components, respectively, and whose respective upper openings are closed with the top cover tape, the apparatus comprising a pair of tape-feed rotatable members which are rotatable about respective axis lines parallel to each other and whose respective outer circumferential surfaces cooperate with each other to pinch the top cover tape peeled from the electric-component tape; a rotary drive device which rotates at least one of the two tape-feed rotatable members; at least one of the two tape-feed rotatable members having a scraper groove which is formed in the entire outer circumferential surface thereof, in an intermediate portion thereof in an axial direction thereof parallel to the two axis lines; and at least one scraper which is provided on at least an outlet side of the two tape-feed rotatable members in a tape-feed direction in which the top cover tape is fed, such that a portion of the scraper is fitted in a portion of the scraper groove that corresponds to a position where the respective outer circumferential surfaces of the two rotatable members pinch the top cover tape, so that the scraper prevents the top cover tape from clinging to the at least one of the two rotatable members. The EC tape may be an embossed-carrier-type (“ECT”) one, or a punched-carrier-tape (“PCT”) one. The ECT EC tape includes (a) a carrier tape which includes a pair of widthwise opposite end portions each extending in a lengthwise direction thereof, and a plurality of embossed portions each projecting downward from between the two end portions and each accommodating one EC, and (b) a top cover tape which is adhered to the carrier tape to close respective upper openings of the embossed portions. The PCT EC tape includes (c) a carrier tape which includes (c1) a base tape which is formed of, e.g., paper or synthetic resin and which has a plurality of through-holes formed through the thickness thereof and (c2) a bottom cover tape which closes respective lower openings of the through-holes to provide a plurality of EC accommodating pockets each accommodating one EC, and (d) a top cover tape which is adhered to the carrier tape to close respective upper openings of the through-holes or the EC accommodating pockets. The two tape-feed rotatable members may be rollers or gears. The rotatable members may have serration or knurl on the outer circumferential surfaces thereof. One tape-feed rotatable member may have one or more scraper grooves. For example, one rotatable member may have a middle scraper groove in an axially middle portion thereof and two side scraper grooves on both sides of the middle scraper groove. In the case where one rotatable member has a plurality of scraper grooves, the present apparatus may comprise a plurality of scrapers which are fitted in the plurality of scraper grooves, respectively, or a single scraper having a plurality of groove-fit portions which are fitted in the plurality of scraper grooves, respectively. The present top-cover-tape (“TCT”) feeding apparatus may be one which feeds the top cover tape while peeling the same from the carrier tape, that is, one which also functions as a TCT peeling apparatus. Alternatively, the present TCT feeding apparatus may be used with a TCT peeling apparatus which is separate from the feeding apparatus. In the present TCT feeding apparatus, one scraper prevents the TCT from clinging to a corresponding one tape-feed rotatable member even if a tacky material may be left on the TCT peeled from the carrier tape. Thus, the TCT is fed with reliability and stability. Since a portion of the scraper is present in a portion of the scraper groove that corresponds to a TCT-pinch position where the respective outer circumferential surfaces of the two tape-feed rotatable members pinch the TCT, the scraper starts guiding the TCT immediately after the TCT leaves the TCT-pinch position. In addition, since the scraper is present in the scraper groove at the TCT-pinch position, the scraper does not interfere with the feeding
Asai Koichi
Ishikawa Takehisa
Muto Yasuo
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Osele Mark A.
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