Article dispensing – With discharge assistant – Article adhering or gripping type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-09
2001-10-30
Skaggs, H. Grant (Department: 3651)
Article dispensing
With discharge assistant
Article adhering or gripping type
C221S31200B, C198S690100, C269S008000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308861
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a chip component feeding apparatus in which chip components accommodated in a bulk state are transported in alignment and the foremost chip component fed to a predetermined take-out position, and to an attracting plate for use in the apparatus to facilitate such transport.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A chip component feeder disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Pub. No. Hei 6-232596 has a box accommodating chips in a bulk state, with a vertically movable component take-in tube inserted into the bottom of the box. A component transport tube extends below and in communication with the component take-in tube, a belt at one end of the component transport tube transports chip components discharged therefrom, and a mechanism is provided for intermittently moving the belt in a predetermined pitch. Also included are a cover with a passage for aligning the chip components being transported by the belt and a stopper for stopping the chip components being transported in alignment along the passage.
In this known chip component feeder, the component take-in tube is moved up and down to load the chip components within the accommodation box one by one in a predetermined orientation into the component take-in tube, the components are discharged onto the belt through the component transport tube, and then transported in alignment by the belt toward the stopper. The components are stopped by the stopper, which moves forward to the foremost chip component which is then fed to a take-out position.
In the above-described apparatus, the stopper is merely separated from the foremost chip component after the stopper stops the chip component transported in alignment by the stopper. As a result, the foremost and succeeding chip components have a tendency to adhere to each other under certain circumstances, e.g., due to the influence of moisture or process liquid used in the component manufacturing step. The problem also arises if there is sufficient surface unevenness on the foremost chip and succeeding chip components. Defective unloading sometimes occurs because the posture of the foremost chip component is disturbed as the component is fed to the take-out position because, e.g., of an attracting nozzle or the like.
Because the chip components in the prior art chip component feeder have small sizes and extremely light weight they tend to be displaced out of alignment merely by contact friction with adjacent surfaces or the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of present invention to provide a new and improved chip component feeding apparatus for reliably moving a foremost chip component away from succeeding chip components being transported in alignment.
Another object is to provide a new and improved chip component feeding apparatus for transporting chip components so they are in alignment with an attracting plate.
According to one aspect of the invention an apparatus for transporting chips in alignment along a passage feeds a foremost chip component to a predetermined take-out position. A stopper is displaced between a predetermined stop position where the aligned chips are stopped by the stopper and a predetermined take-out position spaced from the stop position. The foremost chip component is displaced from the stopped position to a take-out position by the stopper and a first attracting section to facilitate chip component displacement. A second attracting section retains the chip component retention by attracting the foremost chip component to the passage, after the foremost component has been displaced by the stopper to the take-out position.
According to another aspect of the invention, the foremost chip component is fed to a predetermined take-out position. An attracting section maintains intimate contact of the transported components to attract them toward the passage as the components move in alignment along the passage. This attracting section is preferably on a plate that is removably attached to the apparatus.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4236632 (1980-12-01), Spodig
patent: 4351430 (1982-09-01), Mojden
patent: 4362077 (1982-12-01), Gerber
patent: 4953747 (1990-09-01), Kubota et al.
patent: 5265792 (1993-11-01), Harrah et al.
patent: 5285929 (1994-02-01), Aoyama
patent: 5570812 (1996-11-01), Ando et al.
patent: 5730317 (1998-03-01), Mitsushima et al.
patent: 5816385 (1998-10-01), Ootsuki et al.
patent: 5853108 (1998-12-01), Ando et al.
patent: 6-232596 (1994-08-01), None
Saito Koji
Yasuda Taro
Lowe Hauptman & Gilman & Berner LLP
Skaggs H. Grant
Taiyo Yuden Co. Ltd.
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