GB2167993A

GB2167993A - Electrical component dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2167993A
Application number: GB08523660A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Steve Roger Chamuel; Richard Joseph Jansky
Original assignee: USM Corp
Current assignee: USM Corp
Priority date: 1984-09-28
Filing date: 1985-09-25
Publication date: 1986-06-11
Also published as: DE3531328A1; FR2571205A1; JPS6184899A; GB8523660D0

Abstract

A bi-directional dispenser receives a taped series of axial lead electrical components C from a source and removes the components C from the tape T. Guide means 32 receives the taped series T and transfers the series to a track 48 which places the series in feeder wheels 88 which pass the component leads L past fixed knives 100 which sever the leads L from the tape T. Drive means rotates a shaft 62 upon which the feeder wheels 88 are mounted. The shaft 62 is disengageable from the drive means for manual rotation of the shaft to permit the taped series to be removed from the dispenser. The feeder wheels 88 have circumferential arcuately disposed teeth 94 which grasp a plurality of the component leads L to minimize the load on the leads L while the feeder wheels 88 pull the taped series through the dispenser. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Electrical component dispenser This invention is concerned with an electrical component dispenser especially a bi-directional axial lead electrical component dispenser for obtaining a taped series of components from a source and separating the component leads from the tape.

In the art of automatically inserting axial lead electrical components into printed circuit boards, the components are supplied in the machine in pretaped series for insertion into the board.

To obtain such pretaped series of components, components are selected from their own individual sources, passed through a dispenser onto a conveyor in pre-programmed order to be carried to a retaping station. This results in the components being retaped in predetermined series for the desired sequential insertion into the printed circuit board.

An illustration of this type of sequential component dispensing, conveying and retaping process is illustrated in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,669,309; 3,971,193; 4,119,206 and 4,320,339. In the sequencing machines, a plurality of component sources, such as taped rolls of individual components, are positioned to pass the components through dispensers which are individually activated in response to programmed machine control to deposit components in predetermined series on a conveyor for retaping at a downstream station. U.S. Patent Nos.

3,730,041; 3,421,284; 4,213,286 and 4,338,763 also illustrate such sequencing machines.

In the dispensers utilized in a sequencing machine, a pair of guides receive a taped series of components from a reel and pass the taped series over guide wheels which feed the component leads past cutters which sever the leads to remove the component from the tape. The feeder wheels are rotated in response to a machine control in the desired predetermined sequence.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved dispenser for feeding a taped series of electrical components from a source and guiding the taped components to cutters which sever the component leads and remove the component from the taped series.

A preferred electrical component dispenser is bidirectional and has a support carrying a pair of guides that receive a taped series of spaced components from a source. The various parts of the dispenser are adjustable to accomodate various sizes of components and lengths of component leads. The bending of the component leads during the cutting of the component from the tape has been eliminated by providing constant and uniform driving and pulling forces on the leads while passing through a unique cutter configuration.

The guides of the preferred dispenser are mounted on oppositely threaded portions of a shaft rotatably mounted on the support. The shaft, when rotated, moves the guides toward or away from one another to adjust the guide spacing to accommodate various lengths of taped components. The components pass from the guides through spaced chutes onto rotating wheels which pull the component leads past a fixed cutter to sever the component leads and separate each individual component from the tape. The separated components pass onto a lower portion of the chute to a position to be conveyed away from the dispenser. The feeder wheels are mounted to a shaft rotated in response to a machine control. An indexing wheel is mounted on the shaft to limit the rotation of the shaft.The chute is adjustably mounted on the support and the feeder wheels are adjustably mounted on the shaft to accommodate variable lengths of components. The feeder wheel shaft is rotated through a one-way coupling by a solenoid drive responsive to a machine control.

The feeder wheel shaft is disengagable from the coupling to permit rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction to permit removal of the taped series of components from the dispenser.

There now follows a detailed description, to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, of a dispenser for obtaining a taped series of electrical components from a source and separating the component leads from the tape, embodying the invention. It will be understood that this dispenser has been selected for description to illustrate the invention by way of example and that the invention may reside in any novel feature or combination of features described.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevational view taken along Line 1-1 of Figure 2 and illustrating a guide, chute and feeder wheel of a dispenser embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the dispenser; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the Line 3-3 of Figure 2 and illustrating indexing mechanism of the dispenser; Figure 4 is a top plan view of the dispenser, and; Figure 5 is 3 perspective view of the feeder wheel and cutter of the dispenser.

The dispenser embodying the invention shown in the drawings is adapted to remove a taped series of components from a feed reel and deposit the components onto a conveyor of a sequencing machine for retaping into a reel of a series of components. An example of this use of the dispenser is illustrated in commonly owned U.S. Patent No.

4,119,206. It will be appreciated, however, that this dispenser c & ld be utilized in other environments wherein it would be desirable to remove electrical components (C) from a taped series (T) of components during a component handling process.

The illustrative dispenser 10 comprises a back support plate 12 having side plates 14 and 16 which form a U-shaped frame for the dispenser 10.

A shaft 18 is mounted in a bearing 21 in the upper end 20 of side plate 14 and the shaft 18 passes through an opening 23 in the upper end 22 of side plate 16. The shaft 18 has a knurled end 24 to be gripped by the operator for manual rotation of the shaft 18. Use shaft 18 has a right hand threaded portion 26 and a left hand oppositely threaded por tion 28. Component guides 30 and 32 are engaged with the threaded portions 26 and 28, respectively, so that rotation of the shaft 18 will move the guides 30, 32 toward or away from one another to adjust the guide spacing for various lengths of components (C) to be handled by the dispenser.

The guides 30, 32 each have a flaired open end 34, 34', respectively, leading to slots 36, 36' through which the leads (L) of the taped components are received. As a different supply of reeled components of a different length are fed to the component guides of the dispenser, the shaft 18 can be manually rotated to either move the guides closer or further apart to permit the taped component leads (L) to pass through the slots 36, 36' of the guides 30, 32.

Lower rear portions 37, 37' of the guides 30, 32 each contain V-grooves 38, 38' that ride on a shoulder 40 of the support plate 12 to prevent rotation of the guides 30, 32 during adjustment and to maintain the guides in alignment on the shaft 18.

A pair of guide chutes 42, 44 are mounted on the support plate 12 and each have a guide track 46, 48, respectively, positioned below and inwardly of the slots 36, 36' to receive the component leads (L) inwardly of the tape (T). The chutes 42, 44 each have rearward flanges 50, 52, respectively, secured by bolts 54, 56 in slots 58, 60 in the support plate 12. This permits adjustment of the guide chutes 42, 44 toward and away from one another to accommodate components of different lengths. A drive shaft 62 is mounted in bushings 64, 66 carried in lower portions 68 of the side plates 14 and 16. The drive shaft 62 passes through the lower portions 70, 72, respectively, of the chutes 42, 44. An upper support shaft 74 is secured between side plates 14, 16 and passes through the upper portion 76 of the guide chutes 42, 44.Support blocks 78, 80 on chutes 42, 44 are adjustably secured by set screws (not shown) to the shaft 74.

A pair of feeder wheels 86, 88 are mounted on the shaft 62, outboard of the chutes 42, 44 and each wheel 86, 88 is keyed by a key 90 to a key way 92 in shaft 62 for rotation with the drive shaft 62. The feeder wheels each have a plurality of grasping means provided by teeth 94 which are adapted to engage the component leads (L) and draw the taped components through the dispenser.

Each wheel has twelve such teeth sections 96 which permit engaging an optimum number of component leads while pulling the components through the dispenser. This distributes the pulling load to a plurality of component leads which millitates against loading any single lead to a point wherein the lead would considerably bend or distort during the operation of removing the component from the tape (T).

A pair of L-shaped stationary knives 98, 100 are mounted outboard of the feeder wheels 86, 88. The knives 98, 100 each have a leg 102, 104 secured by bolts 106, 108 in the slots 110, 112 in support plate 12. This permits lateral adjustment of the knives to accommodate different component lengths. Legs 114, 116, respectively, of the knives 98, 100 each have face portions 118 that contact the outboard sides 120 of the feeder wheels 86, 88. A sloped cutting edge 122 on each knife 98, 100 extend toward the feeder wheels 86, 88 and cooperates with a leading edge 124 of the teeth 94 to sever the leads of the components as the components are rotated past knives 98, 100 by the feeder wheels 86, 88. The knives 98, 100 can also be attached to the support plate 12 by screws 126.

A tapered end 128 of shaft 62 is received in a one-way clutch 130 in coupling 132. The coupling 132 is secured to a coupling 134 on a solenoid-driven shaft 136 by a sliding pin connection 137. A solenoid 138 is energized in response to a machine control to drive the shaft 62 through the couplings 132, 134. The sliding pin connection 137 between the couplings 132, 134 compensates for any slight axial movement of the solenoid shaft 136 during rotation of the solenoid 138. A spring 140 is positioned between the bushing 64 and a collar 142 locked on the shaft 62 by set screw 144. The spring 140 biases the shaft 62 into engagement with the coupling 132 through one-way clutch 130.

In the dispenser thus far described, it can be seen that energizing solenoid 138 will drive shaft 62 to rotate the feeder wheels 86, 88 to draw the taped components past the cutting edges 122, 124 of knives 98, 100 to sever the component leads (L) and remove the components from the tape. In the initial feeding of the taped components to the dispenser, the tape is fed through the slots 36, 36' of guides 30, 32 and through the guide tracks 46, 48 until the leads of the first taped component are engaged by the feeder wheel teeth 94. Thereafter, rotation of the feeder wheels 86, 88 will draw the taped components through the dispenser.

In dispensers of this type, it is desirable to be able to rotate the drive shaft in the reverse direction to back the taped components out of the dispenser. For example, when the operator desires to change the feed reel to a different size or type of component, it is desirable to be able to reverse the rotation of shaft 62 to back the taped components out of the dispenser. This eliminates cutting the tape at some point above the dispenser and discarding the removed taped components from the series. Also, in some circumstances, the dispenser may become jammed or parts need cleaning or replacement and thus, it would be desirable to remove the taped series from the dispenser without the removal of any components from the taped series of components.

This bi-directional rotational feature is accomplished by the operator gripping a knob 146 on the shaft 62 and by pulling the shaft 62 against the bias of spring 140 (see Figure 2), the end 128 of shaft 62 can be removed from the clutch 130 and the shaft 62 can then be rotated in the reverse direction to back the taped components out of the dispenser.

Attention is now directed to Figure 3 which illustrates indexing mechanism 148 that controls an incremental movement of the feeder wheels so that a single component is severed at one time from the taped series of components. An indexing wheel 150 is keyed to the shaft 62 by a key 151 and has the same number of detents 152 as the teeth 94 on wheels 86, 88. A spring 154 carried on pin 156 mounted in plate 14 biases a roller 158 into the detents 152 in the wheel 150. A rear portion 160 of the spring 154 is received in an opening 162 in the plate 12. In each incremental rotation of the shaft 62, the roller 158 will ride to the next detent 152 on the wheel 150 and stop further rotation of the shaft 62. This occurs during each revolution of shaft 62 during the lead severing operation. An additional bearing support 164 surrounds shaft 62 and is secured to support plate 12 by screws 166.

Attention is now directed to Figure 1 which illustrates the configuration of the lower portions 168 of the tracks 46, 48 that guide the removed component from the dispenser in a direction opposite to the rotation of shaft 62. The lower portions 168 of tracks 46, 48 extend outwardly away from the dispenser and are sloped downwardly to feed the component onto the next in line component handling apparatus - such as a chain conveyor 169 in a sequencing machine.

Mounted on the support plate 12 is a resilient stop 170 having resilient fingers 172, 174 extending into the path of the component leads when they are in the lower portion 168 of tracks 46, 48. The fingers 172, 174 act to retain the component leads in the portion 168 of the tracks until the leads are grasped by a portion of the conveyor (not shown) for removal of the component from the dispenser.

It should also be noted that the downward bias of the fingers 172, 174 on the lead surfaces, when the leads are grasped for removal, will assist in biasing the leads down the lower sloped portion 168 of the tracks 46, 48 to assist in removing the component from the dispenser.

It should be noted that the stop 170 can be eliminated when the lower portion 168 of the tracks 46, 48 has a rearwardly extending slanted shaft 171 (see Figure 1) upon which the severed component can rest before being removed from the dispenser.

Attention is also directed to the outboard lead engaging pairs of wheels 176, 178 (Figure 2) that engage the end portion of the long leads to be severed to aid in guiding the lead through the dispenser and assist in the removal of the taped severed leads from the dispenser. The pairs of wheels 176, 178 are keyed to shaft 62 and each pair has a stripper bar 180 adjustably mounted on support shaft 74. The stripper bars have inclined faces 182 which facilitate removal of the taped severed leads from the dispenser as they are rotated by the wheels 176, 178.

It can thus be seen that the bi-directional dispenser provides a direct feed to a pair of driven feeder wheels that draw the taped components from the source. Further, the feeder wheels have an optimum number of tooth sections a plurality of component leads are grasped simultaneously by teeth of the wheels to minimize the load on any given lead during the operation of feeding and cutting the leads. The use of a stationary knife coacting with the rotating feeder wheels also reduces the force on the lead during cutting.

In addition, all the operative parts of the mechanism are easily adjustable for accommodating various lengths of components to be handled by the dispenser.

Claims

1. A dispenser for obtaining a taped series of axial lead electrical components from a source and separating the component leads from the taped series comprising: a. a support frame; b. a pair of guide members adapted to receive the taped series of components taped along the extremities of the leads of the components; c. a shaft rotatably mounted on said frame and having threaded engagement with said guide members so that rotation of said shaft will alter the spatial relationship between said guide members; d. a pair of guide chutes supported on said frame and having tracks coacting with the said guide members to receive the taped series of components from said guide members;; e. a pair of feeder wheels mounted on a driven shaft supported on said frame, said feeder wheels being positioned below said tracks and each having means to grasp the component leads and pull the taped series of components from the source; and f. a pair of stationary knives fixed to said frame and juxtapositioned to said grasping means of the feeder wheels to sever each component lead from the taped series of components.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the tracks have means downstream of said feeder wheels to release the component from the dispenser.

3. A dispenser according to either one of claims 1 and 2, comprises means to drive said driven shaft in a first direction during the severing of the component leads from the taped series, said driven shaft being releasable from said drive means for rotation in thc opposite direction to remove the taped series from the dispenser.

4. A dispenser according to claim 3, wherein said drive means comprises a solenoid coupled to said driven shaft through a one-way drive mechanism, said shaft being axially slidable on said frame for removal of said shaft from said one-way drive mechanism for rotation of said shaft in said opposite direction.

5. A dispenser according to claim 4, comprising means biasing said driven shaft into driving engagement with said one-way drive mechanism.

6. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said guide members, tracks, feeder wheels and knives are adjustable mounted for repositioning of their respective lateral spacing to accommodate dispensing various length components.

7. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said fixed knives have a leg portion secured to said frame and an angularly disposed cutter portion adjacent said grasping means.

8. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising indexing means coact ing with said driven shaft to index single incremental rotational movements of said shaft during the severing of the leads of a single component from the taped series.

9. A dispenser according to claim 8, wherein said indexing means comprises a wheel mounted on said driven shaft and includes a plurality of detents, and spring bias locking means mounted on said frame positionable in said detents during each indexing revolution of said shaft.

10. A dispenser for obtaining a taped series of axial lead electrical components from a source and separating the component leads from the taped series comprising: a. support frame; b. a rotatably driven shaft mounted on said frame; c. a pair of feeder wheels secured to said shaft and having a plurality of circumferential radially extending teeth adapted to grasp the leads of the components, said teeth when said shaft is driven being adapted to pull said taped series from the source; d. a pair of fixed knives juxtapositioned to said teeth and adapted to coact with said teeth to sever the leads of the components to remove the components from the taped series; and e. said teeth being sufficient in number to grasp a multiplicity of component leads to minimize the pulling load on any given component lead to militate against bending or distorting the leads during the cutting of the leads.

11. A dispenser according to claim 10, wherein said knives are fixed to said frame.

12. A dispenser according to either one of claims 10 and 11 comprising means to drive said shaft in one direction and coupling means connect- ing said shaft to said drive means, said shaft being disengagable from said coupling means to permit rotation of said shaft in the opposite direction for removal of the taped series of components from the dispenser.

13. A dispenser according to any one of claims 10 to 12 comprising indexing means coacting with said shaft to retain said shaft in increments of rotation.

14. A dispenser according to any one of claims 10 to 13 comprising guide means to receive the taped series from the source and track means to guide the taped series through said feeder wheels and transfer the removed components out of the dispenser.

15. A dispenser according to claim 14 wherein said track means guide the removed component out of the dispenser in a direction opposite the direction of rotation of said shaft.

16. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims comprising guide wheels on said shaft outboard of said feeder wheels to move the severed component leads out of the dispenser.

17. An electrical component dispenser constructed arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.