GB2061867A - Automatic machine for operating on and taping electrical components - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic machine for forming bandoleers of electrical components with lead wires protruding only from their bases has a rotatable plate (6) carrying one or more collet chucks which pick up individual components from delivery station (5) and hold the components while they are moved through stations (14, 15, 16) at which operations are performed on them and until they have been taped at an insertion station (18) unless they have been identified by the machine as rejects, in which case they are released untaped at a rejection station (17). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Automatic reel-packing machine This invention relates to automatic reel-packing machines for taping components, such as diodes, capacitors and the like provided with lead wires on one side, and also to methods of taping such components.

Machines of this type referred to above serve to arrange systematically components chiefly supplied loose in bulk quantities and which, before being further processed automatically, have to be taped and packed between standardized tapes.

According to the present invention there is provided an automatic reel-packing machine for taping sets of electric components to form bandoleers, wherein each individual component has lead wires protruding only from its base or edge, which apparatus includes a rotatable plate provided with one or more travelling collet chucks for siezing and holding individual ones of the electric components, wherein rotation of the plate takes the or each chuck through a plurality of operating stations whereat individual and/or mechanical operations are performed on the individual electrical component then held by that chuck, which operating stations include, inter alia, a delivery station to which the electrical components are singly fed and at which each component is first siezed by said chuck, or by one of said chucks, an insertion station whereat the electrical components are released having first been secured in position on a bandoleer tape, and optionally a rejection station at which individual electrical components may be rejected untaped, and wherein each individual electrical component, when first siezed at the delivery station, is continuously held by that chuck until either it is released at a rejection station or it is released at the insertion station having first been secured in position on the bandoleer tape.

The invention also provides a method of automatic reel-packing machine for taping sets of electric components to form bandoleers, each of which individual components has lead wires protruding only from its base, wherein the components are fed singly to a delivery station at which each in turn is siezed and held by a travelling collet chuck mounted on a rotatable plate rotation of which causes the chuck to take the component through a plurality of operating stations dispersed around the plate including, inter alia, said delivery station, an insertion station and optionally a rejection station, and wherein when first siezed at the delivery station this is then continuously held by the chuck until either it is released untaped at the rejection station, or it is released at the insertion station having first been secured in position on a bandoleer tape.

By using the automatic reel-packing machine according to the invention it is possible to achieve an improved product quality. The tapes can be manufactured by being extremely accurate to size so that machine jams and/or percentage of rejects in the course of further automatic processing can be reduced.

This enables an economic manufacture with an increased throughput rate. In addition to forming bandoleers by taping bulk quantities of electric components supplied loose, the invention may be used for retaping components that have already been formed into bandoleers by other machinery. This may be necessary if, for instance, the positioning of the electric components on the original bandoleers is too imprecise for satisfactorily efficient subsequent automatic processing.

One example of embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is the schematic representation of the automatic reel packing machine in a side view, Figure 2 shows the automatic reel-packing machine according to Fig. 1 in a top view, and Figure 3 shows part of a collet chuck in the state of taking over a component from a delivery station, partly in a sectional view.

The automatic reel packing machine as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 consists essentially of a rack 1 with the mounting plate 2 to which various devices are mounted. The constructional features and modes of operation thereof are best illustrated by giving a brief functional-sequence description of the automatic reel-packing machine.

The components supplied as loose goods may be transistors, diodes, capacitors, or the like which, however, as a common feature, have lead wires protruding only from their bases. Components of the type intended to be taped, are fed into a vibrator 3 from which they are removed in single file and fed via a linear parts supply 4 into a delivery station 5.

The latter is one of several, different types of operating stations positioned at regular intervals circularly around a rotatable plate 6 on the mounting plate 2.

The aforementioned plate 6 likewise serves as a mounting plate along the circumference of which a number of collet chucks 7 corresponding to the number of operating stations is secured. The longitudinal axes of the chucks are parallel with the axis of rotation of the plate 6. For the purpose of being adaptable to the respective type of component to be taped, the collet chucks 7 are provided with easily interchangeable grippers 8.As soon as one of the components 10 sliding in the slot of a guide 9 reaches the limit stop of the delivery station 5 it is lifted, as is shown in Fig. 3, by a slider 11 engaging with its base, and in opposition to the force of a spring element 12 arranged inside the collet chuck 7 and designed, for example, as a compression spring, to such an extent that the head of the component 10 can be reliably seized by the spring-tensioned grippers 8 of the respective pneumatically or electromagnetically operable collet chuck.

The component 10 as held in position by the grippers 8, and without loosening the collet chuck 7 inbetween, is applied in a rotary cycle successively to each of the operating stations. This is carried out by way of a rotation of the plate 6 arranged on a base 13 in a cycle-timed manner.

As already mentioned hereinbefore, the operating stations may be designed to perform very different functions. At a plate rotation in the clockwise direction, the collect chucks 7 are moved from the delivery station 5, for example, to a measuring station 14 at which, in the case of capacitors, the polarity thereof is detected.

Next follows a reversing station 15, a combined bending and cutting station 16, a rejection station 17 for rejecting faulty parts and, finally, an inserting station 18 at which the collet chuck 7 opens and discharges the component 10 once its lead wires have been taped (Fig. 2) to secure it in position on the tape. Of course if the machine identifies a component as faulty the collet chuck opens earlier in the cycle at station 1 7 to reject the component untaped before it is able to reach the delivery station 18 and be taped. For this taping at operating station 18 the leads of the component 10 are retained between a supporting tape 19 and a sticky tape 20 which, via several pulleys, are pulled off the supply reels 21, 22 and joined to one another.The thus resulting tape 23 is thereupon led through a tape perforating tool 24 arranged outside the range of action of the collet chucks 7, after which it is finally wound on to a reel 26 provided with a drive 25 by inserting a supplementary tape 28 as drawn off a further supply reel 27. All of these performances are controlled via a control panel 29 forming part of the automatic reel-packing machine.

It is to be emphasized as an advantage that the components fed into this automatic machine for being taped is that at the first operating station in the cycle the slider 11 serves to position the base of the component from which its lead wires protrude at a predetermined level-with respect to the mouth of the chuck. Unless the machine identifies a particular component as a reject, this predetermined level is maintained throughout the entire passage through all the operating stations, because the chuck remains closed until the insertion station is reached. Therefore mechanical operations performed upon the component leads at intermediate operating stations such as bending and/or cropping are always performed at a predetermined level with respect to the component base. This is of particular importance with respect to dropshaped types of components because the diameters thereof and the length thereof oRen differ from one another considerably.

Claims (11)

1. An automatic reel-packing machine for taping sets of electric components to form bandoleers, wherein each individual component has lead wires protruding only from its base or edge, which apparatus includes a rotatable plate provided with one or more travelling collet chucks for siezing and holding individual ones of the electric components, wherein rotation of the plate takes the or each chuck through a plurality of operating stations whereat individual and/or mechanical operations are performed on the individual electrical component then held by that chuck, which operating stations include, inter alia, a delivery station to which the electrical components are singly fed and at which each component is first siezed by said chuck, or by one of said chucks, an insertion station whereat the electrical components are released having first been secured in position on a bandoleer tape, and optionally a rejection station at which individual electrical components may be rejected untaped, and wherein each individual electrical component, when first siezed at the delivery station, is continuously held by that chuck until either it is released at a rejection station or it is released at the insertion station having first been secured in position on the bandoleer tape.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein the delivery station is provided with sliding means engaging the base of the component by which that component is introduced into said chuck or one of said chucks so that when siezed by the chuck it is held therein with its base at a predetermined level with respect to the mouth of the chuck.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the number of chucks provided on the rotatable plate is equal to the number of operating stations.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the axis of the or each chuck is parallel with the axis of rotation of the rotatable plate:

5. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the or each chuck is provided with interchangeable grippers for gripping components of different shapes and sizes inserted therein.

6. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the or each chuck is provided with spring tensioned grippers for gripping electrical components inserted therein

7. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the or each chuck include a spring acting to eject an inserted component therefrom when it is not held by that chuck.

8. A machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of automatic reel-packing machine for taping sets of electric components to form bandoleers, each of which individual components has lead wires protruding only from its base, wherein the components are fed singly to a delivery station at which each in turn is siezed and held by a travelling collet chuck mounted on a rotatable plate rotation of which causes the chuck to take the component through a plurality of operating stations dispersed around the plate including, inter alia, said delivery station, an insertion station and optionally a rejection station, and wherein when first siezed at the delivery station this is then continuously held by the chuck until either it is released untaped at the rejection station, or it is released at the insertion station having first been secured in position on a bandoleer tape.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein at the delivery station the component is supported between the lead wires ready for siezing by the chuck so that once siezed the face or edge from which the lead wires protude is at a predetermined level with respect to the mouth of the chuck.

11. A method of forming a bandoleer of taped electrical components which method is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.