US20200196714A1

US20200196714A1 - Assembling apparatus for continuously assembling male and female fasteners on carrier sheet

Info

Publication number: US20200196714A1
Application number: US16/717,823
Authority: US
Inventors: Long-Hsiang Wang; Yi-So Wang
Original assignee: Sysco Machinery Corp
Current assignee: Sysco Machinery Corp
Priority date: 2018-12-20
Filing date: 2019-12-17
Publication date: 2020-06-25
Also published as: TWI686247B; TW202023707A

Abstract

An assembling apparatus is provided for continuously assembling male fasteners and female fasteners on a carrier sheet. The assembling apparatus includes two rollers each having a plurality of retaining holes, a suction device coupled to apply vacuum to the retaining holes, and two feeding devices for feeding male and female fasteners respectively to the two rollers. In the process of continuously advancing the carrier sheet to pass through the narrowest gap between the rollers, each male fastener retained on one of the rollers, once passing the narrowest gap, is permitted to extend through the carrier sheet to be brought into fastening engagement with the corresponding female fastener retained on the other one of the rollers.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Taiwanese invention patent application no. 107146189, filed on Dec. 20, 2018.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to an assembling apparatus, more particularly to an assembling apparatus for continuously assembling male and female fasteners on a carrier sheet.

BACKGROUND

An electrode patch, which may be attached to the skin of a patient for measuring his/her physiological signals, normally includes a substrate which has upper and lower surfaces, a plurality of electrodes which are separately coupled to the lower surface of the substrate to be in contact with the patient' skin, and a plurality of fastener units which are mounted to the substrate to permit the electrodes to be in electrical connection with an outer device for collecting the signals of the electrodes. Each of the fastener units includes a male fastener and a female fastener, one of which is disposed on the lower surface of the substrate to be electrically connected to the respective electrode, and the other of which is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate to be electrically connected to the outer device. The male fastener extends through the substrate to be brought into electrical connection and fastening engagement with the female fastener.
A conventional process for manufacturing the electrode patches may include the steps of: a) preparing an elongated sheet, which includes thereon a plurality of semi-products of the electrode patches; b) manually fastening the fastener units to each of the semi-products; and c) stamping the elongated sheet into a plurality of electrode patches. Given that the conventional process involves manual operation, it is time-consuming and low in efficiency.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide an assembling apparatus for continuously assembling male fasteners and female fasteners on a carrier sheet.
According to the disclosure, an assembling apparatus is provided for continuously assembling male fasteners and female fasteners on a carrier sheet which extends in a front-and-rear direction. The assembling apparatus includes a roller device, a suction device, and two feeding devices. The roller device includes two rollers and a roller drive module. Each of the rollers extends along a roller axis in a left-and-right direction, and has an outer peripheral surface surrounding the roller axis. The rollers are spaced apart from each other in an upright direction to define therebetween a narrowest gap for passage of the carrier sheet. The outer peripheral surface of one of the rollers is formed with at least one circumferential row of first retaining holes in which the first retaining holes are angularly displaced from each other and are each configured for retaining therein each one of the male fasteners. The outer peripheral surface of the other one of the rollers is formed with at least one circumferential row of second retaining holes in which the second retaining holes are angularly displaced from each other and are each configured for retaining therein each one of the female fasteners. The roller drive module is coupled to drive rotation of the two rollers such that each of the male fasteners retained in the corresponding first retaining hole, once moving into the narrowest gap, is permitted to extend through the carrier sheet and be brought into fastening engagement with a respective one of the female fasteners retained in the corresponding second retaining hole, to thereby continuously assemble the male and female fasteners on the carrier sheet. The suction device is coupled to the rollers to be disposed downstream of the first and second retaining holes so as to apply vacuum to the first and second retaining holes to thereby retain the male fasteners and the female fasteners respectively on the rollers. The feeding devices are coupled respectively to the two rollers and are configured for feeding the male fasteners and the female fasteners respectively to the two rollers so as to permit the male fasteners to be sequentially fed and retained in the at least one circumferential row of the first retaining holes, and to permit the female fasteners to be sequentially fed and retained in the at least one circumferential row of the second retaining holes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment (s) with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an assembling apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure, which is disposed downstream of a roll-to-roll processing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the assembling apparatus;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, partially cross-sectional view of the assembling apparatus illustrating male and female fasteners to be brought into fastening engagement with each other when passing through a narrowest gap between two rollers;

FIG. 4 is a partially cross-sectional view of the assembling apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary partially cross-sectional view of the assembling apparatus, illustrating relationship among the rollers and two feeding devices;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top view of the assembling apparatus illustrating one of the rollers and one of the feeding devices;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, partially exploded perspective view of one of the feeding devices;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, partially cross-sectional view illustrating the male fasteners in one of the feeding devices;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary, partially cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 (a) to (c) are schematic fragmentary partial cross-sectional views illustrating how the male fasteners to be sequentially disposed on first retaining holes on one of the rollers; and

FIG. 11 (a) to (c) are schematic fragmentary partial cross-sectional views illustrating how the female fasteners to be sequentially disposed on second retaining holes on the other one of the rollers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To aid in describing the disclosure, directional terms may be used in the specification and claims to describe portions of the present disclosure (e.g., front, rear, left, right, top, bottom, etc.). These directional definitions are intended to merely assist in describing and claiming the disclosure and are not intended to limit the disclosure in any way.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an assembling apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure is provided for continuously assembling male fasteners 81 and female fasteners 82 on a carrier sheet 900 which is advanced continuously from rear to front in a front-and-rear direction (X). In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the assembling apparatus 200 is disposed downstream of a roll-to-roll processing apparatus 100 for treating the carrier sheet 900 from the roll-to-roll processing apparatus 100. The carrier sheet 900 may be an elongated sheet, and may include thereon a plurality of semi-products 901 of electrode patches. Each of the semi-products 901 may have a plurality of electrodes 902, a plurality of predetermined holes 904, and a plurality of electric wires 905 each extending from one of the electrodes 902 to an edge of the respective hole 904.
The carrier sheet 900 may have thereon a plurality of markers 903, two adjacent ones of which are spaced apart from each other in the front-and-rear direction (X) by a predetermined distance. In other embodiment, the carrier sheet 900 may be just a sheet prepared for carrying the male and female fasteners 81, 82.
In an embodiment shown in FIG. 3, each of the male fasteners 81 may include a first disc base 811 and a male protrusion 812 extending axially from the first disc base 811. Each of the female fasteners 82 may include a second disc base 821 and a female protrusion 822 which has a receiving hole extending axially from the second disc base 821 for fastening engagement with the male protrusion 812 of each male fastener 81. For serving as a conductor in the electrode patch, each of the male and female fasteners 81, 82 may be made of an electrical conductive material.
For clear illustration, left and right sides of FIG. 1 are referred to as rear and front sides of the assembling apparatus 200, and the carrier sheet 900 is advanced from rear to front.
The assembling apparatus 200 includes a roller device 4, a suction device 6, and two feeding devices 5.
The roller device 4 includes two rollers 42 and a roller drive module 43.
Each of the rollers 42 extends along a roller axis (A) in a left-and-right direction (Y), and has an outer peripheral surface surrounding the roller axis (A). The rollers 42 are spaced apart from each other in an upright direction (Z) to define therebetween a narrowest gap (G) for passage of the carrier sheet 900. The outer peripheral surface of one of the rollers 42 is formed with at least one circumferential row of first retaining holes 421 in which the first retaining holes 421 are angularly displaced from each other and are each configured for retaining therein each one of the male fasteners 81. The outer peripheral surface of the other one of the rollers 42 is formed with at least one circumferential row of second retaining holes 424 in which the second retaining holes 424 are angularly displaced from each other and are each configured for retaining therein each one of the female fasteners 82.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the outer peripheral surface of the upper one of the rollers 42 (hereinafter referred to as upper roller) is formed with the first retaining holes 421, and each of the first retaining holes 421 is configured to receive the first disc base 811 of each male fastener 81. On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the lower one of the rollers 42 (hereinafter referred to as lower roller) is formed with the second retaining holes 424, and each of the second retaining holes 424 is configured to receive the female protrusion 822 of each female fastener 82. In this case, each of the male fasteners 81 in the corresponding first retaining hole 421 has the male protrusion 812 protruded outwardly from the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 42. Each of the female fasteners 82 in the corresponding second retaining hole 424 has the receiving hole of the female protrusion 822 exposed from the outer peripheral surface of the lower roller 42 for fastening engagement with the corresponding male protrusion 812.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, each of the rollers 42 has therein a plurality of axial bores 422 which respectively extend in left-and-right direction (Y), and which are angularly displaced from each other about the roller axis (A). Each of the axial bores 422 is in fluid communication with a respective one of the first or second retaining holes 421, 424.
The roller drive module 43 is coupled to drive the two rollers 42 to rotate respectively in two opposite circumferential directions. Each of the male fasteners 81 retained on the upper roller 42, once moving into the narrowest gap (G), is permitted to extend through a corresponding one of the predetermined holes 904 on the carrier sheet 900 to be brought into fastening engagement with a corresponding one of the female fasteners 82 retained on the lower roller 42 in the narrowest gap (G), to thereby continuously assemble the male and female fasteners 81, 82 on the carrier sheet 900. In other embodiment, the predetermined holes 904 may not be formed on the carrier sheet 900 in advance, and may be formed once each of the male fasteners 81 is stamped through the carrier sheet 900. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the upper roller 42 is driven to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, and the lower roller 42 is driven to rotate in a clockwise direction.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the roller device 4 may include a mounting frame 41 having two side walls 411 which are spaced apart from each other in the left-and-right direction (Y) to permit each of the two rollers 42 to be rotatably supported between the side frames 41. In addition, the roller drive module 43 may be mounted to the mounting frame 41 to permit the rollers 42 to be driven by the roller drive module 43 and rotate in the opposite circumferential directions.
The suction device 6 is coupled to the rollers 42 to be disposed downstream of the first and second retaining holes 421, 424 so as to apply vacuum to the first and second retaining holes 421, 424, thereby retaining the male fasteners 81 and the female fasteners 82 respectively on the rollers 42.
In a not-shown embodiment, the suction device 6 may has a vacuum pump and a plurality of pipes, each of which is connected upstream of the vacuum pump and downstream of the respective one of the axial bores 422 of the rollers 42 to apply vacuum to the first and second retaining holes 421, 424.
The two feeding devices 5 are coupled respectively to the two rollers 42 and are configured for feeding the male fasteners 81 and the female fasteners 82 respectively to the two rollers 42 so as to permit the male fasteners 81 to be sequentially fed and retained in the at least one circumferential row of the first retaining holes 421, and to permit the female fasteners 82 to be sequentially fed and retained in the at least one circumferential row of the second retaining holes 424.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, an upper one of the feeding devices 5 (hereinafter referred to as upper feeding device) is disposed above the carrier sheet 900 and is coupled to an upper rod interconnecting the side walls 411 of the mounting frame 41, so that it may feed the male fasteners 81 to the upper roller 42 at its upper and rear side. The lower one of the feeding devices 5 (hereinafter referred to as lower feeding device) is disposed beneath the carrier sheet 900 and is coupled to front edges of the side walls 411 of the mounting frame 41, so that it may feed the female fasteners 82 to the lower roller 42 at its lower and front side.
Please note that because the two feeding devices 5 have substantially the same structure and similar function, only the upper feeding device 5 for feeding male fasteners 81 is shown in FIGS. 6, 8, and 9.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, each of the feeding devices 5 may include a fastener dispenser 51 and at least one fastener guide 56. The fastener dispenser 51 is mounted above the respective roller 42 and defines therein at least one discharge channel 522. The fastener dispenser 51 is operable to successively discharge the male or female fasteners 81, 82 one by one from the discharge channel 522. The at least one fastener guide 56 defines a guiding channel 562 extending from an inlet port 563 inclinedly and downwardly to terminate at an outlet port 564, and is coupled between the fastener dispenser 51 and the respective roller 42 for guiding movement of the male or female fasteners 81, 82 from the discharge channel 522 to the outlet port 564 in an one-by-one manner such that when the rollers 42 are driven to rotate, the male or female fasteners 81, 82, discharged from the outlet port 564, are permitted to be sequentially fed and retained in the circumferential row of the first or second retaining holes 421, 424.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 5, 10, and 11, a first minimum gap, which is defined between the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 42 and the outlet port 564 of the fastener guide 56 of the upper feeding device 5, is smaller than a height of the male fastener 81. In addition, a second minimum gap, which is defined between a bottom of the corresponding first retaining hole 421 and the outlet port 564 of the fastener guide 56 of the upper feeding device 5, is larger than the height of the male fastener 81. As shown in FIG. 10(a), the male fastener 81 at the outlet port 564, when approaching the corresponding first retaining hole 421, is kept between the corresponding fastener guide 56 and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 42. This is because the first minimum gap is smaller than the height of each male fastener 81. As shown in FIG. 10(b), the male fastener 81 at the outlet port 564, when reaching the corresponding first retaining hole 421, is drawn to be retained in the corresponding first retaining hole 421 to rotate with the upper roller 42. This is because the second minimum gap is larger than the height of each male fastener 81. After the male fastener 81 is rotated with the upper roller 42 to leave the outlet port 564, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the next male fastener 81 falls to the outlet port 564.
Furthermore, a third minimum gap, which is defined between the outer peripheral surface of the lower roller 42 and the outlet port 564 of the fastener guide 56 of the lower feeding device 5, is smaller than a height of the female fastener 82. In addition, a forth minimum gap, which is defined between a bottom of the corresponding second retaining hole 424 and the outlet port 564 of the fastener guide 56 of the lower feeding device 5, is larger than the height of the female fastener 82. As shown in FIG. 11(a), the female fastener 82 at the outlet port 564, when approaching the corresponding second retaining hole 424, is kept between the corresponding fastener guide 56 and the outer peripheral surface of the lower roller 42. This is because the third minimum gap is smaller than the height of each female fastener 82. As shown in FIG. 11(b), the female fastener 82 at the outlet port 564, when reaching the corresponding second retaining hole 424, is drawn to be retained in the corresponding second retaining hole 424 to rotate with the lower roller 42. This is because the fourth minimum gap is larger than the height of each female fastener 82. After the female fastener 82 is rotated with the lower roller 42 to leave the outlet port 564, as shown in FIG. 11(c), the next female fastener 82 falls to the outlet port 564.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2, 7, and 8, the fastener dispenser 51 may include a support wall 52, a drive wheel 53, and a drive module 55.
The support wall 52 is disposed to incline downwardly from front to rear, and defines therein the at least one discharge channel 522. The support wall 52 has an upward surface 520 which is formed with a circular recess 521 for receiving the male or female fasteners 81, 82. The circular recess 521 has an inner peripheral surface 501 which has a bottommost point 502, a topmost point 503, a ramp-up zone 504 extending from the bottommost point 502 to the topmost point 503, and a ramp-down zone 505 extending from the topmost point 503 to the bottommost point 502. The ramp-up zone 504 has a slot 506 (shown in FIG. 8 only) which is configured to permit the circular recess 521 to be in spatial communication with the discharge channel 522, and which extends circumferentially to terminate at an uppermost edge 507 and a lowermost edge 508 that are respectively distal from and proximate to the bottommost point 502.
In an embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the discharge channel 522 may include an upper channel segment 523 which extends outwardly from the slot 506, and a lower channel segment 524 which extends downwardly from the upper channel segment 523 for discharging the male or female fasteners 81, 82 to the guiding channel 562.
In an embodiment shown in FIG. 8, an arc of the ramp-up zone 504, interconnecting the bottommost point 502 and the lowermost edge 508 of the slot 506, defines a central angle (ν1) which is not less than 60° and may range from 60° to 90°. In certain embodiments, the central angle (θ1) is not less than 80° and may range from 80° to 90°.
The drive wheel 53 is mounted rotatably in the circular recess 521, and has a wheel hub 531, a plurality of spokes 534, and a wheel rim 532. The spokes 534 extend radially from the wheel hub 531 and are displaced angularly from each other about the wheel hub 531 so as to permit the male or female fasteners 81, 82 to be received in the circular recess 521 among the spokes 534. The wheel rim 532 extends to interconnect outer ends of the spokes 534, and is disposed to confront the inner peripheral surface 501 of the circular recess 521. The wheel rim 532 is formed with a plurality of retaining passages 533 which are angularly displaced from each other. Each of retaining passages 533 is configured to retain and permit passing of, one at a time, the male or female fasteners 81, 82, and one of the male or female fasteners 81, 82, when being in a corresponding one of the retaining passages 533 and elevated along the ramp-up zone 504 by the drive wheel 53, is to be thrown out of the circular recess 521 through the slot 506 to thereby move into the discharge channel 522.
In an embodiment shown in FIG. 8, each of the retaining passages 533 extends inclinedly relative to a diameter line of the drive wheel 53 by an inclined angle (θ2) ranging from 0° to 30° such that one of the male or female fasteners 81, 82 retained in the corresponding retaining passage 533, once moving to confront the slot 506, is to be guided by the corresponding retaining passage 533 to fall into the discharge channel 522 due to the gravity of the male or female fastener 81, 82. In one embodiment, the inclined angle (θ2) may be 25°.
The drive module 55 is coupled to the wheel hub 531 so as to drive rotation of the drive wheel 53, for example, in a counterclockwise direction as shown by an arrow 530 in FIG. 8. In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the drive module 55 may include a motor 551 which is disposed on a downward surface 525 of the support wall 52, and which has an output shaft 552 extending into the circular recess 521 and coupled to the wheel hub 531 to thereby drive rotation of the drive wheel 53.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 42 may be formed with two of the circumferential rows of the first retaining holes 421. Accordingly, the outer peripheral surface of the lower roller 42 may be formed with two of the circumferential rows of the second retaining holes 424. Based on the positions of the predetermined holes 904 of the semi-products 901, a distance between two adjacent ones of the first retaining holes 421 and a distance between two adjacent ones of the second retaining holes 424 in the left-and-right direction (Y) and/or in a circumferential direction about the roller axis (A) may be varied.
In addition, the support wall 52 defines therein two of the discharge channels 522 which are spaced apart from each other in the left-and-right direction (Y), and the upward surface 520 of the support wall 52 is formed with two of the circular recesses 521, which are respectively in spatial communication with the two discharge channels 522.
Furthermore, the fastener dispenser 51 includes two of the drive wheels 53 mounted rotatably in the circular recesses 521, respectively. Each of the feeding devices 5 includes two of the fastener guides 56 which are displaced from each other in the left-and-right direction (Y), and which are provided for guiding the movement of the male or female fasteners 81, 82 from the two discharge channels 522 respectively to the two circumferential rows of the first or second retaining holes 421, 424. The drive module 55 is coupled to drive rotation of the drive wheels 53. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the drive module 55 may include two of the motors 551 for driving rotation of the drive wheels 53, respectively. In other embodiments, the drive module 55 may have a single motor 551 which is coupled to drive both the drive wheels 53 through a transmission mechanism (not shown).
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the fastener dispenser 51 may further include two covers 54, each of which is disposed on the upward surface 520 of the support wall 51 to define a space 510 together with the respective circular recess 521, to thereby permit the male or female fasteners 81, 82 to be accommodated in the space 510.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the outer peripheral surface of each of the rollers 42 is formed with two endless grooves 423 at two opposite sides of the two circumferential rows of the first or second retaining holes 421, 424. A distance between each of the endless grooves 423 and the adjacent circumferential row of the first or second retaining holes 421, 424 is kept at a constant value. That is to say, when the distance between two adjacent ones of the first retaining holes 421 and the distance between two adjacent ones of the second retaining holes 424 in the left-and-right direction (Y) are widened or narrowed, the distance between the endless grooves 423 in the corresponding position is widened or narrowed accordingly.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 2, 6, and 9, each of the two fastener guides 56 includes an elongated plate 561 defining therein the guiding channel 562, and having a lower end segment 5611 and an upper end segment 5612 which is pivotally mounted to the support wall 52 to permit the guiding channel 562 to receive the male or female fasteners 81, 82 from the respective discharge channel 522. The lower end segment 5611 of the elongated plate 561 includes an inner region 5613 which has the outlet port 564, and an outer region 5614 which is coupled to be guided by the respective endless groove 423 of the corresponding roller 42 so as to position the lower end segment 5611 of the elongated plate 561 relative to the corresponding roller 42, to thereby ensure the male or female fasteners 81, 82 from the outlet port 564 to be accurately fed into the respective circumferential row of the first or second retaining holes 421, 424. In other words, when the distance between two adjacent ones of the first retaining holes 421 in the left-and-right direction (Y) is widened or narrowed (the distance between two adjacent ones of the second retaining holes 424 in the left-and-right direction (Y) is widened or narrowed accordingly), the lower end segments 5611 of the elongated plates 561 are disposed away from or close to each other.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, each of the two fastener guides 56 may further include a stem 565 and a roller bearing 567. The stem 565 is mounted to the outer region 5614 of the lower end segment 5611 of the elongated plate 561 for being disposed in the respective endless groove 423. The roller bearing 567 is mounted on a lower end of the stem 565 to be rollable in the respective endless groove 423 so as to permit the lower end segment 5611 of the elongated plate 561 to be positioned relative to the corresponding roller 42.
In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, each of the feeding devices 5 may further include a biasing spring 57 having two spring ends which are respectively coupled to the lower end segments 5611 of the elongated plates 561 of the fastener guides 56 so as to bias the lower end segments 5611 of the elongated plates 561 to move toward each other.
In an embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the assembling apparatus 200 may further include a marker detection device 72 and a control device 73.
The marker detection device 72 is disposed to detect the markers 903 on the carrier sheet 900. The marker detection device 72 may be disposed beneath the carrier sheet 900 upstream of the roller device 4.
The control device 73 is in signal communication with the marker detection device 72 so as to calculate an advancing speed of the carrier sheet 900 based on the predetermined distance between the two adjacent ones of the markers 903 and a time interval between the times when the two adjacent ones of the markers 903 are detected. The control device 73 is further in signal communication with the roller drive module 43 such that, based on the calculated advancing speed, rotation speed of the rollers 42 is adjusted by the roller drive module 43 to ensure each of the male fasteners 81 to be brought into fastening engagement with the corresponding one of the female fasteners 82 at a predetermined position (for example, the corresponding predetermined hole 904) on the carrier sheet 900.
In sum, with the provision of the assembling apparatus 200 of the disclosure, the male and female fasteners 81, 82 are continuously assembled on the carrier sheet 900 in an automatic process. In addition, by virtue of the signal communication among the marker detection device 72, the control device 72, and the roller drive module 43, the male and female fasteners 81, 82 may be more accurately assembled on the carrier sheet 900.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An assembling apparatus for continuously assembling male fasteners and female fasteners on a carrier sheet which is advanced continuously from rear to front, said assembling apparatus comprising:

a roller device including

two rollers each of which extends along a roller axis in a left-and-right direction, and each of which has an outer peripheral surface surrounding the roller axis, said rollers being spaced apart from each other in an upright direction to define therebetween a narrowest gap for passage of the carrier sheet, said outer peripheral surface of one of said rollers being formed with at least one circumferential row of first retaining holes in which said first retaining holes are angularly displaced from each other and are each configured for retaining therein each one of the male fasteners, said outer peripheral surface of the other one of said rollers being formed with at least one circumferential row of second retaining holes in which said second retaining holes are angularly displaced from each other and are each configured for retaining therein each one of the female fasteners, and

a roller drive module coupled to drive rotation of said two rollers such that each of the male fasteners retained on said one of said rollers, once moving into said narrowest gap, is permitted to extend through the carrier sheet and be brought into fastening engagement with a corresponding one of the female fasteners retained on said the other one of said rollers in said narrowest gap, to thereby continuously assemble the male and female fasteners on the carrier sheet;

a suction device coupled to said rollers to be disposed downstream of said first and second retaining holes so as to apply vacuum to said first and second retaining holes, thereby retaining the male fasteners and the female fasteners respectively on said rollers; and

two feeding devices which are coupled respectively to said two rollers and which are configured for feeding the male fasteners and the female fasteners respectively to said two rollers so as to permit the male fasteners to be sequentially fed and retained in said at least one circumferential row of said first retaining holes, and to permit the female fasteners to be sequentially fed and retained in said at least one circumferential row of said second retaining holes.

2. The assembling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said feeding devices includes

a fastener dispenser mounted above said respective roller and defining therein at least one discharge channel, said fastener dispenser being operable to successively discharge the male or female fasteners one by one from said discharge channel, and

at least one fastener guide which defines a guiding channel extending inclinedly and downwardly to terminate at an outlet port, and which is coupled between said fastener dispenser and said respective roller for guiding movement of the male or female fasteners from said discharge channel to said outlet port in an one-by-one manner such that when said rollers are driven to rotate, the male or female fasteners, discharged from said outlet port, are permitted to be sequentially fed and retained in said circumferential row of said first or second retaining holes.

3. The assembling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said fastener dispenser includes

a support wall disposed to incline downwardly from front to rear, and defining therein said at least one discharge channel, said support wall having an upward surface which is formed with a circular recess for receiving the male or female fasteners, said circular recess having an inner peripheral surface which has a bottommost point, a topmost point, a ramp-up zone extending from said bottommost point to said topmost point, and a ramp-down zone extending from said topmost point to said bottommost point, said ramp-up zone having a slot which is configured to permit said circular recess to be in spatial communication with said discharge channel, and which extends circumferentially to terminate at an uppermost edge and a lowermost edge that are respectively distal from and proximate to said bottommost point,

a drive wheel mounted rotatably in said circular recess, and having

a wheel hub,

a plurality of spokes extending radially from said wheel hub and displaced angularly from each other about said wheel hub so as to permit the male or female fasteners to be received in said circular recess among said spokes, and

a wheel rim which extends to interconnect outer ends of said spokes, and which is disposed to confront said inner peripheral surface of said circular recess, said wheel rim being formed with a plurality of retaining passages which are angularly displaced from each other and each of said retaining passages being configured to retain and permit passage of, one at a time, the male or female fasteners such that one of the male or female fasteners, when being in a corresponding one of said retaining passages and elevated along said ramp-up zone by said drive wheel, is to be thrown out of said circular recess through said slot to thereby move into said discharge channel, and

a drive module coupled to said wheel hub so as to drive rotation of said drive wheel.

4. The assembling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

said outer peripheral surface of said one of said rollers is formed with two of said circumferential rows of said first retaining holes;

said outer peripheral surface of the other one of said rollers is formed with two of said circumferential rows of said second retaining holes;

said support wall defines therein two of said discharge channels which are spaced apart from each other in the left-and-right direction, and said upward surface of said support wall is formed with two of said circular recesses, which are respectively in spatial communication with said two discharge channels;

said fastener dispenser includes two of said drive wheels mounted rotatably in said circular recesses, respectively;

said drive module is coupled to drive rotation of said drive wheels;

each of said feeding devices includes two of said fastener guides which are displaced from each other in the left-and-right direction, and which are provided for guiding the movement of the male or female fasteners from said two discharge channels respectively to said two circumferential rows of said first or second retaining holes.

5. The assembling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an arc of said ramp-up zone, interconnecting said bottommost point and said lowermost edge of said slot, defines a central angle which is not less than 60°.

6. The assembling apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the central angle is not less than 80°.

7. The assembling apparatus according to claim 5, wherein each of said retaining passages extends inclinedly relative to a diameter line of said drive wheel by an inclined angle ranging from 0° to 30° such that one of the male or female fasteners retained in said corresponding retaining passage, once moving to confront said slot, is to be guided by said corresponding retaining passage to fall into said discharge channel.

8. The assembling apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the inclined angle is 25°.

9. The assembling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a marker detection device disposed to detect markers on the carrier sheet, two adjacent ones of the markers being spaced apart from each other in a front-and-rear direction by a predetermined distance; and

a control device which is in signal communication with said marker detection device so as to calculate an advancing speed of the carrier sheet based on the predetermined distance and a time interval between the times when the two adjacent ones of the markers are detected, said control device being further in signal communication with said roller drive module such that, based on the calculated advancing speed, rotation speed of said rollers is adjusted by said roller drive module to ensure each of the male fasteners to be brought into fastening engagement with the corresponding one of the female fasteners at a predetermined position on the carrier sheet.

10. The assembling apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

said outer peripheral surface of each of said rollers is formed with two endless grooves at two opposite sides of said two circumferential rows of said first or second retaining holes; and

each of said two fastener guides includes an elongated plate defining therein said guiding channel, and having a lower end segment and an upper end segment which is pivotally mounted to said support wall to permit said guiding channel to receive the male or female fasteners from said respective discharge channel, said lower end segment of said elongated plate including an inner region which has said outlet port, and an outer region which is coupled to be guided by said respective endless groove of said corresponding roller so as to position said lower end segment of said elongated plate relative to said corresponding roller, to thereby ensure the male or female fasteners from said outlet port to be accurately fed into said respective circumferential row of said first or second retaining holes.

11. The assembling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each of said two fastener guides further includes

a stem mounted to said outer region of said lower end segment of said elongated plate, and

a roller bearing mounted on a lower end of said stem to be rollable in said respective endless groove so as to permit said lower end segment of said elongated plate to be positioned relative to said corresponding roller.

12. The assembling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each of said feeding devices further includes a biasing spring having two spring ends which are respectively coupled to said lower end segments of said elongated plates of said fastener guides so as to bias said lower end segments of said elongated plates to move toward each other.