Feeder and method for feeding components into an assembly line
AssigneeSensata Technologies, Inc.
InventorMatthew Ryder
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for presenting isolated components to an assembly line over a plurality of cycles includes a container configured to direct components towards a central axis. An elongated pedestal within the container has ribs which define an upper surface and a plurality of channels. The pedestal is reciprocally mounted to move along the central axis, and isolates components during each cycle. The isolated components are transferred to an assembly line. The number of isolated components of each cycle is measured and the value stored. A threshold value is calculated based on a number of stored values. A running average of the quantity of isolated components for a number of cycles can then be compared to the threshold to determine when to refill the component container.
Claims21
A feeder for presenting components comprising:
- a container for holding the components, the container having sloped interior walls and a passage;
- an elongated pedestal having ribs defining both a flat upper surface and a plurality of channels, the pedestal being reciprocally mounted for movement through the passage along a longitudinal axis;
- and
- an actuator for moving the pedestal along the longitudinal axis between a low position and a high position,
- wherein:
- when the pedestal is in the low position, the interior walls of the container direct the components onto the upper surface of the pedestal;
- as the pedestal moves from the low position to the high position, a plurality of excess components are dispersed through the channels;
- and
- when the pedestal is in the high position, a plurality of select components are isolated, on the upper surface, from the excess components, the select components having a flat side facing up with respect to ground when isolated.
A method of providing select components to an assembly line, comprising:
- providing a plurality of components in a component container;
- repeatedly actuating an elongated pedestal within the component container between a low position and a high position to isolate select components;
- measuring a quantity of the select components for each cycle;
- storing a value based on the measured quantity of select components for each cycle;
- transferring the select components to an assembly line;
- calculating a predetermined threshold based on at least one of the stored values;
- and
- determining whether to refill the component container based on whether at least one of the stored values is less than the predetermined threshold.
(canceled)
A feeder for presenting components comprising:
- a pedestal elongated along an axis and having ribs defining both a flat upper surface and a plurality of channels;
- a container for holding the components, the container having interior walls sloping from a rim towards the pedestal;
- and
- an actuator for moving the pedestal along the axis between a low position and a high position,
- wherein:
- when the pedestal is in the low position, the upper surface of the pedestal is below the rim of the container;
- and
- when the pedestal is in the high position, a plurality of select components are isolated from the components on the upper surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.