Printed circuit board protector

In equipment for trimming component leads protruding from one side of a printed circuit board to a prescribed length when measured from the one side of a flat printed circuit board that is in a first plane, the equipment including a flat cutting disk arranged for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the first plane and having one surface adjacent to the first plane and being in a second plane that is parallel to and spaced from the first plane a prescribed distance that is equal to the prescribed length and first means for moving circuits boards past this disk with at least a portion of edges of the one side of each board in the first plane and component leads projecting away from the one side of the circuit board in the direction of the second plane, the improvement comprising a wheel having variable thickness that decreases in magnitude over at least a portion of the length of its radius in the direction of the circumference thereof for converting a force on said wheel in the direction of movement of a board to a transverse force in the direction of the axis of rotation of said wheel which is located in front of the disk for lateral movement transverse to the direction of movement of circuit boards only in response to a transverse force on said wheel that is greater than a prescribed force and with a point on the circumference thereof in the first plane, the remainder of said wheel being on the side of the first plane that is in the direction of the second plane, moving printed circuit boards that are bowed in the direction of the second plane having the one side thereof contacting said wheel as the board moves past the latter wheel for causing said wheel to rotate and to move the one side of the board into the first plane prior to its passing the leading edge of the cutting disk.

In equipment for trimming component leads protruding from one side of a printed circuit board to a prescribed length when measured from the one side of a flat printed circuit board that is in a first plane, the equipment including a flat cutting disk arranged for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the first plane and having one surface adjacent to the first plane and being in a second plane that is parallel to and spaced from the first plane a prescribed distance that is equal to the prescribed length, and first means for moving circuit boards past the disk with at least a portion of edges of the one side of a board in the first plane and component leads projecting away from the one side of the board in the direction of the second plane, the improvement comprising:

• second means in front of the leading edge of the cutting disk in the direction of movement of boards and having at least one point thereof in the first plane, other points of said second means being located on the side of the first plane that is in the direction of the second plane, for moving the one side of a circuit board in the first plane and bowed in the direction of the second plane into the first plane as the board moves past said one point and thereby spacing the one side of the circuit board from the leading edge of the cutting disk in the second plane as the board moves past the disk, said second means being configured with a variable thickness increasing in the direction from the one point thereon toward the second plane for producing a transverse force thereon which is orthogonal to the direction of travel of the circuit board when said second means contacts an obstruction such as a component lead projecting from the one side of the board, and
• third means supporting said second means for allowing lateral movement of said second means only in response to a transverse force on said second means that is greater than a prescribed value.