US 4,537,552 AGranted

Apparatus for feeding components to a work station

AssigneeSouth London Electrical Equipment Company Limited

InventorRobert K. Slee

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Abstract

The apparatus is for feeding semi-conductor devices to and from process machines. The apparatus includes a main frame 3 having a loading station 1 and an unloading station 2 each of which has a docking station for receiving carts 5. The carts are lifted by a jacking arrangement 40 into operative engagement with a loading or unloading system, 6 or 7 respectively, the loading/unloading means being movable relative to the main frame 3 when engaged by the cart, the movement of the loading means being detected by a fibre optic control system which initiates a signal to terminate lifting. In this way, a loading station of the cart is accurately aligned in three mutually perpendicular axes with the loading/unloading means to ensure reliable transfer of components from the carrier in the cart and a transfer conveyor by which the components are transferred to a machine for a processing operation or are transferred from the machine into an empty cart.

Claims11

Dependent claims

Apparatus for loading components into a machine, including,

a main frame, a docking station in said main frame, a mobile storage device for said components in the form of a cart moveable into and out of said docking station in said main frame, loading means to transfer said components from the cart to said machine, mounting means for movably mounting the loading means on said main frame, means to bring the loading means and the cart into a cooperative relationship by relative movement therebetween, at least part of the loading means being movable relative to the main frame during said relative movement to align the cart with the loading means in two mutually perpendicular axes,
a plurality of component carriers in the cart, each component carrier being adapted to hold a plurality of said components, each cart having a loading station, and the apparatus having drive means for selectively moving each carrier to said loading station to enable the components in the carrier to be transferred by said loading means from the cart to the machine, the loading means including control means responsive to the position of a carrier in the loading station for controlling the drive means to align the carrier in the loading station with said loading means in an axis perpendicular to said two mutually perpendicular axes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.