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US 5,301,402 AGranted
Automated button closing machine
AssigneeWaterbury Companies, Inc.
InventorsCharles E. Noel, Mark H. Hamilton, Timothy P. White
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A machine for automatically joining front and back parts of buttons employs a turntable with nests that are rotated through a series of stations at which the parts are placed in the nests in a desired orientation, joined, and checked for defects. Orientation of the parts is achieved by video imaging of a first part as it is randomly placed in a nest, and computer-controlled placement of the second part based on the ascertained position of the first part.
Claims52
A method for orienting two button parts relative to each other, comprising:
- supplying a first button part in a fixed orientation;
- obtaining a video image of the first button part to ascertain its orientation;
- orienting a second button part with respect to the first button part based upon the video image of the first button part;
- placing the second button part in a desired orientation with respect to the first button part;
- and
- crimping said first and second button parts to secure said desired orientation.
3 more elements
A method for producing buttons, comprising:
- retaining a first button part in a random fixed rotational orientation;
- comparing a video image of the first button part with a plurality of stored video images to determine the rotational orientation of the first button part;
- supplying a second button part at a predetermined orientation;
- and
- orienting and placing the second button part in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first button part based on the orientation of the first button part to form a combination thereof.
2 more elements
A method for producing buttons comprising:
- placing a first button part having an emblem thereon in a random rotational orientation upon a retaining means at a first placement station;
- moving the first button part and retaining means to a second placement station;
- orienting and placing a second button part adjacent the first button part in a desired rotational orientation based on the orientation of the emblem on the first button part to form a combination thereof at the second placement station;
- moving the combination and retaining mans to a pressing station;
- pressing the first and second button parts to form a finished button;
- determining the presence of improper combinations of the first and second button parts before pressing;
- removing the incomplete buttons from the retaining means before moving the retaining means to the pressing station;
- and
- removing the finished button from the retaining means.
6 more elements
A method for producing buttons, comprising:
- feeding a supply of button front parts to a first station;
- transporting a front part from the supply to a nest on a turntable;
- visually determining the orientation of the front part during the front part transporting step;
- comparing the visually determined orientation with a stored series of known orientations of the front part to determine the orientation of the front part and to identify front parts having improper designs;
- placing the front part into the nest on the turntable;
- rotating the turntable to move the nest to a second station;
- feeding a supply of button back parts in a constant orientation to the second station;
- transporting a back part from the supply to the nest and placing the back part adjacent the front part, forming a combination thereof;
- orienting the back part during the back part transporting step according to the visually determined orientation of the front part to obtain a desired orientation of the back part with respect to the front parts;
- rotating the turntable to move the nest to a third station;
- crimping the back and front parts together to initially join them and fix their orientation;
- determining the presence of incomplete button combinations during the crimping step;
- rotating the turntable to move the nest to a fourth station;
- removing incomplete combinations from the nest at the fourth station;
- removing buttons having front parts with improper designs at the fourth station;
- rotating the turntable to move the nest to a fifth station;
- pressing the front and back parts to form a finished button;
- rotating the turntable to move the nest to a sixth station;
- and
- removing the finished button.
17 more elements
An apparatus for orienting two objects in a desired relationship in an assembly, comprising:
- means for retaining a first object at a fixed rotational orientation;
- means for selecting a first object having a random rotational orientation and placing the first object upon the retaining means in said orientation;
- video means operatively associated with the selecting and placing means for comparing an image of the first object with a plurality of stored images to determine the fixed random rotational orientation of said first object;
- means for supplying a second object at a predetermined orientation;
- and
- means operatively associated with the first object orientation determining means for orienting and placing said second object in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first object based on the determined random orientation of the first object to form a combination thereof.
3 more elements
An apparatus for orienting two button parts in a desired relationship in a button assembly comprising;
- means for retaining a first button part having an emblem thereon at a fixed rotational orientation;
- means for selecting a first button part having a random rotational orientation and placing he first button part upon the retaining means in said orientation;
- video means operatively associated with the selecting and placing means for comparing an image of the emblem of the first button part with a plurality of stored images of such emblems to determine the fixed random rotational orientation of the emblem on the first button part;
- means for supply a second button part at a predetermined orientation;
- means operatively associated with the first button part orientation determining means for orienting and placing the second button part in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first button part based on the orientation of the emblem on the first button part to form a button combination;
- and
- means for joining said first and second parts to secure the desired orientation and form a button assembly.
4 more elements
An apparatus for orienting two button parts in a desired relationship in a button assembly comprising:
- means for retaining a first button part at a fixed rotational orientation;
- means for selecting a first button part having a random rotational orientation and placing the first button part upon the retaining means in said orientation;
- means operatively associated with the selecting and placing means for determining the fixed random rotational orientation of the first button part, wherein said first button part is intended to have predetermined design and said determining means comprises means for detecting first button parts having designs other than said predetermined design;
- means for supplying a second button part at a predetermined orientation;
- means operatively associated with the first button part orientation determining means for orienting and placing the second button part in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first button part based on the orientation of the first button part to form a button combination;
- and
- means for joining said first and second parts to secure the desired orientation and form a button assembly.
4 more elements
An apparatus for producing button assemblies, comprising:
- means for retaining at least one button part at a fixed rotational orientation;
- and
- means for automatically advancing the retaining means sequentially through at least three work stations including:
- a first button part placing station comprising means for selecting a first button part having a random rotational orientation and placing the first button part upon the retaining means in said orientation, said first button part having an emblem thereon;
- a second button part placing stations comprising means for orienting and placing a second button part in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first button part based on the random rotational orientation of the emblem on the first button part;
- a joining station comprising means for joining the first and second button parts to secure the desired rotational orientation and form a finished button assembly;
- and
- video means operatively associated with the selecting and placing means for comparing an image of the emblem of the first object with a plurality of stored emblem images to determine the fixed random rotational orientation of said first object.
5 more elements
An apparatus for producing button assemblies, comprising:
- means for retaining at least one button part at a fixed rotational orientation;
- means for automatically advancing the retaining means sequentially through at least three work stations including:
- a first button part placing station comprising means for selecting a first button part having a random rotational orientation and placing the first button part upon the retaining means in said orientation, wherein the first button part placing means includes a first button part retrieval means for retrieving said first button part from a supply of the same and for directing the retrieved first button part to the retaining means;
- a second button part placing station comprising means for orienting and placing a second button part in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first button part based on the random rotational orientation of the first button part;
- and
- a joining station comprising means for joining the first and second button part to secure the desired rotational orientation and form a finished button assembly;
- further comprising means for selectively holding said first button parts in said retaining means at predetermined work stations, and means for supplying first button parts to said retrieval means, wherein the retrieval means includes a tray member for sequentially retrieving first button parts from said supplying means and a finger member for removing the first button part from the tray and placing it upon the retaining means.
4 more elements
An apparatus for producing button assemblies, comprising:
- means for retaining at lest one button part at a fixed rotational orientation;
- and
- means for automatically advancing the retaining means sequentially through at least three work stations including;
- a first button part placing station comprising means for selecting a first button part having a random rotational orientation and placing the first button part in the retraining means in said orientation;
- a second button part placing station comprising means for orienting and placing a second button part in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first button part based on the random rotational orientation of the first button part;
- and
- a joining station comprising means for joining the first and second button part to secure the desired rotational orientation and form a finished button assembly;
- wherein the retaining means comprises a plurality of nests located on a turntable and the joining means is a press comprising means for lifting the retaining means in an upward path, a pressing shaft and an air cylinder for resiliently resisting the upward movement of the retaining means by a distance which is less than the upward movement of the lifting means;
- and
- a pivot arm having a first end and a second end, and wherein the pressing shaft comprises a lower end for engaging the nest and an upper end for transmitting force to the first end of said pivot arm, and wherein the second end of the pivot arm transmits force to the air cylinder.
7 more elements
An apparatus for producing button assemblies, comprising:
- means for retaining at least one button part at a fixed rotational orientation;
- means for automatically advancing the retaining means sequentially through at least three work stations including:
- a first button part placing station comprising means for selecting a first button part having a random rotational orientation and placing the first button part upon the retaining means in said orientation;
- a second button part placing station comprising means for orienting and placing a second button part in a desired rotational orientation with respect to the first button part based on the random rotational orientation of the first button part;
- and
- a joining station comprising means for joining the first and second button part to secure the desired rotational orientation and form a finished button assembly, and further comprising means for selectively holding first button parts in said retaining means at predetermined work stations;
- further comprising a crimping station comprising means for crimping together the first and second button parts, the crimping station located between the first button part placing station and the joining station along the path of the retaining means as it is advanced.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.