Carrier tape with cover strip
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorsTimothy J. Juntunen, Dale R. Tidemann, Joseph E. Weiler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A carrier tape and cover strip are provided for storing electronic components and for supplying those components seriatim to a machine. The carrier tape includes a strip portion having spaced longitudinal edge surfaces, and a plurality of pockets formed in the strip portion. The cover strip is applied over the pockets to contain electronic components therein, and is bonded along two outer bonding portions to the edge surfaces of the carrier tape. In one embodiment, the cover strip includes a tear strip attached to a medial portion of the cover strip overlying the pockets, which may be used to separate the medial portion from the bonding portions to expose the contents of the pockets.
Claims21
A unitary, flexible carrier tape for storage and seriatim delivery of electronic components by an advancement mechanism, the carrier tape comprising:
- (a) a top surface having first and second parallel longitudinal edge surfaces, at least one of said edge surfaces including means for engaging the advancement mechanism;
- (b) a plurality of pockets depending downwardly from said top surface between said edge surfaces and along the length of the carrier tape for containing the electronic components;
- (c) a flexible elongate cover strip overlying said pockets and extending along the length of the carrier tape, said cover strip having first and second parallel longitudinal bonding portions bonded to said first and second longitudinal edge surfaces, respectively;
- and
- (d) means for enabling progressive separation and removal of a medial portion of said cover strip overlying said pockets from said first and second bonding portions to provide access to the pockets.
A method of loading electronic components into a carrier tape for seriatim delivery by an advancement mechanism, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a unitary, flexible carrier tape, comprising:
- (i) a top surface having first and second parallel longitudinal edge surfaces, at least one of the edge surfaces including means for engaging the advancement mechanism, and
- (ii) a plurality of pockets depending downwardly from the top surface between the edge surfaces and along the length of the carrier tape for containing the electronic components,
- (b) placing an electronic component within each pocket;
- (c) providing a flexible elongate cover strip adapted to overlie the pockets, and having a medial portion and first and second parallel longitudinal bonding portions;
- (d) affixing the first bonding portion to the first longitudinal edge surface and the second bonding portion to the second longitudinal edge surface of the carrier tape to cover the pockets;
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- (e) drying the carrier tape within an oven to enable evaporation of entrained moisture from the electronic components.
A flexible elongate cover strip for a carrier tape having a top surface having first and second parallel longitudinal edge surfaces and a plurality of pockets formed in said top surface between said edge surfaces and along the length of the carrier tape for containing electronic components, said cover strip adapted to overlie the pockets and to extend along the length of the carrier tape, and including a medial portion and first and second parallel longitudinal bonding portions adapted for bonding to said first and second longitudinal edge surfaces, respectively, and further including means for enabling separation of said medial portion overlying said pockets from said first and second bonding portions when said bonding portions are bonded to said edge surfaces to provide access to the contents of the pockets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.