US 5,531,859 AGranted

Electronic component feeder

AssigneeDaewoo Heavy Industries Ltd.

InventorsJung D. Lee, Yong G. Lee

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Abstract

An electronic component feeder is provided for transferring a succession of electronic components borne by a carrier tape toward a pickup position one by one, the carrier tape having a backing strip and a protective cover strip adhesively secured to the backing strip to hold the electronic components in position. The feeder comprises a tape reel about which the carrier tape is wound; a transfer mechanism intermittently operable for advancing the carrier tape toward the pickup position each time at a predetermined pitch; a takeup mechanism operable in synchronism with the transfer mechanism for winding up the protective cover strip peeled from the carrier tape; a shuttle rod for operatively coupling the transfer mechanism and the takeup mechanism to enable them to move in concert, the shuttle rod having a plurality of locator holes each for along of the shuttle rod; an actuator for reciprocating the shuttle rod to cause a synchronized movement of the transfer mechanism and the takeup mechanism, the actuator including a cylinder and a piston rod extendibly fitted into the cylinder; an interconnector block fixedly attached to the piston rod at a first end and slidably engaged with the shuttle rod at a second end; and a locator pin carried by the interconnector block for selective engagement with one of the locator holes of the shuttle rod.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An electronic component feeder for supplying a succession of electronic components borne by a carrier tape towed a pickup position one after another, the carrier tape including a backing strip adapted to support the electronic components thereon and a protective cover strip adhesively bonded to the backing strip to hold electronic components in position, which comprises:

(a) means for supplying the carrier tape;
(b) transfer means for intermittently transferring the carrier tape from the supplying means toward the pickup position each time at a predetermined pitch;
(c) takeup means intermittently operable in synchronism with the transfer means for winding up the protective cover strip peeled from the carrier tape;
(d) a shuttle rod operatively interconnecting the transfer means and the takeup means and having a plurality of locator holes each disposed along a length of the shuttle rod;
(e) an actuator for causing intermittent reciprocating movement of the shuttle rod to drive the transfer means and the takeup means in concert, the actuator including a cylinder and a piston rod extendibly fitted into the cylinder;
(f) an interconnector block fixedly attached to the piston rod at a first end and slidably engaged with the shuttle rod at a second end;
and
(g) a locator pin carried by the interconnector block for selective engagement with one of the locator holes of the shuttle rod to permit change of the predetermined pitch at which the carrier tape is transferred toward the pickup position.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.