Apparatus and methods for improving uniform cover tape adhesion on a carrier tape
AssigneePeak International, Inc.
InventorJohn D. Pylant
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods are presented herein for uniformly sealing and peeling a cover tape to/from a carrier tape. The carrier tapes of the present invention include surface transitions that minimize/eliminates surface irregularities and distortions such that the cover tapes can be uniformly sealed and peeled from the carrier tapes. The surface transitions act as physical barriers to prevent propagation of surface irregularities and distortions from the thermoformed pocket area into the heat bonding zones. The surface transitions also act as stiffening members to keep the heat bonding zones as flat as possible during subsequent handling of the carrier tape. The surface transitions may be in the form of continuous ribs and/or step portions.
Claims8
An apparatus for storing a plurality of components, comprising:
- a carrier tape having:
- a plurality of pockets adapted to receive the plurality of components, the plurality of pockets being formed along a longitudinal direction of the carrier tape;
- a pair of bonding zones, each bonding zone formed longitudinally along the outer periphery of the carrier tape;
- a pair of continuous ribs formed along the longitudinal direction of the carrier tape, wherein each of the pair of continuous ribs is formed in between the plurality of pockets and one of the pair of bonding zones;
- and
- a cover tape adapted to cover the plurality of pockets and bonded to the carrier tape at the pair of bonding zones such that the plurality of components are retained therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.