Cam-driven rotary pick-and-place assembly apparatus
First Claim
1. Material handling apparatus for transferring a workpiece from a first work station to a second work station, comprising in combination:
- a housing;
an input shaft rotatably supported by said housing;
motor means providing a constant speed rotation to said input shaft;
driving cam means carried by said input shaft intermediate the ends thereof, said driving cam means comprising a first cam member and a second cam member;
follower wheel means rotatably supported by said housing and having a pair of spaced parallel bores formed therein along a first direction, said follower wheel means carrying a plurality of cam followers engaged with said first cam member, whereby rotation of said input shaft causes said first cam member to affect timed rotary oscillation of said follower wheel means along a second direction, said second direction being in a plane normal to the plane of said first direction;
follower wheel lift shaft means rotatably supported by said housing and having a radially-extending lift shaft clevis, said follower wheel lift shaft means carrying a plurality of cam followers engaged with said second cam member, whereby rotation of said input shaft causes said second cam member to effect timed oscillation of said follower wheel lift shaft means whereby said lift shaft clevis is oscillated along said first direction;
output shaft means slidably mounted within said spaced parallel bores of said follower wheel means and operable to be linearly oscillated along said first direction, said output shaft means further operable to be rotatably oscillated with said rotatably-driven follower wheel means along said second direction, said output shaft means characterized as comprising a center guide shaft and an outer guide shaft joined at their respective lower ends by connector means;
toggle linkage assembly means operatively connecting said follower wheel lift shaft means with said output shaft means, said toggle linkage assembly characterized as being rotatably connected to said connector means and pivotally connected to said lift shaft clevis;
whereby said toggle linkage assembly, in response to oscillation of said lift shaft clevis, transfers linear oscillation along said first direction to said connector means and thereby to said center and outer guide shafts, while said toggle linkage assembly, when said guide shafts are rotatably oscillated by said rotatably-driven follower wheel means, permits rotation along said second direction between said lift shaft clevis on the one hand and said connector means and said center and outer guide shafts on the other hand.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cam-driven, rotary-type, pick-and-place assembly apparatus for providing linear translation as well as rotary movement to a support member carrying a gripping mechanism, including a housing, motor-driven input shaft carrying two drive cams, a follower wheel assembly rotatably journaled on said housing and drivably oscillated by one of the drive cams, a main guide shaft and a secondary guide shaft slidably received within the follower wheel, the support member mounted stop the guide shafts, a connector plate joining the lower ends of the guide shafts, a follower wheel lift shaft assembly drivably oscillated by the other of the drive cams, the oscillated lift shaft assembly operatively connected to the connector plate and guide shafts by a toggle linkage assembly, which assembly permits simultaneous rotational and linear oscillation of the guide shafts.
27 Citations
7 Claims
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1. Material handling apparatus for transferring a workpiece from a first work station to a second work station, comprising in combination:
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a housing; an input shaft rotatably supported by said housing; motor means providing a constant speed rotation to said input shaft; driving cam means carried by said input shaft intermediate the ends thereof, said driving cam means comprising a first cam member and a second cam member; follower wheel means rotatably supported by said housing and having a pair of spaced parallel bores formed therein along a first direction, said follower wheel means carrying a plurality of cam followers engaged with said first cam member, whereby rotation of said input shaft causes said first cam member to affect timed rotary oscillation of said follower wheel means along a second direction, said second direction being in a plane normal to the plane of said first direction; follower wheel lift shaft means rotatably supported by said housing and having a radially-extending lift shaft clevis, said follower wheel lift shaft means carrying a plurality of cam followers engaged with said second cam member, whereby rotation of said input shaft causes said second cam member to effect timed oscillation of said follower wheel lift shaft means whereby said lift shaft clevis is oscillated along said first direction; output shaft means slidably mounted within said spaced parallel bores of said follower wheel means and operable to be linearly oscillated along said first direction, said output shaft means further operable to be rotatably oscillated with said rotatably-driven follower wheel means along said second direction, said output shaft means characterized as comprising a center guide shaft and an outer guide shaft joined at their respective lower ends by connector means; toggle linkage assembly means operatively connecting said follower wheel lift shaft means with said output shaft means, said toggle linkage assembly characterized as being rotatably connected to said connector means and pivotally connected to said lift shaft clevis; whereby said toggle linkage assembly, in response to oscillation of said lift shaft clevis, transfers linear oscillation along said first direction to said connector means and thereby to said center and outer guide shafts, while said toggle linkage assembly, when said guide shafts are rotatably oscillated by said rotatably-driven follower wheel means, permits rotation along said second direction between said lift shaft clevis on the one hand and said connector means and said center and outer guide shafts on the other hand. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A rotary, pick-and-place assembly apparatus of the type including a housing;
- a constant-speed input shaft which carries a rotary cam and a lift cam;
a follower wheel assembly rotatably-journaled on the housing and drivably-engaged with the rotary cam, the follower wheel assembly including a follower wheel and a pair of parallel guide shafts which are connected at their respective lower ends and which are slidably-received within bores formed in the follower wheel, whereby rotation of the rotary cam affects timed rotary oscillation of the follower wheel and the guide shafts along one direction;
a lift shaft assembly rotatably-journaled on the housing and drivably-engaged with the lift cam, the lift shaft assembly including a radially-extending lift shaft clevis, whereby rotation of the lift cam affects timed oscillation of the lift shaft clevis along another direction which is generally normal to the one direction, the improvement comprising;a toggle linkage assembly rotatably and pivotally connecting the guide shafts to the lift shaft clevis, said toggle linkage assembly comprising bearing plate means and pivot clevis means, said bearing plate means characterized as being rotatably movable with the guide shafts and pivotally connected to said pivot clevis means, said pivot clevis means characterized as being pivotally mounted to the lift shaft clevis, whereby said toggle linkage assembly transfers linear oscillation to the guide shafts when the lift shaft clevis is oscillated along the other direction, while permitting rotation of said guide shafts with and when the follower wheel assembly is oscillated along the one direction.
- a constant-speed input shaft which carries a rotary cam and a lift cam;
Specification