Apparatus for feeding electric circuit elements

• US 4,457,451 A
• Filed: 09/21/1981
• Issued: 07/03/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ichikawa, Iwao
• Primary Examiner(s): Rolla, Joseph J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Compton, Charles C.
• Application Number:
  US06/304,168
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 221/172, 221/186, 221/190, 221/200, 221/204, 221/202, 221/254, 221/298, 221/299, 221/183
• US Class Current: 221/190
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/1407 the articles being fed from a container, e.g. a bowl

Abstract

An apparatus for feeding electric circuit elements has a hopper for accommodating a supply of such elements, a capture tube or pipe extending substantially vertically through a bore in the bottom of the hopper which is movable relative to the tube in the direction of the axis of the latter so that the electric circuit elements in the hopper are captured one at a time by the tube and fed therethrough to a predetermined position at the outside of the hopper, and a separating plate disposed above the opening of the tube in the hopper for shielding the electric circuit elements under the separating plate from at least part of the weight of the electric circuit elements thereabove whereby the hopper can be provided with a large vertical dimension for accommodating a correspondingly large supply of the electric circuit elements without the danger that elements near the bottom of the hopper will be damaged by reason of the relative movement of the capture tube under the weight of the superposed circuit elements. Jamming or bridging of the electrical circuit elements above or around the opening to the capture tube is avoided by providing the bottom of the hopper with a conically concave inner surface having a plurality of protuberances thereon, and further by providing a rod extending through the bottom of the hopper and being stationary relative to the capture tube so that the hopper is also movable relative to such rod which has a resilient member extending laterally therefrom over the opening to the capture tube.

Claims

1. An apparatus for feeding electric circuit elements comprising:

a hopper for accommodating a supply of said electric circuit elements and having a bottom with a bore extending therethrough;

capture means extending through said bore and including a substantially vertical tube;

one of said hopper and said capture means being movable relative to the other in the direction of the axis of said bore so that said electric circuit elements in the hopper are captured one at a time by said capture means and fed thereby through said bore to a predetermined position;

a separating plate disposed above said capture means in said hopper and inclined downwardly from the side if said hopper which is opposite to said one side and extending across only a portion of the cross-section of said hopper extending from said opposite side, for shielding the electric circuit elements under said separating plate from at least part of the weight of the electric circuit elements thereabove, said vertical tube terminating within said hopper below said separating plate is an oblique end edge so as to define an opening for receiving the electric circuit elements, which opening is directed laterally toward one side of the hopper; and

at least one rod extending substantially parallel to said tube through said bottom of the hopper and located under said separating plate, said rod and said hopper also being movable relative to each other upon the relative movement of said hopper and said capture means for disrupting any jams of the electric circuit elements that would interfere with the smooth feeding thereof into said tube.

2. An apparatus for feeding electric circuit elements comprising:

a hopper for accommodating a supply of said electric circuit elements and having a bottom with a bore extending therethrough;

capture means extending through said bore and including a substantially vertical tube;

one of said hopper and said capture means being movable relative to the other in the direction of the axis of said bore so that said electric circuit elements in the hopper are captured one at a time by said capture means and fed thereby through said bore to a predetermined position;

a separating plate disposed above said capture means in said hopper and inclined downwardly from the side of said hopper which is opposite to said one side and extending across only a portion of the cross-section of said hopper extending from said opposite side, for shielding the electric circuit elements under said separating plate from at least part of the weight of the electric circuit elements thereabove, said vertical tube terminating within said hopper below said separating plate in an oblique end edge so as to define an opening for receiving the electric circuit elements, which opening is directed laterally toward one side of the hopper; and

at least one rod extending substantially parallel to said tube through said bottom of the hopper and located under said separating plate, said rod and said hopper also being movable relative to each other upon the relative movement of said hopper and said capture means, said rod having a resilient element extending laterally from its upper end over said oblique end edge of the tube for disrupting any jams of the electric circuit elements that would interfere with the smooth feeding thereof into said tube.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2;

wherein the inner surface of said bottom of the hopper is conically concave, said tube is centered in respect to said bottom, and said inner surface of the bottom has protuberances extending therefrom.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2;

wherein said tube and rod are substantially stationary, and said hopper is vertically reciprocated for effecting the relative movement of said hopper in respect to said tube and said rod.