Automatic intelligent magazine for electronic components

• US 5,073,078 A
• Filed: 05/01/1990
• Issued: 12/17/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vincenzo Merlo
• Original Assignee: Vincenzo Merlo
• Inventors: Merlo, Vincenzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Werner, Frank E.
• Application Number:
  US07/517,253
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: 414/273, 414/274, 414/275, 414/222, 414/403, 414/414, 414/416, 414/417, 414/795.8, 414/795.4, 414/276, 221/6, 221/14, 221/281, 29/741, 29/759, 29/809, 235/385
• US Class Current: 414/274
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/021 Loading or unloading of containers H05K13/028 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53478 with magazine supply

Abstract

The modular magazine for feeding tubular containers for stacks of electronic components to a dispenser rack of a machine for the automatic insertion of such components essentially comprises at least one assembly with containment cells for respective tubular containers of the components, each cell being defined by an elongated compartment closed at least at one end by an oscillable lid element, a plurality of sensor elements, each of which is associable with a preset respective portion of the rack to indicate the depletion of components in at least one of the containers in the rack, and electronic control circuit elements driven by the sensor elements to indicate the depletion of the components in the at least one container and to actuate the opening oscillation of the oscillable lid of that cell among the assembly of cells which accommodates tubular containers which contain components of the kind of the depleted ones.

Claims

1. An automatic modular magazine having means for feeding tubular containers containing respective stacks of electronic components to a delivery rack of a machine for the automatic insertion of integrated circuits, comprising a plurality of containment cells for tubular containers, said lid being pivotally mounted on an end portion of the magazine that is opposed to the rack end portion, each of said cells being defined by an elongated compartment which is closed at least at one end by an oscillable lid element, a plurality of sensor elements, each sensor element being associable at a respective preset position of said rack to indicate depletion of the electronic components of a particular type in at least one of said containers in said rack, and electronic control circuit means driven by said sensor elements to indicate the depletion of said electronic components in said at least one container and actuate via opening means an opening oscillation of the oscillable lid element in a cell which accommodates tubular containers for electronic components of said one type, whereby the opened lid alerts an operator to manually remove the depleted container from the cell and refill the cell with a full container.

2. A magazine according to claim 1, having a substantially matrix-like configuration wherein said plurality of cells is arranged according to rows and columns of an essentially rectangular matrix.

3. A magazine according to claim 1, wherein each of said cells is constituted by a hollow elongated parallelepipedal body with essentially rectangular transverse cross section to contain said tubular containers, and each of said lids is constituted by an essentially rectangular plate-like element and is pivoted along one side at least at one open end face of said hollow body, said opening means including magnet means provided for each cell, said magnet means being driven by said electronic control circuit means for opening said lids upon control of said sensor elements.

4. A magazine according to claim 3, wherein said control circuit means comprise a control board for controlling said magnet means, said control board being driven by said sensor elements and comprising rows and columns selection circuit means driving said magnet means to selectively open the lid of a cell which contains tubular containers of said electronic components which the sensor means have sensed as depleted.

5. A magazine according to claim 3, wherein said magnet means comprise a substantially column-like magnetic winding supported between two end plates which are rigidly associated with a box-like profiled element having a substantially U-shaped transverse cross section.

6. A magazine according to claim 3, wherein each of said magnet means is rigidly associated with said hollow body of each of said cells and co-operates with a magnetic rod which is rigidly associated with the lid of each of said cells for an opening oscillation of said lid actuated by said electronic control circuit means.

7. A magazine according to claim 1, wherein said control circuit means comprise a sensor board which comprises, in a circuitally and operatively connected manner, at least one alarm drive module, multiplexing means, demultiplexing means and a plurality of said sensor elements which are connected to said demultiplexing means and can be scanned sequentially.

8. A magazine according to claim 1, wherein each of said sensor elements is constituted by a photodiode-phototransistor pair associated with each of said tubular containers in said rack so as to sense depletion of respective electronic components in each of said tubular containers.