Drive for linear pick-and-place assembly apparatus
First Claim
1. A pick-and-place assembly for moving work pieces cyclically between adjacent work stations, said assembly comprising:
- an input shaft rotably mounted in a housing and having a lift cam and a translator cam mounted thereon;
first and second output shafts rotably mounted in said housing generally transverse to said input shaft;
a first cam follower mounted on said first output shaft and engaging said translator cam, and a second cam follower mounted on said second output shaft and engaging said lift cam;
a carriage plate disposed in said housing and having a first set of V-rollers mounted thereon for slidably engaging respective V-tracks mounted on a carriage guide bar in said housing, said carriage plate having a second set of V-rollers mounted thereon and positioned to slidably receive respective V-tracks mounted on a translator bar;
a translator arm having a first end mounted on said first output shaft and a distal end positioned to engage said translator bar such that when said input shaft is rotated, said translator arm imparts horizontal movement to said translator bar; and
a lift arm having a first end mounted on said second output shaft and a distal end connected to said carriage plate such that when said input shaft is rotated, said lift arm impacts vertical movement to said carriage plate and said translator bar.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved drive apparatus for use with linear pick-and-place assembly devices is disclosed, which drive apparatus includes a movable carriage having an improved guide track assembly. The guide track assembly comprises a series of V-rollers and mating V-tracks to provide the vertical and horizontal translational movements for a linear pick-and-place assembly device'"'"'s output member. The guide track assembly includes V-roller elements which can be eccentrically adjusted to create a tight, pre-loaded sliding engagement with the mating V-tracks, all so as to substantially eliminate any undesired end play movement within the movable carriage.
28 Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A pick-and-place assembly for moving work pieces cyclically between adjacent work stations, said assembly comprising:
-
an input shaft rotably mounted in a housing and having a lift cam and a translator cam mounted thereon; first and second output shafts rotably mounted in said housing generally transverse to said input shaft; a first cam follower mounted on said first output shaft and engaging said translator cam, and a second cam follower mounted on said second output shaft and engaging said lift cam; a carriage plate disposed in said housing and having a first set of V-rollers mounted thereon for slidably engaging respective V-tracks mounted on a carriage guide bar in said housing, said carriage plate having a second set of V-rollers mounted thereon and positioned to slidably receive respective V-tracks mounted on a translator bar; a translator arm having a first end mounted on said first output shaft and a distal end positioned to engage said translator bar such that when said input shaft is rotated, said translator arm imparts horizontal movement to said translator bar; and a lift arm having a first end mounted on said second output shaft and a distal end connected to said carriage plate such that when said input shaft is rotated, said lift arm impacts vertical movement to said carriage plate and said translator bar. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
3. The invention of claim 3 wherein said carriage guide bar is fixedly mounted to said housing.
Specification