Component supply apparatus

• US 5,570,812 A
• Filed: 01/24/1995
• Issued: 11/05/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tachiyama, Yoshihisa, Ando, Takashi, Naito, Takao, Narikiyo, Kazuhiko, Kubota, Shuuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Merritt, Karen B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HESS, DOUGLAS A
• Application Number:
  US08/377,241
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 414/755, 198/380, 198/493, 406/86, 406/88, 406/137, 221/168, 221/211, 221/233
• US Class Current: 221/233
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/1407 the articles being fed from a container, e.g. a bowl
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/028 Simultaneously loading a plurality of loose objects, e.g. by means of vibrations, pressure differences, magnetic fields

Abstract

A component supply apparatus includes a component feeding device for feeding components to a component feeding path, with the components arranged in a row while the components are being agitated by air, and a path forming member having a curved path extending from the component feeding path to a component supply position, for guiding the components fed from the component feeding path to the component supply position by changing a direction of each of the components by a predetermined angle. A plurality of air supply holes are provided at plural portions of the curved path for feeding the components fed to the curved path to the component supply position.

Claims

1. A component supply apparatus comprising:

a component feeding path;

a component feeding means for feeding components to said component feeding path so as to be arranged in a row while the components are being agitated by air; and

a path forming member comprising;

an upstream feeding path extending from said component feeding path in order to guide components therefrom,

a downstream feeding path forming a predetermined angle with said upstream feeding path and extending from said upstream feeding path to a component supply position in order to guide the components from said upstream feeding path to the component supply position,

a bent portion positioned between said downstream feeding path and said upstream feeding path,

a curved front side-guide face for turning each of the components and guiding the component toward said downstream feeding path when a corner or a front end face of the component, fed from said upstream feeding path, which does not confront said downstream feeding path is brought into contact with said bent portion,

a pressing means positioned outside said component feeding path and said upstream and downstream feeding paths for pressing a side face of the component in the vicinity of the front end face of the component so as to turn the component along said front side-guide face toward said downstream feeding path, and

a curved rear side-guide face for guiding the component toward said downstream feeding path in cooperation with said front side-guide face by contacting a rear end face of the component;

wherein said pressing means comprises a device to be moved to the corner of the front end face of the component which does not confront said downstream feeding path.

2. A component supply apparatus comprising:

a component feeding path;

a component feeding means for feeding components to said component feeding path, said component feeding means comprising an agitation chamber in which the components are intermittently agitated by air, said agitation chamber having an opening therein to said component feeding path for feeding components out of said agitation chamber to said component feeding path with the components arranged in a row;

a path forming member having a curved path extending from said component feeding path to a component supply position for guiding the components fed from said component feeding path to the component supply position by changing a direction of each of the components by a predetermined angle and an air supply hole for feeding the components fed to said curved path to the component supply position; and

one air pump for supplying air to both the air supply hole and to said agitation chamber, thereby intermittently agitating the components in said agitation chamber so that when the supply of agitating air to said agitation chamber is stopped intermittently, some of the agitated components in said agitation chamber of said component feeding means which have sectional areas of their side surfaces in approximate conformation with a sectional area of said opening to said component feeding path drop and come into said component feeding path through said opening and are then fed through said component feeding path in a row.

3. The component supply apparatus of claim 2, wherein said air supply hole is inclined towards said component supply position such that said air supply hole forms a certain angle with a tangent to the curve of said curved path at said air supply hole.