Claims
- 1. A machine for continuously manufacturing tape strips having at least at one end a portion folded through an aperture of a workpiece, comprising:
a tape supply section accommodating a continuous tape; a tape feed unit adapted to intermittently supply a first predetermined length of tape and a second predetermined length of tape from the tape supply section along a tape traveling path; a workpiece receiving device adapted to hold the workpiece and position the aperture of the workpiece in the tape traveling path; first and second tape folders oppositely positioned on each side of the workpiece receiving device, the first and second tape folders movable from a first position not in the tape traveling path to a second position in the tape traveling path; a tape fusing member positioned adjacent to the workpiece receiving device and the tape traveling path; wherein the tape feed unit supplies the first predetermined length of tape through the aperture of the workpiece along the tape traveling path, then supplies the second predetermined length of tape not through the aperture of the workpiece and the first and second tape folders move from the first position to the second position folding the tape towards the tape fusing member.
- 2. The machine of claim 1, further comprising a first gripping arm having first and second opposed members, the first gripping arm movable between a first position wherein the first and second opposed members fold the tape into contact with the tape fusing member and a second position wherein the first gripping arm ejects the manufactured tape strip.
- 3. The machine of claim 2, further comprising a workpiece supply path along which workpieces are successively supplied to the workpiece receiving device.
- 4. The machine of claim 3, wherein the workpiece supply path includes a lower stopper and an upper stopper, the lower stopper positioned a predetermined distance from the upper stopper and wherein each stopper is movable between a closed position and an open position for allowing one workpiece at a time to exit the workpiece supply path.
- 5. The machine of claim 3, wherein the workpiece supply path receives workpieces from an automatic workpiece supply device.
- 6. The machine of claim 3, wherein the tape feed unit is movable between a first position near the workpiece receiving device and a second position at a predetermined distance from the workpiece receiving device.
- 7. The machine of claim 6 wherein the tape feed unit is in the first position upon feeding the first predetermined length of tape through the aperture of the workpiece, and the tape feed unit is in the second position upon feeding the second predetermined length of tape not through the aperture of the workpiece.
- 8. The machine of claim 7, wherein the tape feed unit further includes a tape feed guide movable between a first position not in the tape supply path and a second position in the tape supply path forcing the tape out of the tape supply path.
- 9. The machine of claim 8, further comprising a tape cutting device located near the second position of the tape feed unit, the tape cutting device having a cutting blade and a cutting block, and wherein the cutting blade and cutting block move from positions on opposing sides of the tape supply path to meet at the tape supply path thus cutting the tape.
- 10. The machine of claim 9, wherein the cutting blade is heated and wherein the heated cutting blade both cuts and fuses the tape.
- 11. A method for continuously manufacturing tape strips having at one end a portion folded through an aperture of a workpiece, comprising the steps of:
successively supplying workpieces to a workpiece receiving device via a workpiece supply path; feeding a continuous tape with a tape feed unit a first predetermined length through the aperture of the workpiece in the workpiece receiving section; folding the tape with a first folding device around the aperture and towards a tape fusing member; further folding the tape with a tape gripping device until the tape contacts the tape fusing member; and moving the manufactured tape strip from the workpiece receiving section to an ejection area using the tape gripping device.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the supply path includes a lower stopper and an upper stopper, the lower stopper positioned a predetermined distance from the upper stopper and wherein each stopper is movable between a closed position and an open position for allowing one workpiece at a time to exit the workpiece supply path.
- 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the workpiece supply path further includes a workpiece alignment correcting device having a first path allowing one of the workpieces entry into the workpiece supply path and a second path forcing the workpiece to change alignment before entering the workpiece supply path.
- 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the workpiece supply path receives workpieces from an automatic workpiece supply device.
- 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the tape feed unit is movable between a first position near the workpiece receiving device and a second position at a predetermined distance from the workpiece receiving device.
- 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the tape feed unit is in the first position upon feeding the tape through the aperture of the workpiece and further comprising the step of feeding the tape a second predetermined length not through the aperture of the workpiece while the tape feed unit is in the second position.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the tape feed unit further includes a tape feed guide movable between a first position not in the tape supply path and a second position in the tape supply path forcing the tape out of the tape supply path.
- 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of cutting the tape with a cutting device near the tape feed unit after the tape feed unit feeds the second predetermined length of tape.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the tape cutting device has a cutting blade and a cutting block, and wherein the cutting blade and cutting block move from positions on opposing sides of the tape supply path to meet at the tape supply path thus cutting the tape.
- 20. A machine for continuously manufacturing a tape strip having at one end a portion folded through an aperture of a workpiece, comprising:
a tape supply section accommodating a continuous tape; a tape feed unit adapted to intermittently supply a first predetermined length of tape and a second predetermined length of tape from the tape supply section along a tape traveling path; a workpiece receiving device movable between a first position for receiving the workpiece and a second position adjacent to the tape feed unit; a workpiece supply path along which workpieces are successively supplied to the workpiece receiving device at the first position; first and second tape folders oppositely positioned on each side of the workpiece receiving device, the first and second tape folders movable between a first position not in the tape traveling path and a second position in the tape traveling path; a tape fusing member positioned adjacent to the second position of the workpiece receiving device; a first gripping arm having first and second opposed members which move from an open position for surrounding the tape strip and a second position for gripping the tape strip, wherein the tape feed unit supplies the first predetermined length of tape through the aperture of the workpiece, the first and second tape folders move from the first position to the second position folding the tape towards the tape fusing member, and the first and second opposed members of the first gripping arm further fold the tape into contact with the tape fusing member.
- 21. A machine for continuously manufacturing tape strips having at least at one end a portion folded through an aperture of a workpiece, comprising:
a tape supply section accommodating a continuous tape; a tape feed unit adapted to intermittently supply a first predetermined length of tape and a second predetermined length of tape from the tape supply section along a tape traveling path; a workpiece receiving device adapted to hold the workpiece and position the aperture of the workpiece in the tape traveling path; wherein the tape feed unit supplies the first predetermined length of tape through the aperture of the workpiece along the tape traveling path while in a first position near the workpiece and then supplies the second predetermined length of tape not through the aperture of the workpiece while in a second position distant from the workpiece.
- 22. The machine of claim 21 wherein the tape feed unit further includes a tape feed guide movable between a first position not in the tape supply path and a second position in the tape supply path forcing the tape out of the tape supply path.
- 23. The machine of claim 22 further comprising a tape cutting device located near the second position of the tape feed unit and wherein the tape cutting device moves from an open position not interfering with the tape feed unit travel to a closed position for cutting the tape.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/891,262 filed Jun. 27, 2001, now pending, herein incorporated by reference
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09891262 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Child |
10394376 |
Mar 2003 |
US |