Claims
- 1. A method of dispensing a strip product, said method comprising:entering a plurality of guide arm positions for corresponding guide arms of a strip fabrication assembly, into a guide arm controller device, wherein the guide arms align a plurality of moving strip materials; automatically moving the corresponding guide arms of the strip fabrication assembly to the respective guide arm positions using the guide arm controller device; and feeding at least one strip material through the strip fabrication assembly using the guide arms.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the guide arms is coupled to a respective one of a plurality of threaded rods, and said moving step includes the step of actuating a plurality of motors which are respectively coupled to the threaded rods.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the guide arm controller device includes a programmable logic controller, and further comprising the step of programming the controller to control the motors in response to entry of the guide arm positions.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said entering step includes the step of:listing a plurality of sets of previously entered guide arm positions on a display device of the guide arm controller device; and selecting one of the previously entered sets of arm positions as a current set of arm positions, using an input interface of the guide arm controller device.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said entering step includes the steps of:searching for an order number associated with one of a plurality of sets of previously entered guide arm positions; and selecting one of the previously entered sets of guide arm positions as a current set of arm positions, using an input interface of the guide arm controller device.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of guide arm positions is a first plurality of guide arm positions, and the integrated strip product is a first integrated strip product, further comprising the step of:entering a second plurality of guide arm positions into the guide arm controller device; automatically moving the corresponding guide arms of the strip fabrication assembly to the respective ones of the second plurality of arm positions using the guide arm controller device; and feeding at least one strip material through the strip fabrication assembly using the guide arms.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the guide arm controller device includes a programmable logic controller, and further comprising the step of programming the controller to allow for the entry and retention of multiple sets of arm positions corresponding to different strip product orders.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the guide arm controller device generates a guide arm position signal and the guide arm controller device automatically moves the guide arms in response to the guide arm position signal without interrupting the strip product dispensing method.
- 9. An apparatus for controlling a guide arm system of a strip fabrication assembly, comprising:a display device; a user input device; a plurality of guide arms; a plurality of servo motors that are coupled respectively to the guide arms; and a microcontroller connected to said display device and said user input device, said microcontroller having means for receiving a plurality of guide arm positions for corresponding guide arms which are entered into said user input device, and means for transmitting control signals to the plurality of servo motors, to thereby move the guide arms based on the plurality of arm positions.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said microcontroller is a programmable logic controller.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said display device and said user input device comprise a single device.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said microcontroller further has means for listing a plurality of sets of previously entered arm positions on said display device, and means for selecting one of the previously entered sets of arm positions as a current set of arm positions in response to said user input device.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said microcontroller further has means for searching for an order number associated with one of a plurality of sets of previously entered arm positions, and means for selecting one of the previously entered sets of arm positions as a current set of arm positions, using said user input device.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said microcontroller further has means for allowing the entry and retention of multiple sets of arm positions corresponding to different strip product orders.
- 15. A computer program product comprising:a computer-readable storage medium; and program instructions stored on said storage medium for controlling a guide arm system of a strip fabrication assembly, including program instructions for receiving a plurality of guide arm positions for corresponding guide arms, and program instructions for transmitting control signals to a plurality of motors which are coupled respectively to the guide arms, to thereby move the guide arms based on the plurality of arm positions.
- 16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein said program instructions further provide a listing of a plurality of sets of previously entered guide arm positions, and allow a user to select one of the previously entered sets of guide arm positions as a current set of guide arm positions.
- 17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein said program instructions further search for an order number associated with one of a plurality of sets of previously entered guide arm positions, and allow a user to select one of the previously entered sets of guide arm positions as a current set of guide arm positions.
- 18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein said program instructions further allow the entry and retention of multiple sets of arm positions corresponding to different strip product orders.
- 19. A strip fabrication assembly comprising:a plurality of feed rollers, positioned to integrate strip materials into a strip product; a plurality of guide members located proximate said rollers, wherein said guide members are capable of aligning the strip materials; a user input device capable of receiving and recording input for a predetermined respective position for each respective guide member; and means for automatically adjusting each position of each guide member in response to guide member position input transmitted from the user input device.
- 20. The strip fabrication assembly of claim 19, wherein said user input device allows the entry and retention of multiple sets of arm positions corresponding to different strip product orders.
- 21. The strip fabrication assembly of claim 19, wherein said automatic adjusting means includes at least one motor coupled to said guide members.
- 22. The strip fabrication assembly of claim 19 wherein the guide members are tape dispensing arms.
- 23. A strip fabrication assembly comprising:a plurality of feed rollers, positioned to integrate strip materials into a strip product; a plurality of guide members located proximate said rollers, wherein said guide members are capable of aligning the strip materials; and means for controlling the positions of said guide members, wherein said controlling means includes a plurality of motors coupled respectively to said guide members.
- 24. The strip fabrication assembly of claim 23 wherein said controlling means receives a plurality of arm positions for corresponding guide arms, and transmits control signals to said motors to thereby move the guide arms based on the plurality of arm positions.
- 25. The strip fabrication assembly of claim 23 wherein said controlling means lists a plurality of sets of previously entered arm positions on a display device, and selects one of the previously entered sets of arm positions as a current set of arm positions in response to a user input device.
- 26. The strip fabrication assembly of claim 23 wherein said controlling means searches for an order number associated with one of a plurality of sets of previously entered arm positions, and selects one of the previously entered sets of arm positions as a current set of arm positions in response to a user input device.
- 27. The strip fabrication assembly of claim 23 wherein said controlling means allows the entry and retention of multiple sets of arm positions corresponding to different strip product orders.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/285,442 filed Apr. 19, 2001, and Ser. No. 60/283,490 filed Apr. 12, 2001, which are incorporated herein. The present application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/912,914, filed Jul. 25, 2001, which is incorporated herein.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
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0 347 060 |
Dec 1989 |
EP |
2 035 867 |
Jun 1980 |
GB |
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Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/285442 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
|
60/283490 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/912914 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Child |
10/121304 |
|
US |