Tape feeder

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6824033
  • Patent Number
    6,824,033
  • Date Filed
    Monday, January 6, 2003
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 30, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
The present invention discloses a tape feeder for supplying plural electronic components arranged and mounted to a tape in turn comprising: a main frame; a shutter installed to an upper portion of the main frame for opening and closing a component discharge opening of the electronic components; first and second sprocket wheels installed to a lower portion of the shutter for moving the tape received the electronic components by a predetermined pitch; a rotating latch connected to the first and second sprocket wheels for rotating the first and second sprocket wheels; plural levers connected to a side of the rotating latch for driving the rotating latch; an eccentric cam having a taper formed at its side constructed rotatably for driving the rotating lever; a shutter lever constructed for performing the forward and backward movement of the shutter by the driving of the eccentric cam; and a manual lever for moving the tape by one pitch by a worker when an initial work is set to supply the electronic components.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a tape feeder, more particularly, to a tape feeder in which an impact caused by a pitch transfer of a tape is removed, electronic components do not protruded, the exact opening and closing of a shutter is performed. Simultaneously, in the tape feeder of the present invention, it is possible to move manually when installing the tape feeder.




2. Description of the Background Art




Conventionally, an electronic component mount device sucks and picks up electronic components installed to a part feeder by vacuum to a nozzle of a transfer head, transfers and mounts the electronic components to a printed circuit board. There are many kinds of part feeder such as a tape feeder, a tube feeder and a tray feeder etc. Among these, especially, the tape feeder has been widely used because it is easy to supply the electronic components in large quantities.




Conventionally, as shown in

FIG. 1

, the tape feeder comprises a main frame


10


, a cover plate


20


installed to an upper portion of the main frame


10


, a shutter plate


30


installed to an upper portion of the main frame


10


, a pitch transfer unit


40


installed to a lower portion of the cover plate


20


and a pitch transfer means


50


connected to the pitch transfer unit


40


for driving the pitch transfer unit


40


.




The cover plate


20


is installed to a front side of the main frame


10


, the shutter plate


30


is reached in good condition to an upper portion of the cover plate


20


and a push member


31


is formed at a front lower portion of the cover plate


20


.




The cover plate


20


can be slide with a state that the push member


31


is inserted to a slide groove


21


formed on its side. A cover tape exfoliation unit


22


is formed at a rear side of the push member


31


and the push member


31


pushes the electronic components, so that the separation of the electronic components can be prevented.




Also, a guide groove


32


, an oblong hole type, is formed at a side of the shutter plate


30


, plural guide pins


34


are installed movably to the inside of the guide groove


32


and an incision groove


36


for receiving a pitch transfer member


52


is formed at a side of the guide groove


32


.




The pitch transfer unit


40


comprises a first sprocket wheel


40




a


for performing a pitch transfer of an enclosure tape (not shown), a second sprocket wheel


40




b


installed to a side of the first sprocket wheel


40




a


for rotating together with the first sprocket wheel


40




a


, a latch


42


installed to a side of the second sprocket wheel


40




b


for preventing from rotating reversely the second sprocket wheel


40




b


, a first lever


43


in which its end is connected fixedly to a center of the first and second sprocket wheels


40




a


and


40




b


for performing a pitch transfer of the first and second sprocket wheels


40




a


and


40




b


, a rotation shaft


44


installed rotatably to the other side of the first lever


43


, a second lever


46


connected and installed together with the first lever


43


by the rotation of the shaft


44


, a third lever


47


positioned on the same straight line of the second lever


46


, an elastic member


48


for connecting together the secong and third levers


46


and


47


, and an eccentric cam


49


installed at a side of the third lever


47


.




A pin


49




a


is formed at an eccentric portion which is apart from the center of the eccentric cam


49


and an end of the third lever


47


is installed to the pin


49




a


, so that the third lever


47


is driven by the rotation of the cam


49


.




Also, the pitch transfer means


50


being driven together with the pitch transfer unit


40


comprises a transfer lever


51


in which its end is connected to the rotation shaft


44


, and a pitch transfer member


52


connected to a side of the transfer lever


51


.




As described above, in the conventional tape feeder, when the eccentric cam


49


is rotated by a driving source (not shown), the third lever


47


connected to the pin


49




a


formed at a side of the eccentric cam


49


performs a straight-line motion.




The second lever


46


positioned on the same straight line of the third lever


47


performs elastically a straight-line motion by the elastic member


48


connected to a side of the third lever


47


and a side of the second lever


46


.




When the pin


49




a


formed at a side of the eccentric cam


49


takes a half-turn, the eccentric cam


49


pulls the third lever


47


, whereas when the eccentric cam


49


takes a turn, the pin


49




a


is returned at its original position, the eccentric cam


49


pushes the third lever


47


.




The first lever


43


is pulled by the movement of the second lever


46


and at this time, the first sprocket wheel


40




a


is rotated by the first lever


43


by one pitch.




Also, the second sprocket wheel


40




b


combined together with the first sprocket wheel


40




a


is rotated by one pitch, the second sprocket wheel


40




b


does not rotate reversely by the latch


42


, when the second sprocket wheel


40




b


is rotated regularly, the latch


42


slides against its outer surface.




On the other hand, when the second lever


46


is pulled by the third lever


47


, the transfer lever


51


combined together with the second lever


46


to the rotation shaft


44


is also pulled and performs a straight-line movement.




By the transfer of the transfer lever


51


, the pitch transfer member


52


pushes a side of the incision groove


36


, so that the shutter plate


30


is transferred by one pitch.




When the eccentric cam


49


takes a turn completely, the first lever


43


, the second lever


46


and the third lever


47


are returned to the original position by the pin


49




a


, since the first sprocket wheel


40




a


and the second sprocket wheel


40




b


are rotated with one direction by the first lever


43


and do not rotated reversely by the latch


42


, so that the enclosure tape advances by one pitch.




As described above, there are several disadvantages that since in the conventional tape feeder, the transfer lever


51


and the pitch transfer member


52


are formed integrally, in the setting process of the enclosure tape received electronic components for supplying the electronic components, the enclosure tape can not be driven separately, so that a working position of the enclosure tape and the electronic components can not be maintained closely.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a tape feeder in which the first and second sprocket wheels and shutter can be driven separately by using an eccentric cam.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a tape feeder in which its entire construction is simple and it can be initiated by a simple operation of the manual lever when mounting the tape feeder.




In one aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-described objects of the invention, there is provided a tape feeder for supplying plural electronic components arranged and mounted to a tape in turn comprising: a main frame; a shutter installed to an upper portion of the main frame for opening and closing a component discharge opening of the electronic components; first and second sprocket wheels installed to a lower portion of the shutter for moving the tape received the electronic components by a predetermined pitch; a rotating latch connected to the first and second sprocket wheels for rotating the first and second sprocket wheels; plural levers connected to a side of the rotating latch for driving the rotating latch; an eccentric cam having a taper formed at its side constructed rotatably for driving the rotating latch; a shutter lever constructed for performing the forward and backward movement of the shutter by the driving of the eccentric cam; and a manual lever for moving the tape by one pitch by a worker when an initial work is set to supply the electronic components.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustration and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view illustrating a tape feeder according to a conventional art;





FIG. 2

is a side view illustrating a tape feeder applied to the present invention;





FIG. 3

is a perspective view illustrating a shutter installed to a cover plate;





FIG. 4

is a perspective view illustrating an eccentric cam applied to a tape feeder; and





FIGS. 5



a


to


5




c


are side views illustrating operation flows of an eccentric cam.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




A tape feeder in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.





FIG. 2

is a side view illustrating a tape feeder applied to the present invention.

FIG. 3

is a perspective view illustrating a shutter installed to a cover plate.

FIG. 4

is a perspective view illustrating an eccentric cam applied to a tape feeder.

FIGS. 5



a


to


5




c


are side views illustrating operating flows of the eccentric cam.




The tape feeder


100


according to the present invention, as shown in

FIG. 2

, comprises a main frame


110


, a cover plate


200


installed to an upper portion of the main frame


110


, a shutter


220


installed to an upper portion of the cover plate


200


, first and second sprocket wheels


120


and


130


installed to a lower portion of the cover plate


200


, plural levers


310


,


320


,


330


,


340


and


350


installed to a side of the first and second sprocket wheels


120


and


130


for driving the first and second sprocket wheels


120


and


130


, and a cam


400


for driving the rotation lever


330


among the plural levers


310


,


320


,


330


,


340


and


350


.




The cover plate


200


is installed to an upper front portion of the main frame


110


and a first elastic member


171


is installed to a side of the cover plate


200


, so that the cover plate


200


is supported elastically against the main frame


110


.




On the other hand, in the cover plate


200


, as shown in

FIG. 3

, a component discharge opening


202


is formed at an upper front portion of the cover plate


200


for picking the electronic components, a vinyl exfoliation unit


204


, which can exfoliate the vinyl (not shown) attached to an upper portion of the enclosure tape for protecting the electronic components, is formed at a side of the component discharge opening


202


, and plural holes


206


are formed at a side of the vinyl exfoliation unit


204


.




Also, plural oblong type holes


222


are formed at an upper side portion of the cover plate


200


and plural guide pins


224


are inserted to the oblong type holes


222


and combined to the plural holes


206


of the cover plate


200


, so that the shutter


220


is installed to an upper portion of the cover plate


200


.




The shutter


220


, combined as above, is guided and can be moved forwardly and backwardly by the guide pin


224


as well as the length of the oblong type hole


222


toward the longitudinal direction of the cover plate


200


. A hooking jaw


226


is formed at a side of the shutter


220


.




On the other hand, in the first and second sprocket wheels


120


and


130


installed to a lower portion of the cover plate


200


, as shown in

FIG. 2

, a center portion of the first and second sprocket wheels


120


and


130


and an end of a sprocket wheel lever


310


are combined and the sprocket wheels


120


and


130


are installed to the main frame


110


by the sprocket wheel shaft


311


, so that the first and second sprocket wheels


120


and


130


can be supported to the sprocket wheel shaft


311


and can be rotated.




Also, a rotation latch


140


is fixed firmly and combined to a side of the sprocket wheel lever


310


by a combining pin


141


. When the sprocket wheel lever


310


rotates forwardly and backwardly at the center of the sprocket wheel shaft


311


with a constant section, the rotation latch


140


also moves forwardly and backwardly together, so that the first sprocket wheel


120


can be rotated toward the regular direction.




At a side of the rotation latch


140


, a fourth elastic member


174


is installed to a side of the sprocket wheel lever


310


and so the rotation latch


140


is contacted closely and elastically against the first sprocket wheel


120


. When the sprocket wheel lever


310


rotates forwardly, the rotation latch


140


is slide against the first sprocket wheel


120


by an elastic force of the fourth elastic member


174


. When the sprocket wheel lever


310


rotates backwardly, the first sprocket wheel


120


is moved through the rotation latch


140


by one pitch.




By the operation, as mentioned above, when the first sprocket wheel


120


rotates by one pitch, the second sprocket wheel


130


, which is firmly combined with the first sprocket wheel


120


, rotates together with the first sprocket wheel, so that the enclosure tape received electronic components can be moved forwardly by one pitch.




Also, at a side of the first sprocket wheel


120


, a stopper


150


installed to the main frame


110


rotatably by a stopper shaft


151


is supported elastically by the third elastic member


173


installed to its side and can prevent the reverse-rotation of the first sprocket wheel


120


.




On the other hand, the sprocket wheel lever


310


is connected to a support lever


320


by a first connection pin


312


, which is installed at its side. The other end of the support lever


320


is connected to a side of the rotation lever


330


by a second connection pin


322


, and a manual lever


340


is connected to the other end of the rotation lever


330


by the third connection pin


332


. The manual lever


340


is supported elastically by a seventh elastic member


177


, which is connected to its side and a side of the main frame


110


.




Also, a fifth elastic member


175


is installed to a side of the rotation lever


330


and a side of the sprocket wheel lever


310


, so that the rotation lever


330


and the sprocket wheel lever


310


can be supported elastically with each other.




Since the respective levers


310


,


320


,


330


,


340


and


350


are connected rotatably to the respective connection pins


312


,


322


and


332


, the driving force generated by the driving source can be transferred organically, the manual lever


340


can start a work for supporting electronic components by the manual operation of a worker when performing an initial working.




On the other hand, since a side of the rotation lever


330


among the levers


310


,


320


,


330


,


340


and


350


is installed to the main frame


110


by the rotation lever shaft


331


, it can be supported to the rotation lever shaft


331


and can be rotated.




An eccentric cam


400


capable of rotating 360 degree is installed to a side of the rotation lever


330


and a cam latch


160


is installed rotatably to a side of the rotation lever


330


by a cam latch shaft


161


. Also, the cam latch shaft


161


of the cam latch


160


is installed sildably to an oblong type hole (not shown), so that it can cope with an unreasonable rotation of the eccentric cam


400


.




A sixth elastic member


176


is installed to a side of the cam latch


160


, and the cam latch


160


is contacted closely and elastically to an outer surface of the eccentric cam


400


. When the eccentric cam


400


is rotated regularly, the cam latch


160


is slide, when the eccentric cam


400


is rotated reversely, the cam latch


160


is inserted and hooked to the groove


430


formed at its outer surface, so that the reverse rotation of the eccentric cam


400


is prevented.




On the other hand, the eccentric cam


400


, as shown in

FIG. 4

, comprises a cam shaft


410


capable of being installed to the driving source, which is installed to the main frame


110


, a taper


420


formed to an outer surface of the eccentric cam


400


with a predetermined angle, a groove


430


formed at the other side of the taper


420


, and a roller


440


installed to a side surface of the eccentric cam


400


rotatably by a roller shaft


441


.




Also, in the eccentric cam


400


, there are four sections with a circular arc outwardly from the cam shaft


410


, a diameter of the circular arc of A part is larger than that of the circular arc of B part, a taper


420


is formed between the circular arcs of A and B parts, and a groove


430


is formed between the circular arcs of A and B parts of the other side of the taper


420


.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, the eccentric cam


400


rotates clockwise by the driving source, pushes a side of the rotation lever


330


by the roller


440


, which is installed to its side, and can make the rotation lever


330


drive.




At this time, a shutter lever


350


is installed rotatably between the eccentric cam


400


and the shutter


220


by a shutter lever shaft


351


. Also, since a shutter lever pin


352


is formed at a side of the shutter lever


350


, when the shutter lever


350


is rotated with a predetermined angle, the shutter lever pin


352


pushes the hooking jaw


226


of the shutter


220


and the shutter


220


can be moved with a predetermined interval backwardly.




Also, after the shutter


220


is moved backwardly by the shutter lever pin


352


of the shutter lever


350


, the shutter


220


is moved forwardly by an elastic force of the second elastic member


172


and can be positioned at its original position.




Also, another function according to the operation of the eccentric cam


400


will be described with reference to

FIGS. 5



a


to


5




c.






Firstly, an initial preparation state of the shutter lever


350


and the eccentric cam


400


is illustrated, as shown in

FIG. 5



a


, at this time, the shutter


220


is closed.




As shown in

FIG. 5



b


, in the shutter lever


350


and the eccentric cam


400


, the eccentric cam


400


rotating toward an arrow mark's direction and the shutter lever


350


guided to its outer surface are illustrated and at this time, the shutter


220


is also closed.




As shown in

FIG. 5



c


, in the shutter lever


350


and the eccentric cam


400


, the shutter


220


is opened by the eccentric cam


400


rotating toward an arrow mark's direction and the shutter lever


350


guided against its outer surface.




Hereinafter, an operation of the tape feeder according to the present invention will be described.




Firstly, the eccentric cam


400


is rotated by the driving source and therefore the roller


440


pushes the rotation lever


330


toward the front side of the tape feeder


100


and the support lever


320


connected to the rotation lever


330


is pushed and therefore the sprocket wheel lever


310


connected to a side of the support lever


320


is rotated regularly.




At this time, the rotation latch


140


installed to a side of the sprocket wheel lever


310


is moved forwardly and thereafter the first sprocket wheel


120


is moved by the rotation latch


140


by one pitch through the reverse-rotation of the sprocket wheel lever


310


, the second sprocket wheel


130


combined with the first sprocket wheel


120


is rotated, so the enclosure tape is moved by one pitch.




On the other hand, in the shutter lever


350


being driven by the rotating eccentric cam


400


, the shutter lever pin


352


formed at a side of the shutter lever


350


pushes the hooking jaw


226


of the shutter


220


and thereby the shutter


220


is moved backwardly and the electronic components can be supplied and at this time, the electronic components are picked up by a picker (not shown).




An operation of the eccentric cam


400


will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings

FIGS. 5



a


to


5




c.






In order to push the rotation lever


330


through the roller


440


by the rotation of the eccentric cam


400


, the eccentric cam


400


is rotated. Also, in order to correspond rapidly to the shutter lever


350


, the eccentric cam


400


is rotated rapidly by the taper


420


of the eccentric cam


400


and the B part of the circular arc pushes the shutter lever


350


. At this time, the shutter


220


is closed.




Also, when the roller


440


pushes the rotation lever


330


by the rotation of the eccentric cam


400


, the shutter lever


350


is guided to an outer surface of the A part of the circular arc in which the roller


440


is installed. At this time, the shutter


220


is also closed.




Also, when the taper


420


of the eccentric cam


400


is coincided with a side of the shutter lever


350


by the continuing rotation of the eccentric cam


400


, the shutter


220


is opened.




Also, when a setting work is performed in order to supply electronic components, the worker operates the manual lever


340


and therefore the enclosure tape is moved by one pitch and thereby the device can be set in order to be maintained closely to a working position capable of picking up the electronic components.




As described above, the first and second sprocket wheels and the shutter can be operated simultaneously and respectively by one rotation operation of the eccentric cam of the present invention as above-constructed, the above operations are performed continually and therefore the plural electronic components received to the enclosure tape can be supplied continually.




In the tape feeder of the present invention, there are several advantages that its connection construction is simple by using the eccentric cam capable of driving the first and second sprocket wheels and the shutter simultaneously and respectively, and the manual lever and simultaneously it can be initiated easily.




Also, there is also an advantage that the forward and backward movement can be implemented, that is, the reel supply is finished from the driving source rotation rotating toward one direction and thereafter the shutter is opened.




As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A tape feeder for supplying plural electronic components arranged and mounted to a tape in turn comprising:a main frame; a shutter installed to an upper portion of the main frame for opening and closing a component discharge opening; first and second sprocket wheels installed on the main frame and configured to move a tape holding electronic components by a predetermined pitch; a rotating latch mounted on the main frame and configured to rotate the first and second sprocket wheels; plural levers connected to a side of the rotating latch for driving the rotating latch; an eccentric cam having a taper formed at its side and configured to drive the rotating latch via the plural levers; a shutter lever coupled to the shutter and the eccentric cam and configured to move the shutter by the driving of the eccentric cam; and a manual lever coupled to the rotating latch and configured to move the rotating latch, but not the shutter lever.
  • 2. A tape feeder according to claim 1, wherein the plural levers comprise a sprocket wheel lever, a support lever connected to the sprocket wheel lever by a first connection pin, and a rotating lever connected to the support lever by a second connection pin.
  • 3. A tape feeder according to claim 1, wherein the eccentric cam has a groove formed at its outer surface.
  • 4. A tape feeder according to claim 1, wherein a roller is installed to a side of the eccentric cam, and wherein the roller is configured to bear against one of the plural levers.
  • 5. A tape feeder according to claim 1, further comprising a cam latch installed to a side of the eccentric cam and configured to prevent the reverse rotation of the eccentric cam.
  • 6. A tape feeder according to claim 1, wherein the shutter lever is not coupled to the manual lever.
  • 7. A tape feeder according to claim 1, wherein the manual lever is adapted to be operated independently of the shutter lever.
  • 8. A tape feeder according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sprocket wheels can be rotated without operation of the shutter.
  • 9. A tape feeder according to claim 1, wherein a first surface of the eccentric cam contacts the shutter lever, and a second surface of the eccentric cam contacts one of the plural levers.
  • 10. A tape feeder according to claim 9, wherein the first surface comprises a periphery of the eccentric cam, and the second surface comprises a projection disposed on a side of the eccentric cam.
  • 11. A tape feeder, comprisinga main frame having a component discharge opening; a shutter mounted on the main frame and configured to move to cover and expose the component discharge opening, a tape transfer unit configured to move a component supply tape relative to the component discharge opening; a tape positioning member configured to operate the tape transfer unit, wherein the tape positioning member can cause the tape transfer unit to move the component supply tape without moving the shutter; and a cam configured to simultaneously operate the shutter and the tape transfer unit.
  • 12. The part feeder of claim 11, wherein the cam comprises first and second surfaces, wherein the first surface drives the shutter and wherein the second surface drives the tape transfer unit.
  • 13. The tape feeder of claim 12, wherein the first surface of the cam acts against a shutter level coupled to the shutter.
  • 14. The part feeder of claim 12, wherein the second surface comprises a roller mounted on a side of the cam.
  • 15. The part feeder of claim 11, wherein the tape positioning member comprises a manual lever.
  • 16. The part feeder of claim 11, wherein the tape transfer unit comprises a first sprocket wheel that engages and moves the component supply tape, a second sprocket wheel coupled to the first sprocket wheel, and a rotating latch configured to rotate the second sprocket wheel by contacting respective teeth of the second sprocket wheel.
  • 17. A method of feeding a carrier tape, comprising:providing a tape feeder including a cam, a tape feeding member, a shutter, and a tape setting member; rotating the cam to simultaneously drive the tape feeding member and the shutter; and operating the tape setting member to drive the tape feeding member, wherein operating the tape setting member does not drive the shutter.
  • 18. The method of claim 17, wherein operating the tape setting member comprises a manual operation.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
10-2002-0051244 Aug 2002 KR
US Referenced Citations (1)
Number Name Date Kind
6032845 Piccone et al. Mar 2000 A