Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Akio Yamagami

Tadashi Kubota

Shigeki Imafuku

Takashi Ando

Kazuhiko Narikiyo

Kazuyuki Nakano

Yoshihisa Tachiyama

Yoshimi Ohara

Takeo Watanabe

Tsukasa Tanihara

When feeding parts (102) to a mounting machine (A) by using a parts feed cassette (B), prior to parts feed, air is preliminarily supplied to the parts feed cassette (B) to put the parts (102) in neat order, and the parts (102) are preliminarily sent up to a final position in a parts feed route (113). Accordingly, if the parts (102) cannot be securely sent up to the parts feed position (114) in the parts feed route (113) by supplying air (1b) only for a specific limited time for feeding parts (102), the parts (102) can be preliminarily sent forward in neat order, and by the supply of air (1b) for parts feed, the parts (102) can be fed quickly, securely, and stably.

Parts feed apparatus and parts feed method

A lead clamping apparatus clamps and mounts to an electronic circuit board an electronic element having a plurality of leads which are arranged in two rows and are oriented in the same direction. The apparatus includes a plurality of pairs of clamping members arranged in the same direction as the two rows of leads, a support slidable in a direction perpendicular to the direction of pivotal movement of the clamping members to abut against a desired number of the clamping members, whereby allowing the same to perform a clamping action, a drive source for slidingly driving the support, a piston for opening and closing the clamping members through the support, and a pusher slidable in the same direction as the support and for biasing the electronic element to insert the same into the circuit board. Accordingly, it is possible to selectively use the clamping members, of which number corresponds with that of the leads of the electronic element. If there is a sufficient area in an electronic circuit board to receive an electronic element being mounted, the element can be mounted on the board irrespective of other electronic elements having been previously mounted on the board. Programming of production process, and design of electronic circuit boards can be greatly facilitated by the invention.

Electronic circuit element insertion apparatus

A system comprising a tape stocker storing a plurality of tapes having recorded thereon sound or images and arranged in a vertical direction for delivering and receiving the tapes, a rack accommodating a plurality of reproduction units arranged at least in a horizontal direction and adapted to reproduce the sound or images recorded on the tapes, a tape handling assembly having a tape receiving head turnable and vertically movable toward or away from the reproduction units, the tape handling assembly being operable to handle the tapes for transferring the tapes between the stocker and the reproduction units in the rack, a carriage supporting the stocker and the taper handling assembly and horizontally movable along the rack, and a control unit for controlling the stocker, the tape handling assembly and the carriage to deliver a specified one of the tapes to the desired reproduction unit. Information media, such as video tapes, are retrieved and transferred by the system to the desired location for the reproduction of the recorded information.

System for automatically transferring information media

An apparatus for making electronic component assembly comprising:

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Katano, Japan

Akio Yamagami