International Business Machines Corporation

David MacWilliams

Leonard J Rigbey

Stephen G Baker

Duncan A Paton

Arthur C Larcombe

A conveyor system including a buffer store for the temporary retention of articles delivered by the conveyor to the store. Articles are raised out of contact with the conveyor by two ramps one passing under a flange on each side of the article. The conveyor and ramps are downwardly inclined in this area so the article travels along the ramps under gravity until hitting a stop. The articles are in two parts, each upper part being removed from the store by a robot and normally only the lower, reusable part being returned to the conveyor. A second stop is also provided adjacent the first to permit the return of only one article base to the conveyor. Sensors are provided to detect the present of articles in the store.

Conveyor system including a buffer store

A chute for gravity feeding a plurality of like electrical components (1) to a pick-up station of a robotic controlled automatic assembly system comprises guide rails (2,3) down which components slide with their pins (13) extending between the rails. The rails are shaped to provide a downwardly inclined straight track (5) leading into a horizontal track (6) comprising the pick-up station from which the components are taken by the robot. The transition from the inclined track (approximately 30 degrees to the horizontal) to the straight track, although smooth, is quite abrupt and ensures that the next component is successfully fed from the inclined to the horizontal section of the chute each time its predecessor is removed from the pick-up station. Since the length of the horizontal track is such that only one component can be accommodated at a time, accurate positioning of the component in the pick-up station for access by the robot is guaranteed.

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Purbrook, United Kingdom

David MacWilliams