Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hiromitsu Harada

Norio Nikaido

Yasuo Karube

Soft part cutting and mounting methods and soft part cutting and mounting apparatuses are capable of cutting and mounting without human intervention by using an automatic soft part apparatus. The apparatus which uses a sheet material continuously formed from a release sheet having at least a release layer on a surface and including continuously formed tack paper and a soft member having an adhesive layer temporarily adhered to the release layer to finally adhere to an article, and cuts the soft member with the adhesive layer into a predetermined shape. The sheet material is continuously intermittently fed by a sheet material convey unit so as to stop at a cutting position. In the cutting position, a contoured cutting blade moved with respect to the soft member by a first elevating mechanism is moved to the release layer, the cut soft part is drawn by suction by a suction head disposed in a portion surrounded by the contoured cutting blade and vertically moved by a second elevating mechanism, and the release sheet is drawn by suction by a suction unit including an ultrasonic wave application device for transmitting ultrasonic vibration at a frequency of 10 kHz or more. The soft member is cut together with the adhesive layer from the sheet material by controlling the driving of the individual mechanisms and components, thereby obtaining the soft part.

Methods of cutting and mounting soft parts and apparatuses for cutting

A method of fitting an elastic ring on an outer circumferential portion of a workpiece includes the steps of inserting a hollow diameter-enlarging member into the elastic ring to hold the elastic ring on an outer circumferential portion of the diameter-enlarging member, in an enlarged diameter state; holding, at a holding position, the diameter-enlarging member having the elastic ring held thereon; and inserting the workpiece, which has a flange portion, into the diameter-enlarging member such that the flange portion of the workpiece contacts an end surface of the diameter-enlarging member and displaces the diameter-enlarging member from the holding position while keeping the elastic ring at the holding position to transfer the elastic ring to the workpiece by a contraction of the elastic ring from the enlarged diameter state to a reduced diameter state.

Growing community of inventors

Ushiku, Japan

Hiromitsu Harada