Microtek Industries, Inc.

Harris Corporation

J Gregg Ellis

Leonard T Hesch, Jr

Nathaniel J Satterfield

A tape automated bonding feeder apparatus employs a vertical carrier extraction unit to successively supply electronic circuit components to an output station from which a component is seized for placement and attachment to a circuit board. The feeder apparatus, which may be mounted on a rollable cart, includes a generally rectilinear housing on a top plate of which one or more magazines are mounted. A magazine contains a stack of circuit component carriers. The bottom of the magazine has a carrier extraction unit which controllably allows an individual component carrier at the bottom of the stack to drop away onto an underlying carrier shuttle. The carrier shuttle is supported for movement between the magazine and a lead forming unit. The lead forming unit detaches a component from the carrier and forms the leads of the excised component for mounting the component to a circuit board. A processed component transport unit is coupled to an anvil of the lead forming unit and transports a processed component to the output station.

Tape automated bonding feeder and lead forming apparatus

An tape automated bonding feeder apparatus employs a vertical carrier extraction unit to successively supply electronic circuit components to an output station from which a component is seized for placement and attachment to a circuit board. The feeder apparatus, which may be mounted on a rollable cart, includes a generally rectilinear housing on a top plate of which one or more magazines are mounted. A magazine contains a stack of circuit component carriers. The bottom of the magazine has a carrier extraction unit which controllably allows an individual component carrier at the bottom of the stack to drop away onto an underlying carrier shuttle. The carrier shuttle is supported for movement betweeen the magazine and a lead forming unit. The lead forming unit detaches a component from the carrier and forms the leads of the excised component for mounting the component to a circuit board. A processed component transport unit is coupled to an anvil of the lead forming unit and transports a processed component to the output station.

A surface mount technology measurement and lead formation system provides high precision bending and trimming of offset leads for both two and four sided circuit components. A total form height includes a pair of horizontally adjustable support rails which support the leads of a component. A precision, linear displacement measuring device engages the body of the electronic component and provides a digital indication of the total form height of the leads of the component. The lead forming apparatus has a total form height adjustment mechanism through which the total form height of the leads of the component are controllably bent and trimmed. The total form height of the leads is preset by an operator, who manually adjusts a form height setting anvil, a control dial for which is coupled to an associated digital readout gage which conforms with the same units of the digital readout gage of the total form measuring device. The lead forming apparatus comprises upper and lower support platens upon which bending and trimming tooling elements are mounted.

System for forming leads for surface mounted components

A flatpack lead forming, cutting, and straightening machine. The flatpack is unloaded from the carrier and aligned for later processing by its leads, rather than the body portion. The first processing step forms the lead by bending them downwardly against an anvil, and then bending them outwardly to form the foot. The leads are cut by an upwardly-moving cutter to prevent downward flagging of the leads. The flatpack is then placed between two vertically mounted plates such that one set of plates contacts a pair of leads disposed on opposite sides of the flatpack body. The plates are moved upwardly and downwardly to flex the leads and remove the set therein. Adjacent lead pairs are flexed 180 degrees out of phase in this process. The formed, cut, and straightened flatpack is then loaded into a handling tube for storage or transport to the assembly area. A transport mechanism transports the flatpack from each stage of the process to the next stage.

Growing community of inventors

Indian Harbour Beach, FL, United States of America

J Gregg Ellis