Rca Inc.

General Electric Company

John G Aceti

Brian E Lock

Robert E Schneller

Christopher J Poux

An apparatus for transferring headed pins includes a frame having a pair of spaced, parallel side rails and an end plate secured between the side rails at one end thereof. A pair of plates are secured together and connected between the side rails at the other ends thereof. The pair of plates have at least a portion of their opposed surfaces spaced from each other, and have aligned holes therethrough for receiving the pins to be transferred. A third plate having openings therethrough is slidable in the space between the pair of plates. An operating rod is connected to the third plate and can move the third plate between a first position in which the holes in the third plate are aligned with the holes in the pair of plates, and a second position in which the holes in the third plate only partially overlap the holes in the pair of plates. With the third plate in its second position, pins can be inserted through the holes and will not pass completely therethrough so that they will be held in the apparatus. When the third plate is moved to its first position, the pins are free to pass completely through the holes so that they can be transferred to another apparatus.

Pin transfer apparatus

An apparatus for feeding headed pins includes a frame having thereon a hopper into which the pins are placed. A ramp extends substantially horizontally from the hopper and has a plurality of spaced, parallel slots therein which are adapted to receive the pins with the heads of the pins seated on the surface of the ramp. At the end of the ramp is a transfer shuttle assembly which is adapted to feed pins from the slots into passages in a chute which extends vertically downwardly from the end of the ramp. The upper ends of the passages are offset from the ends of the slots. The shuttle transfer means includes a shuttle plate movable back and forth across the end of the ramp by means of pneumatic cylinders, and a plurality of gates mounted on the shuttle plate. Each gate has a notch in its end which can receive a pin. The shuttle plate is moveable between a position in which the notches in the gates are aligned with the slots so as to receive a pin, and a position in which the notches in the gates are over a passage in the chute. The gates are individually movable toward and away from the end of the ramp by individual pneumatic cylinders connected to the gates. When the gates are over the passages in the chute, they can be moved away from the end of the ramp to drop the pins down the chute.

Pin feeding apparatus

Two vibratory feeders are coupled to a switching mechanism for feeding screws to a robotically operated screw driver. The feeders include screw sensors which cause a control to switch feeders in case of a sensed jam in the feeder then in operation. An operator is alerted to correct the jam and place the cleared feeder in stand-by.

Automatic multiple feed apparatus

A robotically operated wire insertion apparatus for insulation displacement terminals (IDTs) automatically feeds wire to a wire insertion hand, automatically straightens the wire during the feeding so that the wire is aligned with the hand, inserts the wire progressively into a plurality of IDTs and severs the wire from the last inserted IDT, and initializes the apparatus to begin a new wiring cycle. The IDTs may have any orientation in any plane on one or more different substrates.

Wire insertion apparatus for insulation displacement terminal

A pallet for feeding components to a robotic assembly system at accurate reference locations and orientations includes a pair of parallel sheet members rigidly secured together. One sheet member has an array of locating apertures for receiving and locating a plurality of the components in the reference locations and orientation. The other sheet member has an array of rubber grommets, a grommet corresponding to each locating aperture for automatically receiving and releasably, frictionally engaging a component placed in a locating aperture.

Pallet

A gear train is assembled by vibratory feeding each of its gears into a nest in overlapping meshed aligned spaced relation. A fastening nut is vibratory fed in alignment with the journal for the gear which is distal the bracket to which the gear train is to be secured. The bracket includes a plurality of journals each mating with the journal bearing of a corresponding gear located in the nest. A robotic arm carries the bracket and inserts the journals into the gears in an axial direction, passing the journal for the distal gear through that gear bearing and into the nut for capturing the overlapped nested gears between the nut and the bracket.

Apparatus and method for assembling gears

A measuring gauge, suitable for measuring the plastic record caddy for a video disc, uses a transducer and a driver assembly. The transducer includes a plunger which will trigger a detector if a force of less than one gram is applied thereto. The transducer is coupled to the driver assembly. The driver assembly includes a stepping motor for moving the transducer and a target and sensor for providing an indication of a reference position.

Growing community of inventors

Princeton Junction, NJ, United States of America

John G Aceti