Usm Corporation

Ralph A Morrison

Waldo B Hanson

Armand L Tardiff

Electrical components having generally parallel leads extending in one direction from one side of their bodies, respectively, are successively transferred to a conveyor means movable through sequential processing stations to prepare the leads for circuit board connection or sequencing preparatory to such connection. Spaced lead grippers on the conveyor means control lead portions adjacent to the bodies of the components. The stations sucessively act to determine the standoff length of the leads from the bodies of the components, reform remaining portions of the leads in coaxial relation while maintaining the standoff length, check for omission of a reformed component from proper position in the series and, upon release from the grippers, tape the coaxial portions of the leads of adjacent components in parallel, side-by-side relation. Preferably, the means for checking reformed component presence also controls turning of a reel for storing the repackaged components.

Machines for reforming and repackaging components

A reciprocable member for inserting the leads of electronic components into preformed holes of circuit boards and the like is provided with a hold-down means cooperative with an inside former whereby portions of the leads are predeterminedly positioned and clamped during trimming and stand-off formation and then, at a later stage of an operating cycle, allows the member to insert the cut leads up to the stand-off formation. A mounting machine also desirably includes an inside former of improved configuration inducing lead retention in an outside former, and mechanism whereby the bodies of successive overlapping tape-fed components to be mounted are uniformly positioned for such lead clamping, forming and insertion.

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Topsfield, MA, United States of America

Ralph A Morrison