The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 21, 1999
Filed:
Dec. 05, 1997
Anthony W Beyer, Elburn, IL (US);
Tek Pak, Inc., Batavia, IL (US);
Abstract
A carrier tape formed with a plurality of product receiving pockets molded therein. Pocket detail is formed by moving a male mold element and the carrier tape relatively toward one another thereby causing a respective region of the tape to conform to the shape of the mold element. Fluid pressure can be used to drive the carrier tape further into conformity with the shape of the respective mold element. A vacuum channel can be provided in the mold element to reduce the pressure on the side of the tape adjacent to the mold thereby increasing the pressure differential across the tape. Both multi-station linear and rotary molds carrying male molding surfaces can be used to increase throughput. Product positioning surfaces, formed on the male mold elements can be imparted to the interior of the formed pockets along with light diffusing patterns to provide improved performance by scanning or optical monitoring systems.