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:
Aug. 08, 2000
Filed:
Jun. 16, 1998
Hidehiro Saho, Saga-ken, JP;
Yuji Tanaka, Kurume, JP;
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
In a bulk feeder, chips, stored randomly in a storage chamber, are fed one by one into a pipe extending vertically downwardly from the bottom of the storage chamber, and are further sequentially fed to a pickup position. In order to prevent the incomplete feeding of the chips into the pipe, an outer tube is provided in a manner to insert the pipe into the outer tube, and two projections are formed around an outer peripheral surface of the outer tube, and a pin is received between the two projections. The pin is rotated by a motor in eccentric relation to a horizontal axis of rotation of this motor, and the outer tube, while rotating, moves upward and downward, so that an upper end portion of the outer tube projects upwardly beyond an upper end of the pipe. As a result, the outer tube breaks into and disperses the group of chips residing above the pipe, so that the chips can be fed one by one into the pipe, and then the chips are fed sequentially to the pickup position.