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:
Nov. 06, 2001
Filed:
Nov. 04, 1999
Steven J. Alexander, Milwaukee, WI (US);
Jon Ubert, New Berlin, WI (US);
Robotic Vision Systems, Inc., Canton, MA (US);
Abstract
The invention provides a pick and place system having a taper module that determines both placement and direction of the carrier tape by optically counting sprocket holes as they move in either direction. Compartments in a carrier tape are serially spaced along the longitudinal axis of the tape. The tape also includes a plurality of sprocket holes serially spaced along a line that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tape. The distance between compartments corresponds to a predetermined number of sprocket holes. Two optical couplers are set at a predetermined distance smaller than the s pacing between consecutive sprocket holes. Signals from the couplers will have a unique sequence depending on the direction of the tape. By using direction and number of sprocket holes, the exact position of the tape can be determined.