Patent Abstract:
A feeding device in manufacturing which is configured to feed a carrier tape includes a transmission mechanism and a buffering mechanism. The transmission mechanism is configured to receive the carrier tape and transfer the carrier tape to the buffering mechanism. The buffering mechanism includes a slide assembly, a feeder assembly, and an inductor. The slidable feeder assembly is mounted to the slide assembly, and is configured to receive the carrier tape transferred from the transmission mechanism. The slide assembly moves the feeder assembly. The inductor is mounted to one side of the slide assembly, and senses distances from the feeder assembly, to control a feeding speed of the transmission mechanism.

Full Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The subject matter herein generally relates to feeding devices in manufacturing. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In practice, a carrier tape carrying productions or work-pieces transfers these objects from one machining station to another by at least one production line, and more and more feeding devices are employed in automated production lines. The feeding devices can feed the carrier tape to the production lines. The production lines can transmit the work-pieces to processing stations. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]    Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures. 
           [0004]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a feeding device. 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a fastening mechanism of the feeding device of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of a transmission mechanism of the feeding device of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0007]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of a buffering mechanism of the feeding device of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure. 
         [0009]    The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series, and the like. 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of a feeding device  100 . The feeding device  100  can be configured to feed a carrier tape (not shown). The feeding device  100  can include a bracket  10 , a fastening mechanism  20 , a transmission mechanism  30 ; a buffering mechanism  40 , and a discharging mechanism  50 . The fastening mechanism  20  and the buffering mechanism  40  can be arranged at either side of the bracket  10 . The transmission mechanism  30  can be arranged between the fastening mechanism  20  and the buffering mechanism  40 . The discharging mechanism  50  can be mounted to the bracket  10 , in a position relative to the buffering mechanism  40 . The feeding device  100  can automatically transfer the carrier tape. 
         [0011]    The bracket  10  can include a first column  11 , a second column  13 , a third column  15 ; a fourth column  17 , and an electronic control box  19 . The first column  11  can be hollow, and can be configured to mount the fastening mechanism  20 . The second column  13  can be configured to mount the transmission mechanism  30 . The third column  15  can be hollow, and can be configured to mount the buffering mechanism  40 . The fourth column  17  can be configured to mount the discharging mechanism  50 . The electronic control box  19  can be electrically connected to the transmission mechanism  30  and the buffering mechanism  40  to control the motions of the transmission mechanism  30  and the buffering mechanism  40 . 
         [0012]    The discharging mechanism  50  can be mounted to one end of the fourth column  17 , and can be configured to receive the carrier tape transferred by the buffering mechanism  40  and transfer the carrier tape to a next machining station (not shown). 
         [0013]      FIG. 2  illustrates that the fastening mechanism  20  can include a roller  21 , a slide assembly  22 , a rope  23 , a weight member  25 , a slide block  27 , and a pressing wheel  29 . 
         [0014]    The fastening mechanism  20  can be configured to press the carrier tape, and can keep the carrier tape under tension. The roller  21  can be arranged at one end of the first column  11 . The slide assembly  22  can be mounted to the first column  11 , under the roller  21 . The rope  23  can revolve the roller  21 , and can be received in the first column  11 . The weight member  25  can be connected to one end of the rope  23 , and can be received in the first column  11 . The slide block  27  can be mounted to the slide assembly  22 , and can be connected to the other end of the rope  23 . The pressing wheel  29  can be arranged to the slide block  27 , and can be moved with the slide block  27 . When the carrier tape is located under the pressing wheel  29 , the slide block  27  and the pressing wheel  29  can be moved to a pre-determined position to press the carrier tape, by adjusting a weight of the weight member  25 . 
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates that the transmission mechanism  30  can include a driver  31 , a driving shaft  33 , a driving wheel  35 , and a feeding wheel  37 . The transmission mechanism  30  can be configured to receive the carrier tape pressed by the fastening mechanism  20  (see  FIG. 1 ) and transfer the carrier tape to the buffering mechanism  40 . 
         [0016]    One end of the driving shaft  33  can be connected to the driver  31 , and the other end of the driving shaft  33  can engage to the driving wheel  35 . When the driver  31  is rotated, the driving shaft  33  can be rotated, and the driving wheel  35  can be rotated to receive the carrier tape pressed by the fastening mechanism  20 . The feeding wheel  37  can be mounted under the driving wheel  35  to receive the carrier tape from the driving wheel  35  and transfer the carrier tape to the buffering mechanism  40 . When the carrier tape is presented to the driving wheel  35 , the driving wheel  35  can be rotated by the driver  31  to tense the carrier tape and transfer the carrier tape to the feeding wheel  37 . The feeding wheel  37  can transfer the carrier tape to the buffering mechanism  40 . 
         [0017]      FIG. 4  illustrates that the buffering mechanism  40  can include a saving assembly  41 , a slide assembly  43 , a feeder assembly  45 , and an inductor  47 . The buffering mechanism  40  can be configured to receive the carrier tape transferred by the transmission mechanism  30  (see  FIG. 1 ) and transfer the carrier tape to the discharging mechanism  50 . 
         [0018]    The saving assembly  41  can be mounted to the third column  15  adjacent to the feeding wheel  37  (see  FIG. 3 ). The saving assembly  41  can include a plurality of saving wheels  411 . The saving wheels  411  can be configured to receive the carrier tape transferred by the feeding wheel  37 . The slide assembly  43  can be mounted under the saving assembly  41 , and can include a gear  431 , a guide rail  433 , a connecting rope  435 ; a weight member  437 , and a slide block  439 . The gear  431  can be mounted to one end of the third column  15 . The guide rail  433  can be mounted to the third column  15  under the gear  431 . The connecting rope  435  can revolve the gear  431 . The weight member  437  can be connected to one end of the connecting rope  435 . The slide block  439  can be connected to the other end of the connecting rope  435 , and can be mounted to the guide rail  433  to drive the motion of the feeder assembly  45 . 
         [0019]    The feeder assembly  45  can be mounted to the slide block  439 , and can include a plurality of feeding wheels  451 . The feeding wheels  451  can be configured to receive the carrier tape transferred by the saving wheels  411  and transfer the carrier tape to the discharging mechanism  50 . The inductor  47  can be mounted adjacent to the gear  431 . The inductor  47  can detect a distance between the feeder assembly  45  and the inductor  47 , and can control the rotation speed of the driving wheel  35  (see  FIG. 3 ) by the electronic control box  19  (see  FIG. 1 ) to control a transferring speed of the carrier tape. The slide block  439  and the feeder assembly  45  can be disposed in a pre-determined position by adjusting a weight of the weight member  437 . 
         [0020]    In operation, the carrier tape transferred from a front machining station (not shown) can be passed through the fastening mechanism  20 , the transmission mechanism  30 , the buffering mechanism  40 , and the discharging mechanism  50 . Then, the carrier tape can be positioned at a feeding end of the next machining station. A position of the pressing wheel  29  can be adjusted to press the carrier tape (not shown), and can keep the carrier tape under tension. The feeding device  100  can be governed by the electronic control box  19 . The driving wheel  35  can be rotated to transfer the carrier tape to the buffering mechanism  40 . The saving wheels  411  can be rotated to transfer the carrier tape to the feeding wheels  451 . The feeding wheels  451  can transfer the carrier tape to the discharging mechanism  50 . Then, the carrier tape can be transferred to the next machining station (not shown). In the course of the transferring of the carrier tape, a pull from an output end of the front machining station can be equal to a pull from an input end of the next machining station, so the feeder assembly  45  can be located in a pre-determined position to continuously feed the carrier tape. 
         [0021]    When the carrier tape of the front machining station has run through, the pull from the output end of the front machining station is lost, and the pull from an input end of the next machining station can form a component force in the vertical direction of the feeder assembly  45 . By the component force in the vertical direction of the feeder assembly  45 , the feeder assembly  45  and the slide block  439  can be moved along the guide rail  433  away from the inductor  47 , and the weight member  437  can be moved up. The inductor  47  can sense a change in distance from the feeder assembly  45 , and can send the information to the electronic control box  19 . The electronic control box  19  can slow the feeder assembly  45  down to allow the front machining station to add the carrier tape. The added carrier tape can be connected to the previous carrier tape. Then, the output end of the front machining station can pull the carrier tape, and the pull of the feeder assembly  45  can be reduced. The feeder assembly  45  and the slide block  439  can be moved along the guide rail  433  toward the inductor  47  by a pull of the weight member  437 . The inductor  47  can sense a change in distance from the feeder assembly  45 , and can send the information to the electronic control box  19 . The electronic control box  19  can speed the driving wheel  35  up to re-establish the transferring rate of the carrier tape. The feeding device  100  can continuously transfer the carrier tape. 
         [0022]    The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Many details are often found in the art such as the other features of a feeding device. Therefore, many such details are neither shown nor described. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure, up to and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1