Patent ID: 6845291

Claim:
A part housing or extracting apparatus comprising: a housing shelf which has a plurality of cylindrical bodies coaxially laminated in a vertical direction and equipped with at least one stage of a part housing unit, the peripheral edge of which is partitioned into many columns so that the outer peripheral edge surface of the part housing unit may be opened, the respective cylindrical bodies being independently rotatable; at least one part housing or conveying means which has first part holding means for holding a part disposed opposite to the outer peripheral surface of the housing shelf, and conveying the part held by the first part holding means to a predetermined part housing unit and then housing therein; and at least one part extracting or conveying means which has second part holding means for holding the part disposed opposite to the outer peripheral surface of the housing shelf, and holding and extracting the part housed in the predetermined part housing unit by the second part housing means and then conveying to a predetermined position; the respective cylindrical bodies and the respective part holding means being relatively movable along the outer peripheral surface of the housing shelf, wherein the part is an elastic ring and is used to form a laminated ring by mutually laminating the rings in accordance with a predetermined condition; the part housing unit comprises a plurality of pairs of first holding members oppositely arranged at predetermined intervals; each pair of the first holding members are mutually arranged in columns at predetermined intervals and held from the outer peripheral edge surface of the ring in a condition where the ring is bent; both the part holding means further comprise a pair of arm members oppositely arranged at predetermined intervals, advance or retreat means for advancing or retreating the arm members to and from the part housing unit, a plurality of pairs of clasp members oppositely disposed in the arm members at predetermined intervals along the lengthwise direction of the arm members, and expanding or shortening means for expanding or shortening the intervals of the clasp members; when the arm members are advanced into the part housing unit by the advance or retreat means, the first holding members are arranged so as to be positioned between the clasp members, and the expanding or shortening means reduces the intervals of the clasp members advanced into the part housing unit so as to be narrower than the intervals of the first holding members and clasps the ring from the outer peripheral edge surface or enlarges the intervals of the clasp members so as to be wider than the intervals of the first holding members, thereby releasing the clasp of the ring.