Abstract: A system for applying a coating to an article of manufacture comprises a first conveyor assembly which conveys articles through a coating booth for application of a coating. The first conveyor assembly has a section aligned with and in close proximity to a section of a second conveyor assembly at which the articles are transferred to the second conveyor assembly. The second conveyor assembly transports the articles to a bake oven wherein the coating is baked on the articles. By this arrangement, residual coating material is not baked on the carriers of the first conveyor assembly and hence coating removal processes to clean the carriers are avoided.

Abstract: An apparatus for color coating and further manipulating workpieces of wood, plastic material or metal includes a color coating station and further product-manipulation stations for finishing the workpiece. Through provision of a conveyor, the workpiece shuttles through the color coating unit and the manipulation stations at least in one forward run and at least in one return run, whereby a control unit moves the color coating unit and the manipulation stations commensurate with a preselected program between an operating position and an idle position during forward run and return run of the workpiece.

Abstract: A continuous spray coating apparatus and process generally comprises a housing defining a closed coating chamber, the coating chamber having inlet and outlet openings. Automatic doors are provided to cover the inlet and outlet openings, and the opening and closing of the doors is selectively controlled such that only one of the doors will be open at any one time during the spray coating operation. The introduction of the coating composition into the chamber creates a predetermined atmosphere within the chamber which is substantially saturated with constituents of the coating material, and by means of the automatic doors and control thereof, introduction of air from the outside atmosphere into the chamber is substantially prevented to maintain a predetermined atmosphere within the chamber.

Abstract: A solid lubricant application procedure is combined in-line with a steel strip processing method which comprises processing steps upstream and downstream of the lubricant application procedure. The latter comprises applying the lubricant material in molten form or as a solution and may include temperature adjusting steps both upstream and downstream of the lubricant material-applying step. The space for incorporating the lubricant application procedure into the steel strip processing line is limited. The strip speed in the lubricant application procedure is synchronized with the strip speed normally attained in the steel strip processing method in the absence of an in-line lubricant application procedure. The steps of the lubricant application procedure are constrained to accommodate the space limits and strip speed synchronization requirement imposed on the lubricant application procedure when it is combined in-line with the steel strip processing method.

Abstract: A fast spot gluing machine for screws is disclosed, having a vibrating body, a horizontal conveyor, a support board, a rubber wheel, a spot gluing plate, a speed-adjustable motor, a control circuit and a glue compressor. A spiral slope is disposed on an inner wall of the vibrating body, extending to a top of the vibrating body to connect with the horizontal conveyor. The support board is disposed at a rear portion of the horizontal conveyor and includes a base board and first and second upright boards. The control circuit is used to control rotational speed of the motor. The motor has a rotary shaft on which the rubber wheel is fitted. The first upright board is formed with an arcuate notch for partially receiving the rubber wheel and the second upright board is formed with an elongated adjusting slot. An adjusting screw formed with a through hole is disposed through elongated slot to engage the spot gluing plate.

Abstract: A fluid dispenser for use in consistently depositing relatively thick and lumpy materials onto receiving surfaces which employs a supply path to a plurality of pump/valve combinations and a feedback pressure line to assure an adequate pressure at the point of deposit. There are positive displacement pumps which operate continuously through the plurality of valves with an additional feedback path to assure constant flow of the material.

Abstract: An apparatus capable of surely removing a toner or similar image forming substance stably cohered to a sheet, and an apparatus for processing a sheet are disclosed. A liquid supply unit uniformly supplies a liquid to a toner carried on the sheet. The sheet infiltrated with the liquid is heated by a toner removing unit to have to the toner thereof softened. As a result, the toner adheres to the surface of an offset member implemented as a belt or a drum. The sheet containing the liquid therein is conveyed to the toner removing unit without creasing, breaking or folding.

Abstract: Hard substrates such as ophthalmic lenses or molds are coated with a UV curable monomer which is polymerized to construct a scratch resistant coating on a surface of the lens. The present invention is directed to an apparatus for and method of applying the UV curable monomer to the surface of the ophthalmic lens or mold. Polymerization of the monomer occurs by radiation of UV light while the lens is encased in a curing chamber. The spin coater of the present invention has the following advantages: Excess monomer is collected in a dish away from UV exposure and is readily disposed of. The substrate is revolved at a high rate of speed during the application of the coating to achieve a uniform coating of monomer. Only the holder and substrate are moved to the curing chamber minimizing the items exposed to UV light. The UV light is electrodeless, it has a standby mode and operates cyclically during use so as to prolong its life and to allow a greater degree of control over extent of polymerization.

Abstract: A system for accurately controlling the start and stop positions for operations on conveyor-moved products, such as for applying glue lines, perforations or slits on sheets of paper, uses product position rather than timing to accurately control "on" and "off" operation positions on the product. The entry of a sheet of paper, for example, onto the conveyor path is noted by detecting the leading edge of the paper moving past an optical sensor. The location of the sheet is always known in a computer, due to conveyor position information continually fed to the computer. Distances which will be involved in the compensation times for the operating devices (e.g.

Abstract: The machine employs a rotary apparatus comprising a matrix-bearing cylinder coupled on an underlying transfer cylinder contacting over at least a tract of external surface thereof with an upper surface of a tile transiting on a rest plane. The tile is gripped between two facing branches of two lateral belts which advance the tile below the transfer cylinder; the rotation of the transfer cylinder being synchronized with the translation of the tile moved by the branches.

Abstract: A cleaning apparatus for removing foreign matters from workpieces in the form of strips or sheets cut from a larger blank, before the workpiece is subjected to a press forming operation, which apparatus includes a feeding device for feeding the successive workpieces, de-oiling rolls disposed in an upstream portion of a feed path of the workpieces as seen in a feeding direction and rotated in pressing rolling contact with the surfaces of each workpiece as each workpiece is fed, so as to remove by absorption oily substances from the surfaces of the workpiece, and tacky rolls disposed downstream of the de-oiling rolls as seen in the feeding direction and rotated in pressing rolling contact with the surfaces of the workpiece, so as to remove by tackiness thereof the foreign matters from the surfaces of the workpiece.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for sequentially applying a predetermined amount of adhesive to a series of sheets of insulation having a frame with a conveyor mounted at one end, a magazine adapted to maintain and dispense sheets of insulation, one at a time onto the conveyor, a floating adhesive dispensing hopper is positioned adjacent to the conveyor, and a sheet stopping mechanism located on the other side of the hopper at the opposite end of the frame. In operation, a plurality of sheets of insulation are loaded into the magazine, dispensed onto the conveyor one at a time, then driven by the conveyer under the floating adhesive dispensing hopper which applies adhesive to the entire width of the sheet of insulation as the sheet passes under the hopper. The stopping mechanism beyond the hopper stops the movement of the sheet of insulation by deactivating the conveyor until the sheet with the adhesive applied thereon is removed.

Abstract: A system for processing components which are to be transferred to second system. Portions of the system are selectively controlled so that when demand from the second system is stopped, processing of the components is allowed to be completed as needed. The system includes a preparation station which is stopped once demand is stopped, a processing station which continues to process components until such process can be safely stopped without producing unusable finished products, and a waiting station which is stopped once demand is stopped. The capacity of the waiting station is adjustable in order to accommodate components which must be passed out of the processing station so that other components may be passed through the processing station to complete all uninterruptable processes.

Abstract: A die paste transfer system wherein a first layer of bonding paste is transfer to a surface of the die as the die moves through the paste station in a controlled manner. The control for the transport controls orientation which the die passes through the paste station and the orientation of the die at the bonding site. The height of the die is varied as it passes through a second layer of paste. The speed at which the die and the second layer of bonding paste move well to each other is also adjusted to produce the desired thickness of the first layer on the die. Shear is produced in the second layer to affect transfer of the bonding paste from the reservoir to the die. For larger dies, the die may enter and leave the paste more than once to produce individual plateaus spaced from the edge of the die.

Abstract: A semiconductor wafer processing system having a plurality of processing devices forming a base processing line for processing in sequence a workpiece having a semiconductor wafer is provided with an auxiliary loader connected to one of the processing devices for supplying the workpiece forming a processing line different from the base processing line, and an auxiliary unloader connected to the one processing device for receiving the workpiece processed by the one processing device at times when the one processing device is not supplied the workpiece by the processing device upstream of the one processing device in the base processing line.

Abstract: For filling the edge groove (26) of an insulating glass pane (1) of an arbitrarily designed outer contour with sealing compound, stored geometrical data of the outer contour of the insulating glass pane (1) are utilized for controlling the relative motion between the insulating glass pane (1) and the filling nozzle (4). The relative velocity of the relative motion between the insulating glass pane (1) and the filling nozzle (4) is varied in such a way that the desired extent of filling of the edge groove (26) remains constant even in case of a change in the depth of the edge groove and/or in case of fluctuating feeding rate of a sealing compound. Furthermore, the relative speed between the filling nozzle (4) and the insulating glass pane (1) is selected to be higher in the zone of linear or less strongly curved sections (6) of the edge groove (26) than in the zone of more strongly curved sections (5).

Abstract: An apparatus for waxing vehicles for use in conjunction with commercial "car wash" operations. Vehicles are transported by a chain driven conveyor mechanism through a wax application station, passed to a second conveyor mechanism for movement through a drying station, and on to a third conveyor mechanism for passage through a polishing station. A computer system controls the waxing process and operates various pneumatic positioning devices, positioning wax application heads, drying blowers, and polishing heads adjacent the vehicle, a using knowledge of the size, shape, and dimensional parameters of the vehicle. These parameters are stored within the computer system according to manufacturer, model, and year, specified when the vehicle enters the apparatus.

Abstract: A fixture for supporting a circuit board in a position generally horizontal to the surface of the protective material in the tank as it is dipped into a tank and coated with protective material. This allows a precisely predetermined area of the circuit board to be dipped into the protective coating material. The fixture has pivots above its center of gravity allowing the fixture to pivot will respect to a conveyor system so the position of the circuit board is maintained as generally horizontal to the surface of the protective material in the tank.A weir is used to control the level of the surface of the protective material in the tank. Sonar is used for sensing the distance between the surface of the protective material and a fixed point. Jacks are used to adjust the level of the tank and thus control the depth to which said circuit board is dipped into said protective material so that the depth of each dip is controlled to a minimum of 0.38 mm.

Abstract: A lumber end sealing machine involves a pass-through design utilizing a single exhaust system and the use of traveling and rotating sealer paint spray guns. An exhaust chamber is centered over the conveyor with spray guns located at both the conveyor entrance and exit openings of the exhaust chamber. The spray guns are formed to both transversely and rotatingly pass through an end face of the package of lumber which is stopped at the center of the exhaust system. The spray guns are supported on a vertical rod suspended from a carriage with transverse movement through the use of a pneumatic rodless piston and rotational movement of the spray guns by rotation of the vertical rod by means of a cam follower mechanism engaged with a curved profile bar.

Abstract: An apparatus for positioning a plurality of semiconductor substrates on a movable, support in a desired pattern, in a semiconductor vapor phase growing apparatus. A memory is provided for storing two dimensional data corresponding to the desired pattern. The desired pattern is predetermined by the sizes of the substrates and the space available on the flat support. A loading/unloading device loads and unloads the substrates on the support at positions corresponding to the two-dimensional data read from the memory. A positioning device positions the support so that the substrates can be loaded and unloaded at the predetermined positions. A control device synchronizes the movement of the loading/unloading device and the positioning device in accordance with the selected position so that the substrates are loaded and unloaded on the flat support in the desired pattern.

Abstract: A system is disclosed for painting components of an automobile more efficiently and more economically. To achieve the efficient production of painted components, the painting system includes parallel input and output main transfer lines and a plurality of sub transfer lines which are located perpendicular to and between the parallel input and output main transfer lines.A plurality of input intersections are formed between the input main transfer line and the sub transfer lines, and a plurality of output intersections are formed between the output main transfer line and the sub transfer lines. Each sub transfer line includes a turntable within a painting booth which is located at a central portion of each sub transfer line and a painting device is located at the side of each turntable.Further, each sub transfer line includes at least an input side waiting position and at least an output side waiting position.

Abstract: A gravity feed and return conveyor system which may be detachably connected to a conventional metal sheet lubricator so that a single worker at a stationary station can place a sheet on the system and remove the lubricated sheet therefrom. There are three conveyor sections, the middle one acting to reverse the direction of transport of the sheet. Positive acting means are provided for effectuating the direction reversal and electrical switch means are provided for actuating the direction reversal means as well as additional safety features.

Abstract: An improved method to calculate the relative position between a plating head and an intermittently moved web of material that is to be plated wherein a nozzle directs pressurized fluid through an aperture in the web and the back pressure is monitored as an indication of the relative position of the nozzle and the aperture. Back pressure is represented digitally and a microprocessor waits an interval for the pressure to stabilize, compares the digital signal to a look up table in memory to determine the error in position, and commands movement of the plating head a distance sufficient to bring the error to zero.

Abstract: An installation for coating baked products, such as wafer sheets, with a viscous, edible spreading mass, such as caramel, includes a transport installation for moving the wafers and a revolvable, generally cylindrical coating roll above the transport installation. An application reservior cooperates with the coating roll to spread a layer of the spreading mass on the surface of the coating roll. A coating roll squeegee controls the thickness of the spreading mass on the coating roll, and a coating roll blade removes the spreading mass from the coating roll in the form of a layer. This layer of spreading mass is then deposited on the wafers transported by the transport installation. The viscous material of the spreading mass will be continuous and will tend to join the separate wafer sheets together when the layer is deposited on the wafer sheets. In this regard, a separating device is disposed downstream of the coating roll.

Abstract: An automatic self-adjusting processing apparatus for plating an object is described. The apparatus has a plating head, an apparatus coupled to the plating head which is responsive to the presence of the object for indicating the relative position of the plating head and the object, and an apparatus coupled to the indicating apparatus for automatically adjusting, if necessary, the relative position of the plating head and the object to a predetermined relative position.