Abstract: A bulk cassette has a container chamber at its rear end, and an outlet port at its front end. A plurality of chips within the container chamber are discharged from the outlet port one by one in an aligned fashion. A chip case is detachably connected to the rear end of the bulk cassette and includes an internal container space within which a plurality of chips can be contained. The chip case has a supply opening at its front end so as to feed the chips from the container space to the container chamber of the bulk cassette. The chip case also has a receiving opening at its rear end so as to feed additional chips into the container space. A closure member is mounted to the rear end of the chip case to open and close the receiving opening. A pipe is inserted into the receiving opening for replenishment of chips.

Abstract: An alignment/feed mechanism includes a container for receiving a plurality of chips, and an outlet port through which the chips are fed one by one in an aligned fashion. A sensor is operable to detect whether the number of the chips within the container is reduced below a predetermined level. If below the level, additional chips are fed from a chip tank into the container through a replenishment line or pipe. The chip tank is located above the alignment/feed mechanism. An on-off valve is disposed in the replenishment line and operable to open the replenishment line in response the sensed result of the sensor and close the replenishment line when a required number of additional chips are fed to the container.

Abstract: An apparatus including a supply source for a long composite which includes a long carrier film and a green ceramic layer continuously formed thereon along its longitudinal direction, a printing station, a drying station and a punching station. A conductor film is printed on the green ceramic layer with conductive paste in the printing station, the printed conductor film is dried in the drying station, and the green ceramic layer provided with the conductor film is punched while being registered with the conductor film and separated from the carrier film in the punching station, whereby a ceramic green sheet for a laminated ceramic electronic component is extracted.

Abstract: An electrode forming system automatically carries out overall steps of charging chip components, coating electrode material on both ends of the components and discharging the components using a holding plate, a guide plate and a spacer. This system comprises a charger, a transferer, an electrode coater, a drying furnace, a holding plate standby means, a spacer storage means, a holding plate storage means, a discharger, a transport robot, conveyor means and a control unit. Movements of these apparatus are integratedly controlled by the control unit. The robot transports the holding plate, the guide plate or the spacer among these apparatus arranged within its working area.

Abstract: A vertically movable support member is mounted on a table, and a guide plate and a holding plate are placed on this support member. The plates are accurately located by side stoppers and setting mechanisms for pushing those plates toward the side stoppers. Releasing cylinders operate to open the setting mechanisms when the plates are placed on and taken out from the support member. A backing plate which is arranged above the support member is downwardly moved to integrally press down the holding plate, the guide plate and the support member, so that a number of upright press pins arranged therebelow upwardly push chip components from the guide plate into the holding plate. Since the holding plate is prevented from deformation by the backing plate, dispersion in inserting depths of the chip components is reduced.

Abstract: In order to manufacture a multilayer ceramic electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor, a long ceramic green sheet is prepared, and this long ceramic green sheet is fed along its longitudinal direction and is successively subjected to steps of printing conductor films on the surface of the long ceramic green sheet with conductive paste, drying the conductor films, punching out the long ceramic green sheet into ceramic green sheets of prescribed sizes at prescribed punching positions with respect to the location of the conductor films, and stacking the punched ceramic green sheets with each other.

Abstract: Electronic parts are stuck into holes provided in an elongated retainer sheet and thereby retained. The retainer sheet as a transfer medium for the electronic parts is made to pass through a plating bath, a cleaning and drying section, an electrical characteristic measuring section, and a takeout section in turn. This allows the electronic parts 1 to be subjected to a plating process on their external electrodes, an electrical characteristic measuring process, and a taping process in a continuous manner. As a result, reduction in the number of handling manhours in the individual processes as well as space saving can be realized, while productivity can be improved.

Abstract: A component body is held by a holder while projecting both end portions thereof respectively, and two applicators are simultaneously approached toward related end portions of the component body. The applicators are provided with paste films respectively, so that the respective end portions of the component body are located in the paste films as the result of the aforementioned approaching. Then, the applicators are separated from the component body, so that the component body coated with paste materials on the both end portions can be obtained. Conductor paste materials can be efficiently applied to the both end portions of the component body, while the widths of the conductor paste materials which are applied onto the both end portions can be made equal to each other.

Abstract: In this apparatus, a ceramic green sheet which may be formed with internal electrodes for forming laminated ceramic capacitors, is first punched out by a punch. After this punching operation, the punched-out ceramic green sheet held by the punch is conveyed to a transfer head by the punch and then conveyed to a stacking block by the transfer head. With these steps repeated, a plurality of punched-out ceramic green sheets are stacked on the stacking block. Each time a punched-out ceramic green sheet is stacked on the stacking block, a hot iron is applied to the uppermost one of the punched-out ceramic green sheets so as to pressure-weld it to the underlying punched-out ceramic green sheet.

Abstract: An electrode forming apparatus comprises a recovery blade for collecting electrode paste on the bottom surface of a dipping vessel toward a first end of the dipping vessel and a levelling blade for levelling the electrode paste, being collected toward the first end, toward a second end of the dipping vessel for adjusting the same to a constant film thickness. The recovery blade and the levelling blade are supported by a blade support frame, which is horizontally reciprocated with respect to the dipping vessel. The recovery blade is vertically moved by a cylinder, while the vertical position of the levelling blade is finely controlled by a levelling control motor. Thus, the film thickness of the electrode paste can be accurately adjusted with excellent repeatability, thereby carrying out homogeneous electrode application.

Abstract: A long composite which includes a long carrier film and a green ceramic layer continuously formed thereon along its longitudinal direction is prepared and continuously guided successively to a printing station, a drying station and a punching station while being maintained in the long configuration. A conductor film is printed on the green ceramic layer with conductive paste in the printing station, the printed conductor film is dried in the drying station, and the green ceramic layer provided with the conductor film is punched while being registered with the conductor film and separated from the carrier film in the punching station, whereby a ceramic green sheet for a laminated ceramic electronic component is extracted.

Abstract: In order to enable measurement of insulation resistance values of a number of electronic parts such as chip capacitors with high accuracy and without the reducing measurement efficiency of characteristics, such as the capacitance, capacitance values of chip capacitors which are held by respective holding portions of a turntable are first measured in a capacitance measuring position during intermittent feeding of the turntable. When an insulation resistance measuring region is filled with those of the chip capacitors whose capacitance values have been measured the turntable is stopped. In this stopped state, a plurality of chip capacitors being located in the insulation resistance measuring region are simultaneously charged and subjected to the measurement of insulation resistance values.

Abstract: A press machine comprises a holding plate provided with a number of receiving holes at constant arrangement pitches and a pin head having a number of press pins at the same arrangement pitches as the receiving holes. A portion provided with the receiving holes is in the form of a square, while a portion provided with the press pins is also in the form of a square, which has a width identical to that of the portion provided with the receiving holes and a depth half that of the portion provided with the receiving holes. The holding plate is placed on a movable table, which in turn is moved to a first working position to insert a first group of chip type electronic components into the receiving holes provided in a first half region of the holding plate by the press pins, and then moved to a second working position to press a second group of chip type electronic components into the receiving holes provided in a second half region of the holding plate by the press pins.

Abstract: In order to manufacture a ceramic layered product for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic capacitor, a plurality of reels (23) are prepared, which are wound with a plurality of types of elongated mother ceramic sheets (12), each having a plurality of electrode patterns (14) and a plurality of registration marks (15) distributed along its longitudinal direction. The mother ceramic sheets (12) are drawn out from the respective reels (23) onto related sheet cutting stages. Regions including the electrode patterns (14) are punched from respective ones of the mother ceramic sheets (12) provided on a selected sheet cutting stage (25) by a cutting head (52) whose periphery is enclosed with a cutting edge (51) on the basis of the registration marks. Then the ceramic sheets (35) punched out from the mother sheet by the cutting head (52) are carried to a stacking jig (34) by the cutting head (52) and stacked with each other on the stacking jig (34).

Abstract: In order to manufacture a ceramic layered product for manufacturing a multilayer ceramic capacitor, a plurality of reels (23) are prepared, which are wound with a plurality of types of elongated mother ceramic sheets (12), each having a plurality of electrode patterns (14) and a plurality of registration marks (15) distributed along its longitudinal direction. The mother ceramic sheets (12) are drawn out from the respective reels (23) onto related sheet cutting stages (25). Regions including the electrode patterns (14) are punched from respective ones of the mother ceramic sheets (12) provided on a selected sheet cutting stage (25) by a cutting head (52) whose periphery is enclosed with a cutting edge (51) on the basis of the registration marks (15). Then the ceramic sheets (35) punched out from the mother sheet by the cutting head (52) are carried to a stacking jig (34) by the cutting head (52) and stacked with each other on the stacking jig (34).

Abstract: In this method and apparatus, a ceramic green sheet, which may be formed with internal electrodes for forming laminated ceramic capacitors, is first punched out by a punch. After this punching operation, the ceramic green sheet held by the punch is conveyed to a transfer head by the punch and then conveyed to a stacking block by the transfer head. With these steps repeated, a plurality of ceramic green sheets are stacked on the stacking block. Each time a ceramic green sheet is stacked on the stacking block, a hot iron is applied to the uppermost one of the ceramic green sheets so as to pressure-weld it to the underlying ceramic green sheet.

Abstract: A screen printing method comprises an aligning process for fixing a master plate (10) to a fixing frame (20) in aligned relation thereto, an exposure process of exposing a screen printing plate (50) through the master plate (10) fixed to the fixing frame (20), a developing process for developing the thus exposed screen printing plate (50), and a printing process for printing a workpiece (80) by using the thus developed screen printing plate (50). In the aligning process, the positioning pins (22a, 22b, 22c) of the fixing frame (20) abut against the positioning protuberances (62a, 62b, 62c) of a fixing block (61). In the exposure process, the positioning pins (22a, 22b, 22c) of the fixing frame (20) abut against the positioning protuberances (32a, 32b, 32c) of a positioning block (3), while the positioning pins (52a, 52b, 52c) of the printing plate (51) holding the screen printing plate (50) abut against the positioning protuberances (62a, 62b, 62c) of the fixing block (61).

Abstract: An apparatus for aligning electronic component chips, which is made of a resin material as a whole, comprises a chamber for storing a plurality of electronic component chips in random orientation, and an aligning passage for guiding the electronic component chips, which were stored in the chamber, to move while aligned along a prescribed direction. A wall surface defining the chamber and one defining the aligning passage are provided with conductivity, by formation of a metal-plated film or by other methods. Thus, static electricity, which may be caused by movement of the electronic component chips, is prevented, in order to attain smooth movement of the electronic component chips.

Abstract: A chip type electronic part which comprises a chip main body of a cylindrical external shape having a circular cross section, and cap terminals also of a circular cross section applied onto opposite ends of the chip main body. The chip main body is covered, on its side peripheral face not applied with the cap terminals, by an outer covering member having a rectangular cross section, with an interval between a side face of the outer covering member and a corresponding side face of each of the cap terminals being set within a range of +0.2 mm to -0.2 mm.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for handling electronic components. The method includes: (a) advancing an elongated support member in a first direction; (b) automatically extracting electronic components from the elongated support member in a second direction while the elongated support member is advancing in the first direction, the second direction being substantially perpendicular to the first direction; and (c) placing the electronic components on an elongated first tape and applying a second tape to the first tape to fix the electronic components between the tapes. The spacing between the electronic components within the support assembly and the spacing between the electronic components fixed between the tapes may be different. A sensor may be provided to sense the presence or absence of an electronic component within the apparatus.