Abstract: A method for suitably picking up a component supplied in a lined up state. The component that is at pickup position is held using component holding device; and while holding the component with the component holding device, the component holding device is moved specified distance in a direction towards a component adjacent to the held component, then the component holding device is moved specified distance in a direction opposite to the first direction, and then the component holding device is raised.

Abstract: A tape cutting processing apparatus includes a conveyance device conveying a component wrapping tape along a conveyance path, a detection device detecting the presence of a component accommodated in a cavity of the component wrapping tape conveyed along the conveyance path at a detection position, a folding-back member that folds back a cover tape at a folding-back position so that adhesion surfaces of the cover tape face each other as the component wrapping tape is conveyed, a cutting device that cuts each cutting portion of a carrier tape and the cover tape at a cutting position, and a control device that the conveyance device to position the carrier tape and the cover tape folded back by the folding-back member in a state of being overlapped on the cutting position, and controls the cutting device to cut the carrier tape and the cover tape.

Abstract: Dispensers for packaging solid unit dosage forms, e.g., tablets, are described herein, the dispensers employing a deformable elastomeric wiper seal between a cover and a base. The cover is linearly or rotatably slidable relative to the base to seal and/or expose the compartments of the base.

Abstract: A container or array of containers that is are sealed with a peelable seal is transported via a conveyor along a processing path toward a desealing station at which an adhesive surface having a width substantially the same as or greater than the width of the seal is pressed against the upper surface of the peelable seal. A collection rod applies a downward pressure on the adhesive surface, pressing it against the seal and keeping the container or container array in position on the conveyor as the plate moves with the conveyor. As the leading edge of the seal passes the collection rod, the adhesive surface is rolled upward, away from the plane of the seal, pulling up on the leading edge of the seal to separate it from the container or container array while the container or container array is held down by the roller. The removed seal is then discarded.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method, system and dispensing device for assisting a patient in complying with a medical regimen. The system includes an electronic dispensing device to be used by the patient which comprises a device to obtain information about the regimen. A device registers operation of the dispensing device by the patient taking the medicines. A warning device reminds a patient of the regimen. A medicine packing station packs the medicine within a package in portions to be taken according to the regimen. A database stores information about the regimen. A service center is provided to assist when necessary. A communication network is provided for communication between the dispensing device and the service center and/or between the service center and the patient.

Abstract: A wound dressing applicator (10) for applying hydrocolloid dressings, compositions for tissue regeneration and the like to a patient's skin. Known wound dressing applicators do not effectively protect against contamination of the wound dressing and/or can be fiddly and difficult to operate and be rendered unusable by unwanted premature separation of the various layers of material adhered to one another. The present applicator comprises a rigid body (20) having a rigid body enclosure (30) for receiving a wound dressing, and an ejector (40) for ejecting the wound dressing from the rigid body enclosure and onto a patient's wound. This enables effective and aseptic handling of a wound dressing and application of the wound dressing onto a patient's wound.

Abstract: A method for transferring an electronic component supported by a carrier to a desired position on a substrate include moving the carrier supporting the component relative to the substrate while the component is present on a side of the carrier facing towards the substrate, with the component is positioned opposite the desired position on the substrate. Then, a light beam is directed at the carrier, at the location of the component, from a side remote from the substrate, as a result of which a connection between the component and the carrier is broken and the component is transferred from the carrier to the substrate.

Abstract: Tamper evident devices and methods including devices that can be used with pill bottles and other packages to provide evidence of tampering by an unauthorized user are provided.

Abstract: Improved solid pharmaceutical dispensing systems and methods provide direct transfer of doses from bulk blister packaging material. In a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a positioning mechanism that alters the spacing between portions of a de-blister apparatus. The de-blister apparatus comprises a de-blister roller, cylinder or elongated cylindrical toothed gear which pushes against a first side of packaging material to remove individual doses from a conventional blister package. The apparatus may operate under manual or automatic control and preferably includes adjustable or movable package holding rollers which are preferably aligned with portions of packaging material between the rows of blister cavities at a side of the packaging material opposite the side at which the roller or cylinder is located.

Abstract: A spooled adhesive bandage dispenser includes a case, a replaceable cartridge and an activation wheel. The cartridge is disposed within the case and includes a bandage roll and a waste core. The bandage roll includes a strip of bandage packages sealed between two strips of packaging. The activation wheel is at least partially exposed outside the case. By rotating the activation wheel, the packaging strips are pulled apart and the bandage package is forced out of the case through a slot. At the same time, the packaging strips are wound around the waste core. When the bandage roll is gone, the entire cartridge may be replaced.

Abstract: A storage device for bottles with a neck, comprising at least one coupling member suitable for suspending the device beneath a shelf of a domestic refrigerator, and a hollow dispensing guide extending longitudinally from a rear end to a front end having a dispensing opening. The dispensing guide has a top face provided with the coupling member, a bottom face and a C-shaped cross section with an opening into the bottom face. The opening has a width suitable for allowing the narrowed portion of the neck of a bottle to slide freely and so that the longitudinal rims of the opening oriented toward the inside form bearing rails of a length more than twice the diameter of the widened portion of the neck of the bottle, on which this widened portion rests when the bottle is suspended.

Abstract: There is provided a medicament dispenser for use with a medicament carrier having a plurality of pockets for containing medicament wherein said pockets are spaced along the length of and defined between two peelable sheets secured to each other, said dispenser having an internal mechanism for accessing said medicament contained within said medicament carrier. The internal mechanism comprises a carrier drive means; indexing means and clutch means, in communication therebetween. The clutch means comprises a gearing surface defining plural gear engagement positions; and plural gear teeth for engaging said plural gear engagement positions. The plural gear teeth are arranged such that at any one time only a single gear tooth engages a single gear engagement position.

Abstract: A feeder for the surface mounting device is disclosed. The feeder includes a feeding unit being installed at one side of a main frame, having a plurality of armature coils and a circular permanent magnetic unit facing the plurality of armature coils to generate a rotation/reverse rotation force and carry a tape at a pitch interval and having a position sensing unit and a position detecting disk capable of sensing the position of the circular permanent magnetic unit, a vinyl separation unit carrying the vinyl removed from the tape by the rotation force or re-carrying the vinyl by the reverse rotation force, and a vinyl recovery unit recovering the vinyl by winding the same by the rotation force or discharging the vinyl by the reverse rotation force.

Abstract: The invention concerns a reliable, simple, economical and ergonomic dispensing machine requiring little maintenance, for example of bottled mineral water sold in pack or carboy, enabling a novel dispensing circuit to be set up which combines the practical aspect for the consumer by being closer to his residence with the ecological aspect for centralized recycling of empty packs, while promoting sales for water producers.

Abstract: Improved solid pharmaceutical dispensing systems and methods provide direct transfer of doses from bulk blister packaging material. In a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a positioning mechanism that alters the spacing between portions of a de-blister apparatus. The de-blister apparatus comprises a de-blister roller, cylinder or elongated cylindrical toothed gear which pushes against a first side of packaging material to remove individual doses from a conventional blister package. The apparatus may operate under manual or automatic control and preferably includes adjustable or movable package holding rollers which are preferably aligned with portions of packaging material between the rows of blister cavities at a side of the packaging material opposite the side at which the roller or cylinder is located.

Abstract: A device for dispensing individual plastic fasteners from a continuous supply of 0.1875 inch pitch ladder stock includes a head assembly that is designed to receive the supply of ladder stock, sever an individual fastener from the supply ladder stock and eject the individual fastener during a single stroke of its actuation cycle. The device also includes a stepper motor for driving the head assembly through its actuation cycle, a DC power switching supply for regulating the power supplied to the stepper motor from an AC input power source, and a controller for collecting historical data relating to usage of the device and for regulating operation of the stepper motor. The device further includes a switch for regulating the operation of the device between a single stroke or continuous stroke actuation cycle. The device additionally includes a switch for regulating the output speed of the stepper motor during its actuation cycle.

Abstract: The invention concerns a dispenser device for products arranged in or on a product carrier, in particular tablets or the like, including a holding receptacle for forming a holding chamber for the product carrier, and an actuating means for actuating the dispenser device, a safety element being associated with the actuating means for controlled actuation, which is distinguished in that the actuating means is a pivot lever which is simultaneously designed as a push-out element for pushing the products out of the product carrier. Further, the invention concerns a product carrier for holding products, in particular tablets or the like, which is distinguished in that the product carrier is individually designed such as to be structurally adaptable on the key and lock principle to a corresponding dispenser device. Further, the invention concerns a packaging unit with a product carrier and a dispenser device.

Abstract: A fastening system that enables a tab to be positioned around items to be joined, and a fastener to be passed through the tab and the items to be joined to fasten these. The invention relates to a fastening device for effecting the system, a magazine for storing and dispensing tabs and to the tabs.

Abstract: A device for dispensing an individual plastic fastener from a supply of fastener stock to couple together two or more objects. The supply of fastener stock includes a plurality of equidistantly spaced cross links which are coupled at one end to a continuous side rail. The fastener dispensing device includes a hollowed sharpened needle shaped to define a longitudinal bore and a feed mechanism for advancing the continuous side rail of the fastener stock into direct axial alignment behind the longitudinal bore of the hollowed needle.

Abstract: A novel feeder construction, and method of operation, that is easily interfaced to a variety of conventional pick-and-place machines and can readily and reliably feed components suspended from a carrier for pickup at a pickup location by the pick-and-place machine. In a preferred embodiment, the carrier with suspended components is fed in a line spaced laterally from the pickup location. The lead component when separated from the strip must then be moved laterally to the pickup location. By laterally spacing the carrier strip of components from the pickup location it is ensured that the feeder parts involved in separating the component from the carrier do not obstruct movement of the vacuum nozzle of the pick-and-place machine during the pickup operation and advancement of the carrier to present the next component.

Abstract: A tape-form packaging system for conveyance or dispensing of articles and apparatus for assembly and disassembly of the packaging system is disclosed. The packaging system includes elongated carrier and cover tapes disposed in superposed relationship with article retaining pockets formed in the carrier tape in spaced relationship along its longitudinal axis. Cooperative interconnecting components are formed in the two tapes intermediate adjacent pairs of pockets. The component in the carrier tape is a rectangular aperture having opposed ends extending longitudinally of the tape and the component formed with the cover tape is a projection of the same length as the aperture through which it is extended. A tab extends from a side of the projection into underlying, contacting relationship to the carrier tape thereby mechanically interlocking the tapes together in releasable engagement.

Abstract: The specification describes a method for dispensing IC chips from a chip carrier tape for a flip-chip assembly operation. In a conventional assembly operation, the solder bumped side of the chip is the top side of the chip as loaded on the tape, and is normally the side of the chip that engages the head of the pick tool. For flip-chip assembly it is necessary to invert the chip for solder bonding to an interconnect substrate. In the technique of the invention, the chip carrier tape is inverted and inserted into the dispensing machine upside down. The IC chips are then ejected through the back of the tape instead of being lifted from the from of the tape. In this way the pick tool head engages the back side of the solder bumped chip and the chip is in the proper orientation for flip-chip placement and bonding on the interconnect substrate. Carrier tapes designed for through-tape dispensing are also disclosed.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, and used in conjunction with various pick and place assembly machines for surface-mounting of the small components onto a printed circuit board or other assembly substrate. The apparatus has an interchangeable electronic feeder adaptable to various surface mount assembly machines and a set of height support adapters. The feeder has both a flip-chip and non flip-chip capabilities. The interchangeable electronic feeder further has a tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, an adjustable push-up tool assembly, and a flipping-converting assembly.

Abstract: Solid dosage forms of pharmaceuticals, e.g. tablets, may be removed from blister packs with a deblistering machine. The machine has a roller and a stationary plate. The roller has a longitudinal axis of rotation and means for rotating the roller about the axis. The roller has an inner core and a cover thereon with a non-slip surface. The stationary plate has at least as many slots as there are columns of blisters, and each of the slots has a width parallel to the rotational axis of the roller, the width of each slot being at least as large as the width of a blister. Each of the slots has a length transverse to the slot's width and is at least as large as the length of a blister. The plate is situated to provide a throat, between the cover and the plate, into which the blister pack may be fed and through which the blister pack may pass as a result of rotation of the roller. The plate has a guide to ensure that each column of blisters is aligned with corresponding slots.

Abstract: The specification describes a method for dispensing IC chips from a chip carrier tape for a flip-chip assembly operation. In a conventional assembly operation, the solder bumped side of the chip is the top side of the chip as loaded on the tape, and is normally the side of the chip that engages the head of the pick tool. For flip-chip assembly it is necessary to invert the chip for solder bonding to an interconnect substrate. In the technique of the invention, the chip carrier tape is inverted and inserted into the dispensing machine upside down. The IC chips are then ejected through the back of the tape instead of being lifted from the from of the tape. In this way the pick tool head engages the back side of the solder bumped chip and the chip is in the proper orientation for flip-chip placement and bonding on the interconnect substrate.

Abstract: A feeder for a pick and place machine used in connection with the mounting of small discrete parts such as electrical and mechanical components comprises a frame and mechanisms connected to the frame for advancing a carrier tape product from a supply reel. The carrier tape product preferably includes a pair of spaced apart continuous parallel carrier tapes having a series of longitudinally spaced parts with opposite sides molded over adjacent inner side edges of corresponding ones of the carrier tapes so that each part bridges the two carrier tapes. The feeder further comprises a separation station mounted to the frame for receiving the carrier tape from the supply reel.

Abstract: An apparatus for feeding a carrier tape with successive sprocket holes and indexed pockets for carrying small components, and used in conjunction with various pick and place assembly machines for surface-mounting of the small components onto a printed circuit board or other assembly substrate. The apparatus has an interchangeable electronic feeder adaptable to various surface mount assembly machines and a set of height support adapters. The feeder has both a flip-chip and non flip-chip capabilities. The interchangeable electronic feeder further has a tape guiding assembly, an indexing assembly, an adjustable push-up tool assembly, and a flipping-converting assembly.

Abstract: A component carrier assembly includes component holders each for holding a component therein and connected to one another in a form of a tape carrier. Each holder is provided with a cavity to accommodate the component, a closure for shutting an opening of the cavity, and a device for securing the lid structure in a closed position. An apparatus for feeding the component carrier includes a device for transferring the component carrier, a device for forcibly opening a closure of a component holder transferred to a predetermined position, and a device for forcibly closing the closure of the component holder after a component is removed from the cavity.

Abstract: A semiconductor accommodating device using an embossed tape and a method for inserting and taking out semiconductor devices, without using a top cover tape that had hitherto been used. The semiconductor accommodating device comprises a reel and an embossed tape wound on the reel. The embossed tape has a bottom wall for placing a semiconductor device thereon, two side walls upwardly extending from both side edges of the boom wall, and top walls having an opening. The side walls are formed such that the semiconductor device inserted through the opening is held by the side walls with the semiconductor device placed on the bottom wall.

Abstract: A dispenser apparatus having a guiding plate (59) and a cylindrical extension (74) with a groove (75), the cylindrical extension preferably being coupled to a cover (22) for enabling backwards movement of a disposable strip (34) in the apparatus prior to the separation of a disposable zone (Z1 to Z9) of the strip. The strip can be moved forward step-by-step, after it has been inserted into the apparatus, via a sliding button (23) which acts on a cursor (35) to which the strip (34) can be coupled and which can circulate into a passage (29) provided in the case (20) of the apparatus. The apparatus is particularly applicable to dispensing devices for objects such as medical tablets, and to blood sugar level measuring devices.

Abstract: An article packaging system for an automated article dispensing mechanism includes a plurality of clamshell-like containers attached together by side support rails. Each clamshell includes two semi-cylindrical halves pivotably mounted together and pivotable between open and closed positions. Resilient elongated bands bias the cylindrical halves in the direction of closure. When two adjacent pairs of rails are pivoted in one direction with respect to one another, the clamshells are maintained closed. Conversely, when two pairs of side support rails are pivoted in another direction with respect to one another, the cylindrical halves pivot with respect to one another to open a clamshell. The dispensing mechanism may be guided through the use of a sprocket or sprockets or, alternatively, side supports with guide slots receiving pins extending laterally from the side support rails may be employed.

Abstract: A feeder and method are disclosed for individually dispensing surface-mount contacts in a strip of tab-connected contacts on a pick-and-place machine having a pick-up member and pick-up station actuator for actuating the feeder when the pick-and-place machine is ready for pick-up surface-mount contact oriented along a predetermined direction at the pick-up station. The strip of contacts are fed from a roll or spool and the end received within a guide, with the strip being advanced to position the end contact or connector to be mounted suspended beyond the guide. When the component is ready to be mounted, it is sheared or severed at a connecting tab from the strip to free it. The component is temporarily held in place while the freed component is moved towards the vacuum pick-up nozzle of the pick-and-place machine, and released at such time that the pick-up member of vacuum nozzle has sufficiently engaged the contact to enable it to pick up the contact and remove it from the pick-up station.

Abstract: In an apparatus for mounting electronic components, punched out from film carriers to a substrate, there is disclosed an upper die for punching the electronic components through a hole formed in a lower die. A take out nozzle is located under the through hole for sucking the punched out electronic component from the hole in the lower die. A transfer nozzle is provided for receiving the electronic component from the take out nozzle and for transmitting the electronic component to a substrate mounted on a movable table. Before any leadwires of the component are bonded to the electrodes of the substrate, the table is finely positioned to property align the leadwires and the electrodes.

Abstract: A feeder and method are disclosed for individually dispensing surface-mount contacts in a strip of tab-connected contacts on a pick-and-place machine having a pick-up member and pick-up station actuator for actuating the feeder when the pick-and-place machine is ready for pick-up surface-mount contact oriented along a predetermined direction at the pick-up station. The strip of contacts are fed from a roll or spool and the end received within a guide, with the strip being advanced to position the end contact or connector to be mounted suspended beyond the guide. When the component is ready to be mounted, it is sheared or severed at a connecting tab from the strip to free it. The component is temporarily held in place while the freed component is moved towards the vacuum pick-up nozzle of the pick-and-place machine, and released at such time that the pick-up member of vacuum nozzle has sufficiently engaged the contact to enable it to pick up the contact and remove it from the pick-up station.

Abstract: An automatic food dispenser comprises an arrangement for feeding a chain of packages containing portions of food, an arrangement for opening said packages, a receptacle, a heating arrangement associated with the receptacle and an evacuation mechanism. It can be used for automatic dispensing of french fries.

Abstract: Assembly tool for detaching and applying components lined up continuously and attached to a belt or tape at an assembly position in which one component after the other is successively separated from the tape and ejected, in which the tape is placed over an encircling continuous conveyor belt which positively engages the tape and entrains it with the advance of the conveyor belt, the conveyor passing together with the equipped tape through a driving-in region for gripping the tape prior to the assembly position and a driving-out region for carrying off the remaining tape after the assembly position and being deflected round the assembly position substantially in the form of a V at the assembly position.

Abstract: A screw gun has a flat planar work face adapted to be placed flat against the work. An activator extending from the work face advances a screw along a guideway from a magazine to a driving position. A power unit is independently activated to drive the screw into the work. The screws in the magazine and guideway are mounted upon a flexible strip which has a body at the screw. The body has knobs extending on either side which fit within a groove of the guideway. The strip with the screws therein form a "Z" fold within the magazine and are guided from the magazine by a feed section which has one concave side and one convex side.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatically taping electronic components arranged such that when a timing belt retaining lead terminals of electronic components in its retainer grooves is engaged with a toothed pulley of a first rotary drum, the lead terminals are lifted to be transferred from the timing belt to the first rotary drum. The electronic components are transferred from the first drum to a third rotary drum via a second rotary drum being retained by their retainer teeth. A base tape is fed to the periphery of the third rotary drum and an adhesive tape is applied on the base tape, thereby fixing the lead terminals.

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.

Abstract: An apparatus for inverting and handling integrated circuit dice employs rotating apparatus for rotating a chip carrier by 180 degrees to invert and transfer dice from one set of receptacles to another; together with an apparatus for precisely aligning dice resting at random positions within a set of oversized receptacles.

Abstract: A die ejector chuck is provided with a central housing and an outer housing and the central housing is provided with a die eject collar which extends through an aperture in the outer housing. A preselected die on a flexible adhesive tape is positioned over the die eject collar and a source of vacuum is applied to apertures in the outer housing. The outer housing is moved upward and away from the central die eject collar so as to stretch the flexible adhesive tape supporting the preselected die. The adhesive tape is pre-peeled and pulled away from the preselected die which subsequently is further separated from the adhesive tape by a die eject pin to permit the preselected die to be picked up with a die collet acting with a light pulling force on the active surface of the preselected die.

Abstract: A component supply tape is stepped to present each pocket at a component pick-up area, and a top cover of the tape is peeled back so that each pocket is opened in turn. A shutter is positioned over the pick-up area prior to tape movement so that the pocket is covered by the shutter as the top cover is peeled from the substrate. After each indexing step, the shutter is actuated to uncover the opened pocket which is situated at the pick-up area for retrieval by the vacuum nozzle of a pick-and-place head. By the improved method and apparatus of the instant invention, the pick and place head is provided with a finger for opening the shutter of the feeder while the vacuum nozzle is advanced along a normal to the pick-up surface of the component, so as to minimize the period of time that the component is uncovered.

Abstract: The invention provides a portable and positionally insensitive dispensing device and system for dispensing several types of articles, packaged on strips and loaded into separate cartridges, from a single device. Dispensing is controlled from more than one cartridge by means of special clutch mechanisms acting on a common drive shaft. The dispensing device has a control system that is capable of coordinating the dispensing operations of all the cartridge stations. A host computer system permits efficient definition of dispensing schedules and control options for each cartridge station, loads those dispensing parameters into the dispensing device control system, unloads dispensing data from the dispensing device at the end of a dispensing period, and analyzes the degree of compliance of the actual dispensing operations to the dispensing schedule.

Abstract: A method of taking an electronic component or chip out of each of plural pockets which are formed at regular intervals along a longitudinal direction of a carrier tape and which have openings in the upper surface of the tape, through vacuum suction of a suction member, while the tape is intermittently fed in a feeding direction parallel to its longitudinal direction, including the steps of: (a) bringing the pockets having the chips, into a position where their openings are covered with a covering device having a notch with a width narrower than that of the chip and wider than that of the suction member; (b) feeding the tape by the regular interval in the feeding direction, and permitting a leading chip of the chips covered with the covering device to be brought into a suction position where the leading chip is right below the suction member and the notch; (c) lowering the suction member through the notch so as to allow the suction member to suck and hold the leading chip; (d) retracting the covering device wh

Abstract: A dosage sealing, monitoring and dispensing assembly including a mounting receptacle and one or more cartridges removably connected to the receptacle. Each cartridge has sealed therewithin a fresh, supply of dosage units (e.g. medicine or vitamins) carried in moisture impervious shells on a flexible, segmented strip. The strip contains a predetermined number of dosage units to be consumed by the user over a particular duration. Each cartridge also has mechanical linkage by which a dosage unit can be automatically removed from its shell on the strip and delivered to the user by way of a trough formed in the mounting receptacle. When the supply of dosage units within a cartridge is exhausted, that cartridge may be conveniently removed from the mounting receptacle and replaced by another cartridge having a new supply of the same or different ingredients.

Abstract: Apparatus and process are disclosed for removing a single flexible member from a storage spool capable of holding multiple flexible members. This storage spool is designed to contain multiple elongated flexible members in an accurate position on the spool by means of radial channels or slots where the flexible members are held in place by interwinding material. By removing the interwinding material on a take up spool the individual flexible member can be positioned for removal from the storage spool by a pick up head or vacuum transport member. The invention has particular applicability to the handling of test devices, such as reagent strips, used in the determination of a biological constituent in a body fluid.

Abstract: An apparatus for removing segments of a wafer adhering to an upper surface of a flat flexible carrier. The apparatus comprises a base supporting a separator plate disposed between a cassette-type conveyor and a support plate. The separator plate has a separator edge spaced apart from the conveyor to form a narrow gap. A take-up drum is rotatably mounted within the base and has a clamping member capable of gripping the leading edge of the flexible carrier. When the take-up drum is rotated by a powering mechanism the carrier is drawn along the support surface and into the narrow gap between the separator plate and conveyor. The carrier is framed to ensure that the carrier maintains its configuration during operation of the apparatus. The powering mechanism that rotates the take-up drum simultaneously actuates the conveyor. Thus, as the carrier is drawn into the narrow gap the segments of the wafer and the frame are peeled from the carrier and deposited onto the conveyor.

Abstract: A tag attacher for inserting tag fasteners into articles such as clothing or the like has a very simplified fastener advancing and positioning mechanism consisting entirely of a gear, a stopper adapted to permit unidirectional gear rotation and a one-piece gear advancer. The gear advancer which is operably connected to a main actuating lever of the tag attacher is V-shaped and includes a pin at the base of the V for making a hinged connection to the main lever, a pawl extending from the pin to the gear and a resilient arm which biases the pawl against the gear. The main lever also operates a sliding lever supporting a driving rod adapted for back and forth reciprocating movement. The driving rod pushes a lateral bar of the tag fasteners through a needle of the tag attacher into the article to be tagged.

Abstract: A device for feeding electronic components packed in tape to a pick-up position, comprising a housing with a holder or a supply reel, a feeding and locking mechanism, an ejection mechanism, and a wind-up mechanism, which mechanisms are united with the housing into a cassette unit.

Abstract: An automatic mounting apparatus mounts chip-type electronic components on a printed circuit board. A plurality of chip-type electronic components are held at nearly equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of a tape, and this tape is drawn out from a tape reel to a feedout unit accommodated in a reel cassette together with the tape reel. The chip-type components are picked up one by one in sequence from the tape at the position of the feedout unit by a vacuum chuck, being placed on a predetermined position on the printed circuit board by this vacuum chuck. In the vicinity of the end of the tape holding the chip-type electronic components, a residual quantity indicator capable of mechanical detection is formed. When this residual quantity indicator is detected, the controller drives an alarm device such as, for example, a buzzer or a light emitter to inform that the chip-type electronic components on the tape will soon run out.