Battery plate feeder having oscillating pick-up head
US6030171A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 8, 1999 |
| Grant date | Feb 29, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 8, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB65H2557/51
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A plate feed apparatus has a cylindrical pick-up head having a predetermined number of pick-up units spaced about its periphery. The pick-up head is attached to and rotates with a first shaft at a first rotational speed. A feed mechanism places the uppermost plate in a stack of plates a nominal distance from the periphery of the pick-up head each time a plate is removed from the stack. A vacuum device is selectively coupled to each pick-up unit as it passes over the stack to pull the outermost plate away from the stack and into contact with the pick-up unit. A second shaft has a cylindrical bore which rotatably journals the first shaft and is offset from the centerline of the second shaft. The second shaft is rotated counter to the first shaft at a speed which is a multiple of the speed of the first shaft equal to the number of pick-up units. This causes the speed of the pick-up unit to be slower and its distance from the uppermost plate in the stack less each time a pick-up unit picks up a plate. The feed mechanism has fingers which are inserted under the stack of plates before the stack becomes depleted to keep advancing the stack as plates are removed and allow the feed mechanis…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.