4472783 Flexible manufacturing system

Rob~ics & Compuw~lnwgmwd Manufacturin~ V ~ . 2. No. 1. pp. i-ix, 1985. Primed m ~ e U ~ . A . All r ~ s

0736 584~85 $3.00 + 0.00 P e ~ a m o n Press Ltd.

reserved.

NEW P A T E N T S This Section cont~ns abstrac~ and, where appropriat~ fllus~ations of recently ~sued United States pa~n~ and published patent applications filed ~om over 30 countrie~ under the Parent Cooperation Treaty. This information was obt~ned ~om recent additions to the Pergamon PATSEARCH ® onfine database in accordance with in~re~ profits devdoped by the Editor. Fu~her information about Pergamon PATSEARCH ~ can be obt~ned ~om Pergamon InfoLine Inc., 1340 Old C h i n Bridge Road, McLean, Vir~nia 22101 U.S.A. Co~es of ~ m ~ e p a l m s a n n o u ~ in t~s ~cfion ~ e ~ a N e from P ~ m o n ~ P~mem ~ o~er is ~ q ~ d . O ~ s o~ts~e Noah Ameri~ add ~ ~ r ~r p ~ g ~ ~r P~mon ~ only.

4472783 FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM R ~ h a r d J o h n ~ o n ~ Jody K u ~ z h M ~ asfigned to Kearney & Trecker Corporation

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m a c ~ n e tool, and execution of a se~cted one of the sets of m a c ~ n e NC p a ~ programs by the m a c ~ n e control sys~m in accordance with the program map. During i n t e r v ~ when the ~upe~ ~sory control computer sys~m is inoperative, continued fle~b~ m a n u ~ u f i n g sys~m operation can be m~ntained by operating the ma~rial handhng sys~m condoner in ~ m i - a u t o m ~ or m a n u ~ mode.

4475678 ROLL FEED APPARATUS ~,~

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An improved fle~b~ manufacturing sys~m comprises a plurality of c o m p u ~ r n u m e r i c ~ controlled machine tools, each control~d by a machine control sy~em which is supphed with a plur~ity of sets of machine NC pa~ programs and a program map ~ o m a supervisory control c o m p u ~ r sys~m. Each of the machine tools is located about the perimeter of a track wh~h ca~ ries a plurality of pallet-carrying transporters, each m o ~ n g under the con~ol o f a matefi~ handling sys~m controHe~ The super~sory control c o m p u ~ r sys~m, coupled to the control sys~m of each machine tool and to the materi~ handling sys~m c o n ~ o l ~ is p r o d d e d with input data ind~ative of production requirements, materi~ resources and sys~m status, that is to say, the type of part carr~ng p~let carried by each ~ a n s p o ~ e ~ In accordance with the input data suppfied thereto, the supervisory control c o m p u ~ r sys~m supphes routing information to the materi~ handfing sys~m contro~er wh~h, in response, initiates movement of a ~ a n s p o ~ e r to a machine tool, shuttling of the part carr~ng pallet ~ o m the transporter to the

H ~ z a b u r o u Katoh, Tokyo, Japan asfigned to Sankyo Manufacturing Company Ltd 9

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A roll feed apparatus suited for use in automatic manufacturing machines, in feeding a sheebfike material intermittently. The apparatus comprises a main sector roll and a sub-sector roll adapted tQ cooperate with each other in damping therebetween the sheeblike material and in feeding the same. The main sector roll and the sub-sector roll are operatively connected to each other through sector gears. The main sector roll is operatively connected to a rocker shaft which