Machines for mounting electrical components on base members

Claim 1

A MACHINE OF THE KIND DESIGNED TO MOUNT ON BASE MEMBERS ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS EACH HAVING A BODY FROM WHICH A PAIR OF WIRE LEADS PROJECT IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS: SAID MACHINE INCLUDING, AN INSERTION HEAD COMPRISING TWO BENDING MECHANISMS RESPECTIVELY OPERABLE TO BEND THE TWO LEADS OF AN ELECTRICAL COMPONENT SO THAT THE ENDS OF THE LEADS ARE POINTED TOWARDS A BASE MEMBER ON WHICH THE COMPONENT IS TO BE MOUNTED, A RECIPROCABLE FORCING MECHANISM FOR MOVING A COMPONENT TOWARDS THE BASE MEMBER AFTER ITS LEADS HAVE BEEN BENT, AND AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLABLE MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE SPACING APART OF THE TWO BENDING MECHANISMS IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF RECIPROCATION OF THE FORCING MECHANISM; MEANS FOR FEEDING A SERIES OF COMPONENTS, AT LEAST SOME OF WHICH HAVE BODIES OF CONSIDERABLY DIFFERENT LENGTHS, ONE AT A TIME IN A PRESELECTED SEQUENCE TO THE INSERTION HEAD; AND MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF SAID ADJUSTING MEANS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID SEQUENCE SO AS TO ENABLE THE INSERTION HEAD TO MOUNT SAID SEQUENCE OF COMPONENTS IN TURN ON A BASE MEMBER, SAID MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF THE ADJUSTING MEANS INCLUDING A ROTATABLE SUPPORT SYSTEM HAVING A NUMBER OF PINS SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SYSTEM AT VARYING DISTANCES FROM THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID SYSTEM, A MOVABLE MEMBER DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID SYSTEM AND ADAPTED TO ACTUATE SAID ADJUSTING MEANS, MEANS FOR MOVING A PRE-SELECTED ONE OF SAID PINS INTO AN ACTUATING POSITION SUCH THAT SUBSEQUENT ROTATION OF SAID SYSTEM CAUSES SAID ONE OF SAID PINS TO ENGAGE WITH AND MOVE SAID MOVABLE MEMBER BY SUCH AN AMOUNT AS TO SET THE SPACING APART OF THE TWO BENDING MECHANISMS TO AN APPROPRIATE VALUE, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SYSTEM DURING EACH CYCLE OF OPERATION OF THE MACHINE BY SUCH AN AMOUNT AS TO CAUSE SAID ONE OF SAID PINS TO BRING ABOUT THE APPROPRIATE SETTING OF THE SPACING APART OF THE BENDING MECHANISMS, AND MEANS FOR RETURNING SAID ONE OF SAID PINS TO ITS NORMAL POSITION AFTER THE SPACING APART OF THE TWO BENDING MECHANISMS HAS BEEN SET TO SAID APPROPRIATE VALUE.