Machine tool loading and transfer mechanism

Claim 1

A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A CYCLICALLY OPERABLE UNITARY CONVEYOR MECHANISM ASSEMBLY ARRANGED TO TRANSFER A SERIES OF SIMILAR WORK PIECES FROM AN INPUT STATION THROUGH A SERIES OF SPACED INTERMEDIATE STATIONS TO AN OUTPUT STATION FOR DELIVERY OF WORK PIECES TO AND REMOVAL OF WORK PIECES FROM SELECTED STATIONS SERVING SELECTED UNITS OF A PLURALITY OF WORK PIECE TRANSFER MEANS, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF FIRST SENSING MEANS RESPECTIVELY OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO THE DEPOSIT OF WORK PIECES AT THE RESPECTIVE SELECTED STATIONS BY EACH OF A PLURALITY OF WORK PIECE TRANSFER MEANS, A PLURALITY OF GAGING MEANS EACH OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO OPERATION OF ONE OF SAID FIRST SENSING MEANS TO CHECK A WORK PIECE DEPOSITED AT A SELECTED STATION BY ONE OF A PLURALITY OF WORK PIECE TRANSFER MEANS, A FIRST CONTROL MEANS RESPONSIVE TO PREDETERMINED SIGNALS FROM ALL OF SAID GAGING MEANS FOR READYING A CONVEYOR MECHANISM ASSEMBLY FOR A CYCLE OF OPERATION, A SECOND CONTROL MEANS OPERABLE AFTER SAID FIRST CONTROL MEANS HAS OPERATED TO INITIATE AND TERMINATE A CYCLE OF OPERATION OF A CONVEYOR MECHANISM ASSEMBLY, A PLURALITY OF SECOND SENSING MEANS RESPECTIVELY DISPOSED ADJACENT TO SAID SELECTED STATIONS OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO THE ABSENCE OF A WORK PIECE AT EACH OF THE RESPECTIVE SELECTED STATIONS SERVING A PLURALITY OF WORK PIECE TRANSFER MEANS TO PRECLUDE SUBSEQUENT OPERATION OF THE WORK PIECE TRANSFER MEANS SERVED THEREBY, AND A PLURALITY OF SELECTIVELY OPERABLE BY-PASS MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH THE RESPECTIVE PORTIONS OF SAID CONTROL SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF A PLURALITY OF WORK PIECE TRANSFER MECHANISM OPERABLE TO BY-PASS SAID FIRST SENSING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RESPECTIVE SELECTED STATIONS OF A CONVEYOR MECHANISM ASSEMBLY, AND THEREBY THE GAGING MEANS RESPONSIVE THERETO, WHEREBY A CONVEYOR MECHANISM ASSEMBLY RESPONSIVE TO SAID CONTROL SYSTEM MAY BE MAINTAINED OPERABLE WHEN AT LEAST ONE OF A PLURALITY OF WORK PIECE TRANSFER MEANS ASSOCIATED THEREWITH IS INACTIVATED.