Filament transfer apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING A FILAMENT FROM A FILAMENT PICK-UP POSITION ON A FILAMENT FEEDING DEVICE TO A FILAMENT RECEIVING POSITION ON A FILAMENT MOUNTING MACHINE, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: (A) A TURRET MOVABLE WITH BOTH A ROTATING MOTION AND A RECIPROCATING MOTION; (B) FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS CARRIED ON SAID TURRET TO RECEIVE AND SECURE A FILAMENT BEFORE TRANSFER AND TO CARRY THE FILAMENT DURING TRANSFER, AND ALSO TO RELEASE THE FILAMENT AFTER TRANSFER; (C) DRIVE MEANS FOR RECIPROCABLY MOVING SAID TURRET AND SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS INTO PREDETERMINED POSITION ADJACENT TO SAID PICK-UP POSITION; (D) SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS THEN OPERABLE TO RECEIVE AND SECURE A FILAMENT; (E) SAID DRIVE MEANS THEN RECIPROCABLY MOVING SAID TURRET AND SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS AND THE FILAMENT CARRIED THEREBY A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE AWAY FROM SAID PICK-UP POSITION; (F) INDEXING MEANS OPERABLE TO ROTATE SAID TURRET TO MOVE SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS AND THE FILAMENT CARRIED THEREBY TO A POSITION PROXIMATE TO SAID RECEIVING POSITION ON SAID MOUNTING MACHINE, WITH THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID TURRET BEING GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF RECIPROCATION OF SAID TURRET AS MOVED BY SAID DRIVE MEANS; (G) SAID DRIVE MEANS THEN OPERABLE TO RECIPROCATE SAID TURRET AND SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS AND THE FILAMENT CARRIED THEREBY INTO PREDETERMINED POSITION ADJACENT TO SAID RECEIVING POSITION ON SAID MOUNTING MACHINE; (H) SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS THEN OPEABLE TO RELEASE THE FILAMENT CARRIED THEREBY TO SAID MOUNTING MACHINE; (I) SAID DRIVE MEANS THEREAFTER OPERABLE TO RECIPROCABLY MOVE SAID TURRET AND SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS AWAY FROM SAID MOUNTING MACHINE; AND (J) ACTUATING MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID TURRET, SAID FILAMENT SUPPORTING MEANS, SAID DRIVE MEANS, AND SAID INDEXING MEANS IN THE FOREGOING FILAMENT TRANSFER SEQUENCE.