Soldering apparatus

Claim 2

An automatic soldering machine having a plurality of processing stations, at least one of said stations comprising a soldering station including means for applying molten solder to articles being processed on said machine, said machine comprising a pair of cooperating conveyor chain assemblies mounted on opposite sides of said stations for holding said articles being processed on said machine, means for moving at least one of said conveyor chain assemblies for adjusting the distance between said conveyor chain assemblies to accommodate articles of different sizes, and means for controlling the power provided to at least one of said stations as a function of the size of the articles being processed.

Claim 3

The automatic soldering machines of claim 1 and masking means integral to at least an associated one of said plurality of stations for covering those portions of the associated station which is not being utilized because of the size of the articles being processed.

Claim 4

The automatic soldering machine of claim 2 wherein said stations are serially arranged on a table section of said machine, and wherein said means for moving said at least one of said conveyor chain assemblies comprises threaded rod means extending transverse to and below said table section, , adjustable wheel means fixedly attached to said threaded rod means whereby turning said adjustable wheel means causes said threaded rod means to turn, carrier means threaded onto said threaded rod so that said carrier means is moved transverse to said table section when said threaded rod is turned, and means for attaching said movable conveyor chain assembly to said carrier means to move with said carrier means.

Claim 5

The automatic soldering machine of claim 3 wherein means are provided for transferring power to said movable conveyor means, said last-named means comprising drive shaft means positioned parallel to and spaced apart from said threaded rod, drive-gear means mounted on said drive shaft to rotate with said drive shaft but capable of sliding along said drive shaft, positioning bracket means mounted to said movable conveyor assembly for moving said drive gear to keep said drive gear positioned relative to said movable one of said conveyor chain assembly means, and driven-gear means on said movable conveyor means driven by said drive gear when positioned relative to movable one of said conveyor chain assembly means to drive said movable one of said conveyor chain assembly means.

Claim 6

The automatic soldering machine of claim 4 wherein said power controlling means includes switch means foe controlling the power provided to selected ones of said stations, and means for mounting said switch means to be operated by said movable conveyor assembly when moved to preselected positions.

Claim 7

The automatic soldering machine of claim 5 wherein said stations comprise a solder-fluxing station, said soldering station and a preheating therebetween, said preheating station comprising a plurality of heating coils, said heating coils being selectively energized by said switch means, and said heating station further comprising means for forcing heated air along the route of said articles conveyed by said conveyor chain assemblies.

Claim 8

An automatically adjustable soldering machine for use in soldering components to printed circuit boards, or the like, said machine comprising a multiprocessing station table section having at least a molten-solder-bath-processing station thereon, first and second conveyor assemblies mounted on opposite sides of said stations for transporting substantially flat panels having any one of a plurality of widths past said stations, at least one of said conveyor assemblies being adjustably movable to fit said any one of a plurality of widths, and masking means integral with said movable assembly and located in at least one of said processing stations for covering portions of said one of said stations responsive to the movement of said assembly.

Claim 9

An automatically adjustable soldering machine for use in soldering components to printed circuit boards, or the like, said machine comprising a multiprocessing station table section having at least a molten-solder-bath-processing station thereon, first and second conveyor assemblies mounted on opposite sides of said stations for transporting substantially flat panels having any one of a plurality of widths past said stations, at least one of said conveyor assemblies being adjustably movable to fit said any one of a plurality of widths, and masking means integral with said movable assembly and located in at least one of said processing stations for covering portions of said one of said stations responsive to the movement of said assembly.

Claim 10

The automatic soldering machine of claim 7 wherein said soldering station comprises solder orifice means enabling said molten solder to be raised to contact said boards, a pair of oppositely disposed walls defining said orifice means, said masking means comprising sliding-plate means shaped to cooperate with said walls for slidingly covering selected portions of said solder orifice, and front-plate means attached to said sliding-plate means to complete the masking of said solder-orifice means.

Claim 11

An automatic soldering machine for use in soldering components to printed circuit boards, or the like, said machine comprising a table section having thereon a plurality of processing stations including a molten-solder-bath-processing station, first and second conveyor assemblies mounted on opposite sides of said stations to support and move said printed circuit boards, masking means integral to at least one of said processing stations for covering portions of said one of said stations, a fluxing station included among said stations, said fluxing station comprising flux-orifice means for enabling flux to be raised to contact said boards, a pair of oppositely disposed walls defining said flux-orifice means, said masking means comprising automatically movable sliding-plate means shaped to cooperate with said walls for slidingly covering selected portions of said flux orifice, and front-plate means attached to said sliding-plate means to complete the masking of said flux-orifice means.

Claim 12

An automatic soldering machine for use in soldering components to printed circuit boards, or the like, said machine comprising a table section having thereon a plurality of processing stations including a molten-solder-bath-processing station, first and second conveyor assemblies mounted on opposite sides of said stations to support and move said printed circuit boards, masking means integral to at least one of said processing stations for covering portions of said one of said stations, a fluxing station included among said stations, said fluxing station comprising flux-orifice means for enabling flux to be raised to contact said boards, a pair of oppositely disposed walls defining said flux-orifice means, said masking means comprising automatically movable sliding-plate means shaped to cooperate with said walls for slidingly covering selected portions of said flux orifice, and front-plate means attached to said sliding-plate means to complete the masking of said flux-orifice means.

Claim 13

An automatic soldering machine for use in soldering components to printed circuit boards, or the like, said machine comprising a table section having thereon a plurality of processing stations including a molten-solder-bath-processing station, pivot and conveyor assemblies mounted on opposite sides of said stations, said first conveyor assembly being movable, masking means integral to at least one of said processing stations for covering portions of said one of said stations, and , means for moving said masking means responsive to the movement of said movable conveyor assembly.

Claim 14

An automatic soldering machine for use in soldering components to printed circuit boards, or the like, said machine comprising a table section having thereon a plurality of processing stations including a molten-solder-bath-processing station, pivot and conveyor assemblies mounted on opposite sides of said stations, said first conveyor assembly being movable, masking means integral to at least one of said processing stations for covering portions of said one of said stations, and , means for moving said masking means responsive to the movement of said movable conveyor assembly.

Claim 15

The automatic soldering machine of claim 10 wherein switch means are provided for controlling the power provided to at least some of said stations, and means for operating said switch means responsive to the movement of said movable conveyor means to certain preselected position.

Claim 16

The automatic soldering machine of Claim 11 wherein said processing stations comprise a solder fluxing station, a soldering station and a preheating station therebetween, said preheating station comprising a plurality of heating coils, said heating coils being selectively energized by said switch means, and said heating station further comprising means for forcing heated air along the route of the printed circuit boards, or the like, conveyed by said conveyor assemblies.