Robotic kitting

Claim 1

A robotic kitting apparatus for assembling electronic parts in kits comprising: a conveyor, said conveyor including a belt having a plurality of parts bags containing electronic parts placed on said belt, each of said parts bags having attached thereon an allocation tag with information thereon; means for reading said information contained on said allocation tag, said means for reading being located approximate to said conveyor belt for reading said allocation tag information; a computer, said computer being adapted to receive said allocation tag information from said means for reading, said computer programmed to control the robotic kitting apparatus; a plurality of kit boxes, each of said kit boxes sequentially arranged in a plurality of rows perpendicular to said conveyor belt, a single means for reading being positioned before said, plurality of rows; a plurality of means for kitting said parts bags on said conveyor belt, a number of said means for kitting being equal to the rows of kit boxes, said means for kitting being positioned downstream from said means for reading, said means for kitting transporting a selected parts bag to a designated kit box for depositing therein, one means for kitting operating on a single row of kit boxes, each of said means for kitting comprising: a claw machine that releasably engages said selected parts bag identified by said means for reading a drive belt attached to said claw machine for moving said claw machine over said designated kit box; a track, said track providing a surface upon which said claw machine translates over said kit boxes; and means for determining when to release said selected parts bag.