Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-12
2001-12-11
Martin-Wallace, Valencia (Department: 3713)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
C029S830000, C029S831000, C029S842000, C029S846000, C029S839000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06327776
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for mounting circuit components (“CCs”) on a circuit substrate (“CS”).
2. Related Art Statement
FIG. 14
shows a known CC mounting system
500
including a CS supporting device
512
which supports a CS
520
,
521
; a CC mounting device (not shown) which mounts, at a CC mounting position, CCs on the CS
520
,
521
supported by the CS supporting device
512
; a CS carry-in device
514
which carries in the CS
520
,
521
and transfers the CS
520
,
521
to the CS supporting device
512
; and a CS carry-out device
516
which receives, from the CS supporting device
512
, the CS
520
,
521
on which the CCs have been mounted, and carries out the CS
520
,
521
. The CS carry-in and carry-out devices
514
,
516
are provided along a CS carrying route on which the CS
520
,
521
is carried, and the CC mounting device is provided at the CC mounting position offset from the CS carrying route. The CC supporting device
512
includes a main holding device
518
which holds the CS
520
,
521
, and a main-holding-device moving device which moves the main holding device
518
horizontally and vertically. Thus, the CS
520
,
521
held by the main holding portion
518
is horizontally moved between the CC mounting position where the CCs are mounted on the CS
520
,
521
by the CC mounting device and a CS transferring position where the CS
520
,
521
is transferred from the CS carry-in device
514
and to the CS supporting device
512
, and is transferred from the CS supporting device
512
to the CS carry-out device
516
, and where the CS
520
,
521
is vertically moved between a movement height position where the CS
520
,
521
is moved for the CCs to be mounted thereon and a transferring height position where the CS
520
,
521
is transferred between the CS supporting device
512
and the CS carry-in and carry-out devices
514
,
516
.
In the first step shown in
FIG. 14
, the CS
520
is carried in by the CS carry-in device
514
; and, in the second step, the CS
520
is transferred to, and held by, the main holding device
518
being positioned at the CS transferring position and the transferring height position, while the CS
520
is moved in a direction (i.e., horizontal direction) substantially parallel to the plane of the CS
520
. In the third step, the main holding device
518
holding the CS
520
is lowered to the movement height position and then is horizontally moved to the CC mounting position where the CCs are mounted on the CS
520
. In the second step, the CS
521
on which the CCs have been mounted is transferred, at the CS transferring position and the transferring height position, to the CS carry-out device
516
, while the CS
521
is moved in the horizontal direction. Thus, the CS
520
is transferred from the CS carry-in device
514
to the CS supporting device
512
, while the CS
521
is concurrently transferred from the CS supporting device
512
to the CS carry-out device
516
. This CS transferring operation (i.e., the transferring of the CS
520
onto the CS supporting device
512
and the transferring of the CS
521
from the same
512
) needs a long time of about 5 seconds, as illustrated in FIG.
15
. In particular, it is difficult to accelerate the transferring of the CS
521
from the CS supporting device
512
to the CS carry-out device
516
. Meanwhile, if the acceleration and/or deceleration of movement of the CS
521
are/is increased to solve this problem, the CCs mounted on the CS
521
might move because the CCs have only temporarily been fixed to the CS
521
with solder paste or uncured adhesive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a circuit component mounting system which enjoys improved operation efficiency.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a circuit component mounting method which enjoys improved operation efficiency.
The present invention provides a circuit component mounting system and a circuit component mounting method which have one or more of the technical features which are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (44). Any technical feature which includes another technical feature shall do so by referring, at the beginning, to the parenthesized sequential number given to that technical feature. Thus, two or more of the following technical features may be combined, if appropriate. Each technical feature may be accompanied by a supplemental explanation, as needed.
(1) According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided a system for mounting circuit components on a circuit substrate, comprising a circuit-substrate supporting device which supports the circuit substrate; a circuit-component mounting device which mounts, at a circuit-component mounting position, the circuit components on the circuit substrate supported by the circuit-substrate supporting device; and a circuit-substrate carry-out device which receives, from the circuit-substrate supporting device, the circuit substrate with the circuit components being mounted thereon, and carries out the received circuit substrate, wherein the circuit substrate is transferred from the circuit-substrate supporting device to the circuit-substrate carry-out device in a first direction substantially perpendicular to a plane of the circuit substrate. In the present CC (circuit component) mounting system, the transferring, i.e., removing of the CS (circuit substrate) from the CS supporting device to the CS carry-out device is done in the first direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the CS, that is, in the direction of thickness of the CS. Accordingly, the present system can remove the CS in a time shorter than in the case where the CS would be removed in a parallel direction parallel to the plane of the CS. If the removing of the CS from the CS supporting device is done in the first direction, the CS may be mounted on the CS supporting device by being moved in the parallel direction, because the overall time needed for mounting and removing the CS can be reduced. If the time needed for removing a CS is reduced in a CC mounting system of a type in which the mounting of the CS and the removing of the CS are done at different times, it is natural that the overall time needed for mounting and removing the CS should be reduced. In addition, if the time needed for removing a CS is reduced in a CC mounting system of another type, like the prior CC mounting system shown in
FIG. 14
, in which the removing of the CS and the mounting of another CS are done concurrently, the time needed for mounting the second CS can be reduced because the second CS can be moved in the parallel direction at a higher speed for being mounted on the CS supporting device. In either case, the present CC mounting system can reduce the time during which the CS supporting device is involved in receiving and transferring the CS, which leads to increasing the ratio of the time during which the CS supporting device is involved in the mounting of the CCs on the CS, to the entire operation time of the CS supporting device. Thus, the present CC mounting system can enjoy improved operation efficiency.
(2) According to a second feature of the present invention which includes the first feature (1), the circuit-substrate carry-out device comprises a removing device which removes, from the circuit-substrate supporting device, the circuit substrate with the circuit components being mounted thereon, at a circuit-substrate removing position, in the first direction; and a parallel-direction carry-out device which receives the circuit substrate removed by the removing device, and carries out the received circuit substrate by moving the received circuit substrate in a parallel direction substantially parallel to the plane of the circuit substrate. The removing of the CS and the parallel-direction movement of the CS may be done by a single device. However, in the case wher
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Martin-Wallace Valencia
Nguyen Binh-An D.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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