Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-26
2002-04-30
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
C198S369100, C198S346200, C198S447000, C198S817000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06378198
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for performing an operation related to a circuit substrate such as a printed circuit board, for example, mounting circuit components such as electric-circuit or electronic-circuit components on the circuit substrate, or applying an adhesive to the circuits substrate.
2. Related Art Statement
There is known a circuit-substrate-related-operation performing system which includes a conveyor for conveying a circuit substrate (“CS”) and positioning and supporting the CS, and an operation performing device for performing an operation related to the CS positioned and supported by the conveyor. For example, there is known a system of this sort which includes (a) a main conveyor which conveys a CS and positions and supports the CS, (b) an operation performing device which performs an operation for the CS positioned and supported by the conveyor, (c) a carry-in conveyor which conveys the CS toward the main conveyor and hands over it thereto, and (d) a carry-out conveyor which receives the CS from the main conveyor and conveys it away from therefrom.
As a system of this sort, there is known a circuit-component (“CC”) mounting system for mounting CCs on a CS. This system includes (a) two CS conveying lines which are arranged in parallel with each other and each of which includes a carry-in conveyor, a main conveyor, and a carry-out conveyor arranged in series with one another, and (b) a CC mounting device which mounts CCs on a CS positioned and supported by each of the two main conveyors. More specifically described, while the CC mounting device mounts CCs on a CS positioned and supported by one of the main conveyors, a CS which is positioned and supported by the other main conveyor and on which CCs have been mounted is carried out therefrom by the carry-out conveyor, and another CS is carried in onto the other main conveyor and is positioned and supported thereby.
In the above CC mounting system, the CC mounting device can start mounting the CCs on the CS positioned and supported by the other main conveyor, immediately after it finishes mounting the CCs on the CS positioned and supported by the one main conveyor. Thus, it needs substantially no time to change two CSs with each other, which leads to improving the efficiency of mounting of CCs.
However, the above CC mounting system has the two carry-in conveyors and the two carry-out conveyors. Meanwhile, an upstream-side device is provided on an upstream side of the CC mounting system in a direction of conveying of CSs, and a downstream-side device is provided on a downstream side of the CC mounting system. The upstream-side device hands over a CS to the CC mounting system, and the downstream-side device receives the CS from the CC mounting system. The upstream-side device may be a CS supplying device, another CC mounting system, or an applying system which applies an adhesive or a solder paste to CSs. The downstream-side device may be another CC mounting system, an adhesive curing furnace which cures or hardens the adhesive temporarily fixing the CCs to the CS, a solder reflowing furnace which reflows or melts the solder for electrically connecting the CCs to the CS. Generally, the upstream-side device has only a single CS-hand-over portion, and the downstream-side device has only a single CS-receive portion. Accordingly, a CS receiving and distributing device is needed which receives CSs from the CS-hand-over portion of the upstream-side device and distributes the CS to the two carry-in conveyors, and a CS collecting and handing-over device is needed which collects the CS from the two carry-out conveyors and hands over the CS to the CS-receive portion of the downstream-side device. This leads to complicating the construction of the CC mounting system, thereby increasing the production cost of the same. This problem will also occur to other systems which include operation performing devices other than the CC mounting device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a circuit-substrate-related-operation performing system which includes a plurality of main conveyors, performs a circuit-substrate-related operation with improved efficiency, and enjoys a simple construction.
The present invention provides a circuit-substrate-related-operation performing system which has one or more of the technical features which are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (28). 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 performing an operation for a circuit substrate, comprising a plurality of main conveyor each of which conveys, positions, and supports a circuit substrate, the plurality of main conveyors being arranged in a direction perpendicular to a circuit-substrate conveying direction in which the each main conveyor conveys the circuit substrate; an operation performing device which performs at least one operation for the circuit substrate positioned and supported by the each main conveyor; at least one of (a) a carry-in conveyor which conveys the circuit substrate to the each main conveyor and loads the circuit substrate thereon, and (b) a carry-out conveyor which loads the circuit substrate off the each main conveyor and conveys the circuit substrate away therefrom; and a conveyor shifting device which selectively shifts the at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor to one of a plurality of shift positions at each of which the one conveyor is aligned with a corresponding one of the main conveyors. In the case where the present operation performing system includes the carry-in conveyor and the conveyor shifting device shifts the carry-in conveyor, the carry-in conveyor can receive a CS at a desired one of the plurality of shift positions thereof, and can hand over the CS to a desired one of the main conveyors at a corresponding one of the shift positions which may be the same as, or different from, the desired shift position. Since the carry-in conveyor is shifted by the conveyor shifting device, it can receive a CS at each of its shift positions and can hand over the CS to each of the main conveyors at a corresponding one of the shift positions. Meanwhile, in the case where the present operation performing system includes the carry-out conveyor and the conveyor shifting device shifts the carry-out conveyor, the carry-out conveyor can receive a CS from each of the main conveyors at a corresponding one of the plurality of shift positions thereof, and can carry out the CS at a desired one of the shift positions which may be the same as, or different from, the one shift position where the carry-out conveyor receives the CS from the each main conveyor. Thus, the present system does not need more than one carry-in conveyor or more than one carry-out conveyor in contrast to the conventional system. In addition, the present system does not need any device for distributing CSs to the plurality of main conveyors, or any device for collecting CSs from the plurality of main conveyors. Thus, the present system includes the plurality of main conveyors, needs substantially no time for changing CSs with each other, performs the operation with high efficiency, and enjoys a simple construction. In the case where the present system includes the carry-in conveyor and an upstream-side device for handing over CSs to the carry-in conveyor, the carry-in conveyor can receive the CSs at a desired one of the plurality of shift positions thereof. Therefore, even in the case where the upstream-side device is designed such that it can hand over CSs at a single predetermined position
Asai Koichi
Ikegami Hirokazu
Suhara Shinsuke
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Valenza Joseph E.
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