Metal working – Means to assemble or disassemble – Means to assemble electrical device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-07
2003-12-16
Shoap, Allan N. (Department: 3724)
Metal working
Means to assemble or disassemble
Means to assemble electrical device
C029S743000, C029S832000, C029S833000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06662437
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for mounting electronic components in which a plurality of mounting heads pick up electronic components concurrently from a plurality of component feeding units for mounting the electronic components on a print circuit board.
2. Prior art
Such apparatus and methods for mounting electronic components are capable of reducing the cycle time of the mounting operation as a plurality of electronic components are picked up by a plurality of mounting heads concurrently from a plurality of component feeding units. A typical example is described in a Japanese patent laid-open publication No. Hei 7-154097.
However, the component feeding units do not always have an identical pick-up position among all the units used in a mounting operation. Rather, there is a variation in such position along the direction of component feeding because the component feeding units are not always made identically and because the units are not necessarily mounted on the main body of the mounting apparatus with a good reproducibility. Thus, the position of the suction nozzle relative to an electronic component at the time of picking up the electronic component is not sustained among the mounting operations. In some cases, this leads to a failure in picking up and holding the electronic component by the suction nozzle from a certain component feeding unit. This shortcoming is more pronounced when smaller electronic components are handled by the apparatus for mounting electronic components. For example, when so-called 1005 components having a size of 1 mm×0.5 mm are handled by the apparatus, a shift, as small as 0.2 mm, of suction nozzle from a proper position relative to the electronic component for picking up the component can cause the failure in picking up and holding the electronic component.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention involves apparatus and methods in which suction and holding of electronic components by a suction nozzle is secured at the time of picking up electronic components from a component feeding unit.
In an embodiment of the present invention, there are provided an apparatus as well as a method for mounting electronic components in which a plurality of mounting heads pick up electronic components concurrently from a plurality of component feeding units for mounting the electronic components on a print circuit board. The apparatus has a plurality of suction nozzles disposed on the mounting head in a radial configuration, a means for rotating the mounting head around a horizontal axis thereof such that the suction nozzles rotate around the axis, and a means for moving the mounting head horizontally for picking up and mounting the electronic components. The inevitable bias shift of the suction nozzle relative to an electronic component from a proper position for picking up the electronic component is corrected along a direction of component feeding of the component feeding unit by rotating the mounting head.
In other embodiment of the present invention, the bias shift is estimated from a predetermined number of pick-up procedures of the electronic component at an occasion of a production operation, such as a preparatory testing before a mounting operation, a start of a mounting operation, and a time in the middle of a mounting operation. The suction nozzle comes to a proper position for picking up the electronic component by correcting the bias shift with a rotation of the mounting head around the horizontal axis after the predetermined number of pick-up procedures for estimating the bias shift.
As the bias shift is relatively small in nature with a typical example being 0.2 mm as described above, a change in position of the suction nozzle by the rotation of the mounting head, not a horizontal movement of the mounting head, is enough to correct the shift. Thereby the suction nozzle securely picks up and holds the electronic component.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5285888 (1994-02-01), Izume et al.
patent: 5287616 (1994-02-01), Suzuki et al.
patent: 5305518 (1994-04-01), Okumoto
patent: 5400497 (1995-03-01), Watanabe et al.
patent: 5541834 (1996-07-01), Tomigashi et al.
patent: 5544411 (1996-08-01), Kano et al.
patent: 07-154097 (1995-06-01), None
Hamilton Isaac N.
Morrison & Foerster / LLP
Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd.
Shoap Allan N.
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