Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor frame or casing – Adjustable conveyor frame or casing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-04
2002-10-29
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor frame or casing
Adjustable conveyor frame or casing
C198S345100, C198S626500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06471050
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed-board conveying apparatus for. conveying a printed board such as a printed wiring board or a printed circuit board and particularly to such an a printed-board conveying apparatus which includes two belt conveyors which are juxtaposed with each other, i.e., are arranged in parallel with each other.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There is known a printed-board conveying apparatus which is employed by, e.g., an electric-component (EC) mounting system which mounts electric components (ECs) on a printed wiring board and thereby produces a printed circuit board. The EC mounting system includes, in addition to the printed-board conveying apparatus, a supporting device which positions and supports the printed wiring board conveyed by the printed-board conveying device; a supplying device which supplies ECs of different sorts; and a mounting device which receives the ECs from the supplying device and mounts the ECs on the printed wiring board supported by the supporting device. The printed-board conveying apparatus includes two belt conveyors.
In the EC mounting system, the mounting device mounts the ECs on the printed wiring board which has been carried in by the printed-board conveying apparatus and is supported by the supporting device. The printed wiring board on which the mounting of ECs has been completed, i.e., a completed, printed circuit board or a half-completed, printed wiring board is carried out by the conveying apparatus. After the current board is carried out and before the next board is carried in, the mounting device cannot mount any ECs, if the conveying apparatus has a single belt conveyor only. This leads to lowering the efficiency of production of printed circuit boards. Hence, the present conveying apparatus employs two belt conveyors which are arranged in parallel, so that while one of the two conveyors carries in and out printed wiring boards, the mounting device can mount ECs on a printed wiring board which is supported by a supporting device corresponding to the other conveyor. Thus, the present EC mounting system can continuously mount ECs on printed wiring boards, and thereby improve the efficiency of mounting of ECs.
However, in the case where the above-described EC mounting system mounts ECs on printed wiring boards of a large size, the printed-board conveying apparatus needs to employ two belt conveyors each of which has a large width and which are arranged in parallel. This needs to increase the size of the conveying apparatus and accordingly the size of the EC mounting system, which results in needing a large footprint. On the other hand, it is not so often for the EC mounting system to mount ECs on large-size printed boards. Thus, it is not desirable that the EC mounting system increase its own size or need a large footprint. These problems will occur to not only the EC mounting system but also an operation performing system which performs a prescribed operation relating to a printed board, such as an adhesive applying system which applies an adhesive to a printed board so that ECs are adhered to the board with the adhesive, or an inspecting system which inspects a completed, printed circuit board or a half-completed, printed wiring board.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a printed-board conveying apparatus and an operation performing system which have one or more of the following technical features that are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (12). Any technical feature that includes another technical feature shall do so by referring, at the beginning, to the parenthesized sequential number given to the latter feature. However, the following technical features and the appropriate combinations thereof are just examples to which the present invention is by no means limited. In addition, in the case where one technical feature recites a plurality of items, it is not essentially required that all of those items be simultaneously employed. That is, it is possible to select and employ only a portion (one, two, . . . , but not all) of those items.
(1) According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided a printed-board conveying apparatus comprising a first belt conveyor including a first stationary guide rail, a first movable guide rail, and two first belts which are circulated while being guided by the two first guide rails, respectively, and which support opposite end portions of a first printed board, respectively, and cooperate with each other to convey the first printed board; and a second belt conveyor which is arranged in parallel with the first belt conveyor and which includes a second stationary guide rail, a second movable guide rail, and two second belts which are circulated while being guided by the two second guide rails, respectively, and which support opposite end portions of a second printed board, respectively, and cooperate with each other to convey the second printed board, the first stationary and movable guide rails and the second stationary and movable guide rails extending parallel to one another in a first direction, such that the first and second stationary guide rails are provided outside the first and second movable guide rails, respectively, each of the first and second movable guide rails being movable toward, and away from, a corresponding one of the first and second stationary guide rails, so as to change a width of a corresponding one of the first and second belt conveyors, at least one of the first and second movable guide rails being movable, over a middle position between the first and second stationary guide rails, toward one of the first and second stationary guide rails that does not correspond to the one movable guide rail, so as to increase a width of one of the first and second belt conveyors that corresponds to the one movable guide rail.
In the case where the present printed-board conveying apparatus conveys printed boards of a small size, both of the respective widths of the two belt conveyors can be adapted to the small-size printed boards, so that while one of the two conveyors is stopped, the other conveyor can be operated to convey a small-size printed board. Therefore, if the present conveying apparatus is employed in an operation performing system which performs a certain operation relating to a printed board, as described later, one of the two belt conveyors can be stopped so that the operation is performed for the printed board which has been carried in by the one belt conveyor, and the other belt conveyor can be operated so that the printed board for which the operation has been completed is carried out and the next board is carried in. Thus, the present conveying apparatus can improve the operation efficiency of the operation performing system. That is, the present conveying apparatus can convey printed boards of a large size, without needing to be larger in size.
(2) According to a second feature of the present invention that includes the first feature (1), the printed-board conveying apparatus further comprises a first width-changing device which changes the respective widths of the first and second belt conveyors such that the respective widths of the two belt conveyors are equal to each other.
The two belt conveyors may have different widths and alternately convey printed boards of different sorts, respectively. However, in many cases, it is required that the two belt conveyors have a same width and alternately convey printed boards of a same sort. To this end, the first width-changing device is needed. The first width-changing device may include two individual width-changing devices which change the respective widths of the two belt conveyors. However, it is preferred that the first width-changing device include a synchronous width-changing device according to the third feature (3) described below.
(3) According to a third feature of the present invention that includes the second feature (2), the first width chan
Ikeda Satoru
Isogai Takeyoshi
Crawford Gene O.
Ellis Christopher P.
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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