Tool changing – Process
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-21
2002-01-01
Briggs, William (Department: 3722)
Tool changing
Process
C029S740000, C483S059000, C483S061000, C483S069000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06334840
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring electric components used for providing an electric circuit (e.g., an electronic circuit), and a method and an apparatus for exchanging component holders in the transferring apparatus, and particularly to the art of improving the efficiency of exchanging of the component holders.
2. Related Art Statement
There is known an electric-component (“EC”) transferring device which includes one or more holders such as a suction nozzle which sucks and holds an EC by applying a vacuum (i.e., negative air pressure) thereto. The EC transferring device may be employed as an EC transferring and mounting device in an EC mounting system. The EC transferring and mounting device receives one or more ECs from an EC supplying device of the EC mounting system, transfers the ECs, and delivers the ECs to an object such as a printed circuit board (“PCB”) as a sort of circuit substrate or a sort of EC receiving member. The delivering of the ECs to the PCB means the mounting of the ECs on the PCB. Thus, the EC transferring and mounting device functions as not only an EC transferring device but also an EC mounting device.
There are known an EC transferring device which includes only one holder and which transfers ECs, one by one, using the single holder, and an EC transferring device which includes a plurality of holders and which transfers a plurality of ECs, at one time, using the plurality of holders. In either case, the single holder, or each of the plurality of holders, is detachably attached to a holder chuck. The single holder, or the plurality of holders, is or are selected from various sorts of holders, depending upon the sort or sorts of ECs to be transferred. Therefore, when the current sort or sorts of ECs are changed to a different sort or sorts of ECs, the current sort of single holder, or the current sorts of holders, is or are changed to a different sort of holder, or different sorts of holders, corresponding to the different sort or sorts of ECs.
In the above-indicated background, it has been known an EC transferring device including a holder chuck to which a holder is detachably attached, and a holder exchanging device which holds a plurality of holders and which exchanges one of the holders held thereby, with the holder held by the holder chuck. The holder exchanging device includes a plurality of holder holding portions each of which holds a holder such that the holder is removable therefrom. The holder held by the holder chuck is exchanged with one of the holders held by the holder exchanging device, as follows: First, the holder held by the holder chuck is held by an empty holder holding portion of the holder exchanging device, and a holder held by a different holder holding portion is held by the empty holder chuck. In a particular case where a holder other than the holders held by the holder exchanging device is needed, one of the holders held by the holder exchanging device is manually exchanged with the holder needed, by an operator.
However, it is cumbersome for the operator to exchange each of the holders held by the holder exchanging device, with a different holder. As the number of holders to be exchanged increases, the operator's work and time needed to do that increases. For example, it is assumed that in an EC transferring and mounting device including a holder exchanging device holding a number of holders, a current sort of PCBs are changed to a different sort of PCBs and accordingly current sorts of ECs corresponding to the current sort of PCBs are changed to different sorts of ECs corresponding to the different sort of PCBs. In the case of the above transferring and mounting device, an operator must exchange a number of holders held by the holder exchanging device, with a number of different holders corresponding to the different sorts of ECs corresponding to the different sort of PCBs. This work is cumbersome and time-consuming. Moreover, it needs a long time period in which ECs cannot be mounted on PCBs. Thus, the EC transferring and mounting device suffers from a low EC-mount efficiency. Regarding an EC transferring device including a single holder chuck to which a holder selected from various holders is detachably attached, it is cumbersome for an operator to exchange the holder held by the holder chuck, with one selected from th e various holders, if the frequency of exchanging of holders is high.
It is usual that a holder exchanging device is provided in, or near to, an EC-transfer area defined by an EC transferring device, in order that the holder exchanging device can quickly exchange holders with a holder chuck. However, there are many peripheral devices or members around the EC transferring device and accordingly an operator must do his or her work in a narrow space with a low working efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electric-component transferring apparatus which can easily exchange component holders.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a component-holder exchanging method which can easily exchange component holders.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a component-holder exchanging apparatus which can easily exchange component holders.
The present invention provides an electric-component transferring apparatus, a component-holder exchanging method, and a component-holder exchanging apparatus which have one or more of the technical features that are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (17). 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. However, the following technical features and the appropriate combinations thereof are just examples to which the present invention is by no means limited.
(1) According to a first feature of the present invention, there is provided an electric-component transferring apparatus including a plurality of component holders each of which holds an electric component, and having the function of exchanging the component holders, the apparatus comprising a holder chuck which holds each of the component holders such that the each component holder is removable therefrom; a chuck moving device which moves the holder chuck to transfer the electric component held by the each component holder held by the holder chuck; a holder holding member which holds the component holders such that each of the component holders is allowed to be removed therefrom; a holding-member holding device which holds the holder holding member such that the holder holding member is removable therefrom; and a holder-exchange moving device which moves at least one of the holder chuck and the holder holding member relative to each other so that the holder chuck exchanges one of the component holders that is held thereby, with another of the component holders that is held by the holder holding member. Suction nozzles each of which sucks and holds an electric component (“EC”) by applying vacuum thereto are preferably used as the component holders. However, other sorts of component holders may be employed, such as component holders each of which includes a plurality of holding claws which are opened and closed to hold an EC. The chuck moving device may be embodied in various manners. For example, the chuck moving device may be one which includes an intermittent-rotation body which is intermittently rotatable about an axis line and which supports a plurality of holder chucks such that the holder chucks are equiangularly spaced from each other about the axis line at a predetermined spacing angular pitch equal to a predetermined intermittent-rotation angular pitch at which the rotation body is interm
Asai Koichi
Isogai Takeyoshi
Kamegai Yasunori
Briggs William
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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