Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Product assembly or manufacturing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-08
2002-10-15
Von Buhr, Maria N. (Department: 2125)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Product assembly or manufacturing
C700S179000, C700S220000, C414S749100, C414S752100, C029S740000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06466837
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a parts installation method and a parts mounting method and a mounter for automatically mounting parts such as electronic parts, optical parts, or mechanism elements onto a circuit board.
BACKGROUND ART
FIG. 11
is an overall rough drawing showing the general configuration of a conventional electronic parts mounter, and
FIG. 12
is a partial detail drawing. In the electronic parts mounter of
FIG. 11
, two pieces of suction nozzles
2
are loaded to electronic parts mounting means
1
, but any pieces of suction nozzles
2
can be loaded by changing the mechanism. Accordingly, the description will be given below as for an electronic parts mounter equipped with the electronic parts mounting means
1
to which any pieces of suction nozzles
2
can be loaded.
Then, the number of pieces of suction nozzles
2
which can be loaded to the electronic parts mounting means
1
is limited, and furthermore, depending on the kind of an electronic part, the suction nozzle
2
which can suck and hold the part is also limited. Therefore, in the case where a necessary suction nozzle
2
is not loaded to the electronic parts mounting means
1
when mounting a requested electronic part, nozzle exchange is needed. In some cases, the nozzle exchange arises in the middle of production of one piece of circuit board
3
, or in some cases, it also arises while the kind of circuit board
3
to be produced is changing.
While taking into account the above facts, by referring to a conventional control sequence in FIG.
10
and
FIGS. 11
,
12
, a conventional electronic parts mounting method using an electronic parts mounter for mounting electronic parts on a circuit board will be described.
First, a circuit board
3
to be produced is carried into circuit board supporting means
5
from a board carrying section
4
(step #
1
). At this moment, if an electronic part in the last production remains at the tip of the suction nozzle
2
because of any obstacle such as inoperativeness of blowing function of a nozzle during parts mounting, there is a risk of breaking the circuit board
3
to be produced here or an electronic parts mounter main body when going to take the next part or when mounting it. The conventional mounter had no means to check a part sucked and held by the suction nozzle
2
. Accordingly, in the conventional mounter, when carrying in this circuit board
3
, it was necessary to shift the electronic parts mounting means
1
to a position of a parts disposal box
6
(step #
2
) and to perform parts disposal operation (step #
5
).
Moreover, at the same time, in order to check whether any requested suction nozzle
2
is loaded to the electronic parts mounting means
1
or not, the present nozzle charge condition is detected by a nozzle existence checking sensor
7
installed at a parts disposal box
6
(step #
6
). This detecting operation is performed as follows: First, collars
2
a
of all suction nozzles
2
are raised up to a sensing position where an optical path of the nozzle existence checking sensor is not interrupted. Next, whether the collar
2
a
interrupts the optical path of a nozzle existence checking sensor
7
or not is detected by vertically moving suction nozzles
2
one by one in turn by approximately 2 mm. That is, when the suction nozzle
2
is properly loaded, it interrupts the optical path of the nozzle existence checking sensor
7
, but when no suction nozzle
2
is loaded, the collar
2
a
does not interrupt the optical path thereof, and consequently, the condition can be detected. However, the nozzle existence checking sensor
7
can check only existence of charge of the nozzle
2
, but it cannot check the kind of the nozzle or the nozzle charge condition. Checking of the kind of a nozzle
2
is performed in such a way that a control section (not shown in the figure) deduces what kind of nozzle
2
is loaded to the electronic parts mounting means
1
from the mounting data or the nozzle data stored in a memory.
Here, if nozzle exchange is necessary for producing a carried-in circuit board (step #
9
), the electronic parts mounting means
1
is shifted onto nozzle exchanging means
8
by an XY robot
12
in order to load the necessary suction nozzle
2
to the electronic parts mounting means
1
. Then, when an unsuitable suction nozzle
2
is in place, the unsuitable suction nozzle
2
is removed from the electronic parts mounting means, and the desired suction nozzle
2
required for the production is loaded (step #
10
).
After that, according to the previously prepared mounting data, the electronic parts mounting means
1
is shifted on parts supply means
9
(
9
a
or
9
b
), and a requested suction nozzle
2
is located at a parts supply position to suck and hold the requested electronic part (step #
11
).
Next, the electronic parts mounting means
1
is shifted so that the sucked and held electronic part may be located on a parts recognizing device
10
, and the attitude of the electronic part sucked and held by the suction nozzle
2
is imaged by the parts recognizing device
10
. On the basis of this imaged result, the mounting position of the electronic part is compensated (step #
12
).
Next, the electronic parts mounting means
1
is located so that the electronic part may be positioned at the mounting position on a circuit board
3
, and the electronic part is mounted on the circuit board
3
(step #
13
).
By repeating such a series of suction operations according to the previously prepared mounting data, one piece of circuit board is produced. At this moment, whether the production of the circuit board
3
has finished or not is checked (step #
14
). When the production has finished, the circuit board
3
is carried out of the circuit board supporting means
5
to the board carrying section
4
(step #
19
).
When the production has not finished, suction processing of the next electronic part is performed (steps #
15
to #
18
, #
11
to #
13
). At this moment, whether the suction nozzle
2
required for the mounting of the next electronic part is loaded to the electronic parts mounting means
1
or not is checked (step #
15
). When such a suction nozzle
2
is not loaded, nozzle exchange is performed by the nozzle exchanging means
8
after checking the existence of the nozzle on the parts disposal box
6
following the same procedure as when carrying in a board (steps #
16
to #
18
).
However, in the conventional electronic parts mounting method, when carrying in and carrying out a circuit board, the electronic parts mounting means
1
shifts to the parts disposal box
6
to check the existence of a nozzle. However, if the carriage of the board
3
is speeded up for improving productivity, the board carrying time is decreased, and therefore, the nozzle existence checking cannot be finished within the time of carrying the board. Therefore, in some cases, the means for other productions must be stopped only for the nozzle existence checking, and a problem of occurrence of wasteful production stopping time arises.
Moreover, in the case where it is attempted to improve productivity by reducing the number of times of nozzle exchange, the number of pieces of suction nozzles
2
capable of being loaded to the electronic parts mounting means
1
is increased as a result. In this case, the number of pieces of suction nozzles
2
which requires nozzle existence checking is increased, and the time required for that is increased as a result. Accordingly, similarly as the above description, wasteful production stopping time arises, since nozzle existence checking is performed although the carriage of a board has already finished.
Furthermore, even when any disposal of parts is not required but only nozzle exchange is required, the electronic parts mounting means
1
always shifts to the parts disposal box
6
, and after performing nozzle existence checking at that position, it further shifts to the nozzle exchanging means
8
. Therefore, the conventiona
Kabeshita Akira
Mimura Yoshihiro
Yoshida Noriaki
Frank Elliot
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Parkhurst & Wendel LLP
Von Buhr Maria N.
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