Metal working – Means to assemble or disassemble – Means to assemble electrical device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-13
2004-01-20
Chang, Richard (Department: 3729)
Metal working
Means to assemble or disassemble
Means to assemble electrical device
C029S739000, C029S741000, C029S743000, C029S720000, C029S832000, C029S833000, C029S834000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06678944
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system for mounting electric components on a printed-wiring board to produce printed circuit boards.
2. Related Art Statement
There are various manners of mounting electric components (“ECs”) on a printed-wiring board. For example, Japanese Patent Document TOKU-KAI-HEI No. 6(1994)-196546 discloses an EC mounting system which includes a movable member which is movable to an arbitrary position on a horizontal plane; a main moving device which moves the movable member; a rotatable body which is attached to the movable member such that the rotatable body is rotatable about a vertical axis line; and a plurality of suction nozzles which are supported by the rotatable body such that the suction nozzles are provided along a circle whose center is located on the axis line of the rotatable body and such that each of the suction nozzles is not rotatable relative to the rotatable body and is movable relative to the body in a direction parallel to the axis line of the body. In the EC mounting system, owing to combination of the movement of the movable member and the rotation of the rotatable body, the suction nozzles sequentially suck and hold respective ECs, and sequentially mount the ECs on respective EC-mount locations on a printed-wiring board.
The above EC mounting system further includes an image taking device which is fixed in position. When the suction nozzles all holding the respective ECs pass by the image taking device, the image taking device take respective images of the ECs held by the suction nozzles, and the mounting system calculates, based on image data representing the taken images, position errors of the EC held by each of the suction nozzles. The position errors include respective position errors of the center of the EC in two directions perpendicular to each other on a horizontal plane, and a rotation-position error of the EC about a vertical axis line of the each suction nozzle. The position errors of the center of the EC are corrected by correcting respective distances of movement of the movable member in the two directions, and the rotation-position error is corrected by rotating the rotatable body. Thus, the EC is mounted with a correct rotation position at a correct EC-mount location on the printed-wiring board.
However, the above EC mounting system employs a plurality of engaging members corresponding to the plurality of suction nozzles, respectively, and revolves the engaging members with the corresponding suction nozzles, so that whichever rotation phase each of the suction nozzles may take, the corresponding engaging member can engage the each suction nozzle, thereby move the nozzle toward the printed-wiring board supported by a board supporting device, and mount the EC on the board. Thus, a great mass is moved with the movable member and accordingly it is difficult to start and/or stop the movable member so quickly, which leads to limiting the improvement of EC mounting efficiency.
The above problem that a great movement mass limits the improvement of EC mounting efficiency is encountered by not only the EC mounting system disclosed by the above-indicated Japanese Patent Document but also an EC mounting system of a type (hereinafter, referred to as the rotatable-body-moving-type EC mounting system) which includes a rotatable body and a plurality of suction nozzles supported by the rotatable body, and which moves the rotatable body along a plane perpendicular to an axis line of rotation of the body and thereby mounts ECs held by the suction nozzles on a printed-wiring board.
Moreover, there is an EC mounting system of a type which includes a rotatable body and a plurality of suction nozzles supported by the rotatable body, and which does not move the rotatable body but moves a printed-wiring board to mount ECs held by the suction nozzles on the board. In this EC mounting system, if a plurality of engaging members are employed and provided on the rotatable body, for moving the corresponding suction nozzles toward the printed-wiring board supported by a board supporting device, the rotatable body is subjected to an increased moment of inertia. Thus, it is difficult to start and/or stop the rotatable body so quickly, which leads to limiting the improvement of EC mounting efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an electric-component mounting method and an electric-component mounting system which have one or more of the technical features that are described below in respective paragraphs given parenthesized sequential numbers (1) to (22). 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 needled. 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 a method of sequentially mounting, on a printed-wiring board supported by a board supporting device, a plurality of electric components which are sucked and held by respective ends of a plurality of suction nozzles which are supported by a rotatable body such that the suction nozzles are provided along a circle whose center is located on an axis line of the rotatable body and such that each of the suction nozzles is not rotatable relative to the rotatable body and is movable relative to the body in a direction parallel to the axis line of the body, the rotatable body being attached to a movable member which is movable to an arbitrary position on a movement plane parallel to the printed-wiring board supported by the board supporting device, such that the rotatable body is rotatable about the axis line thereof perpendicular to the movement plane, the method comprising the steps of sequentially positioning, owing to combination of the rotation of the rotatable body and the movement of the movable member, the respective electric components sucked and held by the suction nozzles, at respective positions opposed to respective predetermined locations on the printed-wiring board supported by the board supporting device, such that at least two of the electric components thus positioned take different rotation positions, rotating, concurrently with the rotation of the rotatable body, an engaging member common to the plurality of suction nozzles, to a position corresponding to one of the suction nozzles that holds the electric component to be mounted next, and moving, in the direction parallel to the axis line of the rotatable body, the engaging member to engage the one suction nozzle, so that the one suction nozzle is moved toward the board supporting device and the electric component held by the one suction nozzle is mounted on the printed-wiring board. In the present electric-component (“EC”) mounting method, owing to combination of the rotation of the rotatable body and the movement of the movable member, the respective ECs sucked and held by the suction nozzles are sequentially positioned at respective positions opposed to respective predetermined locations on the printed-wiring board supported by the board supporting device, in such a manner that two or more of the suction nozzles holding the respective ECs are positioned at two or more different rotation phases of the rotatable body. The suction nozzles are not rotatable relative to the rotatable body. Therefore, if two or more of the suction nozzles are positioned at two or more different rotation phases of the rotatable body, the two or more suction nozzles have different rotation positions about respective axis lines thereof, and accordingly the respective ECs held by the two or more suction nozzles have different rotation positions. Therefore, if each of the two or more suction
Chang Richard
Fuji Machine Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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