CN113276149A

CN113276149A - Gripper module for a rotating assembly head

Info

Publication number: CN113276149A
Application number: CN202110152220.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马丁·纽瑟
Original assignee: ASM Assembly Systems GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: ASMPT GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2020-02-20
Filing date: 2021-02-04
Publication date: 2021-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 2041-02-04
Also published as: CN113276149B; DE102020202208A1

Abstract

A gripper module for mounting to a rotary mounting head of a chip mounter that can selectively grip and release a component.

Description

Gripper module for a rotating assembly head

Technical Field

The invention relates to a gripper module and a rotary assembly head.

Background

The invention relates generally to the field of equipping component carriers with electronic components. The components can be packaged electronic components or unpackaged electronic components designed as chips, which are removed directly from the finished processed wafer and supplied to the assembly process.

Electronic subassemblies are usually produced using so-called pick-and-place machines, by which electronic components are automatically removed from a supply of components and placed on component carriers (e.g. printed circuit boards) in a process known as "pick and place". The components are transferred from the component supply to the respective mounting positions of the components by means of a component handling device, for example a so-called "mounting head". In most cases, this component transfer is performed by a separate handling device (commonly referred to as an "assembly head"). However, it is also possible to use two or more component handling devices for transferring components from a supply device to a component mounting position. It is known, for example, from EP 1470747B 1 to subject unpackaged components designed as chips to such a treatment.

In the field of electronic product production, a certain end product (i.e. an electronic subassembly built on a component carrier) requires components of completely different composition in terms of size/geometry, substrate material, surface, etc., which product usually has a plurality of interconnected electronic components. Therefore, in order to achieve reliable assembly, separately applicable processing operations are required, and thus different processing tools need to be designed. For example, unpackaged components, which are usually of particularly small size, designed as chip or wafer-like elements, are usually picked up using a different nozzle than the nozzle used to pick up the packaged components. Wafer-like components having particularly sensitive surface structures, for example micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) components, may require individual processing using a holding tool specifically designed for such components, for example, in particular a suction nozzle. Therefore, there is a need for a component handling apparatus that can flexibly accommodate different products to be manufactured.

Various different types of mounting heads may be used in the mounting process. For example, the matrix head includes a plurality of nozzles in a matrix configuration and arranged in parallel such that each nozzle is movable along a longitudinal axis toward or away from the target. The vertical extent of the matrix head is relatively small and therefore it is possible to equip the matrix head with head modules of various types. For example, it may comprise not only a suction nozzle, but also a gripper comprising gripping jaws for physical engagement with the side faces of the component, which gripping jaws usually have a relatively long vertical extent.

Another common form of assembly head is known as a rotary head, a swivel head, a rotor head or a turret head, and is hereinafter referred to simply as a rotary assembly head, for example as described in EP 2892312 a 1. The rotary mounting head includes a carrier that is rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation to which different head modules can be attached by attachment to a respective one of a plurality of nozzle ports provided on and radially projecting from the carrier. The head module comprises a plurality of nozzles which are movable along their longitudinal axis for receiving components from a component supply and for mounting previously received components on a component carrier, wherein the longitudinal axis is oriented parallel to the axis of rotation. In particular, the number of nozzles varies from head module to head module. The (element-specific) adaptation of the assembly head requires the replacement of the head module. Such an assembly head has various advantages compared to a matrix head, such as: with the ability to transfer elements to and from adjacent storage heads (to achieve a so-called "pick and place" configuration). The advantage of such an assembly head is also: the horizontal extent is relatively small compared to the matrix head, but on the other hand the vertical extent is much larger. For this reason, it is not possible to use a gripper with a rotating fitting head at present, and it is not possible to ensure that there is enough space to rotate the fitting head.

This is problematic because the gripper can be used to pick up so-called "Odd-shaped Components" (OSCs) or other "exotic" Components that do not provide a usable surface for the nozzle to engage.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a gripper module of reduced size which is small enough to be used with a rotating mounting head.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a compact new gripper module, in particular a gripper module comprising a spring, which is a relatively long component, located outside the nozzle interface to which it is attached in use, so that the gripper module can be more planar than the known gripper modules.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gripper module for mounting to a rotary assembly head of a placement machine, the rotary assembly head comprising at least one nozzle interface radially protruding from the rotary assembly head and selectively connectable to a sub-atmospheric vacuum or fluid source, the gripper module comprising:

a body adapted to be mounted on a nozzle interface of a rotary mounting head, the body including a bottom wall and a side wall connected to the bottom wall, the bottom wall including a port for enabling fluid communication between the nozzle interface and an interior of the body when the body is mounted on the nozzle interface;

first and second jaws pivotally connected to the body, the first and second jaws respectively including an element gripping surface and an actuating portion for engaging an element in use;

a piston constrained by the side wall to be linearly movable relative to the body along a linear axis that extends radially from the rotary fitting head when the gripper module is mounted to the nozzle interface in use, the piston including an actuator adapted to engage with the actuating portions of the first and second jaws such that linear movement of the piston along the linear axis effects pivotal movement of the first and second jaws to cause relative opening or closing of the first and second jaws; and

a spring located between the bottom wall and the piston, the spring biased to urge the piston away from the bottom wall,

wherein the gripper module is adapted to receive the nozzle interface such that, in use, when the gripper module is mounted to the nozzle interface, the sidewall is spaced radially outward from the nozzle interface relative to the linear axis, and the spring at least partially surrounds the nozzle interface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary fitting head equipped with a gripper module according to the first aspect.

Other particular aspects and features of the present invention are set out in the appended claims.

Drawings

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings (not to scale), in which.

Figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a gripper module according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the gripper module with nozzle interface of fig. 1.

Figure 3 schematically illustrates the swivel mounting head of figure 1 with a plurality of gripper modules.

Description of reference numerals:

1-Gripper Module

2-first jaw

3-second clamping jaw

4-main body

5A, 5B-face to face component clamping surfaces

5C, 5D-outward component clamping surface

6. 7-insert

8-screw

9-stop element

10-joint

11-nozzle interface

12-side wall

13-bottom wall

14-port

15-piston

16-actuator

17-disc

18-bar

19. 20-actuating part

21-pivot

22-compression spring

23-O-shaped ring

24-concave part

25-fluid chamber

26-annular region

27-vacuum path

30-rotating fitting head

31-element

Z-linear axis.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a gripper module 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The clamping of the component (see fig. 3) is achieved by first and

second jaws

2, 3, the first and

second jaws

2, 3 being pivotally mounted to a cylindrical body 4, as described in more detail below, such that by pivoting the first and

second jaws

2, 3, respective component clamping surfaces 5A, 5B (clamping surfaces 5A, 5B arranged face-to-face) of each

jaw

2, 3 can be moved towards or away from each other to selectively clamp or release the component therebetween. Furthermore, the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3 each comprise a respective second

component clamping surface

5C, 5D, the second component clamping surfaces 5C, 5D being directed radially outwards from the linear axis Z (see fig. 2). These outwardly facing

gripping surfaces

5C, 5D are available for engagement with certain elements (e.g.: cup-shaped) by opening the

jaws

2, 3 by pressing against the inwardly facing walls or projections of the elements, as will be described in more detail below.

For ease of construction, the body 4 comprises two

inserts

6, 7 at its upper end (i.e. the end of the body furthest from the mounting head in use), the

inserts

6, 7 are attached to the remainder of the body 4 by screws 8 (only one screw 8 is shown in figure 1), and each

jaw

2, 3 is pivotally mounted between the

inserts

6, 7. The

inserts

6, 7 also carry stop elements 9, the stop elements 9 extending across the diameter of the body 4 between the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3. A nozzle interface adapter is provided at the lower end of the body 4 (i.e. the end closest to the mounting head in use) for engagement directly with a nozzle interface (11, see figure 2) of the mounting head in use, and in this embodiment includes an engagement portion 10 for receiving the nozzle interface.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a sectional view of the gripper module 1 shown in fig. 1 along the line a-a in fig. 1 and a nozzle connection 11 which forms part of the mounting head, in particular a rotary mounting head. Figure 2 shows more clearly various aspects of the construction of the gripper module 1. It can be seen that the body 4 is generally cup-shaped, having a substantially cylindrical side wall 12, the lower end of the side wall 12 (i.e. the end which, in use, is adjacent the mounting head) being partially closed by a bottom wall 13. The lower end of the body 4 is not completely closed, since a port 14 is provided in the center of the bottom wall 13 for fluid communication between the interior of the body 4 and the joint 10, the joint 10 being formed as a hollow and open-ended cylinder. The joint 10 is dimensioned: releasably engaged with the nozzle interface 11 in use (e.g. using a snap-fit connection). The body 4 houses a piston 15, the piston 15 being constrained by the side wall 12 to be able to move linearly relative to the body 4 along a linear axis Z which, in use, projects radially from the rotary fitting head when the gripper module 1 is mounted on the nozzle interface 11 (see figure 3). Thereby, a fluid chamber 25 is formed between the bottom wall 13, the side wall 12 and the piston 15. The piston 15 includes an actuator 16 at its upper end, the actuator 16 in this embodiment being in the form of a disc 17, the centre of the disc 17 being coincident with the linear axis Z, separated from the body of the piston 15 by a stem 18 of smaller diameter than the disc 17, such that the stem 18 and disc 17 form a "mushroom" actuator 16, the actuator 16 extending from the top of the piston 15. The first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3 comprise

respective actuating portions

19, 20 projecting from the respective first jaw 2 and second jaw 3 and housed for engagement therewith in a recess formed by the space between the disc 17 and the body of the piston 15. In this way, linear movement of the piston along the linear axis Z effects pivotal movement of the first and

second jaws

2, 3 to either open the first and second jaws relative to each other (when the piston 15 moves up or away from the nozzle mouthpiece 11 in use) or close (when the piston 15 moves down or towards the nozzle mouthpiece 11 in use), i.e.: the distance between the component holding surfaces 5A, 5B is changed. As previously described, the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3 are pivotally mounted to the body 4 by means of a pivot 21, the pivot 21 being mounted between the

inserts

6, 7 and thus to the body 4. A compression spring 22 is located between the bottom wall 13 and the piston 15, the compression spring 22 being biased to urge the piston 15 away from the bottom wall 13 to bias the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3 into the open position. The travel of the piston 15 away from the bottom wall 13 is limited by the stop element 9. The stop element 9 is positioned between the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3, which makes the structure compact and, in some embodiments, can be used to define the closure of the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3.

In this embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of the piston 15 is fitted with an o-ring 23 to form a fluid seal with the inner surface of the side wall 12. However, it should be noted that: in other embodiments, the o-ring 23 may be omitted so long as it enables the outer peripheral surface of the piston 15 to fit sufficiently tightly with the inner surface of the side wall 12.

As can be seen from fig. 2, the bottom wall 13 is not flat, but the bottom wall 13 comprises a central recess 24, which central recess 24 extends into a fluid chamber 25 formed between the bottom wall 13, the side wall 12 and the piston 15, and the port 14 is located in this recess 24. Thereby, an annular region 26 is formed (centered on the linear axis Z) between the recess 24 and the side wall 12. The compression spring 22 is at least partially located in the annular region 26. This overall construction ensures that: in use, when the gripper module 1 is mounted to the nozzle interface 11, the side wall 12 is spaced radially outwardly of the nozzle interface 11 relative to the linear axis Z, and the compression spring 22 at least partially surrounds the nozzle interface 11. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that: other configurations that enable the compression spring 22 to at least partially surround the nozzle interface 11 are also possible, for example, using a spring external to the fluid chamber 25. This arrangement gives the gripper module 1 a particularly compact form (along the linear axis Z) so as to be operational for use with a rotary fitting head.

The nozzle interface 11 is not described in detail here, as this is a well-known technique in the art. However, it should be noted that: the nozzle interface includes a vacuum path 27, which vacuum path 27 is selectively connectable to a source of sub-atmospheric vacuum or fluid (not shown). When so connected, a vacuum or reduced pressure region is formed at the tip of the nozzle port 11 and is fluidly connected to the fluid chamber 25 through the port 14 when the nozzle port 11 is engaged with the joint 10. Thus, when the tip of the nozzle interface 11 forms a vacuum or reduced pressure area, the piston 15 is pushed to move towards the bottom wall 13 against the force of the compression spring 22, and the clamping surfaces 5A, 5B of the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3 move together into the closed position. Depending on the particular configuration adopted, this movement is stopped when the piston 15 abuts against the bottom wall 13, or when the clamping surfaces 5A, 5B abut against the stop element 9. When the vacuum source is disconnected, compression spring 22 acts to move piston 15 away from bottom wall 13, thereby opening first jaw 2 and second jaw 3. It can be understood that: if outwardly facing

gripping surfaces

5C, 5D are used to engage the component, the operation described above is reversed, and turning off the vacuum source causes the first jaw 2 and second jaw 3 to open, thereby causing the outwardly facing

gripping surfaces

5C, 5D to engage the appropriate component. Separation is achieved by reconnecting the vacuum source.

Gripper module parts comprise a body 4, a first jaw 2 and a second jaw 3, inserts 6, 7, a stop element 9 and a piston 15, suitable materials for these parts including metals such as aluminium, steel or hard plastic materials etc.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a spin-fitting head 30 having a plurality of gripper modules 1 as shown in fig. 1 attached to nozzle interfaces 11 of the spin-fitting head, each nozzle interface 11 projecting radially from the spin-fitting head 30 and being selectively connectable to a vacuum or fluid source at less than atmospheric pressure. The middle gripper module 1 is shown gripping an element 31 between the

gripping surfaces

5A, 5B. The rotating assembly head 30 may be configured for pick and place operations and/or collection and placement operations, as is generally known in the art.

As is well known in the art, the nozzle interface 11 is radially movable relative to the mounting head along a linear axis Z such that the nozzle interface 11 and gripper module 1 are selectively movable towards or away from a component pick-up or mounting area (not shown). This movement can be used to achieve a parallel movement of the first jaw 2 and the second jaw 3 without any opening or closing movement. At the pick-up or assembly area, a vacuum source may be connected to or disconnected from the nozzle interface 11 to operate the jaws as needed to grasp or release the component 31.

The above-described embodiments are merely exemplary and other possibilities and alternatives within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, while a compression spring 22 is shown in FIG. 2, a wave spring or other spring may alternatively be used.

Conveniently, although the gripper modules of the above embodiments include inwardly and outwardly facing component gripping surfaces, in other embodiments, the gripper modules may include only inwardly facing gripping surfaces, or only outwardly facing gripping surfaces, as desired, to reduce operational complexity.

Claims

1. A gripper module for mounting to a rotary mounting head of a placement machine, the rotary mounting head including at least one nozzle interface projecting radially therefrom and selectively connectable to a sub-atmospheric vacuum or fluid source, the gripper module comprising:

a body adapted to be mounted to a nozzle interface of the spin pack head, the body including a bottom wall and a side wall connected to the bottom wall, the bottom wall including a port for fluid communication between the nozzle interface and an interior of the body when the body is mounted to the nozzle interface;

first and second jaws pivotally connected to the body, the first and second jaws each including an element gripping surface and an actuating portion for engagement with an element in use;

a piston constrained by the side wall to be linearly movable relative to the body along a linear axis that extends radially from the rotary fitting head when the gripper module is mounted to the nozzle interface in use, the piston including an actuator adapted to engage the actuating portions of the first and second jaws such that linear movement of the piston along the linear axis effects pivotal movement of the first and second jaws to cause relative opening or closing of the first and second jaws; and

2. The gripper module of claim 1, wherein the port is located in a recess formed on the bottom wall, and the spring is located at least partially within an annular region between the recess and the side wall.

3. The gripper module of claim 1, comprising a stop element located between the first jaw and the second jaw and limiting movement of the piston away from the bottom wall.

4. The gripper module of claim 1, comprising a nozzle interface adapter attached to the body for directly engaging the nozzle interface in use.

5. The gripper module of any of claims 1-4, wherein the element gripping surfaces of the first jaw and the second jaw are arranged face-to-face.

6. The gripper module of claim 5, wherein said first and second jaws each include a respective second component gripping surface, said second component gripping surfaces of said first and second jaws facing radially outward.

7. The gripper module of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the element gripping surfaces of the first and second jaws face radially outward.

8. A rotating fitting head equipped with a gripper module according to claim 1.

9. The rotary assembly head of claim 8, configured for pick and place operations.

10. The rotary fitting head of claim 8, configured for a collection and placement operation.