CN113347866A - Tape feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

The tape feeder has a cover member that covers at least a part of an area exposed on an upper surface of the frame in the tape passage, i.e., an upper surface area of the frame. A belt pressing portion is provided on an upper wall portion of the cover member. The tape pressing portion presses the vicinity of the recess located at the component supply position in the base tape from which the top tape has been peeled, from above, by a pressing surface located below the lower surface of the upper wall portion of the cover member.

Description

Tape feeder

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a tape feeder used as a component supply portion of a component assembly device that mounts a component on a substrate.

Background

The component assembling apparatus assembles the component picked up by the assembling head to the substrate. A tape feeder is known as a component supply section of such a component assembly apparatus. The tape feeder conveys the tape member, peels a top tape of the tape member at a predetermined peeling position, and supplies the component to a component supply position. The belt member has: a base band provided with a recess for housing the component; and a top band covering the base band. The tape feeder includes a frame and a tape carrying portion. The frame has a belt passage as a passage for the belt member to be conveyed. The belt conveying unit includes a sprocket and a drive motor. The sprocket has outer peripheral teeth that engage with a feed hole of the belt member in the belt passage, and the belt member is conveyed by rotating the sprocket by a drive motor.

A cover member is mounted in front of the tape feeder (downstream in the conveying direction of the tape member). The cover member has an upper wall portion and a pair of side wall portions. The upper wall portion is horizontal, and the side wall portions extend downward from both left and right ends of the upper wall portion. The cover member has a groove-like (groove-like) shape that opens downward and extends along the front and rear of the frame. The tape path of the tape feeder has an area (frame upper surface area) exposed at an upper portion of the frame at a front portion of the frame, and the cover member covers at least a part of the frame upper surface area. In a state where the cover member covers a part of the upper surface area of the frame, the upper wall portion of the cover member is positioned above the upper surface area of the frame (see, for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2010-114178).

Further, the size of components supplied by a tape member used in a tape feeder is advancing to be minimized in recent years. As the size of the component is minimized, the posture of the component accommodated in the pocket of the belt member conveyed in the upper surface region of the frame is likely to be changed by the influence of the machining accuracy of the lower surface of the upper wall portion of the cover member. As a result, a pickup error of the component accommodated in the pocket disposed at the component supply position is likely to occur. Such a change in the posture of the component accommodated in the pocket of the belt member can be suppressed by applying a height process to raise the parallelism of the lower surface of the upper wall portion of the cover member with respect to the upper surface region of the frame at the time of manufacturing the cover member.

Disclosure of Invention

The tape feeder of the present disclosure carries a tape member. The belt member includes: a base band provided with a plurality of recesses for accommodating the components, respectively; and a top tape covering and attaching the base tape to the base tape, and the tape member is provided with a feeding hole. The tape feeder peels the top tape from the base tape at a prescribed peeling position and supplies the component to the component supply position. The tape feeder has a tape carrying portion, a frame, and a cover member. The belt conveying part comprises: a sprocket having outer peripheral teeth engaged with the feed hole of the belt member; and a drive motor that rotates the sprocket, and the belt conveying unit conveys the belt member by rotating the sprocket. The frame has a belt passage through which the belt member passes. The cover member covers at least a part of an area exposed on the upper surface of the frame in the belt passage, that is, an area of the upper surface of the frame. The cover member includes an upper wall portion opposed to the upper surface area of the frame. The upper wall portion is provided with a component take-out port for taking out a component from a pocket, which is disposed at the component supply position in a state where the top tape is peeled from the base tape, among the plurality of pockets. A belt pressing portion is provided on an upper wall portion of the cover member. The belt pressing portion includes a pressing surface located below the lower surface of the upper wall portion, and is configured to: the base tape from which the top tape has been peeled is pressed from above by a pressing surface in the vicinity of a recess disposed at the component supply position.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of pickup errors due to irregular vibration (so-called chattering) of the belt member while suppressing costs.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a main part side view showing a structure of a component assembling apparatus including a tape feeder of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the tape feeder shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a carrier tape carried by the tape feeder shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 5A is a partially enlarged perspective view of a carrier tape carried by the tape feeder shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 5B is an enlarged perspective view of a part of another carrier tape carried by the tape feeder shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 6A is a partially exploded perspective view of the tape feeder shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 6B is a partial sectional view showing the shaft member shown in fig. 6A and the periphery thereof.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a cover member provided in the tape feeder shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a partial plan view of the tape feeder shown in fig. 3.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line V1-V1 as shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line V2-V2 as shown in FIG. 8.

Fig. 11 is a partial sectional view of the tape feeder shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 12A is a partially enlarged plan view of fig. 8.

Fig. 12B is a sectional view of the portion shown in fig. 12A.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of the region RY shown in fig. 10.

FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view taken along line V3-V3 as shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 14B is a sectional view taken along line V4-V4 as shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 15A is a cross-sectional view of the alternative structure shown in FIG. 8 taken along line V3-V3.

FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view of the alternate structure shown in FIG. 8 taken along line V4-V4.

Fig. 16A is a plan view showing a first modification of the tape pressing part provided in the tape feeder according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16B is a sectional view of the portion shown in fig. 16A.

Fig. 17A is a plan view showing a second modification of the tape pressing part provided in the tape feeder according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17B is a sectional view of the portion shown in fig. 17A.

Fig. 18A is a plan view showing a third modification of the tape pressing part provided in the tape feeder according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 18B is a sectional view of the portion shown in fig. 18A.

Detailed Description

Prior to the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the passage of the idea of completing the present disclosure will be simply described.

As described above, if the high-level processing is performed during the production of the cover member, the cost is significantly increased.

The present disclosure provides a tape feeder capable of reducing the occurrence of pickup failures due to the shake of a tape member while suppressing costs.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a component assembling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. The component mounter 1 repeatedly performs a component mounting operation of mounting a component BH on a substrate KB carried in from an upstream process and carrying out the component BH to a downstream process. For convenience of explanation, an axis along the conveying direction of the substrate KB in the component mounter 1 (a direction from the depth side to the front side of the drawing, and a left-right direction viewed from the operator OP) is referred to as an X-axis, and an axis orthogonal to the X-axis in a horizontal plane is referred to as a Y-axis. That is, the Y axis extends from the rear to the front when viewed from the operator OP. An axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane and extending upward from below is defined as a Z-axis.

The component assembling apparatus 1 has a base 11, a conveyor 12, a tape feeder 13, an assembling head 14, a head moving mechanism 15, a substrate camera 16, a component camera 17, and a control device 18. Base 11 is provided on floor FL, and conveyor 12 extends along the X-axis on base 11. The conveyor 12 carries the substrate KB sent from the upstream process into the component mounter 1, and positions the substrate KB at a predetermined working position.

A feeder carriage DS is connected to an end portion of the base 11 on the near side (a position facing the operator OP). A feeder base FB is provided on an upper portion of the feeder carriage DS, and the tape feeder 13 is detachably mounted on the feeder base FB. A plurality of tape feeders 13 may be mounted in the feeder base FB in line along the X axis. When the feeder carriage DS is coupled to the base 11, the plurality of tape feeders 13 mounted on the feeder base FB are connected to the base 11 together.

The feeder carriage DS holds a plurality of reels RL around which carrier tapes 20 as tape members are wound, respectively. A reel RL is prepared for each tape feeder 13, and the carrier tape 20 drawn out from the reel RL is mounted on the corresponding tape feeder 13. The tape feeder 13 conveys the mounted carrier tape 20 forward toward the conveyor 12, and supplies the component BH to a predetermined component supply position 13K.

Fig. 4 shows carrier tape 20 wound by reel RL, and fig. 5A and 5B are enlarged views of area AR in fig. 4. Carrier tape 20 has base tape 21 and top tape 22. The base tape 21 is provided with a plurality of recesses 23 for component accommodation, which are opened upward. The recesses 23 are aligned at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the base tape 21. Each recess 23 accommodates a member BH. The top tape 22 is stuck to the upper surface of the base tape 21, thereby preventing the component BH from falling out of the recess 23. In the base tape 21, a plurality of feed holes 24 are provided in a row at equal intervals at positions aligned in parallel with the row of the recesses 23.

Fig. 5A shows a planar carrier tape 20 in which the base tape 21 is planar as a whole, and fig. 5B shows an embossed carrier tape 20 in which the base tape 21 has an embossed portion 21E protruding downward. Although it is possible to use any type of carrier tape 20, a planar type carrier tape 20 is used in the present embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, the mounting head 14 has a plurality of nozzles 14N extending downward. The nozzle 14N is liftable and lowerable relative to the mounting head 14 and is rotatable about the Z-axis. The mounting head 14 causes the lower end of the nozzle 14N to adsorb and pick up the component BH supplied from the tape feeder 13 to the component supply position 13K. The head moving mechanism 15 has, for example, an XY moving mechanism, and moves the mounting head 14 in a horizontal plane.

The substrate camera 16 is mounted to the mounting head 14. The imaging optical axis of the substrate camera 16 faces downward. The substrate camera 16 moves together with the mounting head 14, thereby capturing an image of the substrate KB positioned at the working position by the conveyor 12.

The component camera 17 is disposed between the conveyor 12 and the tape feeder 13 on the base 11. The imaging optical axis of the component camera 17 faces upward. When the mounting head 14 moves along the X axis so as to pass through the upper region of the part camera 17 in a state where the parts BH are respectively adsorbed by the plurality of nozzles 14N, the part camera 17 photographs the respective parts BH from below.

The control device 18 stores various data in addition to the component mounting program. The controller 18 operates each part of the component mounting apparatus 1 in accordance with the component mounting program to perform a component mounting operation for mounting the component BH on the substrate KB.

In the component mounting work, the conveyor 12 is first operated to receive the substrate KB sent from the upstream process and position the substrate KB at a work position. When the substrate KB is positioned at the working position, the head moving mechanism 15 moves the assembly head 14 upward of the substrate KB. Thereby, the substrate camera 16 images the substrate KB, and the control device 18 recognizes the substrate KB based on the image imaged by the substrate camera 16.

When the control device 18 recognizes the substrate KB, the mounting head 14 repeatedly performs a mounting round. The fitting head 14 performs the following actions in this order in one fitting round. The first is an action of picking up the component BH fed to the tape feeder 13. The second is an operation of moving the part BH so as to pass above the part camera 17 along the X axis and causing the part camera 17 to photograph the part BH. The third is an operation of mounting the component BH at a component mounting position set on the substrate KB.

The control device 18 performs component recognition based on an image obtained by imaging the component BH by the component camera 17. When the mounting head 14 mounts the component BH on the substrate KB, the position of the component BH is corrected with respect to the substrate KB based on the result of component recognition performed by the control device 18.

When all the components BH to be mounted on the substrate KB are mounted by repeating the mounting pattern described above, the conveyor 12 carries out the substrate KB to the downstream process. This completes the component mounting work for each substrate KB.

In the component assembly device 1 of such a structure, the present embodiment is characterized by the structure of the tape feeder 13. Hereinafter, the tape feeder 13 will be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 2, the tape feeder 13 has a frame 31, a cover member 32, a tape carrying portion 33, and a top tape recovery portion 34. The frame 31 has a box shape as a whole, and the box shape has a main surface extending in the YZ plane. A projection (not shown) projecting downward is provided on the lower surface of the frame 31. The projection is engaged with a slot SL provided in the feeder base FB, whereby the tape feeder 13 is mounted on the feeder base FB.

The frame 31 is provided with a tape passage 31L as a passage for the carrier tape 20 to be conveyed. The belt path 31L has a groove shape that opens to one side surface (here, the right side surface as viewed from the operator OP) of the frame 31.

The belt path 31L extends substantially horizontally forward from a rear end portion (an end portion facing the operator OP) of the frame 31, and then extends obliquely upward forward in the vicinity of the center of the frame 31 on the Y axis. The front end of the belt path 31L is exposed to the upper surface of the frame 31. The upper surface of the front portion of the frame 31 is a region where a part of the belt path 31L is exposed at the upper portion of the frame 31. Hereinafter, as shown in fig. 6A, this region is referred to as a frame upper surface region 31R.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the cover member 32 is provided on the upper front portion of the frame 31 and covers at least a part of the frame upper surface region 31R. As shown in fig. 3, 6A, and 7, the cover member 32 includes a horizontal upper wall portion 32a and a pair of side wall portions 32b extending downward from both left and right ends of the upper wall portion 32 a. That is, the cover member 32 has a groove-like (groove-like) shape extending along the Y axis in the front and rear of the frame 31 and opening downward.

As shown in fig. 6A, 7, and 8, the lid member 32 is provided with a component take-out port 32G, and the component take-out port 32G is used to take out the component BH from the pocket 23 located at the component supply position 13K. As shown in fig. 3 and 6A, the front end of the cover member 32 is rotatably coupled to the front end upper portion of the frame 31 by a pin 32P. The cover member 32 can slightly rotate with the pin 32P as a fulcrum. Therefore, the rear end of the cover member 32 can be slightly raised with respect to the frame upper surface region 31R.

As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, a shaft hole 32L penetrating the frame 3 along the X axis is provided at the front end of the frame 3. As shown in fig. 6A, a shaft member 32F extending along the X axis is attached to the front end portion of the cover member 32. The shaft member 32F is attached to the cover member 32 by attaching the pin 32P to the shaft member 32F through a hole provided in the cover member 32 after passing through the shaft hole 32L. As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the frame 31 is provided with a spring hole 32N into which the spring member 32S is inserted along the Z axis. As shown in fig. 6B, the spring hole 32N penetrates the shaft hole 32L from the upper surface of the frame 31. After the shaft member 32F is attached to the cover member 32 and the spring member 32S is inserted into the spring hole 32N, the upper side of the spring hole 32N is closed by the cover member 32T in a state where the spring member 32S is compressed. For example, the cover member 32T is fixed to the upper surface of the frame 31 by a pin 32 p. The cross section of the shaft hole 32L has an oblong shape in the upper and lower directions. Thus, the spring member 32S applies a downward force to the shaft member 32F. As a result, a downward force toward the frame 31 is also applied to the cover member 32 fixed to the shaft member 32F. Therefore, when carrier tape 20 travels forward on frame upper surface area 31R, the upper surface of carrier tape 20 slides against the lower surface of cover member 32.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along line V1-V1 of FIG. 8. As shown in fig. 3 and 9, in a state where the cover member 32 covers a part of the frame upper surface region 31R, the lower surface 32K of the upper wall portion 32a of the cover member 32 is positioned above the frame upper surface region 31R. The side wall portions 32b are located outside the left and right side surfaces of the frame 31.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along line V2-V2 of FIG. 8. As shown in fig. 9 and 10, a gap CL substantially equal to the thickness of carrier tape 20 is provided between lower surface 32K of upper wall portion 32a and frame upper surface region 31R. The space in which the clearance CL is provided constitutes a part of the band passage 31L. The cover member 32 suppresses the carrier tape 20 from floating from the frame upper surface area 31R when passing through the space.

When mounting carrier tape 20 on frame 31, operator OP first inserts the front end of carrier tape 20 from behind cover member 32 into the space between frame upper surface region 31R and cover member 32. Then, a portion thereof behind the inserted portion is inserted into the belt passage 31L from the side opening of the frame 31 (the right side of the frame 31).

When the front end portion of the carrier tape 20 is inserted into the space between the frame upper surface region 31R and the cover member 32, the operator OP lifts the rear end of the cover member 32 and rotates the cover member 32. This can temporarily increase the clearance CL between the rear portion of the cover member 32 and the frame upper surface region 31R. Therefore, the operator OP can easily insert the distal end portion of the carrier tape 20 into the space between the frame upper surface region 31R and the cover member 32.

As shown in fig. 2, the belt conveying portion 33 includes a sprocket 33A attached to the frame 31, a drive motor 33B, and a transmission gear portion 33C. The sprocket 33A is attached to the upper portion of the front end of the frame 31 so as to be rotatable about the X axis. As shown in fig. 3, the sprocket 33A has a plurality of outer peripheral teeth 33G. As shown in fig. 6A and 9, of the outer peripheral teeth 33G, the uppermost outer peripheral tooth 33G located directly above the rotation center of the sprocket 33A protrudes from the frame upper surface area 31R.

When the drive motor 33B is operated and the rotation of the drive motor 33B is transmitted to the sprocket 33A via the transmission gear portion 33C, the sprocket 33A rotates as indicated by an arrow a in fig. 2 and 3. Then, the uppermost outer peripheral teeth 33G of the sprocket 33A move forward. As shown in fig. 9, outer peripheral teeth 33G on the uppermost portion of sprocket 33A engage with feed holes 24 of carrier tape 20 at a position between frame upper surface region 31R and cover member 32. Therefore, when sprocket 33A rotates and outer peripheral teeth 33G at the uppermost portion move forward, carrier tape 20 is pulled forward as a whole. As a result, carrier tape 20 is conveyed forward in tape passage 31L as indicated by arrow B in fig. 2 and 3.

In this way, the belt conveying portion 33 causes the uppermost outer peripheral teeth 33G of the sprocket 33A to engage with the feed holes 24 located in the area covered with the cover member 32 in the belt path 31L, and rotates the sprocket 33A. Thereby, the tape conveying unit 33 conveys the carrier tape 20.

As shown in fig. 3, 6A, 7, and 8, a slit 32M is provided in a portion of the cover member 32 located directly above the rotation center of the sprocket 33A. The slit 32M extends back and forth along the Y-axis. As shown in fig. 9, the uppermost outer peripheral tooth 33G of the sprocket 33A passes through the slit 32M. Therefore, the sprocket 33A can rotate without the outer peripheral teeth 33G interfering with the cover member 32.

As shown in fig. 2, the top tape collecting section 34 is provided in a position rearward of the upper portion of the frame 31, and includes a pair of feed rollers 34a and a tension applying section 34 b. As shown in fig. 11, the top tape 22 of the carrier tape 20 is peeled from the base tape 21 at a peeling position 32H at a rear edge (edge closer to the operator OP) of the component take-out port 32G of the cover member 32, is folded back rearward, and is sandwiched between a pair of feed rollers 34 a. The tension applying section 34b applies an appropriate tension to the top belt 22 at a position between the peeling position 32H and the feed roller 34 a.

When sprocket 33A rotates to convey carrier tape 20 forward, feed roller 34a rotates in synchronization with sprocket 33A. Thereby, the top tape 22 is pulled rearward by the feed roller 34a as indicated by an arrow C in fig. 2, and is sent into and collected in the top tape housing space 31K. The top tape housing space 31K is provided at the rear of the frame 31.

When carrier tape 20 in tape path 31L is conveyed forward by the rotation of sprocket 33A, as shown in fig. 8, a plurality of pockets 23 provided in base tape 21 sequentially reach component take-out port 32G (component supply position 13K). The component take-out port 32G is located immediately before the peeling position 32H. Since the top tape 22 has already been peeled off at the timing when the pocket 23 reaches the component feeding position 13K, the mounting head 14 can pick up the component BH from the component take-out port 32G at the component feeding position 13K as shown in fig. 11. As shown in fig. 3, carrier tape 20 (base tape 21) having passed through cover member 32 is discharged to the outside from the front end of frame 31.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, and fig. 12A and 12B, a plurality of belt pressing portions 41 are provided on the upper wall portion 32A of the cover member 32. Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of the region RY in fig. 10. As shown in fig. 13, the belt pressing portions 41 each have a pressing surface 41K located below the lower surface 32K of the upper wall portion 32a of the cover member 32. The tape pressing portions 41 respectively press the vicinity of the pockets 23 located at the component supply position 13K in the base tape 21 from which the top tape 22 is peeled at the peeling position 32H from above by the pressing surfaces 41K. That is, the tape pressing portion 41 presses a part of the base tape 21 against the frame upper surface region 31R.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, and fig. 12A and 12B, the tape pressing portions 41 are provided in two regions of the cover member 32 that face each other in the width direction of the carrier tape 20. I.e. the two regions are opposed along the X-axis. Specifically, one first tape pressing portion 41a is provided in one (left side as viewed from the operator OP) region of the recess 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K in the region of the cover member 32 along the edge of the component removal port 32G. Further, two second belt pressing portions 41b are provided in the other (right side as viewed from the operator OP) region of the pocket 23 located at the component supply position 13K. That is, the second tape pressing portion 41b is provided in a region facing a region where the first tape pressing portion 41a is provided on the X axis along the width of the carrier tape 20.

As shown in fig. 12A and 12B, the first tape pressing portion 41a extends along the conveying direction of the carrier tape 20 at a position on the left side of the pocket 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K. On the other hand, the second tape pressing portion 41b is provided at a position sandwiching the pocket 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K from the front and rear in the conveyance direction of the carrier tape 20. Thus, the first belt pressing portion 41a extends along the Y axis, and the second belt pressing portion 41b is aligned along the Y axis.

FIG. 14A is a sectional view taken along lines V3-V3 of FIG. 8, and FIG. 14B is a sectional view taken along lines V4-V4 of FIG. 8. Guide surfaces 41Y are provided at both ends of the carrier tape 20 in the flow direction below the first tape pressing portion 41a and the two second tape pressing portions 41b, respectively. The guide surface 41Y has a shape that does not hinder the travel of the carrier tape 20 (base tape 21) passing under the cover member 32 along the Y axis. The guide surface 41Y is a tapered surface 41T, but may be a curved surface 41R having a circular shape as shown in fig. 15A and 15B. By providing guide surface 41Y having a shape that does not interfere with the travel of carrier tape 20 on the lower surface of tape pressing portion 41 in this manner, carrier tape 20 passing under cover member 32 can smoothly travel on frame upper surface region 31R.

The top tape 22 of the carrier tape 20 is peeled at the peeling position 32H when passing through the space between the frame upper surface region 31R and the cover member 32 and further passing through the component supply position 13K (component take-out port 32G). Then, when the pocket 23 of the carrier tape 20 (base tape 21) from which the top tape 22 is peeled passes through the component supply position 13K, the tape pressing portion 41 presses the upper surface of the base tape 21 against the frame upper surface region 31R from above, as shown in fig. 11, 12A, and 12B.

As described above, the shaft member 32F provided at the front end portion of the cover member 32 is pulled toward the frame 31 by the spring member 32S. Therefore, when carrier tape 20 on frame upper surface region 31R travels forward, the upper surface of carrier tape 20 slides against the lower surface of cover member 32. Therefore, when the size of the component BH in the recess 23 is small, the posture and position of the component BH may fluctuate in the recess 23 due to the influence of the machining accuracy of the lower surface of the cover member 32. However, the upper surface of the carrier tape 20 passing through the component feeding position 13K is pressed from above by the plurality of tape pressing portions 41. Therefore, even if the carrier tape 20 is irregularly vibrated by the influence of the processing accuracy of the lower surface of the cover member 32, the pockets 23 are not influenced by the vibration of the carrier tape 20 in the vicinity of the component supply position 13K, and the posture and position of the component BH are suppressed from being varied in the pockets 23. Therefore, the vertical movement of the pockets 23 which are opened upward by peeling off the top tape 22 is suppressed. Therefore, the component BH in the pocket 23 is fed to the component feeding position 13K in a stable state, thereby suppressing occurrence of a pickup error of the component BH by the mounting head 14.

Fig. 16A and 16B show a first modification of the belt pressing portion 41. The tape pressing portions 41 in the first modification are provided with two tape pressing portions 41 in two regions facing each other along the width of the carrier tape 20. That is, the tape pressing portion includes two first tape pressing portions and two second tape pressing portions, and the second tape pressing portions are provided in regions opposed to regions where the first tape pressing portions are provided on the X axis along the width of the carrier tape 20. Specifically, two belt pressing portions 41 are provided in regions along the edge of the component extraction port 32G of the cover member 32, respectively, in one region (left side as viewed from the operator OP) of the recess 23 located at the component supply position 13K and in the other region (right side as viewed from the operator OP) of the recess 23 located at the component supply position 13K. The two tape pressing portions 41 provided in the left and right regions are disposed at positions sandwiching the pocket 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K from the front and rear in the conveyance direction of the carrier tape 20. Even with such a configuration, since the tape pressing portion 41 presses the portion of the base tape 21 around the pocket 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K against the frame upper surface region 31R, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of pickup errors due to irregular vibration of the carrier tape 20.

Fig. 17A and 17B show a second modification of the belt pressing portion 41, and fig. 18A and 18B show a third modification of the belt pressing portion 41. The tape pressing portion 41 in the second modification has a ring shape having a circular component ejection opening 32G at the center. The tape pressing portion 41 having this shape presses the entire area of the base tape 21 from which the top tape 22 is peeled, which is surrounded by the recess 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K, against the frame upper surface area 31R by the annular pressing surface 41K. The tape pressing portion 41 in the third modification has a rectangular frame shape having a rectangular component ejection opening 32G at the center. The tape pressing portion 41 having this shape presses the entire area of the base tape 21 from which the top tape 22 has been peeled, which is surrounded by the recess 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K, against the frame upper surface area 31R by the rectangular frame-shaped pressing surface 41K. With these configurations, the entire periphery of the recess 23 located at the component supply position 13K in the base tape 21 is pressed against the frame upper surface region 31R. Therefore, the occurrence of pickup failures due to irregular vibration of the carrier tape 20 can be further reduced.

As described above, the tape feeder 13 of the present embodiment includes the cover member 32, and the cover member 32 covers the frame upper surface area 31R, which is an area of the tape path 31L exposed on the upper surface of the frame 31, from above. The belt pressing portion 41 is provided on the upper wall portion 32a of the cover member 32. The belt pressing portion 41 has a pressing surface 41K, and the pressing surface 41K is located below the lower surface 32K of the upper wall portion 32a of the cover member 32. The pressing surface 41K presses the vicinity of the recess 23 located at the component supply position 13K in the base tape 21 from which the top tape 22 is peeled at the peeling position 32H from above. Therefore, even if the carrier tape 20 is irregularly vibrated, the vertical movement of the pockets 23 which are opened upward by peeling the top tape 22 is suppressed. Therefore, the component BH in the pocket 23 is supplied to the component supply position 13K in a stable state, thereby suppressing the occurrence of a pickup error.

In addition, the belt pressing portion 41 can be formed on the upper wall portion 32a of the cover member 32 at a lower cost than when the height processing is performed to raise the parallelism of the lower surface 32K of the upper wall portion 32a of the cover member 32 with respect to the frame upper surface region 31R at the time of manufacturing the cover member 32. Therefore, according to the tape feeder 13 of the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of pickup failures due to the jitter of the carrier tape while suppressing the increase in cost.

The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above, and various modifications and the like can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the peeling position 32H is a rear edge (edge closer to the operator OP) of the component outlet 32G of the lid member 32, and the peeling position 32H constitutes a part of the component outlet 32G. However, the peeling position 32H does not need to constitute a part of the component take-out port 32G. Therefore, an opening may be provided after the component take-out port 32G (upstream of the flow of the carrier tape 20), and a rear edge portion of the opening may be the peeling position 32H.

In fig. 8, the first tape pressing portion 41a extends along the conveying direction of the carrier tape 20, and the two second tape pressing portions 41b are provided along the conveying direction. However, the second tape pressing portion 41b may be single and extend along the conveying direction of the carrier tape 20. Alternatively, a single second tape pressing portion 41b may extend along the conveying direction of the carrier tape 20, and two first tape pressing portions 41a may be provided along the conveying direction.

The spring member 32S functions as an urging portion that urges the cover member 32 downward toward the frame 31. Thus, the tape pressing portion 41 can reliably press the vicinity of the recess 23 disposed at the component supply position 13K in the base tape 21 from which the top tape 22 is peeled from above. However, the urging portion is not limited to the spring member 32S. For example, a thick portion may be provided at the rear end portion of the cover member 32 so as to be heavier than the front end portion of the rear end portion of the cover member 32 at which the belt pressing portion 41 is provided, or a material having a high specific gravity may be added to the rear end portion of the cover member 32. With such a configuration, an urging portion for urging the cover member 32 downward toward the frame 31 by its own weight may be configured. Alternatively, an urging portion formed of a spring member may be provided so as to urge the rear end portion of the cover member 32 downward toward the frame 31.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a tape feeder capable of reducing the occurrence of pickup failures due to the shake of a tape member while suppressing costs. Therefore, it is useful for a component assembling apparatus.

Claims (5)

1. A tape feeder that carries a tape member, the tape member comprising: a base band provided with a plurality of recesses for accommodating the components, respectively; and a top tape covering and adhering the base tape to the base tape, and the tape member is provided with a feeding hole, the tape feeder peels the top tape from the base tape at a prescribed peeling position and feeds the component to a component feeding position, wherein,

the tape feeder is provided with:

a belt conveying unit including a sprocket having outer peripheral teeth that engage with the feed hole of the belt member, and a drive motor that rotates the sprocket, the belt conveying unit conveying the belt member by rotating the sprocket;

a frame having a belt passage through which the belt member passes; and

a cover member that covers at least a part of a frame upper surface region that is a region of the tape passage exposed on an upper surface of the frame, and that includes an upper wall portion that faces the frame upper surface region, the upper wall portion being provided with a component removal opening for removing the component from one of the plurality of pockets that is disposed at the component supply position in a state where the top tape is peeled from the base tape,

a tape pressing portion including a pressing surface located below a lower surface of the upper wall portion is provided on the upper wall portion of the cover member, and the vicinity of the recess disposed at the component supply position in the base tape from which the top tape is peeled is pressed from above by the pressing surface.

2. The tape feeder according to claim 1,

the tape pressing portion has a shape that presses, from above, a region of the base tape from which the top tape is peeled, the region surrounding the recess disposed at the component supply position.

3. The tape feeder according to claim 1,

the belt pressing portion includes a first belt pressing portion and a second belt pressing portion provided in a region opposed to a region where the first belt pressing portion is provided on an axis along a width of the belt member.

4. The tape feeder according to claim 3,

at least one of the first and second belt pressing portions extends in a conveying direction of the belt member on a side of the pocket disposed at the component supply position.

5. The tape feeder according to claim 3 or 4,

the first tape pressing portion and the second tape pressing portion each have a shape that presses, from above, a region of the base tape from which the top tape is peeled, the region surrounding the recess disposed at the component supply position.

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