DE102020121224A1 - Continuous disposal of component tape waste from a placement machine - Google Patents

Abstract

Described is a conveyor device (100) for conveying belt waste (150) of an assembly arrangement (201), the conveyor device (100) having: i) a conveyor element (110) which runs along a first conveying direction (F1) and a second conveying direction (F2) is arranged, wherein the second conveying direction (F2) is opposite to the first conveying direction (F1), the conveying element (110) having: a first pushing element (120), which is attached to the conveying element (110) in a projecting manner, and a second pushing element (130 ), which is attached to the conveying element (110) so that it projects and is spaced apart from the first pushing element (110) in the conveying directions (F1, F2), ii) a drive which is coupled to the conveying element (110) and which is configured for : a) continuous movement of the conveying element (110) along the first conveying direction (F1) and the second conveying direction (F2), b) guiding the first pushing element (120) starting from a first initial position Entla ng the first conveying direction (F1) to an ejection (160), wherein the first pushing element (120) pushes a first belt waste (150a), c) guiding the first pushing element (120) back to the first starting position along the second conveying direction (F2) , wherein the first pusher element (120) pushes essentially no belt waste, d) guiding the second pusher element (130) starting from a second starting position along the first conveying direction (F1) to the ejector (160), wherein the second pusher element (130) has a pushes the second belt waste (150b), and e) guiding the second pusher element (130) back to the second starting position along the second conveying direction (F2), wherein the second pusher element (130) pushes essentially no belt waste.

Description

technical field

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the disposal of waste belts that occur during the operation of automatic placement machines for the automatic placement of electronic components on substrates. The present invention relates in particular to a conveyor device for conveying waste tape from a placement arrangement, use of the conveyor device, a placement device, a placement system, and a method for conveying waste tape from a placement arrangement.

Background of the Invention

In an assembly arrangement for assembling substrates or component carriers, such as printed circuit boards, with electronic components, the components are typically provided by feed devices arranged on the automatic assembly machine of the assembly arrangement. The components are located in recesses in so-called component belts. A component belt is transported by means of a transport mechanism of the feed device in such a way that the components are made available sequentially at a defined pick-up position and are removed there from the respective recess by a placement head of the placement machine. The emptied component tape then leaves the feeder at a suitable point.

As a rule, there is a need to shorten or cut off the emptied component tapes at specific intervals after they have exited the feed device, in order to bring the emptied component tapes, which represent residual waste, into a manageable form. Pieced sections of emptied construction element tapes are collected in a waste container provided for this purpose, which must be emptied by an operator from time to time.

Particularly in the case of larger assembly systems (which have a plurality of assembly arrangements), the belt drop can become a very time-consuming and cost-intensive challenge. In one example, a waste bin needs to be emptied about every 20 minutes. If the placement system has 25 placement lines with 4 placement configurations each (each with two waste containers), 200 waste containers must be emptied every 20 minutes. In a 24-hour shift, that's 14,400 waste containers to be emptied. Conventionally, this is carried out by operators, resulting in a high level of work and expense.

The invention is based on the object of realizing an efficient and cost-effective disposal of component belt waste, which in particular can be easily integrated into existing systems.

Summary of the Invention

This object is solved by the subject matter of the independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are described in the dependent claims.

1. i) kontinuierlichen (vorwärts) Bewegen des Förderelements entlang der ersten Förderrichtung und der zweiten Förderrichtung (also prinzipiell eine Kreislaufbewegung wie bei einem Förderband oder einer Förderkette), (hierbei)
2. ii) Führen des ersten Schubelements von einer ersten Ausgangsposition (in der ersten Förderrichtung) ausgehend entlang der ersten Förderrichtung zu einem Abwurf, wobei das erste Schubelement einen ersten Gurtabfall (welcher von einer Gurtabfall Ausgabe der Bestückanordnung bereitgestellt ist) schiebt bzw. fördert (und den ersten Gurtabfall dem Abwurf zuführt), (danach)
3. iii) Führen des ersten Schubelements zurück zu der ersten Ausgangsposition entlang der zweiten Förderrichtung (das erste Schubelement wird also praktisch mit dem Förderelement entlang eines Kreislaufs geführt), wobei das erste Schubelement (im Wesentlichen) keinen Gurtabfall schiebt (dieser wurde dem Abwurf zugeführt),
4. iv) Führen des zweiten Schubelements von einer zweiten Ausgangsposition (in der ersten Förderrichtung) ausgehend entlang der ersten Förderrichtung zu dem Abwurf, wobei das zweite Schubelement einen zweiten Gurtabfall (welcher von einer Gurtabfall Ausgabe der Bestückanordnung bereitgestellt ist) schiebt (und den zweiten Gurtabfall dem Abwurf zuführt), und (danach)
5. v) Führen des zweiten Schubelements zurück zu der zweiten Ausgangsposition entlang der zweiten Förderrichtung (das zweite Schubelement wird also praktisch entlang eines Kreislaufs geführt), wobei das zweite Schubelement (im Wesentlichen) keinen Gurtabfall schiebt (dieser wurde dem Abwurf zugeführt).

According to a first aspect of the invention, a conveying device for conveying (component) waste tape of an assembly arrangement is described. The conveying device has: a conveying element, which is arranged along a first conveying direction (belt drop transport direction) and a second conveying direction (push element return transport direction), the second conveying direction being (essentially) opposite to the first conveying direction. The conveying element has: a first pushing element, which is attached to the conveying element (in particular perpendicularly) in a projecting manner, and a second pushing element, which is attached to the conveying element (in particular perpendicularly) in a projecting manner and spaced apart from the first pushing element in the conveying directions (one behind the other). The conveying device further comprises a drive which is (mechanically) coupled to the conveying element and which is configured for:

1. i) continuous (forward) movement of the conveying element along the first conveying direction and the second conveying direction (i.e. in principle a circulatory movement as in the case of a conveyor belt or a conveyor chain), (here)
2. ii) Guiding the first pusher element from a first starting position (in the first conveying direction) along the first conveying direction to an ejector, wherein the first pusher element pushes or conveys a first belt waste (which is provided by a belt waste output of the placement arrangement) (and the feeds the first belt waste to the ejection), (after)
3. iii) guiding the first pushing element back to the first starting position along the second conveying direction (the first pushing element is thus practically guided along a circuit with the conveying element), whereby the first pushing element (essentially) does not push any belt waste (this was fed to the discharge),
4. iv) guiding the second pushing element from a second starting position (in the first Conveying direction) starting along the first conveying direction to the ejection, wherein the second pushing element pushes a second waste belt (which is provided by a waste belt output of the placement arrangement) (and feeds the second waste belt to the ejection), and (thereafter)
5. v) guiding the second pushing element back to the second starting position along the second conveying direction (the second pushing element is thus guided practically along a circuit), the second pushing element (essentially) not pushing any belt waste (this has been fed to the discharge).

According to a further aspect of the invention, a use of the conveyor device is described for conveying belt waste from an assembly arrangement (in particular a plurality of assembly arrangements (or an assembly system), more particularly at least four), for assembling component carriers with electronic components.

According to a further aspect of the invention, an assembly device is described. The placement device has: i) a placement arrangement for fitting component carriers with electronic components, which has: a) a component feed device for feeding electronic components which are located in a component belt, b) an automatic placement machine with a placement head for picking up the supplied ones electronic components and for placing the picked-up electronic components on a component carrier to be fitted which is located in a placement area, and c) a cutting device for separating emptied sections of the component belt, the severed sections representing belt waste. Furthermore, the pick-and-place device has: ii) a conveying device as described above for conveying the waste belt towards the ejection point.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a placement system is described which comprises: a placement device as described above and a further placement arrangement which dispenses further belt waste. In this case, the conveying device is configured to also convey the remaining belt waste towards the ejection point.

1. i) kontinuierliches Bewegen eines Förderelements entlang einer ersten Förderrichtung und einer zweiten Förderrichtung, wobei die zweite Förderrichtung der ersten Förderrichtung (im Wesentlichen) entgegengesetzt ist,
2. ii) Führen eines ersten Schubelements, welches an dem Förderelement abstehend angebracht ist, von einer ersten Ausgangsposition ausgehend entlang der ersten Förderrichtung zu einem Abwurf, wobei das erste Schubelement einen ersten Gurtabfall schiebt,
3. iii) Führen des ersten Schubelements zurück zu der ersten Ausgangsposition entlang der zweiten Förderrichtung, wobei das erste Schubelement (im Wesentlichen) keinen Gurtabfall schiebt,
4. iv) Führen eines zweiten Schubelements, welches an dem Förderelement abstehend und von dem ersten Schubelement in den Förderrichtungen beabstandet angebracht ist, von einer zweiten Ausgangsposition ausgehend entlang der ersten Förderrichtung zu dem Abwurf, wobei das zweite Schubelement einen zweiten Gurtabfall schiebt, und
5. v) Führen des zweiten Schubelements zurück zu der zweiten Ausgangsposition entlang der zweiten Förderrichtung, wobei das zweite Schubelement (im Wesentlichen) keinen Gurtabfall schiebt.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for conveying (component) waste tape from a placement arrangement is described. The procedure shows:

1. i) continuous movement of a conveying element along a first conveying direction and a second conveying direction, the second conveying direction being (substantially) opposite to the first conveying direction,
2. ii) guiding a first pushing element, which is attached to the conveying element so that it protrudes, starting from a first starting position along the first conveying direction to an ejection, the first pushing element pushing a first belt waste,
3. iii) guiding the first pushing element back to the first starting position along the second conveying direction, whereby the first pushing element pushes (essentially) no belt waste,
4. and
5. v) guiding the second pushing element back to the second starting position along the second conveying direction, whereby the second pushing element (essentially) does not push any belt waste.

In the context of this document, the term “conveyor element” can designate any element that is suitable for being moved continuously along a conveying direction by means of a drive (continuous conveyor). There is preferably a first conveying direction, along which belt waste is conveyed to a discharge point by means of pushing elements. Furthermore, there is preferably a second conveying direction, in which the pushing elements are conveyed back to their respective starting position (without belt waste). The term “starting position” preferably designates a position which is located along the first conveying direction and at which position the respective pushing element has not yet been provided with any belt waste from an assembly arrangement. The conveying element can be moved continuously in the same direction, so that the conveying element can be arranged as a closed circuit which runs continuously along the first conveying direction and along the second conveying direction. In a preferred example, the conveyor element is designed as a conveyor chain, which runs around in a circle, while the protruding push elements push the belt waste. In this case, a drive element of the drive has, for example, a chain wheel which continuously moves the conveyor chain forward. In a further example, the conveying element can be designed as a conveyor belt, with the drive element being a reel, for example. For example, the conveyor belt can continuously move from one reel to another reel (reel to reel) while the pushing elements push the belt drop.

In the context of this document, the term “drive” can refer in particular to any device that is suitable for continuously moving the conveying element described above. For example, the drive can have a motor and a drive element. The coupling between the motor and the conveying element can then be provided via the drive element, e.g. a chain wheel or a roller.

In the context of this document, the term “pushing element” can refer to any element which can be attached to a conveying element and is suitable for conveying or pushing (transporting) belt waste. To put it bluntly, the pushing elements work according to the principle of a broom (or brush), with which dirt or waste is conveyed with a suitable sweeping movement. In one embodiment, the pushing elements are plate-shaped, but they can also be implemented as brushes, for example. Both rigid (e.g. made of metal) and (semi) flexible configurations (e.g. made of polymers such as plastic) are possible.

It is pointed out that there is no general upper limit for the number of thrust elements. With an increase in the number of pushers, on the one hand, the distances between adjacent pushers can be reduced, which contributes to a reduction in the amount of belt waste associated with a pusher. In addition, with an increase in the number of pushing elements, the length of the entire conveying path can also be increased.

In the context of this document, the term "discharge" can refer to the fact that belt waste, which is transported by means of the conveyor, leaves it. The ejection can be both a process step (ejection of the waste belt from the conveyor) and an object (e.g. a waste container). In a simple embodiment, the belt waste falls (by gravity) out of the conveyor. In another embodiment, the conveying device has a discharge element (e.g. a material chute) by means of which the waste belt can be conveyed to a specific position (e.g. into a waste container).

According to an exemplary embodiment, the invention can be based on the idea that belt waste can be disposed of efficiently and cost-effectively when a conveyor element with protruding pusher elements is provided to the pick and place arrangement and the resulting belt waste is continuously discharged along a first conveying direction by means of the pusher elements transported. Here, the conveying element is designed in such a way that a drive moves the conveying element continuously forward in the course of a continuous movement cycle. The circuit is closed by returning the pushing elements in a second conveying direction (which is essentially opposite to the first conveying direction) back to the respective starting positions of the pushing elements.

While conventional belt waste had to be laboriously disposed of manually, it has now surprisingly been recognized that efficient and cost-effective disposal is made possible by providing a (continuous) conveyor circuit.

In particular, the conveyor device described can be easily integrated into existing assembly systems. For example, the conveyor device can be placed below one or (preferably) several pick and place arrangements without any special changes to the system being necessary for this purpose. The conveyor can be arranged so that the pushers entrain any webbing debris which falls out of webbing debris outputs (e.g. material chutes) of various pick and place arrangements (e.g. omitting the otherwise usual waste bin).

In principle, the conveyor device described can be expanded in this way for very large systems with long placement lines (and/or a large number of placement arrangements). This can result in the work steps within a placement system being extremely reduced. Referring to the example set out above, the conveyor device described (or a plurality of these conveyor devices) can, for example, in principle, replace the manual collection and emptying of waste containers in 14,400 cases per 24-hour shift.

According to one embodiment, the conveyor element has a conveyor chain or a conveyor belt. This can have the advantage that an efficient circulatory movement can be realized with simple means. Conveyor chains, in particular, can offer high performance and tear resistance with very little maintenance. Equipping with different types of grippers such as pushing elements is made possible in a practicable manner.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the drive has at least one rotatable element (in particular a chain wheel or a roller). This can likewise have the advantage of being an efficient circulatory movement with simple means can be realized. The continuous turning in the same direction leads to low wear and thus to a particularly long service life, for example in comparison to other transport methods in which a change of direction (forward, backward) takes place.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the strap waste contains a plurality of sections of at least one deflated component strap. This can have the advantage that emptied component belts, which represent a considerable amount of disposal, can be transported away efficiently directly after issue. Cutting up the emptied component tapes has turned out to be a mandatory measure, because there is not enough space either under a placement machine or between placement lines to rewind the emptied component tapes again.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the first thrust element and/or the second thrust element is/are designed as one from the group consisting of: rigid, flexible, semi-flexible. In this way, an appropriate configuration can be selected for the circumstances at hand. In some cases a rigid (fixed) design will be preferred.

Here, a hard material such as metal can be used. In another case, a flexible (bendable) or semi-flexible design may be preferred, so a pliable material such as a polymer (plastic, rubber, etc.) could be used. Depending on requirements, the pushing elements can be hard slides or soft slides. A combination of both, e.g. a rigid sliding element and a flexible sliding element, is also possible.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the first pushing element and/or the second pushing element has a plate shape or a brush shape. In this way, too, a suitable configuration can be selected for the circumstances at hand. The term “plate shape” can refer in particular to a (uniform) shape in which the extent in two spatial directions (x, y) is many times larger than the extent in the third spatial direction (z). A “brush”, on the other hand, is not a uniform shape, but can have a plurality of brushing elements, e.g. bristles or rags.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the conveying device also has: a conveying channel which is arranged along the conveying directions, the conveying element being arranged (at least partially) within the conveying channel. As a result, the conveying can be carried out in a particularly reliable manner, since it is impossible for the belt waste conveyed to fall out to the side. A reliable transfer of severed sections of emptied belt material into the conveying channel can be realized by suitable links which ensure that the belt sections are transferred into the conveying channel using gravity.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the conveying channel is (at least partially) closed around the conveying element. In particular, a top surface of the conveying channel has an opening for receiving the belt waste. This can have the advantage that, on the one hand, it is impossible for conveyed waste belts to fall out to the side and, on the other hand, reliable introduction of the waste belts (e.g. through a material chute of an assembly arrangement) is made possible. The conveying channel can have side surfaces (and optionally a bottom surface). Furthermore, the conveying channel can have a cover surface. In this case, the conveying channel is essentially closed around the conveying device. Openings in the top surface can preferably be provided along belt waste outlets.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the conveyor device also has: an ejection element which is coupled to the conveyor element and enables the belt waste to be guided to the ejection point. This can have the advantage that the belt waste can be conveyed out of the conveyor device and to a desired disposal position (e.g. a waste container). The discharge element can be implemented as a funnel, cylinder or material chute, for example. The ejection element is preferably attached where the first conveying direction changes into the second conveying direction (reversal point), or where a drive element is provided.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, a first part of the conveying element is (essentially) arranged flat, in particular parallel to the ground, and a second part of the conveying element is attached in a raised manner in relation to the first part. In particular, the height difference is at least ten times higher (in particular at least twenty times higher) than the width of the conveying element. Furthermore, in particular, the second part has the ejection element. This configuration can provide the advantage that the first part can be provided under assembly arrangements in a space-saving manner, while the second part enables the targeted dropping into a waste container. Here, in particular, the dropping with the help of gravity is promoted, which can succeed without further expenditure. The height of the drop element can be very flexible and be based, for example, on the height of the waste container.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the first part has the conveying channel and the second part does not have the conveying channel. As a result, the second part can be flexibly adapted to the prevailing circumstances or the waste container used and its position.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the first part and the second part have the conveying channel. On the other hand, this has the advantage that lateral falling out along the second part of the conveying element is made impossible.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the assembly arrangement has a belt waste output. This can be slanted and e.g. designed as material chutes.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the conveying device described above is used to collect and convey waste belts not only from one placement arrangement but from at least two placement arrangements. The two placement arrangements, i.e. the placement arrangement and the further placement arrangement, can be at least part of a placement line in which, among other things, several placement arrangements are linked by a component carrier transport device, by means of which component carriers to be at least partially fitted from the placement arrangement positioned upstream to the one downstream positioned (additional) placement arrangement are transferred.

Typically, the first placement arrangement positioned upstream ensures that a first set of electronic components is placed on the component carrier to be placed. The second placement assembly positioned downstream provides for placing a second set of electronic components on the component carriers to be placed, the second set being at least partially different from the first set.

The transport direction of the component carrier transport device preferably runs parallel to the transport direction of the waste belt transport device. The component feed device and the further component feed device can preferably be positioned laterally next to the component carrier transport device.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the conveying device (in particular the first part of the conveying element) is located at least partially below a pick and place arrangement (preferably below at least two pick and place arrangements), in particular underneath at least one from the group consisting of: the component feed device, the pick and place area, the cutting device.

As a result, an installation space for the conveyor device or a conveyor system described above can be used in an advantageous manner for automatic removal of belt waste, which installation space is essentially unused in known assembly lines. As a result, the automatic removal of belt waste within a production area or machine hall does not require any additional parking space.

In addition, the conveyor device described above can be integrated into existing assembly lines without requiring a fundamental conversion of the assembly line in question. In order to implement the invention, no larger floor space is required for the placement line.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the further placement arrangement has: i) a further component feeding device for feeding further electronic components which are located in a further component belt, ii) a further automatic placement machine with a further placement head for picking up the further electronic components that have been fed in and for Placing the other electronic components picked up on a component carrier to be fitted, which is located in another placement area of the other placement machine, and iii) another cutting device for separating emptied sections of the other component belt, the severed sections representing further belt waste.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the placement arrangement is arranged adjacent to the further placement arrangement (or both are part of a placement line), and the conveyor device is arranged (at least partially) under the placement arrangement and under the further placement arrangement. This has the advantage that the belt waste that occurs from a number of placement arrangements can be collected by a single conveyor device. In principle, a single conveyor device can dispose of all the waste tape from an entire placement line in this way. The pick and place arrangements of this line (particularly in the case of particularly long lines) preferably eject their tape waste with a time delay, so that particularly efficient transport (without the risk of the conveyor device becoming blocked) is made possible. In the event that each of the pick and place arrangements have two feed devices (and two spatially offset belt waste outputs), two conveyor devices can also be used (Preferably parallel to each other) are placed under the placement arrangements.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the pick and place system has a plurality of pick and place devices and a corresponding plurality of ejectors. In a particularly time- and cost-saving manner, these litters (e.g. litter elements and/or waste containers) are linked to a shared waste container. As a result, the removal or disposal of the waste belts can be carried out particularly efficiently.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the method is carried out for an assembly line with at least two, in particular at least four (further in particular at least eight) assembly arrangements. This can provide the advantage that the described method (or the conveying device) can be used for a large number of assembly arrangements, preferably an entire assembly line.

It is pointed out that embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to different objects of the invention. In particular, some embodiments of the invention are described with apparatus claims and other embodiments of the invention are described with method claims. However, it will be immediately clear to those skilled in the art upon reading this application that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, any combination of features belonging to one type of subject matter of the invention is also possible, in addition to any combination of features belonging to different types of objects of the invention.

Further advantages and features of the present invention result from the following exemplary description of currently preferred embodiments.

character list

• 1 shows a plan view of a conveyor device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 2 shows a plan view of two conveyor devices according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 3 shows a top view of a placement device with a placement arrangement and the conveyor device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 4 shows a plan view of a placement device with a placement arrangement and the conveyor device according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 5 shows a plan view of an equipping device, wherein the conveying device has a conveying channel, according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 6 shows a top view of a conveying device with a conveying channel and a raised ejection element according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 7 shows a side view of an assembly system according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 8th shows a further side view of an assembly system according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• 9 shows a view from below of a placement system according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description

It is pointed out that in the following detailed description, features or components of different embodiments that are the same or at least functionally equivalent to the corresponding features or components of another embodiment are provided with the same reference symbols or with reference symbols, which are used in the last two digits are identical to the reference symbols of corresponding features or components that are the same or at least have the same function. To avoid unnecessary repetition, features or components that have already been explained using a previously described embodiment will not be explained in detail later.

Furthermore, it is pointed out that the embodiments described below only represent a limited selection of possible embodiment variants of the invention. In particular, it is possible to combine the features of individual embodiments with one another in a suitable manner, so that a large number of different embodiments can be regarded as obviously disclosed for the person skilled in the art with the embodiment variants explicitly presented here.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the webbing waste removal can be described as follows: brushes on chains mounted in a channel under a pick and place machine. Belt scraps fall into a path where a brush can move the scraps in one direction in a channel. The chain with brushes is a closed one system and this moves continuously. An automated solution is described to transport waste belts, reducing operator effort on the machine and taking a step towards Industry 4.0.

1 shows a plan view of a conveyor device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, which forms part of a placement device 200. FIG. The conveyor device 100 promotes tape waste 150, which occurs at a placement arrangement 201 by cutting emptied component tapes. The belt waste 150 is discharged from the pick and place arrangement 201 by a belt waste output 210 (eg a material chute). The conveyor device 100 has a conveyor element 110, which is designed as a conveyor chain or conveyor belt. The conveying element 110 is arranged along a first conveying direction F1 , which is the conveying direction of the waste belts 150 towards an ejection point 160 . Furthermore, the conveying element 110 is arranged along a second conveying direction F2 which is opposite to the first conveying direction F1 and which is the return transport direction (of pushing elements). This results from the fact that the conveying element 110 is provided as a closed circuit, which is continuously moved in one direction by means of a drive.

The conveying element 110 has a plurality of (essentially perpendicular) protruding pusher elements 120, 130, two of which will be described below as examples. A first pushing element 120 and a second pushing element 130 are attached to the conveying element 110 so as to protrude and are spaced apart from one another in the conveying directions F1, F2. In the example shown, these are designed as rigid plates. However, the pushing elements can also have a brush shape, for example, and/or can be provided so that they can be bent.

The drive of the conveyor device 100 has a motor, not shown, which is mechanically coupled to the conveyor element 110 via two drive elements 105 . The drive elements 105 can be implemented as rollers or sprockets, for example, depending on whether a conveyor belt or a conveyor chain is used as the conveyor element 110.

In the operating state, the conveying element 110 is now continuously moved (by means of the drive) along the first conveying direction F1 and the second conveying direction F2. This results in the following additional steps as a result of the structure described: Guide the first pusher element 120 from a first starting position (in direction F1, as shown in the figure) along the first conveying direction F1 to an ejector 160, with the first pusher element 120 having a first belt drop 150a pushes. The first belt waste 150a is made available by the belt waste output 210 and is carried along or conveyed/pushed by the first pushing element 120 . At the end of the first conveying direction F1, the first belt waste 150a is ejected 160, for example it is fed to a waste container. The first pushing element 120 is then guided back to the first starting position along the second conveying direction F2, with the first pushing element 120 now no longer pushing any belt waste. The same process is repeated for the second pusher element 130, which takes along a second belt waste 150b, which in the meantime has been made available by the belt waste outlet 210: guiding the second pusher element 130 from a second starting position along the first conveying direction F1 to the drop 160 (followed from throwing off the second waste belt 150b), wherein the second pusher element 130 pushes the second waste belt 150b, and guiding the second pusher element 130 back to the second starting position along the second conveying direction F2, wherein the second pusher element no longer pushes a waste belt.

2 shows a plan view of two conveyor devices 100 arranged parallel to one another according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention. The conveyor devices 100 are similar to those in FIG 1 constructed as described above, wherein the conveying elements 110 are additionally each arranged within a conveying channel 180 which comprises a top surface 181 and two side walls. The conveying channel 180 is made of metal, for example, and ensures that belt waste 150 does not fall out between the pushing elements 120, 130 during conveying. In the example shown, the conveying channel 180 has openings 182 in the top surface at those points at which belt waste outputs 210 from placement arrangements 200 are located. Two of the conveyors 100 are used, each coupled to the tape waste outputs 210,310 of two placement assemblies 201,301. This is because each of the two placement arrangements 201, 301 has two spatially spaced tape waste outputs 210, 310. The circular continuous movement of the respective conveying element 110 along the first conveying direction F1 and the second conveying direction F2 is indicated by arrows.

3 shows a plan view of a placement device 200 with a placement arrangement 201 and the conveyor device 100 described according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The placement arrangement 201 is for the placement of component carriers with electronic Components and has: i) a component feed device 202 (not shown here) for feeding electronic components that are in the component belt, ii) a placement machine 204 with a placement head for picking up the electronic components that have been fed in and for placing the picked-up electronic ones Components on a component carrier to be placed, which is located in a placement area 205, and iii) a cutter 206 for severing emptied portions of the component tape (where the severed portions constitute tape waste 150), the cutter 206 being located above the tape waste output 210 . The conveying device 100 described for conveying the belt waste 150 is assigned to the placement device 200, but not to the placement arrangement 201. The conveyor device 100 can be installed flexibly as a separate element in existing (assembly) systems.

4 shows a plan view of a placement device 200 as for 3 described in the operating condition. Arrows indicate that belt waste 150 falls out of the belt waste output 210 between pushing elements 120, 130 of the conveying element 110 and is pushed along by them in the first conveying direction F1.

5 shows a plan view of a placement device 200 as for 4 described in the operating state, the conveyor device 100 additionally having a conveyor channel 180 (see 2 ) having. The waste belts 150 fall precisely through the waste belt outlet 210 into the opening 182 of the conveying channel 180. Within the (substantially) closed conveying channel 180, the waste belts 150 are transported along the first conveying direction F1 without the risk of the waste falling out to the side.

6 shows a plan view of a conveying device 100 with a conveying channel 180 and a raised discharge element 161 according to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention. Here, two parts 101, 102 of the conveyor device 100 can be defined. The first part 101 is surrounded by the conveying channel 180, with openings 182 for throwing in the waste belt 150 being present. This first part 101 is set up to be laid flat (planar) on a subsurface (eg a factory floor) or under one or more placement arrangements 201, 301. The second part 102 is (in this example) not enclosed by the conveying channel 180 and, in contrast to the first part 101, is not configured to be placed on a substrate. Instead, the second part 102 is bent upwards. The height in relation to the ground (on which the first part 101 lies) is at least ten times the width of the conveying element 101. This configuration makes it possible to provide a targeted discharge 160 with the aid of gravity. For this purpose, a discharge element 161 in the form of a tube is provided at the end of the second part 102, through which belt waste can be ejected in a targeted manner. For example, a waste container can be positioned below the raised dropping element 161 . The ejection element 161 is arranged adjacent to a drive element 105 (eg a chain wheel), so that the belt waste can leave the conveying element 110 at this reversal point (from conveying direction F1 to conveying direction F2). For the sake of a better overview, the pushing elements are not shown in this figure (and in the following figures). However, these are preferably present and convey the belt waste 150 upwards to the ejection element 161.

7 shows a side view of an assembly system 400 with two assembly arrangements 201, 301 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The two pick and place arrangements 201, 301 are similar (or essentially identical) in structure and set up adjacent to one another so that they form a pick and place line (or a part thereof). The general structure of the placement arrangement 201 was already for 3 described above. The further placement arrangement 301 has a further feed device 302, a further placement machine 304 with a further placement area 305, and a further cutting device. In 7 the feeding device 202 and the further feeding device 302 are also shown.

The two automatic placement machines 204 and 304 are connected to one another by means of a component carrier transport device, which is not shown. With this transport device, component carriers that have been partially fitted with electronic components by the placement machine 304 can be moved into the placement area 205 of the placement machine 204 . There, the component carrier is then equipped with further electronic components.

Just like the component carriers, the belt waste disposal systems of both placement machines 204, 304 are connected or coupled. The conveyor device 100 described is placed below the assembly arrangements 201, 301 and guided through them. In the view shown, only the conveying channel 180 of the first part 101 of the conveying device 100 below the placement arrangements 201, 301 can be seen. In this example, each of the pick and place arrangements 201, 301 has two spatially separated belt waste outputs 210, 310, so that two conveyor devices 100 are used next to one another.

During operation of the assembly system 400, each of the four cutting devices 206 produces a waste belt 150. This waste belt 150 occurs simultaneously and/or at different times. The falling belt waste 150, as for example in 2 shown, are collected and transported to the second part 102 of the conveyor device 100, where they are disposed of via the discharge element 161 in a respective waste container 260 (preferably a single one).

8th shows a side view of the placement system 400 of FIG 7 . It can be seen here that two conveying devices 100 are positioned below the placement arrangements 201, 301 and correspondingly transport away all belt waste 150 that occurs. Each of the two conveyor devices 100 promotes the respective belt waste 150 into its own waste container 260, 360. In this way, all four belt waste outputs 210 of the two placement arrangements 201, 301 can be emptied directly and continuously automatically. In principle, this functionality can be extended to a significantly larger number of placement arrangements (within a placement line). Preferably, the webbing waste 150 from all of these placement assemblies can be collected within one (or two) waste bins.

9 12 shows a bottom view of placement system 400 of FIG 7 and 8th . It can be clearly seen how the two conveyor devices 100 are placed below the placement arrangements 201, 301.

Reference List

100

conveyor

101

First part

102

Second part

105

drive element

110

conveying element

120

First thrust element

130

Second thrust element

150

Belt drop in general

150a,b

First belt drop, second belt drop

160

Release

161

drop element

180

conveyor channel

181

Conveyor channel top surface

182

Conveyor channel opening

200

placement device

201

placement arrangement

202

component feeder

204

placement machine

205

assembly area

206

cutting device

210

Seat belt drop issue

260

waste bin

301

Further assembly arrangement

302

Another component feeder

304

Another placement machine

305

Additional assembly area

310

More belt drop issue

360

Another waste container

400

placement system

F1

First conveying direction

F2

Second conveying direction

Claims (19)

A conveyor device (100) for conveying belt waste (150) of an assembly arrangement (201), the conveyor device (100) having: a conveyor element (110) which is arranged along a first conveying direction (F1) and a second conveying direction (F2), wherein the second conveying direction (F2) is essentially opposite to the first conveying direction (F1), the conveying element (110) having: a first pushing element (120) which is attached to the conveying element (110) in a projecting manner, and a second pushing element (130), which is attached to the conveying element (110) in a projecting manner and spaced apart from the first pushing element (110) in the conveying directions (F1, F2); a drive which is coupled to the conveying element (110) and which is configured for: continuously moving the conveying element (110) along the first conveying direction (F1) and the second conveying direction (F2); Leading the first pushing element (120) from a first starting position along the first conveying direction (F1) to a drop (160), wherein the first pushing element (120) pushes a first belt waste (150a); guiding the first pushing element (120) back to the first home position along the second conveying direction (F2), the first pushing element (120) pushing substantially no webbing waste; guiding the second pushing element (130) from a second starting position along the first conveying direction (F1) to the drop (160), the second pushing element (130) pushing a second belt waste (150b); and guiding the second pusher (130) back to the second home position along the second conveying direction (F2), wherein the second pusher (130) pushes substantially no webbing waste. The conveyor device (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyor element (110) comprises a conveyor chain or a conveyor belt. The conveyor device (100) according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the drive has at least one rotatable drive element (105), in particular a chain wheel or a roller. The conveyor (100) of any preceding claim, wherein the belt waste (150) includes a plurality of sections of at least one deflated component belt. The conveyor device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first pusher element (120) and/or the second pusher element (130) is configured as one of the group consisting of: rigid, flexible, semi-flexible. The conveyor device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first pushing element (120) and/or the second pushing element (130) has a plate shape or a brush shape. The conveyor device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a conveying channel (180) which is arranged along the conveying directions (F1, F2), the conveying element (110) being arranged at least partially within the conveying channel (180). The conveyor device (100) according to claim 7 , wherein the conveying channel (180) is at least partially closed around the conveying element (110), in particular the conveying channel (180) has an opening (182) for receiving the belt waste (150) of the placement arrangement (201). The conveyor device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: an ejection element (161) which is coupled to the conveying element (110) and enables the belt waste (150) to be guided to the ejection point (160). The conveyor device (100) according to claim 9 , wherein a first part (101) of the conveying element (110) can be attached essentially flat, in particular parallel to the ground, wherein a second part (102) of the conveying element can be attached raised in relation to the first part (101), in particular at least ten times is higher than the width of the conveyor element (110), and wherein the second part (102) has the ejection element (161). The conveyor device (100) according to claim 10 , if dependent on claim 7 or 8th , wherein the first part (101) has the conveying channel (180); wherein the second part (102) does not have the delivery channel (180) or wherein the second part (102) has the delivery channel (180). Using the conveyor device (100) according to any one of Claims 1 until 11 for conveying belt waste (150) of the pick and place arrangement (201), in particular a plurality of pick and place arrangements (201, 301), for fitting component carriers with electronic components. A placement device (200) comprising: a placement arrangement (201) for fitting component carriers with electronic components, the placement arrangement (201) having: a component feed device (202) for feeding electronic components which are located in a component tape, a placement machine (204) with a placement head for picking up the supplied electronic components and for placing the picked up electronic components on a component carrier to be fitted which is located in a placement area (205), a cutting device (206) for separating emptied sections of the component tape, the severed sections represent webbing waste (150); and a conveyor (100) according to any one of Claims 1 until 11 for conveying the belt waste (150) towards the drop (160). The placement device (200) according to the preceding Claim 13 , wherein the conveying device (100), in particular the first part (101) of the conveying element (110), is located at least partially below the placement arrangement (201), in particular one from the group consisting of: the component feed device (202), the assembly area (205), the cutting device (206). An assembly system (400) comprising: an assembly device (200) according to Claim 13 or 14 ; a further mounting arrangement (301), having a further component feeding device (302) for feeding further electronic components which are located in a further component belt, a further automatic placement machine (304) with a further placement head for picking up the further electronic components supplied and for placing the picked up further electronic components on one component carrier to be fitted, which is located in a further placement area (305) of the further automatic placement machine (304), and a further cutting device for separating emptied sections of the further component belt, the severed sections representing further belt waste (150); wherein the conveying device (150) is configured to also convey the further belt waste (150) towards the drop (160). The placement system (400) according to claim 15 , wherein the placement arrangement (201) is arranged adjacent to the further placement arrangement (301), and wherein the conveyor device (100) is arranged at least partially under the placement arrangement (201) and under the further placement arrangement (301). The placement system (400) according to claim 15 or 16 , further comprising: a plurality of placement devices (200); and a corresponding plurality of sheds (160); wherein the drops (160) are coupled to a common waste container. A method for conveying belt waste (150a,b) of an assembly arrangement (201), the method comprising: continuously moving a conveying element (110) along a first conveying direction (F1) and a second conveying direction (F2), the second conveying direction (F2) being substantially opposite to the first conveying direction (F1); Guiding a first pusher element (120), which is attached to the conveyor element (110) so that it protrudes, starting from a first starting position along the first conveying direction (F1) to an ejector (160), the first pusher element (120) having a first belt drop (150a ) pushes; guiding the first pushing element (120) back to the first starting position along the second conveying direction (F2), the first pushing element (120) pushing substantially no webbing waste; Guiding a second pusher element (130), which is attached to the conveying element (110) so that it protrudes and is spaced apart from the first pusher element (110) in the conveying directions (F1, F2), starting from a second starting position along the first conveying direction (F1) to the drop (160), wherein the second pusher (130) pushes a second webbing drop (150b); and guiding the second pusher (130) back to the second home position along the second conveying direction (F2), wherein the second pusher (130) pushes substantially no webbing waste. The procedure according to Claim 18 , The method being carried out for an assembly line with at least two, in particular at least four, assembly arrangements (201, 301).

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