EP0893353B1 - Device for applying components and labels on electronic boards by suction - Google Patents

Description

In many industries - construction automotive, communications, IT, to take only the more obvious - electronic printed circuit boards are used. he these are substrates on the faces of which tracks are printed conductive and are mounted and attached components, basically electrical and electronic components connected electrically, by soldering and soldering, with printed tracks.

If certain components cannot be placed on their card, before welding, other than by hand, many can be mechanized and automatic.

These are components called CMS (components mounted in surface) generally in the form of housings in which a plurality of electronic elements are integrated and which are qualified for this reason for integrated circuits when it is not about processors.

Due to this form of housing, these CMS components have a flat top surface that is used to lay them sucking on the cards.

There have been machines for several decades. installation by suction of components on electronic cards, see for example document US-A-5,628,107. for example, there are some who receive cards on a carrier printed and, on a magazine table, a battery of magazines components and which comprise a laying turret carrying a plurality suction nozzles and essentially four workstations, all being computer controlled.

The first station is an entry station, where the nozzles suction draw the component housings by their upper face.

The second position is a positioning position, today by television cameras which positions the components, in fact the nozzles in the card space before placing them on it.

The third station is the installation station where the nozzles release the components which come to rest in the correct position on the boards pre-glued and attached, ready for electrical connection later by welding.

The fourth station is a reset station where the nozzles are returned to their neutral gripping position.

The laying turret advances (turns) step by step and at the entered, when a suction nozzle arrives there, by a command appropriate and adapted kinematics, after possible presentation of a new magazine by moving the magazine table, there are advance and placement under the nozzle of a new component, descent nozzle and gripping of the component by the nozzle, almost all instantly.

Suction laying machines today reach very high rates of tens of thousands of components laid on time.

Finally, the presentation of the suction laying machines components, we will present here a component loader which includes a transmitting coil and a receiving coil of a cell tape of component acceptance and side track with drive holes by a ratchet wheel, itself driven by the kinematics mentioned above, the strip unwinding, component by component, from a reel to the other under the action of the laying turret.

• leur longueur n'est pas parfaitement prédéterminée, et peut varier d'une étiquette à l'autre, à cause de l'imprécision de coupe, voire même des variations de conditions climatiques ;
• elles sont stockées collées sur une bande support ;
• tout comme les boítiers de composant, elles présentent une surface supérieure d'aspiration.

Manufacturers of electronic card equipment are often forced to stick on these cards labels of glued paper, whether they are identification labels, tracking labels or quality control labels. These labels have some notable characteristics:

• their length is not perfectly predetermined, and may vary from one label to another, because of the imprecision of cutting, or even variations of climatic conditions;
• they are stored glued to a support strip;
• like the component housings, they have an upper suction surface.

Until now, these labels were stuck by hand or by remote, expensive and inflexible machines.

We know labeling robots, like those of the American company Computype Inc., St Paul, Minnesota, but that it is impossible to associate, in a chain of mass production of cards electronic, to a machine for sucking in CMS components.

• un transporteur de réception de cartes imprimées ;
• une table porte-chargeurs, de réception d'une batterie de chargeurs de composants ;
• une tourelle porte-buses, avec des moyens de présentation, d'avance, de saisie, de positionnement et de pose des composants sur les cartes, et
• des moyens de pilotage,

   caractérisée par le fait que la tourelle et ses moyens de présentation, d'avance, de saisie, de positionnement et de pose de composants et les moyens de pilotage sont agencés pour la pose d'étiquettes en tant que composants.The Applicant has therefore sought to solve the problem of automating the application of labels on electronic cards and this is how it proposes its invention which is a machine for applying components on printed cards by suction, comprising:

• a carrier for receiving printed cards;
• a charger table, for receiving a battery of component chargers;
• a nozzle turret, with means for presenting, advancing, entering, positioning and placing the components on the cards, and
• steering resources,

characterized by the fact that the turret and its means for presenting, advancing, gripping, positioning and fitting of components and the control means are arranged for fitting labels as components.

Finally, the invention proposes to integrate the battery of component loaders at least one label loader.

The plaintiff's merit is not small.

She first dared to shake up old habits of affixing hand labels on cards taken out of automatic machines of installation of components.

Nor did she allow herself to be intimidated by the absence of interest from manufacturers of labeling robots for labeling mass produced electronic cards and dared to think about integration of the invention.

Above all, she had the audacity to fight prejudice and a priori of all those who considered the enterprise impossible and illusory assimilating labels to components to be placed on cards electronic, for ultimately unfounded reasons.

Certainly, labels and CMS components have a common feature, the upper suction surface for their capture. But everything else separates them.

The SMD components are placed loose in the cells of their storage and transport tape and it is therefore easy to remove them.

Vacuum labels stuck on a support strip, at on the contrary, could only be a deterrent.

CMS components have well-defined dimensions and constants, while the labels, which, moreover, can be much larger surface area than CMS components, have imprecise dimensions which could not, according to critics of the invention, that raise difficulties difficult to overcome.

Difficulties related to the suction of the stuck labels and to the imprecision of their dimensions then appeared and, a priori, hardly compatible with the rates of the laying machines of CMS components.

In short, all this illustrates the inventive activity shown by the plaintiff to propose his invention.

Preferably, edge detection means are provided. labels, in order to allow their precise entry by the nozzles, to account for the imprecision of their length.

In this case, means are advantageously provided for stop the labels before they are entered by the nozzles, preferably controlled by the detection means, and preferably after a pre-peeling of the labels, to facilitate final peeling by suction of labels from their conveyor belt.

In the preferred embodiment of the the invention, the means for stopping the labels comprise a motor electric label advance, other advance means components being mechanical means.

The electrical nature of the advance labels, proposed to because of the problem of their length, paradoxically gives a result advantageous: label loaders, with conveyor belt by electric motor, fit easily into the mechanical component suction suction machines conveyor belts.

Advantageously, components that can be installed simultaneously on several printed cards, the control means are arranged to apply the same successive labels, respectively on the cards, before and after laying on the cards a plurality of others components. Thanks to this, by placing, on each card, a label all n classic CMS components, n can be quite large, practically does not slow down the whole installation process.

Advantageously also, the laying machine of the invention includes a label loader comprising a transmitting coil and a take-up reel of a label conveyor tape stuck on the tape, the tape drive and label feed motor, and means for pre-peeling the labels.

Advantageously still, the means for pre-detaching the labels include a bend or tape bend conveyor, preferably extended, beyond a the band is turned back, by a label support cradle.

In the preferred embodiment of the the invention, the means for detecting the front edge of the labels are provided adjacent to the label pre-peeling means.

• la figure 1 est une vue du chargeur d'étiquettes ;
• la figure 2 est une vue de dessus de la zone de prédécollement d'étiquettes du chargeur de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 3 est une vue de dessus de la zone de prédécollement d'étiquettes, sans bande transporteuse ni étiquettes ;
• la figure 4 est une vue de la machine de l'invention ;
• la figure 5 est une vue de la tourelle de pose et du chemin de travail de la machine de la figure 4 et
• la figure 6 est une vue d'une buse d'aspiration d'étiquette.

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the following description of an embodiment of the dispensing machine and of an embodiment of the label loader of the invention, with reference to the attached drawing, on which :

• Figure 1 is a view of the label loader;
• Figure 2 is a top view of the label pre-peeling area of the loader of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a top view of the label pre-peeling area, without conveyor belt and labels;
• Figure 4 is a view of the machine of the invention;
• FIG. 5 is a view of the laying turret and the working path of the machine in FIG. 4 and
• Figure 6 is a view of a label suction nozzle.

Referring to Figure 4, the laying machine of the invention comprises an upstream transporter 1 of printed cards 60, a downstream transporter 2 of printed cards, between the two, a movable table 3 for laying components, a turret for laying 4, under which the table pose 3 can move the printed cards, and, here, a mobile table 5 door-chargers.

The magazine table 5 is intended to receive a battery of component loaders 6 which, by sliding the table 5 on the machine frame 7, can be presented to the laying turret 4.

The laying turret 4 carries a plurality of suction nozzles (suction) 8.

The turret 4 is rotatably mounted to present the nozzles 8 in front of a series of workstations. The descent and ascent of nozzles 8, by connecting rods and supports 10, are carried out by sets of cams 9.

• un poste 11 de présentation de chargeur 6, d'avance de bande transporteuse de chargeur 6, de descente de buse 8, d'aspiration et de saisie de composant ;
• un poste 12 de positionnement, par caméra de télévision 13, des buses 8 dans l'espace de cartes de la table 3, suivi d'un poste 14 de positionnement fin ;
• un poste 15 de descente de buse 8 et de pose de composant sur une carte, suivi d'un poste de remontée de buse et de divers postes de contrôle qualité et de sélection de buse ;
• un poste 16 de remise à zéro, de retour des buses 8 en position neutre de saisie.

The turret 4 therefore evolves along a working path comprising:

• a charger presentation station 11, charger conveyor belt advance 6, nozzle descent 8, suction and component capture;
• a station 12 for positioning, by television camera 13, nozzles 8 in the card space of the table 3, followed by a station 14 for fine positioning;
• a station 15 for lowering a nozzle 8 and for placing the component on a card, followed by a station for raising the nozzle and various quality control and nozzle selection stations;
• a reset station 16 for returning the nozzles 8 to the neutral input position.

The entire machine is controlled by a computer 17.

The conventional CMS components of the chargers 6 are arranged on conveyor belts with a perforated side track, the advance of which is ensured by kinematics ending with a feed dog entering a perforation of the perforated strip track.

Labels 20, which the dispensing machine can also apply by suction on the cards, are stored glued on tapes conveyors 21 of loaders 6 described below.

In each of these loaders, the conveyor belt 21 is unwound from a reel 22 to a reel 23, under the action of a motor here electric 24 driving in rotation of the take-up reel 23. The conveyor belt 21, between the two reels, wraps around a detour head 25, with a spout 26 of strip cuff and a cusp edge 27 inclined at least minus 90 ° on the outward edge 28 of the spout, to peel off the labels on a most of their length, i.e. pre-peel them so that the suction force of the nozzles 8 need not be too great. The head of detour 25 is extended, beyond a channel 29 for passing the strip 21, by a label lift cradle 30 having a groove 33 between two edges 31, 32, on which the pre-peeled label of the conveyor belt 21.

A cell 34 for detecting the front edge 35 of the labels 20 is arranged on a base 36 of the charger to provide a field of vision grazing the front edge 37, facing the turret 4, lift cradle 30.

When cell 34 detects a label edge 35, it stops the motor 24 for immobilizing the take-up reel 23, the strip 21 and label 20 detected. Then, a nozzle 8 can be lowered to vacuum precisely and easily the label only stuck on a small area of the strip 21 and on the edges 31, 32 of the cradle 30.

Referring to Figure 6, the label suction nozzles 8 are adapted to these labels and closely match their shape, with a suction pipette 81 and a suction plate 82 provided with several suction ports 83.

Referring to Figure 4, the laying machine actually comprises two installation tables 3, 3 'to be able to install components simultaneously on several (in this case two) electronic cards here identical 60. Under these conditions, no two labels are applied successive respectively on the two cards only after having posed a plurality of conventional CMS components on the first of the two cards, the application of labels therefore does not slow down the installation process considered globally.

As an indication, the applicant proposes to use, for the labels to be applied by suction, matt coated paper, 89 μm thick and weighing 80 g / m ² , stored, using a synthetic adhesive emulsion 25 µm thick, on a strip of treated kraft paper 71 µ m thick.

Claims (10)

1. Machine for applying components (20) onto printed circuit boards (60) by suction, comprising:

   a conveyor (1, 2) for receiving printed circuit boards;

   a loader-carrying table (5) for receiving a bank of loaders (6) for components;

   a nozzle (8)-bearing turret (4) having means for presenting, advancing (11), gripping (8), positioning (12, 13) and applying components (15) onto the boards (60), and

   guide means (17),

   characterised in that the turret (4) and its means (11-16) for presenting, advancing, gripping, positioning and applying components and the guide means (17) are arranged for applying labels (20) as components, the machine comprising means (34) for detecting the leading edge (35) of the labels (20) so as to permit them to be gripped precisely by the nozzles (8), taking into account a lack of precision in their length.
2. Applying machine as claimed in Claim 1, wherein means (24) are provided to stop the labels (20) before they are gripped by the nozzles (8).
3. Applying machine as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the stopping means (24) are controlled by the detecting means (34).
4. Applying machine as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the detecting means (34) control the stopping means (24) after pre-separation of the labels (20), to facilitate their final separation, by suction, from a conveyor strip (21).
5. Applying machine as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the means for stopping the labels (20) comprise an electric motor (24) for advancing the labels, the means (11) for advancing the other components being mechanical means.
6. Applying machine as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein since components can be applied simultaneously onto several printed circuit boards (60), the guide means (17) are arranged to apply several identical successive labels (20), onto the boards (60) respectively, before and after a plurality of other components have been applied onto the boards (60).
7. Applying machine as claimed in any one of Claims 5 and 6, comprising a label loader having a supply reel (22) and a receiving reel (23) for a strip (21) conveying labels (20), which labels are stuck on to the strip, the motor (24) for driving the strip (21) and for advancing the labels (20) and means (26, 29, 30) for the pre-separation of the labels (20).
8. Applying machine as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the means for the pre-separation of the labels (20) comprise a deflecting tip (26).
9. Applying machine as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the deflecting tip (26) is extended, beyond a channel (29) for turning around the strip (21), by a cradle (30) for lifting the labels (20).
10. Applying machine as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 9, wherein the means (34) for detecting the leading edge (35) of the labels (20) are provided adjacent the means (30) for the pre-separation of the labels (20).

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