JP2001206519A - Chip parts supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate phenomena of catching of very small parts within a parts carrier path and sticking of very small parts to an internal surface of a separating and aligning pipe, smoothly and stably supply chip parts and improve reliability. SOLUTION: This device is provided with the parts carrier path 32 which is connected to a separating and aligning pipe 31 at one end and is continuous from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction for leading to a parts pickup position at the other end. In an inclined or curved carrier path part for converting from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction of the parts carrier path 32, a horizontal direction dimension of carrier space 32b of a rectangular shape in cross section is made constant and a longitudinal direction dimension T4 is gradually narrowed into a tapered shape, the thickness directions of the chip parts 20 are regulated and the chip parts 20 are aligned. In the horizontal direction carrier path part of the parts carrier path continuous to the inclined and curved carrier path part, the longitudinal direction dimension after carrier space is narrowed is made constant, the horizontal direction dimension is gradually narrowed into the tapered shape, the width direction of the chip parts 20 are regulated and chip parts 20 are aligned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chip component supply apparatus used in a chip component mounting machine for mounting a chip component on a printed circuit board, and more particularly, to supplying a bulk (bulk) micro chip component. The present invention relates to a chip component supply device that is suitable for performing

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a hopper for accommodating bulk chip components, a separation / alignment pipe communicating with the hopper to separate and align chip components one by one, and an end connected to the separation / alignment pipe and the other end connected to the component. There is a chip component supply device provided with a component transport path that is continuous from the vertical direction to the pickup position in the horizontal direction.

In this type of chip component supply apparatus, a conventional method for aligning square chips has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-34631.
No. 8 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-176893). In this case, the through-hole or the square groove of the upper end side opening of the pipe is formed into a tapered shape, the size of the subsequent through-hole or square groove is made constant, and the chip components are separated and aligned in the pipe inner hole. I have. The dimension of the transport space (transport groove dimension) of the component transport path connected to the separation and alignment pipe is also kept constant, and the chip components are aligned and transported by vacuum-suctioning the component pickup position side.

[0004]

However, when separating and aligning and transporting extremely small square chip components (0603, 1005 size), the above-described conventional apparatus uses the following (1) and (2).
Problems occur.

However, when the length L, width W, and thickness T of the square chip shown in FIG.
(Length dimension L) x 0.3 (width dimension W) x 0.3 (thickness dimension T) m
m, 1005 size: 1.0 (length L) × 0.5 (width W) × 0.5 (thickness T) mm. In the case of a chip capacitor, there is no need to distinguish between the front and back of the component and the upper, lower, left and right electrodes on both ends, and the present invention is directed to such a type of chip component.

(1) In the conventional apparatus, 0603 or 1003
As shown in FIG. 7, the cross-sectional shape of the transfer space (conveyance groove) of the component transfer path of the 5-size square chip component is made square, and the vertical dimension T2 and the horizontal dimension W2 in the transfer space are regulated to constant values.
Vacuum suction and transport at the parts pick-up position
A phenomenon occurs in which the chip component is rotated in a continuous transfer space from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction and is caught and cannot be transferred. This rotation center axis direction is parallel to the chip component transport direction, and the chip component tends to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to the rotation center axis. Since the ultra-small chip component has a small mass, the width W of the chip component is equal to the thickness T, and the shape is square, a rotational force is generated at the time of conveyance by the airflow in the conveyance space.

(2) In the vertically aligned separating and aligning pipe, the cross-sectional shape of the vertical free-fall transport space is square, and the width W and thickness T of the chip component are aligned and passed. The vertical dimension T1 and the horizontal dimension W1 of the transport space of the pipe inner hole in FIG. When a very small chip component is dropped by its own weight, a phenomenon occurs in which the chip component is stuck to the inner surface of the pipe due to static electricity, and the chip component is clogged and cannot be transported. This is because the mass of the micro chip component is small.

The dimensions W1 and W2 and the dimensions T1 and T2 in the separating and aligning pipe and the component conveying path are set to be larger than the dimensions W and T of the chip component by 0.10 to 0.20 mm to provide clearance for passing the component. I have.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and eliminates phenomena such as a small chip part being caught in a part conveying path and sticking to an inner surface of a separating and aligning pipe, thereby enabling a smooth and stable supply of chip parts. It is another object of the present invention to provide a chip component supply device with improved reliability.

[0010] Other objects and novel features of the present invention will be clarified in embodiments described later.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a component conveying path having one end connected to a separating and aligning pipe and the other end continuous from a vertical direction to a component pickup position in a horizontal direction. In the chip component supply device provided,
In the inclined or curved conveying path portion for converting the vertical direction to the horizontal direction in the component conveying path, the horizontal dimension of the conveying space having a rectangular cross section is constant, and the vertical dimension is gradually narrowed in a tapered shape to reduce the chip component. In the horizontal transport path portion of the component transport path following the inclined or curved transport path section, the vertical dimension after narrowing the transport space is constant, and It is characterized in that the directional dimension is gradually narrowed in a tapered shape to regulate and align the width direction of the chip components.

In the chip component supply device, the separation and alignment pipe may be vertically arranged, and a through hole through which the chip component of the separation and alignment pipe passes may be formed as a round hole.

[0013] It is preferable that chip components are conveyed in a lateral conveying path portion of the component conveying path by an air flow caused by a blast toward the component pick-up position or a vacuum suction from the component pick-up position side.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a chip component supply device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a main configuration of an embodiment of a chip component supply apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show an overall configuration.

First, the overall configuration of the chip component supply device will be described. 3 and 4 showing the entire configuration,
The supply line base of the chip component mounting machine is indicated by a virtual line 1, and the main body frame 10 of the chip component supply device is placed on the supply unit base 1.

At the right end of the main body frame 10, a hopper base 11 is slidably mounted in a vertical direction. The hopper base 11 is provided with a hopper (reservoir) 12 and accommodates a large number of bulk chip components 20. The chip component supply case 13 is detachably provided.
The inside of the chip component supply case 13 and the inside of the hopper 12 communicate with each other, and the chip components 20 are sequentially replenished into the hopper 12 from the chip component supply case 13. The hopper base 11 includes a hopper elevating motor 14 and a cam mechanism 15 at the lower right end of the main body frame 10.
Perform a reciprocating up and down motion. In this embodiment, a case where the chip component 20 is a rectangular chip component having a rectangular parallelepiped shape will be described as an example.

A component guide section 30 and a component transport section 40 are fixedly arranged on the upper side of the main body frame 10.

A vertical separating / aligning pipe 31 into which the chip components 20 in the hopper 12 drop one by one is fixed above the component guide portion 30. A component conveying path 32 is provided, which is curved from an upward state communicating with the alignment pipe 31 to become an inclined portion, and further curved and has a lower end portion directed in a horizontal direction. The component transport path 32 is configured by forming a transport space by covering a transport groove.

The component transporting section 40 has a horizontal (horizontal) component transporting path 41 connected (communicated) to the component transporting path 32 whose upper end is curved in an arc shape and whose lower end is oriented in the horizontal direction. The component transport path 32 and the component transport path 41
As a result, a component transport path is formed, which has one end connected to the separation and alignment pipe 31 and the other end continuous from the vertical direction to the component pickup position P in the horizontal direction. Here, the component transport path 41 is one in which a transport space is formed by covering the transport groove 43 formed in the alignment chute 42 with a transparent resin cover 44 (the cover 44 is fixed to the alignment chute 42 with screws). The other end (front end side) of the component transport path 41 reaches the shutter section 60 and reaches a component pick-up position P which is a suction point of a chip component by a suction nozzle of the mounting machine main body.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a separation and alignment pipe 31 fixed vertically on the upper part of the component guide part 30 is
A circular through hole 31a (shown by a solid line in FIG. 2) or a square through hole 31 is used as a transfer space through which the chip component 20 passes.
b (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 2). In the case of a round hole, the diameter of the circular hole is 1.5 times the W and T dimensions of the chip part, and the width of the square hole is W in the case of a square hole.
3. The vertical dimension T3 is 1.5 to 1.8 times the W and T dimensions of the chip component, respectively. However, it is more preferable to use a round hole. In particular, in the case of a round hole, the contact portion between the through-hole and the chip component becomes a line or a dot, and there is no surface contact portion like a square hole, and the influence of static electricity is reduced.

The upper end opening of the component transport path 32 of the component guide section 30 communicates with the through-hole 31a in a cross section corresponding to the through hole 31a. The groove 32a has the same cross-sectional area as the upper end opening. The transport space (transport groove) 32b of the inclined portion Q of the component transport path 32 following the vertical portion has a constant horizontal dimension W4 of a rectangular cross-section and a tapered vertical dimension T4 to gradually reduce the thickness of the chip component 20. The direction is regulated and aligned. Since the vertical dimension of the exit opening of the component transport path 32 is regulated, the vertical dimension T4 is reduced to about 1.1 times the W dimension and the T dimension of the chip component. Since the lateral dimension W4 is not regulated, it remains 1.5 to 1.8 times the W dimension and T dimension of the chip component.

As described above, in the component conveying path 32, the inclined portion Q at which the falling speed of the chip component 20 under its own weight becomes slow, in other words, at the position where the chip component 20 is to be stabilized on the lower surface (bottom surface) of the conveying path due to the weight of the chip component. Dimensions are regulated and aligned first.

The horizontal component transport path 41 is connected with the same cross-sectional area as the lower end opening of the component transport path 32, and the intermediate space R up to the component pick-up position P has a transport space (transport groove) 41a. The vertical dimension T5 is constant (corresponds to the vertical dimension at the exit opening of the component transport path 32) and the horizontal dimension W5
Are gradually narrowed in a tapered shape to regulate and align the width direction of the chip components 20. Lateral dimension W5 of transfer space 41a
Is reduced to about 1.1 times the W dimension and the T dimension of the chip component. As a result, in the transport groove at the tip end of the component transport path 41 reaching the component pick-up position P, both the vertical and horizontal dimensions are required to be regulated dimensions (that is, the vertical and horizontal dimensions are approximately 1.1 times the W and T dimensions of the chip component). Becomes

3 and 4, the shutter section 60 has a shutter 62 for opening and closing a component pick-up opening 61 provided at the component pick-up position P so as to be openable and closable. The component transport path 41 is evacuated from a component pick-up position P side by a vacuum generator (vacuum ejector) 70 as a negative pressure source provided in the main body frame 10.

Therefore, during operation of the vacuum generator, the air flow directed to the component pick-up position P is generated in the horizontal component conveying path 41.
The chip component 20 is conveyed toward the component pick-up position P with the longitudinal direction of the chip component 20 parallel to the component conveying path 41.

When the suction nozzle of the chip component mounting machine suctions the chip component 20 at the component pick-up position P, an operation force F is applied to the operation lever 71 to rotate the shutter 62. Link mechanism 72
It is opened by being transmitted through the like. Only when the shutter 62 is opened, the component take-out opening 61
The chip component 20 can be picked up by the suction nozzle. When the shutter 62 is closed, the vacuum generator 7
0 is performed, and the component pickup position P
Is generated in the component transport path 41, and transports the chip component 20 toward the component pickup position P.

On the lower side of the main body frame 10, a feeder lock lever 80 and a lock claw 81 operated by the feeder lock lever 80 are provided.
The main body frame 10 of the chip component supply device is fixed to the supply portion base 1 of the chip component mounting machine by a lock claw 81.

Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described.

The chip component 20 in the hopper 12 is separated from the lower part of the hopper by a vertical separation / separation pipe 31 one by one and falls as the hopper base 11 moves up and down. At this time, by making the through hole of the separation and alignment pipe 31 a round hole 31a of the solid line in FIG. 2, the contact portion between the through hole and the chip component becomes a line or a dot, and the surface contact portion is eliminated, so that the chip component due to static electricity is eliminated. Can be eliminated. Alternatively, the through-holes are formed by W,
The effect of static electricity can be reduced by making it sufficiently larger than the T dimension.

The chip component 20 that has fallen off the separation / alignment pipe 31 enters the component transport path 32 of the component guide section 30 and is gradually turned sideways to reach the left end of the horizontal portion. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the horizontal dimension W4 of the rectangular cross section is made constant in the transport space 32b in the inclined portion Q of the component transport path 32 without narrowing, and the vertical dimension T4 is gradually narrowed in a tapered shape. The thickness direction of the chip components 20 is regulated to align them.

The chip component 20 that has exited the component transport path 32 of the component guide section 30 enters a horizontal component transport path 41, and at a middle portion R of the component transport path 41 as shown in FIGS. The horizontal dimension W5 of the transport space 41a is gradually narrowed while the vertical dimension after the regulation is maintained as it is, and the width direction of the chip components is regulated and aligned. At this time, since the chip component feeding action due to gravity is lost in the horizontal portion, the component taking-out opening 61 at the component pick-up position P on the tip side of the component transport path 41 is closed with a shutter 62 and separated from the transport path 41. It is assumed that only the upper side of the alignment pipe 31 is substantially open, and the vacuum generator 70 supplies
Vacuum suction is performed on the part pick-up position P side of No. 1.
As a result, an airflow toward the component pick-up position P is generated in the component feed path 41 in the horizontal direction, and the leading-edge chip component 20 is restricted in the component pick-up position P of the component pick-up opening 61 both vertically and horizontally. Then, the positioning is stopped, and the apparatus enters a state of waiting for pickup by the suction nozzle.

Thereafter, the suction nozzle on the chip component mounting machine side is lowered, and an operating force F is applied to the operation lever 71 in FIG. Part 20
Execute supply.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) In the inclined portion of the component conveying path 32 of the component guide portion 30 for changing the flow direction of the chip component 20 from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, the conveying space (conveying groove) for the chip component using gravity. The vertical dimension T4 of 32b is gradually narrowed to regulate and align the thickness direction of the chip components. Further, the horizontal width, that is, the horizontal dimension W5 of the transport space (transport groove) in the component transport path 41 in the horizontal direction is gradually narrowed to regulate and align the chip components in the width direction. By dividing the alignment operation into two stages in this manner, even a very small chip component can be prevented from rotating, and can be reliably aligned and transported.

(2) The through-hole (round or corner) of the separation and alignment pipe 31 flows without regulating the thickness and width direction of the chip component 20 (providing a sufficiently large clearance between the chip component and the through-hole). It has dimensions. By doing so, sticking of the chip component to the through hole due to static electricity at the portion of the chip component falling under its own weight (vertical direction) is eliminated.

In the above embodiment, the component guide portion 30 has a configuration in which the conveying path portion is inclined.
As shown in FIG. 5, the component transport path 32 of the component guide portion 30 for converting the vertical direction to the horizontal direction has a transport path portion 90 curved in an arc shape, and in the transport space in the transport path portion 90, The dimension in the vertical direction may be regulated at a portion where the drop speed of the chip component under its own weight becomes slow, in other words, at a position where the chip component is to be stabilized on the lower surface (bottom surface) by the weight of the chip component.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the chip components are transported in the horizontal transport path portion of the component transport path by the air flow generated by vacuum suction from the component pickup position side. The chip components may be conveyed by an air flow caused by the blast.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims. There will be.

[0040]

As described above, according to the chip component supply device according to the present invention, the phenomenon that the chip components rotate and are caught and cannot be transported in the continuous component transport path from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. This solves the problem of the clogging of the extremely small chip components (0603, 1005 size), and can improve the component supply rate of the very small chip components (0603, 1005 size). Also,
When the through-holes through which the chip components of the separation and alignment pipes arranged in the vertical direction pass are round holes, the sticking phenomenon of the chip components due to static electricity can be eliminated, and the extremely small chip components (0
603, 1005 size).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a chip component supply device according to the present invention, and is a front sectional view of a main part configuration.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the overall configuration of the chip component supply device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view showing another example of a component transport path for converting a component guide portion from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one example of a chip component.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a transport space (transport groove) of a component transport path in a conventional apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a transport space (transport groove) of a separation and alignment pipe in a conventional apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Supply part base 10 Main body frame 11 Hopper base 12 Hopper 13 Chip component supply case 14 Hopper elevating motor 15 Cam mechanism 20 Chip component 30 Component guide part 31 Separation alignment pipe 31a Through-hole 32, 41 Component transport path 32a, 32b, 41a Transport space 40 Component transport section 42 Alignment chute 43 Component transport groove 60 Shutter section 61 Component removal opening 62 Shutter 70 Vacuum generator 71 Operation lever 72 Link mechanism 80 Feeder lock lever 81 Lock claw

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A chip component supply device having a component conveying path having one end connected to a separating and aligning pipe and the other end continuing from a vertical direction to a component pick-up position in a horizontal direction from a vertical direction. In the inclined or curved transport path portion to be converted to the horizontal direction, the horizontal dimension of the transport space having a rectangular cross section is constant, and the vertical dimension is gradually narrowed in a tapered shape to regulate and align the thickness direction of the chip component, In the horizontal transport path portion of the component transport path following the inclined or curved transport path section, the vertical dimension after the narrowing of the transport space is constant, and the horizontal dimension is gradually narrowed in a tapered shape. A chip component supply device for controlling the width direction of the chip components to align them. 2. The chip component supply device according to claim 1, wherein the separation and alignment pipes are vertically arranged, and a through hole through which the chip components of the separation and alignment pipe pass is a round hole. 3. The chip component is transported in a lateral transport path portion of the component transport path by an airflow generated by blowing air toward a component pickup position or by vacuum suction from the component pickup position side. Chip component supply device.