JP2003285012A - Chip part sorting method and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for sorting a chip part optimum for use in a chip part feeder. <P>SOLUTION: Chip condensers CC moving along a first feed passage 11a in an arranged state are fed to the inspection position provided to a relay passage 13a and the end surface shapes of them are inspected by a shape inspection device 17. The chip condenser CC, of which the end surface shape is judged to be well as a result of inspection, is fed in a second feed passage 12a from the relay passage 13a and the chip condenser CC, of which the end surface shape is judged to be bad, is excluded through a part discharge port 13d. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for selecting an optimum chip part for a chip part supply device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A bulk feeder, which has recently attracted attention as one type of chip component feeder, has a storage chamber for storing chip components in a bulk state, and an aligning means for aligning the chip components in the storage chamber. It is provided with a passage for conveying the chip parts in an aligned state and a conveying means for conveying the chip parts in the passage, and after arranging the chip parts in the storage chamber, the chip parts are kept in the arranged state in the passage. It can be conveyed along to a predetermined take-out position. This bulk feeder can be supplied with chip parts having a square pole shape or a cylindrical shape, for example, a chip capacitor, a chip resistor, a chip inductor, an LC filter, a capacitor array, or the like.

The chip component shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is a chip capacitor CC, which is a typical example of a chip component having a rectangular prism shape, and the chip capacitor CC has a length dimension L> width. It has a basic dimensional relationship of dimension W = thickness dimension T, and is provided with external electrodes CCa at both ends in the length direction. Further, this chip capacitor CC has the width dimension W and the thickness dimension T on the end face of each external electrode CCa.
Has a predetermined diagonal dimension (end face diagonal dimension) D substantially defined by

External electrode C of the chip capacitor CC
Ca is formed so that each end surface has a flat portion, and preferably, the flat portions of each end surface are parallel to each other. Incidentally, the external electrode CCa of the chip capacitor CC is generally formed by applying an electrode paste to the end of the chip, baking it, and providing a plating film on this electrode layer.

However, the end surface shape of each external electrode CCa does not necessarily have the ideal shape as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and the chip capacitor CC shown in FIG.
There are those having a bulge on both end faces or one end face like No. 1, and those having an inclination on both end faces or one end face like the chip capacitor CC2 shown in FIG. 2B.

[0006]

The length dimension L, the width dimension W, and the thickness dimension T of the chip capacitor CC are inspected in the appearance inspection step performed at the end of a series of manufacturing steps. Since those whose dimensions are out of the tolerance range are excluded as defective products, only non-defective products whose length dimension L, width dimension W and thickness dimension T are all within the tolerance range are treated as products.

[0007] When the chip capacitor CC is supplied by the bulk feeder, the chip capacitor CC put into the storage chamber is of course a good product as described above, so that a particular problem may occur in the supply of parts. Although it is considered that there is no such problem, the following problems actually occur due to the above-mentioned defective end surface shape.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the bulk feeder for handling the chip capacitor CC has a rectangular cross section having a vertical and horizontal dimension slightly larger than the width dimension W and the thickness dimension T of the chip capacitor CC. Since the chip capacitors CC are provided with the passages PA, the chip capacitors CC pass through the passages PA aligned in the longitudinal direction.

However, if a large number of chip capacitors CC include the chip capacitor CC1 having a bulge on the end face and the chip capacitor CC2 having a slope on the end face as described above, FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the chip capacitor CC may meander in the passage PA in the course of its passage, and the contact resistance with the inner wall of the passage PA may increase, so that the parts cannot be conveyed smoothly.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, the chip capacitor CC conveyed along the passage PA.
When the stopper ST is stopped by the stopper ST, the chip capacitor CC1 having a bulge on the end surface and the chip capacitor CC2 having an inclination on the end surface are likely to be disturbed in the posture when they come into contact with the stopper ST. A defect will occur when the parts are taken out.

The above-described problems of defective conveyance of the chip capacitor CC and disturbance of posture do not occur only in the bulk feeder, and are the same in a chip component supply device other than the bulk feeder having a passage for conveying the chip capacitor CC. The same may occur when a rectangular columnar chip component other than the chip capacitor CC is targeted for supply.

The present invention was created in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optimum chip component for a chip component supply apparatus so as to solve various problems caused by a defective end surface shape. It is to provide a method and an apparatus for sorting.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a chip component selecting method according to the present invention is to move a square columnar chip component in an aligned state along a passage and set an inspection position in the middle of the passage. In (1), the main feature is to inspect whether or not each end face of the chip component has a defective shape having a bulge or an inclination, and to remove the chip component having the defective end face from the passage.

According to this chip part selection method, the chip parts having the optimum end surface shape for the chip part supply device are excluded from the chip parts treated as non-defective products by eliminating defective chip parts having bulges or slopes on the end surfaces. Can be selected. Therefore, even if the chip components after being sorted are supplied by the chip component supply device, the chip components do not meander in the passage when being conveyed along the passage, and the chip components are stopped by the stopper. Since sometimes the posture is not disturbed, it is possible to solve the various problems caused by the end face shape defect and to supply the chip component by the chip component supply device very well.

On the other hand, in the chip component sorting apparatus according to the present invention, the passage for moving the rectangular column shaped chip components in the aligned state and the end faces of the chip components at the inspection position set in the passage are swollen or inclined. And a shape inspecting unit for inspecting whether or not the shape is defective, and N for removing a chip component having an end surface having a defective shape from the passage.
The main feature is to include a G component removing means.

According to this chip component sorting apparatus, the same method and effect can be obtained by accurately and stably implementing the above method.

The above and other objects, constitutional characteristics, and operational effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION FIGS. 4 to 9 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a top view of the sorting device, FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the shape inspector shown in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 to 9 are explanatory diagrams of a component sorting method.

4 to 9, reference numeral CC is a chip capacitor, 11 is a first carrying member, 12 is a second carrying member, 13 is a relay member, 14 is a pusher, 15 is a stopper, 16 is a shutter, and 17 is It is a shape inspector. By the way, the chip capacitor CC is shown in FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B).
It is the same as the chip capacitor CC shown in (4) and has a basic dimensional relationship of length dimension L> width dimension W = thickness dimension T.

The first conveying member 11 has a first conveying passage 11a having a rectangular cross section, and the width of the first conveying passage 11a is slightly smaller than the width W or the thickness T of the chip capacitor CC. It is large and the depth dimension is slightly larger than the width dimension W or the thickness dimension T of the chip capacitor CC. The first transport member 11 has an outlet 11b having a rectangular cross section.
On one side of the end position of the first transport passage 11a,
The width dimension of the outlet 11b is slightly larger than the length dimension L of the chip capacitor CC. Furthermore, the first transport member 11
Has a pusher insertion port 11c on the other side of the end position of the first transfer passage 11a so as to face the outlet 11b.
This first transport member 11 can be moved rightward in FIG. 4 along the first transport passage 11a with the chip capacitors CC aligned in the lengthwise direction by applying vibration from a vibration source (not shown). . Of course, the first transport passage 1
The bottom surface of 1a may be made of a movable member such as a belt, and the movable chip may be moved by moving the movable member. First transport passage 11a
The inner side surface of the end of the sheet plays a role as a stop surface 11d for stopping the chip capacitor CC, and the chip capacitor CC moving along the first transport passage 11a has the leading chip capacitor CC abutted on the stop surface 11d. When to stop.

The second carrying member 12 has a second carrying passage 12a having a rectangular cross section, and the width of the second carrying passage 12a is slightly smaller than the width W or the thickness T of the chip capacitor CC. It is large and the depth dimension is slightly larger than the width dimension W or the thickness dimension T of the chip capacitor CC. The second transport member 12 has an inlet 12b having a rectangular cross section.
The outlet 11 on one side of the base end position of the second transfer passage 12a.
The width dimension of the inlet 12b is slightly larger than the length dimension L of the chip capacitor CC. The second carrying member 12 can be moved rightward in FIG. 4 along the second carrying passage 12a in a state where the chip capacitors CC are aligned in the lengthwise direction by applying vibration from a vibration source (not shown). . Of course, the bottom surface of the second transfer passage 12a may be made of a movable member such as a belt, and the chip capacitor CC may be moved by moving the movable member.

The relay member 13 is a relay passage 13 having a rectangular cross section.
a, the width dimension of the relay passage 13a is slightly larger than the length dimension L of the chip capacitor CC, and the depth dimension is smaller than the width dimension W or the thickness dimension T of the chip capacitor CC. Is very large. By the way, relay member 1
3 is provided between the first transport member 11 and the second transport member 12 such that one end of the relay passage 13a is continuously connected to the outlet 11b and the other end of the relay passage 13a is continuously connected to the inlet 12b. It is arranged. In addition, the relay member 13
Has the same depth as the relay passage 13a, and the relay passage 1
It has concave portions 13b communicating with 3a on both sides of the relay passage 13a, and the width dimension of the communication port 13b1 is slightly larger than the width dimension W or the thickness dimension T of the chip capacitor CC.
Further, the relay member 13 includes the stopper protrusion port 13c, the component discharge port 13d, the communication port 13b1 and the second transport member 12.
It is provided on the bottom surface of the relay passage 13a between and.

The pusher 14 is the pusher insertion opening 1
It is arranged with one end inserted in 1c. The pusher 14 serves to send the chip capacitor CC, which is in contact with the stop surface 11d, to the relay passage 13a and the second transfer passage 12a through the outlet 11b. Although not shown, the pusher 14 is reciprocally driven by a drive source (not shown) such as a motor-driven lever or a cylinder rod.

The stopper 15 is the stopper protrusion 1
It is arranged in a state of being inserted in 3c. The stopper 15 is in a state in which it is projected upward from the stopper projecting port 13c and is in a state in which its upper surface is flush with the stopper projecting port 13c by a driving source (not shown) such as a motor driving lever or a cylinder rod. Can change to and. With the stopper 15 protruding upward from the stopper protruding port 13c, the chip capacitor CC moved along the relay passage 13a can be stopped at the inspection position.

The shutter 16 is arranged so as to be inserted into the component discharge port 13d. This shutter 16
Is driven up and down by a drive source (not shown), such as a motor-driven lever or a cylinder rod, so that the upper surface thereof is flush with the component discharge port 13d and the component discharge port 13d is displaced downward to cause component discharge. It can be changed to a state in which the outlet 13d is opened. When the shutter 16 is displaced below the component discharge port 13d to open the component discharge port 13d, the chip capacitor CC moved along the relay passage 13a can be dropped through the component discharge port 13d.

The shape inspecting device 17 is arranged outside each of the recesses 13b of the relay member 13. Each shape inspector 17 has a laser oscillator 17a as shown in FIG.
, A half mirror 17b, a polygon mirror 17c,
A motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the polygon mirror 17c, a reflection mirror 17d, and a light receiving element 17e are provided.
The shape inspecting device 17 allows the laser beam LB emitted from the laser oscillator 17a to be incident on the polygon mirror 17c via the half mirror 17b.
The laser beam LB reflected by c is reflected by the reflection mirror 17d.
Through which the laser beam LB reflected by the end surface of the external electrode CCa can be scanned in parallel to the end surface of the external electrode CCa of the chip capacitor CC at the inspection position, and the reflection mirror 17d, the polygon mirror 17c, and the half mirror. The light can be incident on the light receiving element 17e via 17b. Since the external electrode CCa of the chip capacitor CC is made of a metal capable of reflecting the laser beam LB, the light receiving element 1
It is possible to determine whether or not the end face shape of the external electrode CCa is appropriate based on the light amount of the laser beam LB incident on 7d.

A method of selecting parts by the above-described selecting device, specifically, a length dimension L, a width dimension W and a thickness dimension T will be described below.
A method for selecting a chip capacitor CC having an optimum end face shape for a chip component supply apparatus from the chip capacitors CC treated as good products, all of which are within the tolerance range will be described.

When parts are sorted, for example, a chip capacitor CC, which is treated as a good product, in which all of the length dimension L, the width dimension W, and the thickness dimension T are within the tolerance range, is placed in an alignment bowl connected to the vibration source. Insert a large number of chips in bulk and apply the vibration from the vibration source to the chip capacitors C in the bowl.
C is aligned in the length direction, and the chip capacitor CC after alignment
Is sent to the first transport passage 11a of the first transport member 11.
Then, the vibration from the vibration source is applied to the first transport member 11 to move the chip capacitor CC rightward in FIG. 4 along the first transport passage 11a.

After the leading chip capacitor CC of the chip capacitors CC moving along the first transfer path 11a has abutted against the stop surface 11d, the pusher 14 is advanced to move the stop surface 11d as shown in FIG. The chip capacitor CC which is in contact with 11d is passed through the outlet 11b to the relay passage 13a.
Send to. At this time, since the stopper 15 is in a state of protruding upward from the stopper projecting port 13c, the chip capacitor C sent to the relay passage 13a.
C stops when it abuts the stopper 15 (inspection position).

After the chip capacitor CC has stopped at the inspection position, the laser beam LB for shape inspection is supplied from the two shape inspectors 17 as shown in FIG.
Scanning is performed in parallel with each end surface of the external electrode CCa of C, and the light amount of the reflected beam LB from the end surface of each external electrode CCa is measured by the light receiving element 17e of each detector 17. The electric signal related to the amount of light converted by the light receiving element 17e is sent to a judgment device (not shown), and the judgment device judges whether the end face shape is good or bad.

As compared with the case where the end surface of the external electrode CCa has a flat portion, the light quantity of the reflected beam LB decreases when the end surface of the external electrode CCa has a bulge or an inclination. The quality of the end face shape can be judged only by comparing it with the set threshold value.

When it is determined as a result of the inspection that the end face shapes of both external electrodes CCa are good, the stopper 15 is placed so that its upper surface is flush with the stopper projecting opening 13c, as shown in FIG. After being lowered, the pusher 14 is further advanced to feed the inspected chip capacitor CC from the relay passage 13a into the second transfer passage 12a through the inlet 12b. Of course, at this time, since the upper surface of the shutter 16 is flush with the component discharge port 13d, the chip capacitor CC moving from the inspection position to the first transfer passage 12a will not drop from the component discharge port 13d. Absent. The chip capacitor CC after the inspection is used as the second transfer passage
After feeding to 2a, pusher 14 is returned to the original position.

On the other hand, as a result of the inspection, when it is determined that at least one end face shape of both external electrodes CCa is defective,
As shown in FIG. 8, lower the stopper 15 so that its upper surface is flush with the stopper protrusion 13c,
Further, the shutter 16 is lowered to open the component discharge port 13d, and then the pusher 14 is further advanced to drop the inspected chip capacitor CC through the component discharge port 13d. After dropping the inspected chip capacitor CC from the component discharge port 13d, the pusher 14 is returned to the original position.

The inspection of the end face shape of the chip capacitor CC is sequentially repeated as described above, and as shown in FIG.
Only the chip capacitor CC whose end face shape is determined to be good is fed into the second transport passage 12a of the second transport member 12. The chip capacitor CC sent into the second transfer passage 12a of the second transfer member 12 is applied with the vibration from the vibration source to the second transfer member 12 to move rightward in FIG. 9 along the second transfer passage 12a. Moving.

As described above, according to the above-described parts selecting method and apparatus, the shape condenser 17 is fed with the chip capacitors CC which move in alignment along the first transfer passage 11a to the inspection position provided in the relay passage 13a. It is inspected whether or not each of the end faces has a shape defect having a bulge or an inclination, and as a result of the inspection, the chip capacitor CC determined to have a good end face shape is transferred from the relay passage 13a to the second transfer passage 1
It is possible to remove the chip capacitor CC which has been sent to the 2a and whose end face shape is determined to be defective through the component discharge port 13d. That is, the chip capacitor CC having the optimum end surface shape for the chip component supply device is selected from the chip capacitors CC which are treated as good products in which the length dimension L, the width dimension W and the thickness dimension T are all within the tolerance range. You can

Therefore, even if the chip capacitors CC after selection are supplied by the chip component supply device such as the bulk feeder described in the prior art, the chip capacitors CC meander in the passages PA when passing through the passages PA. This is not the case, and there is no posture disturbance when the chip capacitor CC is stopped by the stopper ST.
That is, it is possible to solve various problems caused by the end surface shape defect and to supply the chip capacitor CC by the chip component supply device such as a bulk feeder very well.

Although the chip capacitors CC are shown as the objects to be selected in the above-described parts selecting method and device, the chip parts having a rectangular prism shape, such as chip resistors, chip inductors, LC filters, capacitor arrays, etc., are selected. As a target, the same effect as the above can be obtained.

FIG. 10 shows an example of an apparatus to which the above-described parts selecting method and apparatus can be applied.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 10 is an apparatus for inserting a predetermined number of chip parts EC into a part case (not shown) for a bulk feeder described in the prior art. Reference numeral 101 is a bowl feeder and 102 is a linear feeder. , 103 are separation plates.

When the chip parts are put into the parts case using this apparatus, a large number of good chip parts EC are put into the aligning bowl of the bowl feeder 101 in a bulk state, and vibration is applied from the vibration source to the inside of the bowl. The chip parts EC of the above are aligned in the length direction, and the chip parts E after the alignment are aligned.
C is sent to the transfer passage of the linear feeder 102, and vibration from a vibration source is applied to the transfer passage to move the chip component EC along the transfer passage. Then, the conveyed chip component EC is inserted into the notch 103a of the separation plate 103 that makes a rotary motion, and the electrical property of the chip component EC inserted into the notch is inspected at the inspection position MP, and the electrical property is not good. The chip component EC is removed at the discharge position DP. Then, the chip component EC having good electric characteristics is loaded into the component case at the loading position CP. The number of chip components EC loaded into the component case is counted electrically or mechanically, and when the number of loaded components reaches a predetermined number, the component case is replaced.

The above-described component selection method and device can be appropriately incorporated in the component conveying position by the linear feeder 102 of the device shown in FIG. 10, and the chip component EC having the optimum end face shape for the bulk feeder. Can be put into the parts case.

[0042]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Chip parts with the optimum end surface shape for the chip part supply device can be selected, and the chip parts after selection do not cause various problems due to defective end surface shape, and the chip part supply device supplies the chip parts. Can be performed extremely well.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chip capacitor and a side view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a chip capacitor having a bulge on an end face of an external electrode and a diagram showing a chip capacitor having a bevel on the end face of an external electrode.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a defect in supplying components of the chip capacitor shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a sorting device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a configuration diagram of the shape inspector shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a part selection method.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a part selection method.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a part selection method.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a part selection method.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a device to which the component selection method and device described in FIGS. 4 to 9 can be applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

CC ... Chip capacitor, CCa ... External electrode, 11 ... First carrying member, 11a ... First carrying passage, 11b ... Exit, 1
1c ... Pusher insertion opening, 12 ... 2nd conveyance member, 12a
... second transport passage, 12b ... inlet, 13 ... relay member, 13
a ... Relay passage, 13c ... Stopper protruding port, 13d ... Component discharge port, 14 ... Pusher, 15 ... Stopper, 16
... Shutter, 17 ... Shape inspector.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A square pillar-shaped chip component is moved along a passage in an aligned state, and an inspection is performed at an inspection position set in the passage to determine whether or not each end face of the chip component has a bulge or an inclination and has a defective shape. And a chip component having an end face having a defective shape is removed from the passage. 2. The inspection of the end face shape of the chip component at the inspection position is performed based on the amount of reflected light when the end face of the chip component is irradiated with inspection light. Chip component sorter. 3. The removal of a chip component having a defectively shaped end face from a passage is performed by opening a component discharge port provided in the passage. Chip component sorter. 4. A passage for moving a square-pillar-shaped chip component in an aligned state, and whether or not each end face of the chip component has a bulge or an inclination at an inspection position set in the middle of the passage. A chip component sorting device comprising: a shape inspection unit for inspecting; and an NG component removing unit for eliminating a chip component having an end face having a defective shape from a passage. 5. The shape inspection means includes a shape inspection device capable of irradiating the end surface of the chip component at the inspection position with inspection light and detecting the light amount of the reflected light at that time. The described chip component sorting device. 6. The chip component selection device according to claim 4, wherein the NG component removing means includes a component discharge port provided in the middle of the passage and a shutter for opening and closing the component discharge port. .