JP2005206356A - Article carrying device, and article carrying method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an article carrying device, comprising a high precision and compact mechanism, capable of achieving a long stroke. <P>SOLUTION: In this article carrying device, an article such as a substrate is carried roughly horizontally by an extrusion member 3 molded of a metal thin plate into a band member having a convex cross section curved downward. The extrusion member 3 is wound and stored around a winding part 5 as the curved side on the outer side. The extrusion member 3 in a hard-to-bend attitude due to the curved side directed downward is freely fed in feeding/winding directions roughly horizontally by means of a feed part 6. In feeding action, a feed pin 6b on a rotary feed member 6a is inserted into a feed hole 3a in the extrusion member 3, the rotary feed member 6a is driven to rotate to feed the extrusion member 3 horizontally at a carrying height position, and the article is applied to a carrying action part 4 to be horizontally carried. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an object conveying apparatus and an object conveying method for conveying an object such as a substrate for mounting electronic components.

  Plate-like workpieces such as lead frames and printed circuit boards are generally stored in a stacked state in a container such as a magazine, and sent out from the magazine onto a conveyor on the downstream apparatus. For feeding from the magazine, a pusher mechanism is often used in which the rear end surface of the plate-like workpiece is pushed with a pusher from the rear of the magazine and pushed out from the front of the magazine.

As this pusher mechanism, one using an elongated strip-like plate spring material as an extrusion member is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). The example shown in Patent Document 1 feeds out a flat plate-shaped extruded member wound in a spiral shape, and the example shown in Patent Document 2 shows a hollow elongated guide member in which an extruded member whose cross section is processed into a convex shape is drawn. It is configured to be fed out in a state where it is accommodated in the container.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-23237 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-165528

  However, the above prior art examples have the following problems. First, in the example shown in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to apply the push-out member when the push-out member is easily bent and a long push-out stroke is required or when the feeding accuracy is required. Moreover, in the example shown in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to dispose a guide member having a length corresponding to the extrusion stroke, and it has not been possible to reduce the size of the apparatus. As described above, it has been difficult to realize a highly accurate and compact mechanism that enables a long stroke in the conventional pusher mechanism using the strip-shaped extruded member.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to realize an object conveying apparatus that enables a long stroke and has a highly accurate and compact mechanism.

  The object conveying device of the present invention is an object conveying device that conveys an object in a substantially horizontal direction, and is formed by forming a strip-shaped elastic material into an arc-shaped cross section and having flexibility in the plate thickness direction; A winding portion connected to one end of the belt-like member and winding the belt-like member in the winding direction with the convex side of the arc-shaped cross section facing outward, and the belt-like member opposite to the winding direction A feed section that feeds in the feed direction, a rotary drive mechanism that rotationally drives the winding section and / or the feed section, and a guide that guides the belt-shaped member fed from the feed section in a substantially horizontal direction at the conveyance height position of the object A mechanism and a transport action unit that is provided at the other end of the belt-shaped member and transmits a force in the transport direction to the object, and the winding unit is disposed above the transport height position.

The object conveying method of the present invention comprises a belt-shaped elastic material formed into an arc-shaped cross section, and is flexible in the thickness direction, and is connected to one end of the belt-shaped member and has the arc-shaped cross section. A winding part that winds the belt-shaped member in the winding direction with the convex side facing outward, a feeding part that feeds the belt-shaped member in a feeding direction opposite to the winding direction, and the winding part and / or feeding A rotational drive mechanism that rotationally drives the belt, a guide mechanism that guides the belt-shaped member fed from the feed-out portion in a substantially horizontal direction at the conveyance height position of the object, and a second mechanism provided on the other end of the belt-shaped member. An object conveying method for conveying an object in a substantially horizontal direction by an object conveying device including a conveying action unit that transmits a force in a conveying direction, wherein the winding unit is positioned above the conveying height position. The strip member By come up or feeding, conveying the object via the conveying action section.

  According to the present invention, a belt-shaped member formed of a strip-shaped elastic material in an arc-shaped cross section is wound and stored in the winding portion with the convex side of the arc-shaped cross section facing outward, and this winding portion By adopting a configuration in which the belt-like member is sent out and rewound by the sending-out portion in a posture that is difficult to deform with the convex side of the belt-like member facing downward, with the conveying height position of the object to be conveyed being It is possible to realize an object conveying apparatus that enables a long stroke and has a highly accurate and compact mechanism.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic component object conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a substrate conveying operation by the electronic component object conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of an electronic component object transporting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are diagrams of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a winding portion of an electronic component object transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the overall configuration of the object conveying apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The object conveying apparatus 1 includes a pusher mechanism that conveys a thin and light object such as a lead frame in a substantially horizontal direction by feeding it by a band plate-like pushing member 3 (band-shaped member). As shown in FIG. 1, the object conveying device 1 includes a winding unit 5, a feeding unit 6, a pressing roller 8, an upper guide roller 9, and a lower guide roller 10 on a side surface of a vertical frame 2 a erected on the base unit 2. Is provided.

  The winding unit 5 winds and stores the extruded member 3 having flexibility in the plate thickness direction in the winding direction, which is a direction close to the winding unit 5. The sending-out unit 6 sends out the pushing member 3 unwound from the winding-up unit 5 in a sending direction opposite to the winding direction. The feed operation by the feed section 6 is performed in a state where the feed pin 6 b (projection) provided on the rotary feed member 6 a is inserted into the feed hole 3 a provided on the pushing member 3.

  The winding unit 5 and the delivery unit 6 are rotationally driven by a rotational drive mechanism using a motor 7 as a common drive source. At this time, the extruding member 3 is sandwiched between the feeding portion 6 and the pressing roller 8 and is further sandwiched between the upper guide roller 9 and the lower guide roller 10 and fed in a guided state. It extends from the conveying device 1 in a substantially horizontal direction.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of an object conveying operation by the object conveying apparatus 1. In the object transporting apparatus 1, the pushing member 3 is arranged at the back of the magazine 11 in which the substrates 12 are stored in multiple stages in a substrate supply unit such as a die bonding apparatus in accordance with the substrate transporting height. Then, in a state in which the groove 4a of the conveying action unit 4 mounted on the front end of the pushing member 3 is pressed against the rear end of the substrate 12, the pushing member 3 is sent out by a predetermined stroke in the substrate carrying direction to the substrate 12. The force in the conveying direction is transmitted by the conveying action unit 4. As a result, the substrate 12 is pushed out of the magazine 11 onto the downstream conveyance path. That is, the transport operation unit 4 provided at the other end of the pushing member 3 transmits a force in the transport direction to the substrate 12 that is an object to be transported. The groove 4a is not essential and may be a flat surface.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, the detailed structure of each part of the object conveying apparatus 1 will be described. 5 shows an AA section in FIG. 3, and FIGS. 6 and 7 show a CC section and a DD section in FIG. 4, respectively. As shown in the BB cross section of FIG. 3, the extrusion member 3 has a strip-like shape such as a thin leaf spring material cut to a predetermined width, similar to a commercially available convex rule used as a simple tape measure. It is made by molding an elastic material into an arc-shaped cross section. The pushing member 3 has flexibility in the plate thickness direction and is wound up by the winding unit 5 as described above.

  A conveying action part 4 provided with a groove part 4 a is attached to the tip part of the pushing member 3, and the opposite end part (one end part) is connected to an annular member 20 constituting the winding part 5. ing. When connecting the extrusion member 3 to the annular member 20, the winding portion 5 faces the convex side of the arc-shaped cross section of the extrusion member 3 outward (in the direction in which the diameter of the annular member 20 increases), The ends are joined so that the pushing member 3 is wound in the winding direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 4). As a result, the pushing member 3 is wound in a direction in which bending deformation is likely to occur, as will be described later, and the pushing member 3 can be wound and housed without forcibly deforming.

  Here, the relationship between the cross-sectional shape of the extrusion member 3 and the strength of the extrusion member 3 with respect to bending in the thickness direction will be described. The extruded member 3 is formed in the same unique cross-sectional shape at any position in the longitudinal direction, and the cross-sectional modulus in each cross-section is constant as long as the specific cross-sectional shape is maintained. For this reason, when a small bending load is applied so as to maintain a unique cross-sectional shape, the same bending state occurs regardless of the load direction.

  However, when a large bending load exceeding a certain level is applied, a large difference in deformation behavior occurs depending on the load direction. In other words, depending on which part of the cross section of the extruded member 3 the maximum compressive stress due to the bending load acts on, whether the extruded member 3 is bent without causing a cross-sectional shape and causes a large deformation (the deformation state is elastic). Is stable or not). In the case of an arc-shaped cross section like the extruded member 3, as shown in FIG. A. This occurs at the most distant part from the center, i.e., at either the central part 3c on the convex side or both end parts 3e on the concave side.

  When the maximum compressive stress is applied to the central portion 3c, the maximum tensile stress is applied to both end portions 3e. In this case, the central portion 3c is constrained at the periphery, so that out-of-plane deformation occurs. Therefore, it is difficult to cause a situation where the entire cross section is greatly deformed due to local buckling of the cross section. On the other hand, when bending is applied in the direction in which the maximum compressive stress is applied to both end portions 3e, the both end portions 3e located at the free end are easily deformed out of plane by the in-plane compressive stress. Buckle up. Thereby, the extrusion member 3 cannot maintain the original arc-shaped cross section in this portion, and the rigidity with respect to bending is lowered to cause a large deformation.

  That is, even if the pushing member 3 is pulled out in such a posture that the convex side faces downward, the pushing member 3 is not easily bent by its own weight, but if the pushing member 3 is pulled out with the convex side facing upward, the pushing member 3 3 cannot maintain a horizontal posture in a cantilever state longer than a certain length, and is easily bent by its own weight. Such a difference in deformation behavior can be confirmed by actually operating the convex rule and carefully observing it.

  For this reason, in the present embodiment, the apparatus arrangement is configured so that the convex side of the arc-shaped cross section of the push member 3 faces downward in the transport operation for moving the push member 3 in the horizontal direction. Thereby, when extending the extrusion member 3 in the conveyance direction in a cantilever state, the distance that can be pushed out without causing bending due to its own weight, that is, the maximum conveyance stroke when extruding the substrate 12 is made as long as possible. Is possible.

  Next, the winding part 5 is demonstrated with reference to each figure. As shown in FIG. 4, the winding unit 5 is formed in the annular member 20 around which the push member 3 is wound around the outer peripheral surface 20 b (see FIG. 8) and the fitting hole 20 a (see FIG. 8) of the annular member 20. The shaft core member 21 that is rotatably fitted is combined. As shown in FIG. 6, the shaft core member 21 is coupled to the horizontal shaft member 16, and the shaft member 16 is pivotally supported by the vertical frame 2 a via the bearing unit 18. A driven gear 14 is coupled to the end of the shaft member 16, and the driven gear 14 meshes with a drive gear 13 coupled to the rotating shaft 7 a of the motor 7 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the outer peripheral surface 21 a of the shaft core member 21 that fits into the fitting hole 20 a of the annular member 20 is partially cut by a substantially semicircular range on the end surface side opposite to the axial extension direction. A peripheral surface portion 21b having a smaller diameter than the outer peripheral surface 21a is formed. A pin 23 protrudes from one end of the peripheral surface portion 21 b, and a pin 22 protrudes from the fitting hole 20 a of the annular member 20. In a state where the shaft core member 21 is fitted in the fitting hole 20a, a tension spring 24 is stretched along the peripheral surface portion 21b between the pin 22 and the pin 23 (see also FIG. 4).

  When the motor 7 is driven in this state to rotate the shaft member 16 in the direction of arrow a (winding direction), tension in the direction of arrow b acts on the tension spring 24, thereby causing the ring member 20 to move to the arrow direction. The rotational force in the c direction, that is, the rotational force in the winding direction for winding the pushing member 3 is transmitted. Therefore, the motor 7, the drive gear 13, and the driven gear 14 form a rotational drive mechanism that rotationally drives the winding unit 5. In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, the drive gear 13 is also meshed with the driven gear 15 that drives the delivery unit 6, and the winding unit 5 and the delivery unit 6 are driven by a common drive source. It has become.

  In the rotational drive of the winding unit 5, the shaft core member 21 and the annular member 20 are not mechanically rigidly connected but are connected via a tension spring 24 which is an elastic member. The member 20 and the shaft core member 21 are allowed to be elastically displaced in the rotational direction within a predetermined rotational range by a tension spring 24. Thereby, when the extrusion member 3 sent in the winding direction by the delivery unit 6 as described above is taken up by the take-up unit 5, the winding unit is formed by laminating a plurality of layers of the extrusion members 3 on the outer peripheral surface. The change in the winding length per rotation caused by the increase in the winding diameter of 5 can be absorbed by the expansion and contraction of the tension spring 24.

  In the above-described configuration, the winding unit 5 includes the shaft member 21 that is rotationally driven by the rotational drive mechanism inside the annular member 20 that is connected to one end of the extrusion member 3 and winds the extrusion member 3 around the outer peripheral surface. It has a configuration. Then, the pins 22 and 23 and the tension spring 24 are connected to the ring member 20 and the shaft core member 21 via the tension spring 24 that allows elastic relative displacement in the rotational direction to be connected to the circle from the shaft core member 21. A rotation transmission mechanism that transmits rotation to the ring member 20 is provided.

  Next, the delivery part 6 is demonstrated with reference to each figure. As shown in FIG. 7, the delivery unit 6 includes a rotary feed member 6 a having feed pins 6 b on the outer peripheral surface corresponding to feed holes 3 a formed in the extrusion member 3 at regular intervals. The rotary feed member 6 a is coupled to a horizontal shaft member 17, and the shaft member 17 is pivotally supported on the vertical frame 2 a via a bearing unit 19. A driven gear 15 is coupled to the end of the shaft member 17, and the driven gear 15 meshes with a drive gear 13 coupled to the rotating shaft 7a of the motor 7 (see also FIG. 5). By driving the motor 7, the rotary feed member 6a rotates. Therefore, the motor 7, the drive gear 13, and the driven gear 15 are rotational drive mechanisms that rotationally drive the rotational feed member 6a.

As described above, this rotational drive mechanism is configured to rotationally drive the winding unit 5 and the delivery unit 6 by the motor 7 that is the same rotational drive source, thereby making the rotational drive mechanism low-cost and compact. Can be configured. Further, in this rotational drive mechanism, the driven gears 14 and 15 for rotating the winding unit 5 and the feeding unit 6 are meshed with the drive gear 13, and the number of teeth of the driven gears 14 and 15 is the same. The take-up part 5 and the delivery part 6 are always rotationally driven in synchronism mechanically.

  With the feed pin 6b inserted into the feed hole 3a of the push member 3, the motor 7 is driven to rotate the rotary feed member 6a in the feed direction, so that the push member 6 rotates in the feed direction and the rotation angle of the rotary feed member 6a. It is sent by a predetermined feed amount determined by. Further, by driving the motor 7 and rotating the rotary feed member 6a in the winding direction opposite to the feeding direction, the pushing member 3 is similarly fed in the winding direction.

  In the feeding of the pushing member 3, since the feeding is performed in a state where the feeding pin 6b is inserted into the feeding hole 3a, a reliable feeding without slipping is realized. At this time, since the tension is applied to the pushing member 3 by the tension spring 24 of the winding portion 5, the pushing member 3 is always pressed against the rotary feed member 6a, and the feed pin 6b is fed to the feed hole 3a. Secure and stable insertion is ensured.

  In the state where the multiple layers of the pushing member 3 are wound and accommodated in the winding unit 5 and the feed pin 6b is fitted in the feed hole 3a, the tension is applied to the pushing member 3 by the tension spring 24. The take-up unit 5 and the feed-out unit 6 are configured to be rotationally driven in synchronization with each other mechanically, and since the free relative rotation between the take-up unit 5 and the rotary feed member 6a is not allowed, Even when the rotation of the motor 7 is stopped, a situation in which the winding unit 5 and the feeding unit 6 are forcibly rotated by the tension of the tension spring 24 does not occur.

  A pressing roller 8 is rotatably supported around a horizontal support shaft 8a below the rotary feed member 6a. The pressing roller 8 has a guide function of sandwiching the pushing member 3 between the outer peripheral surface of the rotary feed member 6a and being along the outer peripheral surface of the rotary feed member 6a. A circumferential groove 8b is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pressing roller 8 corresponding to the position of the feeding pin 6b, and the feeding pin 6b fitted into the feeding hole 3a of the pushing member 3 interferes with the outer circumference of the pressing roller 8. It is supposed not to.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the upper guide roller 9 and the lower guide roller 10 are fixed to the vertical frame 2a by mounting plates 9a and 10a, respectively, in the delivery direction of the pushing member 3 by the delivery unit 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper guide roller 9 is a roller member having a spindle-shaped outer periphery, and the lower guide roller 10 is a roller member having a bowl-shaped concave outer periphery corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the upper guide roller 9.

  The outer peripheral shape of the upper guide roller 9 and the lower guide roller 10 corresponds to the arc-shaped cross section of the extrusion member 3, and the extrusion member 3 guided in the feeding direction by the feeding portion 6 and the pressing roller 8 extends in the feeding direction. 9. By being sandwiched between the outer peripheral surfaces of the lower guide roller 10, the pushing member 3 is maintained in a horizontal posture. At this time, by adjusting the vertical position of the mounting plates 9a and 10a, the feed direction of the push-out member 3 (angle direction with respect to the horizontal plane) can be adjusted.

  That is, the pressing roller 8, the upper guide roller 9, and the lower guide roller 10 serve as a guide mechanism that guides the pushing member 3 fed from the feeding portion 6 in a substantially horizontal direction at the conveyance height position of the substrate 12. The guide mechanism does not have to include all the three rollers, and any guide mechanism that can guide the pushing member 3 in a substantially horizontal direction is sufficient. For example, only the pressing roller 8, only the lower guide roller 10, or only the upper guide roller 9 and the lower guide roller 10 may be used.

  In this object conveying method by the object conveying apparatus 1, the conveying height position of the pushing member 3 is adjusted to the conveying level of the substrate 12 that is the object to be conveyed, that is, the winding unit 5 is positioned above the conveying height position. Then, the substrate 12 is transported in the horizontal transport direction via the transport operation unit 4 by winding or feeding the push-out member 3.

  In this transport operation, as described above, the thin and light belt-like member is used as the extrusion member 3 in a posture in which the convex side faces downward, so that bending due to its own weight can be reduced and a long feed stroke is ensured. can do. At this time, since the push-out member 3 is taken up and stored by the take-up unit 5, it is not necessary to increase the size of the take-up unit 5 even when a long feed stroke is intended, and a compact pusher mechanism is realized. Has been. In addition, when the length of the target substrate 12 is changed and the feed stroke is changed, it is only necessary to change the rotation amount of the motor 7 by numerical control, and the same object transport device is shared by many types of substrates. It is possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the substrate 12 to be transported is pushed and transported by sending out the pushing member 3 has been described. However, the object transport device 1 may be a substrate pulling mechanism that pulls the substrate 12 into the magazine. It can be used. In this case, the transporting action part 4 attached to the front end of the push-out member 3 is shaped so that the end of the substrate can be locked in the pull-in operation of the push-out member 3, and the object transporting device 1 is held by the lock allowance. Combined with a lifting mechanism that moves up and down. Thereby, the board | substrate 12 can be conveyed in the drawing-in direction by operation | movement which winds up the extrusion member 3. FIG.

  The object conveying apparatus of the present invention has an effect that a long stroke can be realized and an object conveying apparatus having a highly accurate and compact mechanism can be realized, and a lightweight and thin substrate such as a lead frame is conveyed in a horizontal direction. It is useful for the application.

The perspective view of the object conveying apparatus of the electronic component of one embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing of board | substrate conveyance operation | movement by the object conveying apparatus of the electronic component of one embodiment of this invention The top view of the object conveying apparatus of the electronic component of one embodiment of this invention The side view of the object conveying apparatus of the electronic component of one embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the object conveying apparatus of the electronic component of one embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the object conveying apparatus of the electronic component of one embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the object conveying apparatus of the electronic component of one embodiment of this invention 1 is an exploded perspective view of a winding portion of an electronic component object transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Extrusion member 4 Conveying action part 5 Winding part 6 Feeding part 6a Rotation feed member 6b Protrusion part 7 Motor 9 Upper guide roller 10 Lower guide roller 20 Ring member 21 Axle core member 24 Tension spring

Claims (6)

  An object conveying apparatus that conveys an object in a substantially horizontal direction, which is formed by forming a strip-shaped elastic material into an arc-shaped cross section, and having flexibility in a plate thickness direction, and at one end of the strip-shaped member A winding unit that is connected and winds the belt-shaped member in a winding direction in a state in which the convex side of the arc-shaped cross section faces outward, and a feeding unit that feeds the belt-shaped member in a feeding direction opposite to the winding direction; A rotation drive mechanism that rotationally drives the winding unit and / or the delivery unit, a guide mechanism that guides the belt-like member fed from the feed-out unit in a substantially horizontal direction at the conveyance height position of the object, and the belt-like member An object conveying apparatus comprising: a conveying action unit that is provided at an end and transmits a force in a conveying direction to the object; and the winding unit is disposed above the conveying height position.   The winding portion is connected to the one end portion, and an annular member that winds the belt-shaped member around an outer peripheral surface; an axial core member that is disposed inside the annular member and is rotationally driven by the rotational drive mechanism; A rotation transmission mechanism for transmitting rotation from the shaft core member to the ring member by connecting the shaft core member and the ring member to each other via an elastic member that allows elastic relative displacement in the rotation direction; The object conveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The feed section includes a rotation feed member that has projections corresponding to feed holes formed at regular intervals on the belt-like member on the outer peripheral surface and is rotated by the rotation drive mechanism, and the projection is inserted into the feed hole. The object conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt-like member is sent out by rotating the rotary feed member.   4. The object conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation driving mechanism rotationally drives the winding unit and the delivery unit by the same rotation driving source.   5. The object conveying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the rotation driving mechanism rotationally drives the winding unit and the sending unit in a mechanically synchronized manner. A strip-shaped member formed by molding a strip-shaped elastic material into an arc-shaped cross section, and being flexible in the thickness direction, and connected to one end of the strip-shaped member with the convex side of the arc-shaped cross section facing outward A winding portion that winds the belt-shaped member in the winding direction, a feeding portion that feeds the belt-shaped member in a feeding direction opposite to the winding direction, and a rotational drive mechanism that rotationally drives the winding portion and / or the feeding portion. And a guide mechanism that guides the belt-shaped member fed from the feed-out portion in a substantially horizontal direction at the transport height position of the object, and transport that is provided at the other end of the belt-shaped member and transmits a force in the transport direction to the object. An object transport method for transporting an object in a substantially horizontal direction by an object transport device including an action unit, wherein the winding member is positioned above the transport height position and the belt-shaped member is wound or sent out. This Accordingly, an object conveying method characterized by conveying the object via the conveying action section.

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