JP2012203975A - Assembly device and assembly method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically arrange a head unit oppositely to a carriage arm while combining a flat cable with the carriage arm without applying stress to the flat cable and to automatically overlap the head unit on the carriage arm at high accuracy.SOLUTION: An arm unit of an assembly device includes a slide body 45 having a cable slide part 46 for moving a free end part 18 of a flat cable 17 downward in synchronization with downward movement of a main chuck 31, an assembly holder unit 60 includes a pressing member 61 pressing a body part 23 of a head unit 12 toward carriage arms 11a, 11b and 11c in accordance with approaching movement, and moving the main chuck 31 upward while fitting a boss hole 22 internally into a fitting hole 14c, and a cable chuck 35 releases adsorptive holding after the flat cable 17 is stored in a gap.

Description

  The present invention particularly relates to an assembling apparatus and an assembling method for assembling a head unit that records and reproduces information on a recording medium to a carriage arm that can rotate on the recording medium.

  A hard disk incorporated in a computer, a video deck, or the like is provided with a recording head that performs at least one of writing and reading of information. The recording head is assembled to a carriage arm as a component of a head gimbal assembly (head unit), and the carriage is attached to the hard disk.

  The carriage includes a plurality of carriage arms arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and a head unit is assembled to the tip of the carriage arm. Specifically, a boss hole formed in the head unit is inserted into a fitting hole formed in the carriage arm, and the fitting hole and the boss hole are coupled by caulking or the like, thereby coupling the carriage arm to the carriage arm. Assembled.

  By the way, in the above assembly work, the head unit is arranged facing the carriage arm and the fitting hole and the boss hole are arranged to face each other, and the head unit is stacked on the carriage arm and fitted. This is an operation performed by performing an insertion process in which a boss hole is inserted into the joint hole to be fitted therein, and a joining process in which the fitting hole and the boss hole are coupled by performing caulking or the like. These operations have been performed manually because both the carriage arm and the head unit are fine parts. However, the productivity is poor and the manufacturing cost is likely to increase.

  In particular, when a head unit with a flat cable provided with a flat cable such as an FPC as a flexible wiring board is handled, the flat cable is a very flexible member and is not easy to handle. Therefore, the above problem is remarkable. In addition, since a work process for pushing and holding the flat cable into the holding portion of the carriage arm is further required, the workability is poor in manual work.

  Therefore, even in the case of a head unit with a flat cable, there is known a robot hand that automatically performs the above-described arrangement process while performing the above-described holding operation of the flat cable (see Patent Document 1).

  The robot hand of Patent Document 1 includes a first suction unit, a second suction unit, and four pushing units. The robot hand moves the head unit with the flat cable sucked by each sucking means to a predetermined position, and then pushes the main body portion of the head unit and the flat cable with each pushing means, thereby bringing the main body portion into the carriage arm. The flat cable is pushed into the holding portion and held.

JP 2004-34205 A

However, in the robot hand described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to push in the main body of the head unit and the flat cable by the pushing means, it is easy to give stress to the flat cable which is a very flexible member.
In addition, when the design change or the like occurs in the shape of the head unit due to the recent demand for miniaturization, etc., it is considered that the pushable area in the head unit is reduced. Assembling by work is expected to be difficult, and there is room for improvement.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to apply the head unit to the carriage arm while combining the flat cable with the carriage arm without applying stress to the flat cable. It is an object of the present invention to provide an assembling apparatus and an assembling method that can be automatically arranged to face each other and can automatically superimpose a head unit on a carriage arm with high accuracy.

  In order to solve the above problems, an assembling apparatus according to the present invention includes a main body portion that holds a support piece having a recording head attached to the tip thereof, and a long flat cable connected to the recording head. The head unit provided is arranged so as to face a carriage arm that can rotate on a recording medium, and the head unit is superimposed on the carriage arm, and the fitting portion of the main body portion is inserted into the fitting hole of the carriage arm. An assembly device including an assembly jig unit for fitting a boss hole therein, wherein the arm unit is formed in a plate shape having both surfaces as suction surfaces, and holds the main surface of the main body by suction A main chuck that allows the head unit that is suctioned and held by downward movement to be opposed to the carriage arm, and a plate that has suction surfaces on both sides A cable chuck capable of adsorbing and holding a free end portion of the flat cable that extends outward from the main body, and a cable chuck that can be moved toward and away from the cable chuck. A cable support for accommodating the flat cable in a gap defined between the cable chuck and the free cable of the flat cable accommodated in the gap in synchronization with the downward movement of the main chuck when approaching. A slide body having a cable slide portion that moves the end portion downward along the cable chuck, and the assembly jig unit approaches and separates from the main chuck along the moving direction of the main chuck. The head is arranged so as to be opposed to the carriage arm as it moves closer. A pressing member that presses the main body portion of the unit toward the carriage arm and causes the boss hole to be fitted into the fitting hole and moves the main chuck upward to separate the carriage from the carriage arm; The chuck is characterized in that the suction holding is released after the flat cable is accommodated in the gap.

  Further, the assembling method of the present invention comprises a head unit that holds a support piece having a recording head attached to the tip and includes a main body portion to which a long flat cable connected to the recording head is fixed. A plate-like method in which a boss hole of a main body portion is fitted into a fitting hole of the carriage arm after being arranged opposite to a carriage arm that can rotate on a recording medium, and both surfaces are suction surfaces The main chuck of the main body formed by suction is held by suction, and the flat cable extends outward from the main body by the cable chuck formed in a plate shape with both surfaces being suction surfaces. A head unit holding step for sucking and holding a free end portion, a cable support is brought close to the cable chuck, and the flat cable is accommodated in a gap defined between them. The free cable of the flat cable accommodated in the gap by a cable housing step for releasing the suction and holding of the flat cable and a cable slide portion that moves the main chuck downward and moves downward in synchronization therewith. An end portion is moved downward along the cable chuck, the head unit is disposed opposite to the carriage arm, and at the same time, a head unit arranging step for assembling the flat cable to the carriage arm, and a pressing member for the main chuck The main chuck is moved upward while the boss hole is fitted inside the fitting hole while the main body is pressed toward the carriage arm with the movement, and the main chuck is moved away from the carriage arm. A head unit assembly process It is set to.

  According to the present invention, the main surface of the main body portion of the head unit is sucked and held by the main chuck, and the free end portion of the flat cable is sucked and held by the cable chuck, so that the main body portion and the flat cable are in an independent state. Can be held. Therefore, both of them can be held stably with the optimum adsorption force, and the flat cable can be held in a natural state according to the bending condition, etc. without being affected by the main body. It is hard to put stress. In addition, since the flat cable is accommodated in the gap defined between the cable chuck and the cable support after the suction holding, the above-mentioned natural state can be maintained as it is even if the suction holding is released. It is difficult for wrinkles and unauthorized deformation to occur.

Then, by moving the main chuck downward, the entire head unit can be moved via the main body, and can be disposed opposite the carriage arm. At this time, the cable slide portion of the slide body moves downward in synchronization with the main chuck, and the flat cable accommodated in the gap is moved downward auxiliary to follow the movement of the main body portion of the head unit. It is difficult to cause stress such as twisting between the cable and the flat cable.
Further, since the cable chuck releases the suction holding after the flat cable is accommodated in the gap, when the flat cable is auxiliary moved downward by the cable slide portion, the flat cable itself is also stressed. hard.
By moving the main chuck downward, the flat cable can be combined with the carriage arm, and the head unit can be disposed opposite the carriage arm.

When the head unit is disposed opposite the carriage arm, the pressing member of the assembly jig unit moves upward and moves closer to the main chuck. Along with this movement, the pressing member presses the main body portion of the head unit toward the carriage arm, and the boss hole of the main body portion is fitted into the fitting hole of the carriage arm, and at the same time, the main chuck is pushed upward. To move away from the carriage arm.
As a result, the head unit can be automatically and accurately superimposed on the carriage arm, and can be combined with the carriage arm without applying stress to the flat cable.

  In the assembling apparatus according to the present invention, the assembling jig unit is positioned so that the body portion is opposed to the carriage arm, and then continuously inserted into the fitting hole and the boss hole. A pin member is provided, and the pressing member is formed with a slit for avoiding interference with the positioning pin member.

  Further, the assembly method of the present invention includes a positioning pin member insertion step of continuously inserting a positioning pin member into the fitting hole and the boss hole before the head unit assembly step, and the head unit assembly In the attaching step, it is performed while the positioning pin member is inserted.

  According to the present invention, the boss hole and the fitting hole can be arranged coaxially by continuously inserting the positioning pin member into the boss hole and the fitting hole. Furthermore, since the slit is formed in the pressing member to avoid interference between the pressing member and the positioning pin member, the head unit assembling step can be performed while the positioning pin member is inserted. Therefore, the head unit can be assembled to the carriage arm with high accuracy.

  In the assembling apparatus of the present invention, the slide body includes a support piece slide portion that moves the support piece downward in synchronization with the cable slide portion.

  In the assembling method of the present invention, the support piece is moved downward by a support piece slide portion that moves downward in synchronization with the cable slide portion in the head unit arranging step.

  According to the present invention, by providing the support piece slide portion that moves the support piece downward in synchronization with the main chuck and the cable slide portion, the support piece is supported while supporting the support piece in synchronization with the downward movement of the main body portion and the flat cable. Can be moved downward. Therefore, the head unit can be moved downward and assembled to the carriage arm without applying stress to the support piece.

  In the assembling apparatus of the present invention, the arm unit includes a support member that presses the main body against the suction surface side of the main chuck.

  According to the present invention, since the support member that presses the main body portion against the suction surface side of the main chuck is provided, it is possible to suppress the support member from pressing the main body portion and separating the main body portion from the main chuck. As a result, the main unit can be securely adsorbed to the main chuck and the head unit can be held.

  In the assembling apparatus of the present invention, the arm unit includes a support piece support portion that urges the support piece in the reverse direction from the side on which the recording head is attached.

  According to the present invention, since the support piece support portion that urges the support piece in the reverse direction from the side on which the recording head is mounted is provided, the interference between the recording heads arranged adjacent to the front end side of the support piece. Can be avoided. Therefore, the main unit can be securely adsorbed to the main chuck to hold the head unit, and the head unit can be assembled to the carriage arm with high accuracy.

  Moreover, the assembling apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising a plurality of the arm units.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of arm units are provided, for example, a plurality of head units can be arranged to face each other at a time for each of a plurality of carriage arms. Therefore, the work efficiency of the assembling apparatus can be improved.

  In the assembling apparatus of the present invention, the arm units adjacent to each other are arranged symmetrically with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the suction surface of the cable chuck, and the cable of one of the arm units is arranged. The chuck and the cable chuck of the other arm unit function as the cable support of the counterpart unit.

  According to the present invention, the flat cable is accommodated between the cable chuck of one arm unit and the cable chuck of the other arm unit arranged to face each other, and each cable chuck functions as a cable support. Thereby, since it can suppress that the free end part of a flat cable separates from a cable chuck | zipper, the free end part of a flat cable can be hold | maintained stably. Therefore, the flat cable can be assembled to the carriage arm with high accuracy. In particular, since the mutual cable chucks can also function as the counterpart cable support, the configuration can be easily simplified.

  According to the present invention, the head unit can be automatically arranged to face the carriage arm while the flat cable is combined with the carriage arm without applying stress to the flat cable, and the head unit is mounted on the carriage arm. On the other hand, it can be automatically and accurately superimposed.

It is a perspective view of an information recording device. It is sectional drawing along the AA line in FIG. It is a perspective view of a head unit. It is a structure schematic diagram of a head unit assembly apparatus. It is a perspective view when an arm unit is seen from the lower part. It is a perspective view when an arm unit is viewed from above. It is a side view of an assembly jig unit. It is a front view of an assembly jig unit. It is a process flowchart of a head unit assembly method. It is the detail of the process flowchart of a head unit assembly method. It is explanatory drawing of a head unit holding process. It is explanatory drawing of a cable accommodation process. It is a perspective view at the time of a head unit arrangement | positioning process start. It is a side view at the time of a head unit arrangement | positioning process start. It is a perspective view at the time of completion | finish of a head unit arrangement | positioning process. It is a side view at the time of completion | finish of a head unit arrangement | positioning process. It is a perspective view of a positioning pin member insertion process. It is a front view of a positioning pin member insertion process. It is a side view of a head unit assembly process. It is a front view of a head unit assembly process. It is explanatory drawing of a head unit holding process and a cable accommodation process.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, in describing the assembling apparatus and the assembling method, the information recording apparatus is first described as an example of an apparatus having a head unit and a carriage arm, and then the head according to the present invention is used. A unit assembling apparatus and a head unit assembling method will be described.

(Information recording device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the information recording apparatus 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the information recording apparatus 1 includes a plurality (two in this embodiment) of recording media D and a plurality (three in this embodiment) of carriage arms 11a that can rotate the recording medium D. A carriage 11 having 11b, 11c, a plurality (four in this embodiment) of head units 12 (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) supported on the front end side of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, 11c, And a housing 9 for housing components.
That is, in this embodiment, a case where recording / reproduction is performed on both surfaces of two recording media D will be described as an example.

  In the following description, the direction along the central axis O of the recording medium D is defined as the X direction, the upper side of the information recording apparatus is defined as the + X side, and the lower side is defined as the −X side. Further, the longitudinal direction of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c is defined as the Y direction, the distal end side is defined as the + Y side, and the proximal end side is defined as the -Y side. Further, the width direction of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c is defined as the Z direction, the direction in which the flat cable 17 described later is held is defined as the + Z side, and the opposite direction is defined as the -Z side. In the following description, an XYZ coordinate system will be used as necessary.

  The housing 9 has a box shape having an opening made of a metal material such as aluminum, and has a bottom portion 9a having a substantially square shape in plan view and a peripheral wall erected in the vertical direction with respect to the bottom portion 9a at the periphery of the bottom portion 9a. (Not shown). And each component is accommodated in the inner side enclosed by the surrounding wall.

  The recording medium D is a so-called hard disk formed in a substantially disc shape, and two recording media D are arranged in parallel in a direction along the central axis O and separated by a predetermined distance. An insertion hole is formed at the center of each recording medium D, and a rotation shaft of a spindle motor 7 that rotates the recording medium around the central axis O is fitted therein. The spindle motor 7 is attached to the bottom 9 a of the housing 9.

(carriage)
An actuator (not shown) is attached to one corner of the bottom 9a outside the recording medium D. A carriage 11 that can rotate around the central axis M of the pivot shaft 10 is attached to the actuator.

The carriage 11 has three carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c extending from the base end portion toward the front end portion (in the direction of the recording medium D), and the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c in a cantilever shape. And a base portion 15 to be supported.
The base portion 15 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is supported so as to be rotatable around the pivot shaft 10. That is, the base 15 is connected to the actuator via the pivot shaft 10, and the central axis M of the pivot shaft 10 is the rotation center of the carriage 11.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 11 of the present embodiment includes three carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. Each of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c is formed in a flat plate shape, and is arranged substantially in parallel with a predetermined distance apart in the direction along the central axis O. Specifically, the center arm 11a is disposed between the two recording media D, and the + X side arm 11b and the −X side arm 11c are disposed so as to sandwich each recording medium D. That is, the three carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c and the two recording media D are alternately arranged along the X direction.

Each carriage arm 11a, 11b, 11c is formed by overlapping two arm pieces 14a, 14b.
On the + Y side of each of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, a fitting hole 14c that penetrates in the thickness direction of each of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c is formed. A boss portion 22a (see FIG. 3) of a boss hole 22 formed in the head unit 12, which will be described later, is fitted in the fitting hole 14c, so that the head unit is placed on the + Y side of each carriage arm 11a, 11b, 11c. 12 is fixed.
Further, a groove portion 14d is formed between the two arm pieces 14a, 14b in each carriage arm 11a, 11b, 11c so as to extend along the Y direction. A free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 described later is inserted and held in the groove portion 14d.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the head unit 12. The head unit 12a attached to the −X side surface of the + X side arm 11b shown in FIG. 2 has the same shape and configuration as the head unit 12c attached to the −X side surface of the center arm 11a. The head unit 12b attached to the + X side surface of the center arm 11a and the head unit 12d attached to the + X side surface of the −X side arm 11b are the same except that they are formed symmetrically with the head unit 12a shown in FIG. It becomes the composition of. Accordingly, the head unit 12a will be described below, and the description of the head units 12b, 12c, and 12d will be omitted.

(Head unit)
As shown in FIG. 3, the head unit 12 a is called a head gimbal assembly with a so-called FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits), and is connected to the support piece 24 with the recording head 2 attached to the + Y side, and the support piece 24. Main body 23.

The support piece 24 is a plate-like member having a substantially triangular shape in plan view, and is formed of a metal material such as stainless steel. The recording head 2 is attached to the −X side surface at the top of the support piece 24 formed in a substantially triangular shape.
As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 2 is arranged to face the recording medium D in a state where it floats from the disk surface D1 of the recording medium D by a predetermined distance, so that various types of information can be recorded on and reproduced from the recording medium D. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12a is connected to the −X side surface of the bottom side portion of the support piece 24 formed in a substantially triangular shape.
The main body 23 is a plate-like member having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and is formed of a metal material such as stainless steel like the support piece 24. The + Y side of the main body part 23 is an extension part 23a, and is fixed to the bottom part formed on the −Y side of the support piece 24 by caulking or the like, for example.
The extending portion 23 a has flexibility, and the recording head 2 attached to the + Y side of the support piece 24 can approach and separate from the recording medium D.

  A boss hole 22 is formed on the −Y side of the main body portion 23. The boss hole 22 is formed substantially at the center in the Z direction of the main body 23 on the −Y side of the main body 23. Further, the edge of the boss hole 22 is a boss 22a erected in a flange shape toward the + X side. The outer diameter of the boss portion 22a is formed to be substantially the same as the diameter of the fitting hole 14c (see FIG. 2) formed in the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. The boss portion 22a is disposed in the fitting hole 14c of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, so that the boss hole 22 is fitted into the fitting hole 14c.

The −X side surface of the main body portion 23 is a flat surface 25 (main surface). The flat surface 25 is sucked and held by the main chuck 31 of the arm unit 30 in the head unit assembling apparatus 3 described later.
A flat cable 17 is routed in the main body 23. The flat cable 17 is, for example, a film-like FPC covered with a film-like insulator. The flat cable 17 is formed in a long plate shape and has flexibility in the X direction. Thereby, it is possible to follow the bending of the extending portion 23a in the X direction.

  One end of the flat cable 17 is connected to the recording head 2 fixed to the + Y side of the support piece 24. The flat cable 17 is routed across the support piece 24 and is routed to the + Z side on the flat surface 25 to avoid the boss hole 22, and is then pulled along the + Z side edge of the main body 23. It has been turned.

  The other end side of the flat cable 17 extends to the −Y side outside the main body portion 23 and forms a free end portion 18. A cable substrate 20 (see FIG. 1) is provided at the end of the free end portion 18 on the −Y side, and is not connected via a terminal substrate 16 (see FIG. 1) provided on the base portion 15 of the carriage 11. It is connected to the illustrated control device. Thus, the flat cable 17 electrically connects the cable substrate 20 connected to the control device and the recording head 2.

  Of the two main surfaces of the flat cable 17, the same side surface (the −X side surface in FIG. 3) as the flat surface 25 of the main body portion 23 becomes the attracted surface 17 a that is attracted and held by the cable chuck 35 of the arm unit 30 described later. ing. The head unit 12 is sucked and held on the arm unit 30 by simultaneously sucking and holding the flat surface 25 of the main body 23 and the sucked surface 17a of the flat cable 17 from the same direction.

(Head unit assembly device)
Next, the head unit assembling apparatus 3 for attaching the head unit 12 to the above-described carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the head unit assembling apparatus 3. In the following description, description will be made using the already defined XYZ coordinate system. The vertical direction of the apparatus is the Z direction, the upper side is the + Z side, and the lower side is the -Z side.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the head unit assembling apparatus 3 includes a pair of arm units 30 (30a, 30b) provided on the + Z side and an assembling jig unit 60 provided on the −Z side. Has been. The pair of arm units 30a and 30b have the same configuration except that they are formed in plane symmetry with respect to the YZ plane. Therefore, in the following description, the arm unit 30a disposed on the + X side will be described, and the description of the arm unit 30b disposed on the −X side will be omitted.

(Arm unit)
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the arm unit 30a as viewed from below.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the arm unit 30a as viewed from above.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the arm unit 30 a includes a main chuck 31 that holds the main body 23 of the head unit 12 by suction and a cable chuck 35 that sucks and holds the flat cable 17 (the side stacking cable chuck 35 a and the center chuck). Laminating cable chuck 35 b), cable support 40 that accommodates flat cable 17 together with cable chuck 35, slide body 45 that slides to the −Z side, support member 50 that presses body portion 23 of head unit 12, and head unit And 12 supporting pieces 24 for supporting the supporting pieces 24.

  The constituent members of the main chuck 31, the cable chuck 35, the cable support 40, the slide body 45, and the support piece support portion 55 constituting the arm unit 30a are formed in a long shape and have a longitudinal direction in the Z direction. ing. Further, a robot arm drive mechanism (not shown) is connected to the + Z side end of each component member, and each component member can move in each direction of XYZ. Further, an intermediate portion between the + Z side end and the −Z side end of each constituent member is bent, for example, so as not to interfere when each constituent member moves in the XYZ direction. Below, each structural member which comprises the arm unit 30a is explained in full detail.

(Main chuck)
The main chuck 31 is formed in a flat plate shape having a width direction in the Y direction, and the −Z side end portion is a suction portion 32. The suction part 32 has suction surfaces 32a and 32b on both the + X side surface and the -X side surface.
A plurality of suction holes (not shown) are formed in the suction surfaces 32a and 32b. Each suction hole communicates with a vacuum pump (not shown) through the inside of the main chuck 31. By sucking air with a vacuum pump, the suction surfaces 32 a and 32 b come into contact with the flat surface 25 of the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12 so that the main body portion 23 can be sucked and held.

  Further, at the approximate center of the suction portion 32 in the Y direction, there is an opening on the −Z side, and a slit-shaped escape groove portion 33 is formed along the Z direction. The escape groove 33 is formed at a position corresponding to the boss hole 22 formed in the main body 23 when the main body 23 of the head unit 12 is sucked and held. The width of the escape groove 33 is formed to be substantially the same as the diameter of the boss hole 22. By providing the escape groove 33, when the positioning pin member 70 (see FIG. 4) is inserted into the boss hole 22 in the positioning pin member insertion step S17 (see FIG. 10) described later, the positioning pin member 70 and the main chuck Interference with 31 is avoided.

  The main chuck 31 thus formed is movable in the Z direction in a state where the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12 is sucked and held. The head unit 12 is disposed opposite to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c disposed on the −Z side of the main chuck 31.

(Cable chuck)
The arm unit 30a of the present embodiment includes two types of cable chucks 35. Specifically, it includes a side stacking cable chuck 35a used in a side stacking step S100, which will be described later, and a center stacking cable chuck 35b used in the center stacking step S200.
The side stacking cable chuck 35a and the center stacking cable chuck 35b are disposed adjacent to each other in the X direction. For this reason, the arrangement positions are different in the X direction, and are arranged on the side lamination cable chuck 35a + X side, and the center lamination cable chuck 35b is arranged on the −X side.

  The side stacking cable chuck 35a and the center stacking cable chuck 35b have the same configuration except for the position where they are disposed. Accordingly, only the side stacking cable chuck 35a will be described below, and a detailed description of the center stacking cable chuck 35b will be omitted.

  Similar to the main chuck 31 described above, the side stacking cable chuck 35 a is formed in a flat plate shape having a width direction in the Y direction, and the −Z side end portion is a cable suction portion 36. In the cable suction portion 36, both the + X side surface and the −X side surface are cable suction surfaces 36a and 36b, respectively. The cable suction surfaces 36a and 36b are in contact with the suction target surface 17a in the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 so that the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 can be sucked and held.

  In the approximate center of the cable suction portion 36 in the Y direction, there is an opening on the −Z side, and a slit-like slide groove portion 37 is formed along the Z direction. A cable slide portion 46 of a slide body 45 described later is disposed in the slide groove portion 37. The width of the slide groove portion 37 is formed wider than the width of the cable slide portion 46. Further, the length of the slide groove portion 37 is formed sufficiently longer than the amount of movement of the cable slide portion 46 in the Z direction. By providing the slide groove portion 37, the interference between the cable slide portion 46 and the side stacking cable chuck 35a when the cable slide portion 46 moves to the −Z side in the head unit arrangement step S15 (see FIG. 10) described later. Is avoiding.

  The side stacking cable chuck 35a formed in this way sucks and holds the sucked surface 17a in the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 simultaneously with the main chuck 31 sucking and holding the head unit 12. Thereby, the main-body part 23 and the flat cable 17 of the head unit 12 are each hold | maintained in the independent state. Therefore, both of them can be stably held with an optimum suction force, and the flat cable 17 can be held in a natural state according to the bending condition without being affected by the main body portion 23. The cable 17 has a structure in which stress is not easily applied.

  When the side stacking cable chuck 35a is used in the side stacking step S100, the center stacking cable chuck 35b is disposed on the + Z side to avoid interference with the side stacking cable chuck 35a. Similarly, when the center stacking cable chuck 35b is used in the center stacking step S200, the side stacking cable chuck 35a is disposed on the + Z side to avoid interference with the center stacking cable chuck 35b. .

(Cable support)
The cable support 40 is a flat plate member having an outer shape formed in the same shape as the cable suction portion 36 of the side stacking cable chuck 35a. The cable support 40 is disposed so as to be able to approach and separate from the side stacking cable chuck 35a.
When the cable support 40 approaches the side stacking cable chuck 35a, a gap is formed between the cable support 40 and the cable suction portion 36. The width of this gap is set to be substantially the same as the thickness of the flat cable 17. Thereby, the flat cable 17 can be accommodated in the gap between the cable support 40 and the cable suction portion 36 without applying stress to the flat cable 17.

  In addition, after the flat cable 17 is accommodated in the gap between the cable support 40 and the cable suction portion 36, the suction holding by the side stacking cable chuck 35a is released. Thereby, when the flat cable 17 is supplementarily moved downward to the −Z side by a cable slide portion 46 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, the occurrence of stress on the flat cable 17 is suppressed.

  By the way, as will be described later, in the center stacking step S200, the cable suction surfaces 36b (see FIG. 6) of the center stacking cable chuck 35b are disposed to face each other, and a pair of cable suction surfaces 36b are opposed to each other. Each flat cable 17 is held by suction. In this case, the opposing cable suction surfaces 36b approach each other to form a gap, and the flat cable 17 is accommodated in the gap, so that the center stacking cable chucks 35b function as cable support for the counterpart unit. ing.

(Slide body)
The slide body 45 is configured to be movable in synchronization with the downward movement of the main chuck 31 toward the −Z side. The slide body 45 includes a cable slide portion 46 that moves the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 downward, and the support piece 24. And a support piece slide portion 47 to be moved downward.

  The cable slide portion 46 extends along the X direction, and is disposed between the slide groove portions 37 and 39 formed in the cable suction portions 36 and 38 of each cable chuck 35. The position of the cable slide portion 46 corresponding to the free end portion 18 in the flat cable 17 is an abutting portion 46a protruding to the −Z side. The contact portion 46a contacts the + Z side end surface of the flat cable 17 when the cable slide portion 46 moves downward. The cable slide portion 46 moves the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 downward along each cable chuck 35.

  The support piece slide portion 47 extends substantially parallel to the cable slide portion 46 along the X direction, and is disposed on the + Y side of the main chuck 31. The position corresponding to the support piece 24 of the support piece slide portion 47 is an abutting portion 47 a protruding to the −Z side, like the cable slide portion 46. The contact portion 47a contacts the + Z side end surface of the support piece 24 when the support piece slide portion 47 moves downward. Then, the support piece slide portion 47 moves the support piece 24 downward in synchronization with the cable slide portion 46.

(Support material)
The support member 50 is a substantially quadrangular prism-shaped member that extends along the Z direction. The support member 50 is disposed in the vicinity of the extending portion 23 a of the main body portion 23 on the + Y side of the suction portion 32 of the main chuck 31. The peripheral surface of the support member 50 is in contact with the main body 23 and presses the main body 23 toward the suction surface 32 a of the main chuck 31. Thereby, it is suppressed that the main-body part 23 spaces apart from the adsorption | suction surface 32a.

(Support piece support part)
The support piece support portion 55 is a substantially columnar member extending along the Z direction. The support piece support portion 55 is disposed in the vicinity of the recording head 2 attached to the support piece 24 on the + Y side of the support member 50. The support piece support portion 55 urges the support piece 24 in the reverse direction from the side on which the recording head 2 is attached. This avoids interference between adjacent recording heads 2 during the assembly process.

(Assembly jig unit)
FIG. 7 is a side view when the assembly jig unit 60 is viewed from the + X side.
FIG. 8 is a front view when the assembly jig unit 60 is viewed from the + Y side.
As shown in FIG. 7, the assembling jig unit 60 includes a pressing member 61 disposed on the −Z side of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, and a carriage arm 11a, 11b, and 11c as shown in FIG. And a positioning pin member 70 disposed on the side.

(Pressing member)
The pressing member 61 is a long plate-shaped member having a thickness in the X direction, a width in the Y direction, and formed along the Z direction. The + Z side tip 61a of the pressing member 61 is a tapered surface 62 (62a, 62b) whose thickness in the X direction gradually decreases. In addition, a slit 63 having an opening on the + Z side and extending along the Z direction is formed at the approximate center in the Y direction at the distal end portion 61a of the pressing member 61. By forming the slit 63, interference between a positioning pin member 70 and a pressing member 61, which will be described later, is avoided.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of pressing members 61 are provided adjacent to each other in the X direction. Specifically, each pressing member 61 is a pair of main chucks disposed on the + Z side between the center arm 11a and the + X side arm 11b and between the center arm 11a and the -X side arm 11c. 31 is provided so as to face 31. Further, the pressing member 61 can approach and separate from the main chuck 31 along the Z direction. In the head unit assembly step S19 (see FIG. 10), which will be described later, the main chuck 31 is moved to the + Z side by moving the pressing member 61 upward to the + Z side while the tip 61a is in contact with the main chuck 31. It is moved upward to be separated from the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c.

(Positioning pin)
The assembly jig unit 60 includes a positioning pin member 70 extending along the X direction. The positioning pin member 70 is a rod-like member having a tip portion 70a formed in a spire shape. The positioning pin member 70 is movable along the X direction, and is continuously inserted through the boss hole 22 and the fitting hole 14c in a positioning pin member insertion step S17 (see FIG. 10) described later.

(Head unit assembly method)
Next, a head unit assembling method using the above-described head unit assembling apparatus 3 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 9 is a process flowchart of the head unit assembling method.
As shown in FIG. 9, the head unit assembling method of this embodiment is as follows. The head unit 12a is assembled to the + X side arm 11b, and the head unit 12d is assembled to the −X side arm 11c (see FIG. 2). And a center stacking step S200 for assembling the head unit 12b and the head unit 12c to the center arm 11a (see FIG. 2).

(Both side lamination process S100)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of each step of the both-side lamination step S100 and the center lamination step S200. In addition, each process of both side lamination | stacking process S100 and center lamination | stacking process S200 is fundamentally the same. Therefore, in FIG. 10, the reference numerals of the respective steps of the center stacking step S200 are shown in parentheses.

  As shown in FIG. 10, both side lamination step S100 includes head unit holding step S10, cable housing step S13, head unit placement step S15, positioning pin member insertion step S17, head unit assembly step S19, It has. Below, the detail of each process is demonstrated. In the following description of each process, description will be made using the already defined XYZ coordinate system.

  In addition, as described above, the pair of arm units 30a and 30b are arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to the YZ plane, and the head unit 12a is placed on the + X side arm 11b with the arm unit 30a arranged on the + X side. The head unit 12d is assembled to the -X side arm 11c by the arm unit 30b disposed on the -X side. However, the assembling operation in each step of the arm unit 30a and the arm unit 30b is the same. Therefore, in the following description of each process, the operation of the arm unit 30a disposed on the + X side will be described, and the operation of the arm unit 30b disposed on the −X side will be performed as necessary.

(Head unit holding step S10)
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the head unit holding step S10 and is a plan view when the arm units 30a and 30b are viewed from the + Z side.
In both side lamination process S100, head unit holding process S10 is performed first.
As shown in FIG. 11, in the head unit holding step S <b> 10, the flat surface 25 of the main body 23 of the head unit 12 a is sucked and held by the outer suction surface 32 a of the main chuck 31. At the same time, the suction surface 17a of the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is sucked and held by the outer cable suction surface 36a of the side stacking cable chuck 35a.

The arm unit 30a moves above the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c while adsorbing and holding the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12a and the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 (see FIG. 4).
Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the support member 50 is in contact with the main body 23 and presses the main body 23 toward the suction surface 32 a of the main chuck 31. Thereby, it is suppressed that the main-body part 23 leaves | separates from the adsorption surface 32a by the vibration etc. at the time of the movement of the arm unit 30a. Further, the support piece support portion 55 urges the support piece 24 in the direction opposite to the suction surface 32a in the vicinity of the recording head 2. This avoids interference between adjacent recording heads 2 when the arm unit 30a is moved.
Thus, the head unit holding step S10 is completed.

(Cable housing step S13)
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the cable housing step S13 and is a plan view when the arm units 30a and 30b are viewed from the + Z side.
Subsequently, a cable housing step S13 for housing the flat cable 17 is performed by the side stacking cable chuck 35a and the cable support 40.
As shown in FIG. 12, in the cable housing step S13, the cable support 40 is moved closer to the side stacking cable chuck 35a. A gap is defined between the cable suction surface 36a of the side stacking cable chuck 35a and the cable support 40, and the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is accommodated in this gap.

In the cable housing step S13, after the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is accommodated in the gap, the suction by the side stacking cable chuck 35a is stopped to hold the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 by suction. It has been released. Thereby, when the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is moved downward in the next head unit arrangement step S15, the flat cable 17 is prevented from being stressed.
When the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is accommodated in the gap between the cable adsorption surface 36a and the cable support 40, and the adsorption holding by the cable adsorption surface 36a is released, the cable accommodation step S13 ends.

(Head unit arrangement step S15)
FIG. 13 is a perspective view at the start of the head unit arrangement step S15.
FIG. 14 is a side view at the start of the head unit arrangement step S15.
Subsequently, in the head unit arrangement step S15, the head unit 12a is arranged to face the + X side arm 11b, and at the same time, the flat cable 17 is assembled to the + X side arm 11b.

  First, in the head unit arranging step S15, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the main chuck 31 sucks and holds the main body 23 of the head unit 12a, and the side stacking cable chuck 35a and the cable support 40 form a flat cable. With the 17 free end portions 18 accommodated, the arm unit 30a is moved above the + X side arm 11b.

  At this time, the arm unit 30a is moved so that the position of the main chuck 31 in the X direction is arranged between the center arm 11a and the + X side arm 11b (see FIG. 13). Further, the arm unit 30a is moved so that the position of the boss hole 22 of the head unit 12a in the Y direction is substantially the same as the position of the fitting hole 14c of the + X side arm 11b (see FIG. 14). Further, the position of the arm unit 30a in the Z direction is such that the head unit 12a and the -X side arm 11c can be arranged to face each other when the arm unit 30a is moved downward with the head unit 12a being sucked and held. The arm unit 30a is moved.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view at the end of the head unit arrangement step S15.
FIG. 16 is a side view at the end of the head unit arrangement step S15.
Subsequently, in the head unit arrangement step S15, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the main chuck 31 is moved downward to the −Z side, and the slide body 45 is moved downward to the −Z side in synchronization therewith.
Specifically, the main chuck 31 moves downward with the main body 23 of the head unit 12a being sucked and held. Thereby, the main body 23 of the head unit 12a moves downward.

In synchronism with this, the slide body 45 moves downward to the −Z side together with the cable slide portion 46 and the support piece slide portion 47 formed integrally with the slide body 45.
At this time, the abutting portion 46a of the cable slide portion 46 moves downward while being in contact with the + Z side end of the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17, so that the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 moves downward.

  Here, the cable slide portion 46 moves the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 accommodated between the cable suction surface 36 a and the cable support 40 in an auxiliary manner in synchronization with the downward movement of the main chuck 31. ing. Thus, the cable slide portion 46 moves downward in synchronization with the main chuck 31 and causes the flat cable 17 to follow the movement of the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12a. Hard to cause stress such as twisting.

  Furthermore, since the contact portion 47a of the support piece slide portion 47 moves downward in a state of being in contact with the + Z side end of the support piece 24, the support piece 24 moves downward. In this way, the support piece slide portion 47 moves downward in synchronization with the main chuck 31 and the cable slide portion 46 and causes the support piece 24 to follow the movement of the flat cable 17 and the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12a. The head unit 12a can be moved downward without applying stress to the piece 24.

And in head unit arrangement | positioning process S15, as shown in FIG.15 and FIG.16, the head unit 12a is arrange | positioned facing the + X side arm 11b. At the same time, the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is assembled to the + X side arm 11b. When the flat cable 17 is assembled to the + X side arm 11b, the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is inserted and held in the arm portion 14a forming the + X side arm 11b and the groove portion 14d formed between the arm pieces 14b. Is achieved (see FIG. 2).
When the head unit 12a is arranged to face the + X side arm 11b and the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is inserted into the groove 14d (see FIG. 2) of the + X side arm 11b, the head unit arrangement step S15 is completed.

(Positioning pin member insertion step S17)
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the positioning pin member insertion step S17.
FIG. 18 is a front view of the positioning pin member insertion step S17 as viewed from the + Y side.
As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, in the positioning pin member insertion step S17, the positioning pin member 70 extending along the X direction is moved from the + X side toward the −X side. The positioning pin member 70 is continuously inserted into the fitting holes 14c of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c and the boss holes 22 of the head units 12a and 12d. Thereby, the boss hole 22 and the fitting hole 14c can be arrange | positioned coaxially.

  At this time, the main chuck 31 is disposed together with the head unit 12 between the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. Here, as described above, the escape groove 33 is formed in the main chuck 31. For this reason, when the positioning pin member 70 is inserted into the fitting hole 14 c and the boss hole 22, the positioning pin member 70 is also inserted into the escape groove portion 33 of the main chuck 31, and the positioning pin member 70 and the main chuck 31 are connected. Interference can be avoided.

After the positioning pin member 70 is inserted, the suction holding of the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12a by the main chuck 31 is released. At this time, since the positioning pin member 70 is inserted and held in the head unit 12a, the head unit 12a does not fall off even if the suction holding of the main chuck 31 is released.
When the positioning pin member 70 is continuously inserted into the fitting hole 14c and the boss hole 22 and the suction holding of the main chuck 31 is released, the positioning pin member insertion step S17 is completed.

(Head unit assembly step S19)
FIG. 19 is a side view of the head unit assembling step S19 as viewed from the X direction. In FIG. 19, the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c are represented by alternate long and short dash lines for easy understanding of the drawing.
FIG. 20 is a front view of the head unit assembling step S19 as viewed from the + Y side.
As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, in the head unit assembling step S19, the pressing member 61 is moved closer to the main chuck 31 to move the main chuck 31 upward, and the head unit 12a is assembled to the + X side arm 11b. ing. Specifically, the head unit assembling step S19 is performed as follows.

  In the head unit assembling step S19, the pressing member 61 disposed below each carriage arm 11a, 11b, 11c is moved upward while the positioning metal pin member 70 is inserted into the fitting hole 14c and the boss hole 22. The pressing member 61 is moved upward in a state where the tip end portion 61 a of the pressing member 61 is in contact with the lower end surface of the main chuck 31. Accordingly, the main chuck 31 is pushed up by the pressing member 61 and moves upward.

  Here, a slit 63 having an opening on the + Z side is formed at the distal end portion 61 a of the pressing member 61. Therefore, when the pressing member 61 is moved upward, the positioning pin member 70 is disposed in the slit 63, so that interference between the positioning pin member 70 and the main chuck 31 can be avoided.

  Further, as described above, the suction holding of the main body portion 23 by the main chuck 31 is released. Therefore, by pushing up the main chuck 31 by the pressing member 61, the main chuck 31 is separated from the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c while the head unit 12a remains between the center arm 11a and the + X side arm 11b. Can do.

As the pressing member 61 moves upward, the head unit 12a moves to the + X side and is pressed to the + X side arm 11b side. Specifically, the head unit 12a is pressed to the + X side arm 11b side by moving the main body part 23 of the head unit 12a to the + X side along the tapered surface 62a formed at the distal end portion 61a of the pressing member 61. Is done.
At this time, the fitting hole 14 c and the boss hole 22 are arranged coaxially by the positioning pin member 70. Therefore, when the head unit 12a is pressed toward the + X side arm 11b, the boss hole 22 is guided to the fitting hole 14c and is fitted into the fitting hole 14c.

As the main chuck 31 moves away from the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, the cable slide portion 46, the support piece slide portion 47, the support member 50, and the support piece support portion 55 are moved to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, 11c.
Further, the pressing member 61 is moved downward to be separated from the carriage arms 11a, 11b, 11c.
Thus, the head unit assembly step S19 is completed.
Further, when the head unit assembling step S19 is completed, the both-side stacking step S100 in which the head unit 12a is assembled to the + X side arm 11b and the head unit 12d is assembled to the −X side arm 11c is completed.

(Center lamination process S200)
After the both side lamination step S100, the center lamination step S200 is performed.
As shown in FIG. 10, each process flow of center lamination process S200 is the same as each process flow of both side lamination process S100. The contents of each process are basically the same, but the head unit holding process S20 and the cable housing process S23 of the center stacking process S200 are slightly different from the head unit holding process S10 and the cable housing process S13 of the both side stacking process S100. Is different.
Therefore, in the following description of the center stacking step S200, only the contents different from the both-side stacking step S100 will be described with respect to the head unit holding step S20 and the cable housing step S23, and description of the same content will be omitted.

(Head unit holding step S20)
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of the head unit holding step S20 and the cable housing step S23, and is a plan view when the arm units 30a and 30b are viewed from the + Z side.
In the head unit holding step S10 of the both side stacking step S100, the side stacking cable chuck 35a is used for sucking and holding the flat cable 17 (for example, see FIG. 11). On the other hand, in the head unit holding step S20 of the center stacking step S200, as shown in FIG. 21, both side stacking steps are used in that the center stacking cable chuck 35b is used for sucking and holding the flat cable 17. This is different from the head unit holding step S10 of S100.

  As shown in FIG. 21, in the head unit holding step S <b> 20, the flat surface 25 of the main body 23 of the head unit 12 b is sucked and held by the inner suction surface 32 b of the main chuck 31. At the same time, the sucked surface 17a of the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is sucked and held by the inner cable sucking surface 38b of the center stacking cable chuck 35b.

(Cable housing step S23)
In the cable accommodation step S13 of the both side lamination step S100, the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 was accommodated between the side lamination cable chuck 35a and the cable support 40 (see, for example, FIG. 12). On the other hand, in the cable housing step S23 of the center stacking step S200, as shown in FIG. 21, the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is housed between the center stacking cable chucks 35b arranged to face each other. This is different from the head unit holding step S10 in the both-side lamination step S100.

  As shown in FIG. 21, in the cable housing step S <b> 13, the center stacking cable chucks 35 b are moved closer to each other and arranged to face each other. A gap is defined between the cable suction surfaces 38b of the cable suction portion 38 of the pair of center-stacking cable chucks 35b arranged opposite to each other, and the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is accommodated in this gap. Yes. That is, the center stacking cable chuck 35b of the + X side arm unit 30a and the center stacking cable chuck 35b of the −X side arm unit 30b function as a cable support for the counterpart unit, and the flat cable 17 is free. The end portion 18 is accommodated.

(Effect of embodiment)
According to the present embodiment, the main chuck 31 sucks and holds the flat surface 25 of the main body 23 of the head unit 12 and the cable chuck 35 holds the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 by suction. The flat cable 17 can be held in an independent state. Therefore, both can be stably held with an optimum adsorption force, and the flat cable 17 can be held in a natural state according to the bending condition without being influenced by the main body 23, and the flat It is difficult to stress the cable 17. In addition, since the free end portion 18 of the flat cable 17 is accommodated in the gap defined between the cable chuck 35 and the cable support 40 after the suction holding, the above-mentioned natural state is maintained even if the suction holding is released. In addition, the flat cable 17 is less prone to wrinkles and unauthorized deformation.

Then, by moving the main chuck 31 downward to the −Z side, the entire head unit 12 can be moved via the main body 23 and can be disposed opposite to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. At this time, the cable slide portion 46 of the slide body 45 moves downward in synchronization with the main chuck 31, and the flat cable 17 accommodated in the gap is auxiliaryly moved downward to move the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12. Since it follows, it is hard to produce stress, such as a twist, between the main-body part 23 and the flat cable 17. FIG.
Further, since the cable chuck 35 releases the suction holding after the flat cable 17 is accommodated in the gap, when the flat cable 17 is auxiliary moved downward by the cable slide portion 46, the cable chuck 35 is attached to the flat cable 17 itself. It is difficult to cause stress.
By moving the main chuck 31 downward, the flat cable 17 can be combined with the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, and the head unit 12 can be disposed opposite to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c.

  When the head unit 12 is disposed opposite the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, the pressing member 61 of the assembly jig unit 60 moves upward to the Z side and moves closer to the main chuck 31. Then, along with this movement, the pressing member 61 presses the main body 23 of the head unit 12 toward the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, and the fitting holes 14c of the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c enter the fitting holes 14c. At the same time that the boss hole 22 is fitted, the main chuck 31 is pushed upward to be separated from the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. As a result, the head unit 12 can be automatically and accurately superimposed on the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c, and the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c can be placed without stress on the flat cable 17. Can be combined.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the positioning pin member 70 is continuously connected to the boss hole 22 formed in the main body portion 23 of the head unit 12 and the fitting hole 14c formed in the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. Thus, the boss hole 22 and the fitting hole 14c can be arranged coaxially. Furthermore, since the slit 63 is formed in the pressing member 61, the head unit assembling steps S19 and S29 can be performed while the positioning pin member 70 is inserted. Therefore, the head unit 12 can be assembled to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c with high accuracy.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the support piece slide portion 47 that moves the support piece 24 downward in synchronization with the main chuck 31 and the cable slide portion 46 is provided. In synchronization with the downward movement of the flat cable 17, the support piece 24 can be supported and moved downward. Therefore, the head unit 12 can be moved downward and assembled to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c without applying stress to the support piece 24.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the support member 50 that presses the main body portion 23 against the suction surfaces 32a and 32b of the main chuck 31 is provided, so that the support member 50 presses the main body portion 23 to remove the main body portion from the main chuck 31. 23 can be prevented from separating. Thereby, the main unit 23 can be reliably attracted to the main chuck 31 and the head unit 12 can be held.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the support piece support portion 55 that urges the support piece 24 in the reverse direction from the side on which the recording head 2 is attached is provided, it is disposed adjacent to the front end side of the support piece 24. Interference between the recording heads 2 can be avoided. Therefore, the main unit 23 can be securely attracted to the main chuck 31 to hold the head unit 12, and the head unit 12 can be assembled to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c with high accuracy.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the plurality of arm units 30 are provided, for example, the plurality of head units 12 can be arranged to face each other separately for each of the plurality of carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c. Therefore, the working efficiency of the head unit assembling apparatus 3 can be improved.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, each arm unit 30 is formed in a plane symmetrical shape with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the suction surfaces 32a and 32b, and thus a pair of head units formed in a plane symmetrical shape. 12 can be arranged on the carriage arms 11a, 11b, 11c at a time. Therefore, the working efficiency of the head unit assembling apparatus 3 can be improved. Further, the flat cable 17 is accommodated between the center stacking cable chuck 35b of one arm unit 30a and the center stacking cable chuck 35b of the other arm unit 30b arranged opposite to each other, and each center stacking cable chuck 35b. Is functioning as a cable support. Thereby, since it can suppress that the free end part 18 of the flat cable 17 separates from the cable chuck | zipper 35b for center lamination | stacking, the free end part 18 of the flat cable 17 can be hold | maintained stably. Therefore, the flat cable 17 can be assembled to the carriage arms 11a, 11b, and 11c with high accuracy. In particular, since the mutual cable chucks can also function as the counterpart cable support, the configuration can be easily simplified.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the head unit assembling apparatus 3 is configured by a pair of arm units 30a and 30b formed in a plane-symmetric shape with respect to the YZ plane. However, the number of arm units 30a and 30b is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the head unit assembly apparatus 3 may be configured by one arm unit 30, or the head unit assembly apparatus 3 may be configured by three arm units 30.

  In the present embodiment, the center lamination step S200 is performed after performing the both-side lamination step S100. However, the order of the steps is not limited to this, and after performing the center lamination step S200, the both-side lamination is performed. Step S100 may be performed.

2 ... Recording head 3 ... Head unit assembly device (assembly device) 11a, 11b, 11c ... Carriage arm 12 (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) ... Head unit 14c Hole 17 ... Flat cable 18 ... Free end portion 22 ... Boss hole 23 ... Main body 24 ... Supporting piece 25 ... Flat surface (main surface) 30 (30a, 30b) ... Arm unit 32a, 32b ... adsorption surface 36a, 36b ... cable adsorption surface 40 ... cable support 45 ... slide body 46 ... cable slide part 47 ... support piece slide part 50 ... Support member 55 ... support piece support portion 60 ... assembly jig unit 61 ... pressing member 63 ... slit 70 ... positioning pin member D: Recording medium S10, S20: Head unit holding step S13, S23 ... Cable housing step S15, S25 ... Head unit placement step S17, S27 ... Positioning pin member insertion step S19, S29 ..Head unit assembly process

Claims (10)

A carriage arm that holds a support piece having a recording head attached to the tip and includes a main body portion to which a long flat cable connected to the recording head is fixed, and which can rotate on a recording medium. An arm unit disposed opposite to the
An assembly jig unit that superimposes the head unit on the carriage arm and fits the boss hole of the main body into the fitting hole of the carriage arm;
An assembly apparatus comprising:
The arm unit is
A main chuck that is formed in a plate shape with both surfaces being suction surfaces, the main surface of the main body can be sucked and held, and the head unit sucked and held by downward movement is disposed opposite to the carriage arm; ,
A cable chuck that is formed in a plate shape with both surfaces being suction surfaces, and is capable of sucking and holding a free end portion extending outward of the main body portion of the flat cable;
A cable support that is disposed so as to be able to approach and separate from the cable chuck, and that accommodates the flat cable in a gap defined between the cable chuck and the cable chuck;
A slide body including a cable slide portion that moves the free end portion of the flat cable accommodated in the gap downward along the cable chuck in synchronization with the downward movement of the main chuck;
The assembly jig unit is
The main body portion of the head unit, which is disposed so as to be able to approach and separate from the main chuck along the moving direction of the main chuck and is opposed to the carriage arm with the approaching movement, is disposed on the carriage arm side. A pressing member that presses and moves the main chuck upward and moves away from the carriage arm while fitting the boss hole into the fitting hole;
The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cable chuck releases the suction holding after the flat cable is accommodated in the gap. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1,
The assembly jig unit is
A positioning pin member continuously inserted into the fitting hole and the boss hole after the main body portion is disposed opposite to the carriage arm;
The assembling apparatus, wherein the pressing member is formed with a slit for avoiding interference with the positioning pin member. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The slide body is
An assembling apparatus comprising a support piece slide portion for moving the support piece downward in synchronization with the cable slide portion. The assembling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The arm unit is
An assembling apparatus comprising a support member that presses the main body against the suction surface side of the main chuck. The assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The arm unit is
An assembling apparatus comprising a support piece support portion that urges the support piece in a reverse direction from a side on which the recording head is attached. The assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An assembling apparatus comprising a plurality of the arm units. The assembly apparatus according to claim 6,
The arm units adjacent to each other are arranged in plane symmetry with respect to a virtual plane parallel to the suction surface of the cable chuck,
The assembly apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cable chuck of one of the arm units and the cable chuck of the other arm unit function as the cable support of the counterpart unit. A carriage arm that holds a support piece having a recording head attached to the tip and includes a main body portion to which a long flat cable connected to the recording head is fixed, and which can rotate on a recording medium. An assembly method in which a boss hole of a main body portion is internally fitted in a fitting hole of the carriage arm,
The main surface of the main body is sucked and held by a main chuck formed in a plate shape with both surfaces being suction surfaces, and the flat cable of the flat cable is fixed by a cable chuck formed in a plate shape whose both surfaces are suction surfaces. A head unit holding step for sucking and holding a free end portion extending outward from the main body,
A cable housing step of bringing the cable support closer to the cable chuck, housing the flat cable in a gap defined between them, and releasing the suction holding of the flat cable;
The main chuck is moved downward, and the free end portion of the flat cable accommodated in the gap is moved downward along the cable chuck by a cable slide portion that moves downward in synchronization with the main chuck. A head unit disposing step of assembling the flat cable to the carriage arm at the same time as opposing the carriage arm;
The pressing member is moved closer to the main chuck, and the main body is pressed toward the carriage arm along with the movement, and the main chuck is moved upward while the boss hole is fitted in the fitting hole. A head unit assembling step for moving and separating from the carriage arm;
An assembly method characterized by comprising: The assembly method according to claim 8,
Before the head unit assembly step, a positioning pin member insertion step of continuously inserting a positioning pin member into the fitting hole and the boss hole,
In the head unit assembling step, the assembling method is performed while the positioning pin member is inserted. An assembly method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
In the head unit arranging step, the support piece is moved downward by a support piece slide part that moves downward in synchronization with the cable slide part.

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