JP3194484B2 - Parts front and back alignment device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for aligning front and back of components used for aligning and supplying chip-shaped electronic components and the like, and for aligning the front and back of components discharged from a vibrating parts feeder or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Vibration type part feeders are widely used for the arrangement and supply of various parts which are distinguished from each other in shape, material, size, etc., for example, a process of assembling chip-like electronic parts such as chip resistors, chip capacitors, chip diodes, and the like. This has been very useful in automating the process.

[0003] By the way, when assembling the above-mentioned electronic parts on a printed circuit board, it is necessary to select the surface on which the electronic component is to be mounted and the opposite surface, but the electronic component is discharged from the parts feeder in a state where both sides are mixed. , It is necessary to align the front and back.

As an apparatus for this purpose, for example, a part discharged from a parts feeder is guided to a truck having a substantially V-shaped cross section, and the front and back of the part are detected by front and back detection sensors.
If the part is facing up, pass it through as it is, and if the part is upside down, blow out the compressed air from the air nozzle provided on one wall of the V-shaped track to flip the part upside down There is a thing which made the front and back equal by making it
No. 94).

Further, in the above configuration, in order to switch the component alignment direction (front / back direction) in accordance with a user's request, a component reversing device and a chute having no component reversing device are selectively provided downstream of the front / back alignment device. (Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-27928).

[0006]

In a front-to-back aligning apparatus using a V-shaped track, especially when the supply speed of the parts is increased, the parts are turned by the air pressure and are turned on the other wall surface of the truck by the force of the air pressure. In many cases, a strong collision causes a rebound and a return to the original state. Therefore, this front-back alignment apparatus may cause a reduction in supply efficiency, particularly when high-speed supply of parts is required.

[0007] Further, in the front and back alignment device in which the reversing device can be detachably disposed downstream of the front and back alignment device,
In order to transfer minute components without delay, extremely high-precision component processing and assembly are required, which is not preferable in terms of cost and workability.

By the way, in the conventional front and back aligning device, the background surface (the surface of the track) that appears at the moment when the component is inverted is detected by the front and back detection sensor, whereby the front and back signals are inverted and the inverting device stops. It has become. Therefore, in order to switch the direction in which the components are arranged, it is necessary to change the background surface itself (Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-27928 discloses a system in which the background surface is left as it is, and after the components are aligned, all the components are reversed by a reversing device. is there.).
However, change of background surface (replacement of truck part)
Is the same as the cost and
There is difficulty in workability. Further, it is necessary to finish the background surface (the surface of the track) to a perfect reflector or a perfect black body (non-reflector). However, it is usually difficult to provide such an ideal surface finish, and furthermore, the chip It is difficult to maintain such a state under actual conditions in which a part in the shape of a constant vibration is passed (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-12465).

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vibration type
Align the front and back of the chip-shaped electronic components discharged from the
It is an object of the present invention to improve the alignment speed and alignment accuracy of components and to easily switch the alignment direction of components.

[0010]

Front and back alignment apparatus components of the present invention According to an aspect of the chip-like discharged from the vibratory parts feeder
A device that aligns the front and back of electronic components, and is a vibrating part
Vibration of the bowl is applied to the discharge port of the feeder bowl.
Placed in close proximity without being discharged from the bowl
Detecting a track which components to pass in alignments state, and, an alignment block having a branched track two rows arranged at intervals in the downstream side of the detection track, the
Subsequent part discharged from the bowl in the detection track
Front and back detection means for detecting the front and back of a component that is pushed by an article, and is located between the detection track and the branch track, receives only one component from the detection track, and This is detected by the front and back detection means.
Distribution means for selectively transferring to one of the two rows of branch tracks based on the front and back signals of the part; and a front and back signal of the part detected by the front and back detection means.
Once stored, the stored front and back signals are used as the front and back signals.
A call is made when the corresponding part is received by the distribution means.
And a controller for causing the dispensing means to perform the transfer operation .

[0011]

[Function] Discharged from the bowl of the vibrating parts feeder
The parts enter the detection track in a line,
Pressed by the subsequent parts that are ejected
When passing , the front and back detection means determines the front and back. The front and back signals of the part are temporarily stored in the controller,
The part whose back is determined has advanced further on the detection track.
After that, it is stored in the distribution means. And the parts are distributed
At the time of being accommodated in the means, the part stored in the controller
The front and back signals corresponding to are called, and
A part transfer operation is performed. In other words, the distribution means
Retrieve the part received from the outgoing truck from the controller
Based on the front and back signals of the part, the part is selectively transferred to one of the two rows of branch tracks. I
Accordingly , the parts are sorted and transferred to the branch truck according to the direction. As a result, only parts having the same orientation are transferred to the two rows of branch tracks.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a front and back aligning device 1 of the present invention is disposed near a discharge port of a bowl 2 of a vibrating parts feeder. The bowl 2 is formed a spiral track 2a is, components that are put into the bowl 2 Bo
Under the vibration of the ur 2, the spiral track 2 a is transferred in a counterclockwise direction, and is discharged from the discharge port toward the front and back aligning device 1. Then, the front and back are aligned by the front and back aligning device 1 and transferred to the chute 4.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, the front and back aligning device 1 includes a detection track 5 a for passing the components 3 discharged from the bowl 2 in a line, and a downstream side of the detection track 5 a with a space therebetween. An alignment block 5 provided with two rows of branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2, a front / back detection sensor 6 as a front / back detection means arranged on the side of the alignment block 5, a detection track 5a and branch tracks 5b1, 5b2. And a slider 7 serving as a distributing means slidably disposed between the main components.
The alignment block 5 is not directly connected to the bowl 2. Therefore, the alignment block 5 itself does not receive the vibration of the bowl 2 and remains in a fixed state.

As schematically shown in FIG. 2b, the component 3, for example, a chip resistor is based on an insulator such as ceramic,
A thin-film resistor 3b is formed on one surface of the insulator. The resistor 3b has poor light reflectivity (hue is black,
Dark colors such as blue and green. Hereinafter, it is called a surface. ), The exposed surface 3a of the insulator has a structural characteristic of good light reflectivity (hereinafter referred to as a back surface). In recent years, miniaturization of chip resistors has been remarkable.
mm and a width W of 0.5 mm.

Detection track 5a and branch track 5b
The peripheries 1 and 5b2 are all covered by the wall of the alignment block 5. Further, three windows 5c, 5d, and 5e are provided on the peripheral wall of the alignment block 5. The window 5c is opened in the detection track 5a, and the front / back detection sensor 6 is arranged near the window 5c. The front and back detection sensor 6 includes a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit. The detection light generated by the light projecting unit is applied to the surface of the component 3, and the amount of reflected light condensed on the light receiving unit causes the component 3 to emit light. Determine the front and back. The light projecting portion of the front / back detection sensor 6 faces the center of the surface of the component 3 so that the detection light hits the center of the surface of the component 3. The window 5d and the window 5e face each other via a space between the detection track 5a and the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2,
The tip of the slider 7 penetrates the window 5e and reaches the space.

The rear end of the slider 7 is a rod 8 of a voice coil actuator 8 (hereinafter abbreviated as VCCA).
a. VCA8 arranges a coil in a magnetic field gap, and reciprocates the rod 8a by using a repulsive force of a magnetic field generated by passing an electric current through the coil. Therefore, the slider 7 slides in the space as the rod 8a reciprocates. In addition, VC
In the present embodiment, the detection dog 13b that reciprocates following the rod 8a is attached to the rear end of the VC A8 because the A8 cannot normally maintain the intermediate position. An analog sensor 13a that outputs a proportional output in accordance with the displacement of the rod 13b is disposed so as to face the detection dog 13b, so that the intermediate position of the rod 8a can be held by performing so-called servo control.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4, a hole-shaped holding portion 7 capable of accommodating only one component 3 is provided at the tip of the slider 7.
a is provided. The holding portion 7a communicates with the detection track 5a at an intermediate position of the slider 7, communicates with one branch track 5b1 at a retreat position of the slider 7, and communicates with the other branch track 5b2 at a forward position of the slider 7. As described above, the alignment block 5 itself does not vibrate, and the part 3 is pushed by the subsequent part 3 discharged from the bowl 2 and moves toward the slider 7 in the detection track 5a. The slider 7 is waiting at the intermediate position.
The leading component 3 enters the holding unit 7a. At this time, the tip of the part 3 hits the wall between the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2, and cannot proceed any further. In the present embodiment, a suction nozzle 9 communicating with a vacuum source (not shown) is provided on a wall between the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2, and the suction nozzle 9 suctions the tip of the component 3, thereby holding the holding portion 7a. Care has been taken to ensure quick and reliable containment.
Note that the suction nozzle 9 is constantly operating. In addition, window 5d
A pair of trigger sensors 10 are arranged beside the window 5e and can detect whether or not the accommodation of the component 3 in the holding portion 7a is completed. That is, the trigger sensor 10 includes a transmission type photoelectric switch, and the transmitted light from the light projecting unit is focused on the light receiving unit through the window 5e from the window 5e. When the component 3 is accommodated in the holding portion 7a, the transmitted light hits the tip of the component 3 and is not focused on the light receiving portion. Therefore, the accommodation of the component 3 is detected based on a change in the amount of light.

On both side walls at the end of the detection track 5a,
Air nozzles 11 and 12 are provided, respectively. The air nozzles 11 and 12 communicate with an air source (not shown), and are constantly operating. Therefore, when the slider 7 reaches the retreat position, the component 3 accommodated in the holding portion 7a receives the air pressure from the air nozzle 11 and is pushed out to the branch track 5b1. Conversely, when the slider 7 reaches the forward position, the component 3 receives the air pressure from the air nozzle 12 and is pushed out to the branch track 5b2.

In FIG. 2, the component 3 is a detection track 5a.
When the user moves inside and proceeds to the portion where the window 5c is formed, first, the front and back detection sensors 6 detect the front and back. The output setting of the front / back detection sensor 6 can select either the dark level ON or the light level ON in a certain direction. For example, a hole is provided in a portion of the detection track 5a where the detection light is applied to substantially. Set to black body and light level ON. The front and back signals detected by the front and back detection sensor 6 are temporarily stored in a controller (not shown) for controlling the VC8. The part 3 whose front and back are detected is a detection track 5
When the head further advances in the area a and reaches near the end of the detection track 5a, it is pulled by the negative pressure of the suction nozzle 9 and housed in the holding portion 7a of the slider 7. The housing of the component 3 is confirmed by the trigger sensor 10 in the manner described above. This confirmation signal is sent to the controller. Then, when the controller receives this confirmation signal, based on the front and back signals stored previously,
The VC 7 is operated to move the slider 7 forward or backward. The signal sent from the controller to VC8 is
It is not based on the front and back signals currently detected by the front and back detection sensor 6, but based on the front and back signals temporarily held in the controller. That is, since the part 3 whose front and back are currently detected is different from the part 3 that is subjected to the alignment operation (the part 3 accommodated in the holding unit 7a), the detected front and back signals are temporarily stored in the controller and stored. The front and back signals,
When the part 3 corresponding to the front / back signal is stored in the holding unit 7a, the part 3 is called and the part 3 is aligned. The association between the currently detected front / back signal and the front / back signal serving as the basis of the alignment operation is determined by, for example, the following component 3
This is done according to the number. That is, in the case shown in the figure, when the component 3 is stored in the holding portion 7a, the front / back detection sensor 6
Has detected the front and back of the component 3 three times behind the component 3.
Therefore, out of the front and back signals stored in the controller, the front and back signals three times before the currently detected front and back signals are front and back signals corresponding to the component 3 housed in the holding unit 7a. The controller always calls the front and back signals three times before, drives and controls the slider 7 based on the front and back signals, and distributes and transfers the component 3 to the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2 according to the direction. As a result, only the parts 3 in the same direction are transferred to the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2.

In this way, the part 3 which has been transported to the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2 with the front and back aligned, proceeds to the merging track 15 shown in FIG. The merging track 15 includes two tracks 15 corresponding to the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2.
a, 15b. Tracks 15a and 15b
Each of them gradually inclines toward the downstream, and merges in a substantially V shape near the terminal end. On the further downstream side, they merge completely to form a single flat track (not shown). Branch truck 5b1,5
The parts 3 from b2 are respectively the merging tracks 15a,
15b is gradually laid down while being transferred, and in the case shown in the figure, it is aligned with the surface 3b facing up.
In addition, the tracks 15a and 15b are covered by walls around the end portion. Therefore, even if the component 3 receives the air pressure of the air nozzles 11 and 12 and flows vigorously into the trucks 15a and 15b, no adverse effect such as a change in the posture due to rebound or the like occurs (the branch trucks 5b1 and 5b). The same can be said for 5b2.)

Although the slider 7 is used as the distributing means in the front-back aligning apparatus 1, a disk-shaped rotary shutter 7 'as shown in FIG. 6 can be used instead of the slider 7. This rotary shutter 7 '
Has a hole-shaped holding portion 7'a which is swingably disposed between the detection track 5a and the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2, and can accommodate only one component 3 from the detection track 5a.
The holding portion 7'a communicates with the detection track 5a at an intermediate position of the rotary shutter 7 ', and has one branch track 5b at one swing end of the rotary shutter 7'.
1 at the other swinging end of the rotary shutter 7 'to the other branch track 5b2. When this rotary shutter 7 'is used, the branch track 5b
1 and 5b2 may be slightly inclined in accordance with the holding portion 7'a.

In the above-described front and back aligning apparatus,
In the case where the parts 3 are dissipatively flowing in the detection track 5a as in the work in progress, reliable alignment cannot be performed. In such a case, the slider 7 is moved only forward or backward from the intermediate position for the first few seconds, and the parts 3 are transferred to the branch tracks 5b1 and 5b2 while being unaligned. In other words, the misaligned products are eliminated in the final check section. Alternatively, instead of providing the final check section, an air nozzle 21 as shown in FIG. 7 may be provided in the ball 2 so as to eliminate all the initial parts 3 downstream of the alignment block 5.

As means for driving the slider 7 or the rotary shutter 7 'as the distribution means,
In addition to the above-described VC8, various small and high-speed driving elements such as a solenoid, a pulse motor, a stepping motor, and a piezoelectric element can be considered. Furthermore, it is also possible to integrally manufacture the entire movement by a micro mechanism (electrostatic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic drive, etc.). By using such various small and high-speed driving elements, the response speed can be remarkably improved (about 30 to 40 times / second) as compared with the conventional inversion means using an air nozzle, and high-speed alignment of parts can be achieved. It is possible to respond to supply.

[0025]

The present invention has the following effects.

(1) Since the parts are distributed to the branch tracks according to the direction of the front and back by the distribution means, the parts are directed to the other wall surface on the V-shaped track as in a conventional alignment device. Compared with the method of inverting components, there is no adverse effect such as alignment failure due to rebound during alignment, and the alignment accuracy and alignment speed of components can be significantly improved.

(2) Since the switching of the operation of the distributing means can be performed independently of the background surface, the switching of the component alignment direction can be performed by only one changeover switch of the front and back detecting means.

(3) The front / back detection unit can select either the dark level ON or the light level ON, whichever direction is more certain.

(4) By detecting the front and back of a component that passes while sliding in the detection track simply in the lateral direction without vibrating the alignment block , the detection angle and position are appropriately set, and the most Since only an easily detectable portion (for example, a center portion) can be detected in an ideal arrangement free from the influence of glare or the like, the front and back detection and the inversion operation are simultaneously performed on the vibrating V-shaped track as in the conventional method. It can be detected under much better conditions than the ones. For this reason, the accuracy of the front / back detection by the front / back detection means is significantly improved, and fine chip-shaped electronic components can be arranged and supplied at high speed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an arrangement of a front and back alignment device.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view (FIG. A) showing the front and back aligning device, a rear view showing a chip resistor, and a plan view (FIG. B).

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a front and back alignment device.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the front and back alignment device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view and a sectional view showing a merging track;

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a rotary shutter according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a component elimination unit used at the time of work in progress and the like.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front and back aligning device 3 Parts 5 Alignment block 5a Detection track 5b1 Branch track 5b2 Branch track 6 Front and back detection sensor 7 Slider 7a Holder 11 Air nozzle 12 Air nozzle

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A chip discharged from a vibrating parts feeder.
A device for aligning the front and back of the electronic component , wherein:
Placed close to each other without receiving the vibration of the ur
A detection track that allows the components discharged from the ur to pass in a single-row aligned state, and an alignment block having two rows of branch tracks provided at intervals downstream of the detection track; and Subsequent discharge from the bowl
Front and back detection means for detecting the front and back of a part that is pushed by the part, and is located between the detection track and the branch track, receives only one part from the detection track, and receives the received part, Of the part detected by the front / back detection means .
Based on the front and back signals , one of the two rows of branch tracks
Distribution means for selectively transferring to one branch track, and a front / back signal of the component detected by the front / back detection means.
And stores the stored front and back signals as the front and back signals.
Call when the parts to be received are received by the distributing means
A controller for causing the distributing means to perform the transfer operation .