JP3283827B2 - Positioning method and apparatus for flat precision parts - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for positioning a flat precision component such as an electronic circuit board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the positioning of a substrate, particularly a square or rectangular substrate, such as an electronic circuit board on a flat supporting surface, is performed by
For example, as seen in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 62-21397, a right angle reference member fixed on the support surface, that is, a right angle reference member which sandwiches any right angle of the substrate at a reference position usually referred to as "positive". This was performed by moving the mover or the claw close to the side and abutting the mover or the claw to the other two sides at right angles to the sides, respectively, and hitting the first two sides sandwiching the right angle to the reference position. Therefore, there are problems as described below.

[0003]

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when a substrate of a regular size is positioned in accordance with "positive" R, the XY coordinate of the center position on the support surface is represented by O. If (0, 0), ΔX,
Assuming that there is an error of ΔY on the side in the Y direction, when the other substrate is positioned by the contact of the claws a and b, the center position thereof is (・ ΔX, 1/2 ・ ΔY). Causes a shift in the center position. Therefore, there is a problem that the center of the substrate to be positioned is not constant. Therefore, if the treatment is performed with reference to the center of the substrate, an error occurs, which makes the handling inconvenient.
In addition, since this type of positioning apparatus is often used in the handling and transporting process of a substrate, it is desired that the positioning apparatus can meet the needs in terms of cost by a relatively simple mechanism with a mechanical structure.

[0004] The present invention has been made responding to overcome to and request the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, therefore, flat precision parts
The product is positioned so that its center is located at a fixed position.
An object of the present invention is to provide a positioning device which can position a precision precision plate-shaped component so that its center can be positioned at a fixed position by a positioning method and a simple mechanism.

[0005]

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a positioning method according to the present invention is characterized in that at least two pairs of claws are moved on the support surface by the same distance by elasticity. A work as a plate-like precision part to be positioned is provided in a virtual area formed by those claws, which is provided so as to approach or separate from each other or against elasticity,
It is characterized in that each pair of claws is brought close to each other by elasticity, and the claws are brought into contact with the edge of the work to position the work. The claw of this positioning method is a closed loop
At the opposite parallel portions of a pair of wires
At least one pair will be close to or
Are fixed so as to be separated from each other, and the pair of wires
The parallel portion of one wire and the parallel portion of the other wire
Are arranged at right angles to each other.

The device according to the invention used for carrying out the method described above comprises, in addition to a support surface on which the work to be positioned is placed, at least two pairs of claws movably provided on the support surface, and their A pair of loop wires for actuating the claws, an elastic body, preferably a coil spring, and an actuating device, preferably an air cylinder, and in a more preferred embodiment a screw for adjusting the relative position of each claw Including mechanism. In another preferred embodiment, means for applying a negative pressure to the support surface is provided.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 1 to 5 show a preferred embodiment of a positioning device according to the invention, in particular as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, which device has a flat support surface 1 and is placed on said support surface. It includes a plurality of claws (movable elements) 2 for adjusting the position by contacting the edge of a flat precision component (hereinafter, referred to as a work), and members and devices for moving the claws. At least two pairs of claws 2, preferably FIG.
As shown in the figure, 5 (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e)
Is provided. Note that reference numerals 3 and 3 in FIG. 1 denote grooves for negative pressure.

In the positioning method according to the present invention, the claws 2 are arranged in a pair, and the claws 2a and 2b are paired so as to approach or separate from each other by the elasticity of the elastic body described below. Is configured, and the claw 2c and the claw 2
d and 2e are paired so as to approach each other by elasticity or to be separated from each other against elasticity, and within a virtual area (A in FIG. 1) on the support surface 1 formed by the claws 2. , And adjust the position of the work by bringing each pair of claws closer to each other by elasticity and abutting against the edge of the work.
Position. Therefore, the center of the work is located at a fixed position on the support surface 1.

This apparatus used for carrying out the above-mentioned method includes a support plate 1a whose surface is used as a support surface 1 and a bottom plate 4 provided at an appropriate distance below the support plate 1a, for example, at a distance of 10 mm.
In between, a member and a device for moving each claw are provided. As shown, each claw 2 is preferably formed of a pin or a cylindrical member, and the member is used in a vertical state, and penetrates a long hole 5 provided in the support surface 1. It can be moved in a range limited by dimensions. In the illustrated example, the long holes 5 of the claws 2a and 2b are formed in the vertical direction, and the long holes 5 of the claws 2c, 2d and 2e are formed in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, each pair of claws 2 is attached to a closed loop wire 6a, 6b, respectively, and actuated via the wire. That is, the claws 2a and 2
The wire 6a to which b is attached is hung on a series of guide rollers 7 and 7a in the form of a pulley, the hook 2a being attached to the wire at one of the parallel portions of the loop and the other at the other of the parallel portions. The claw 2b is attached to the wire.
Also, a wire 6b to which the claws 2c, 2d, and 2e are attached
Is also hung on a series of similar rollers 8 and 8a, with the claw 2c attached to the wire at one of the parallel portions of the loop and the claw 2d and 2e attached to the wire at the other of the parallel portions. . One of the rollers 7a and one of the rollers 8a are tension rollers. The parallel portion of the wire 6a and the parallel portion of the other wire 6b are arranged at right angles to each other.

The hook 2c is mounted on the wire 6b through a mounting member 9c as shown in FIGS. The claw 2c is fixed to the mounting member 9c and the wire 6b
Is fixed to the mounting member 9c by the mounting piece 10 and the screw 11, whereby the claw 2c is mounted on the wire 6b. The mounting member 9c is movably supported by a linear guide 12 fixed to the bottom plate 4, and allows the claw 2c to move (in the lateral direction) together with the wire 6b. Other claws 2a, 2b
Is also attached to the wire 6a via the attachment members 9a and 9b.

Also, two claws 2d for the claws 2c,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, 2e is attached to the wire 6b by the attaching member 9d, similarly to the attaching member 9c.
That is, the claws 2d and 2e are fixed to the attachment member 9d by screws or the like, and the wire 6b is attached to the attachment piece 10a and the screw 11a.
Is fixed to the mounting member 9d. Further, the mounting member 9d is supported by a pair of linear guides 12a, and is movable in the lateral direction in FIG.

In order to make each claw 2 movable via a wire, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wire 6a is fixed at an appropriate position to a guide member 14 similar to the mounting member 9c.
The wire 6b is also fixed to the same guide member 14a. The guide member is movably installed in one direction (D direction and the opposite direction). The guide member 14 is connected via a connecting member 15 to an elastic body 16 which is preferably a coil spring as shown in the drawing, so that each pair of claws applies an elastic force in a direction approaching each other. It is connected to a similar elastic body 16a via a connecting member 15a. These guide members, connecting members, and elastic bodies are symmetrically juxtaposed as shown in the figure, and although not shown in the figure, the guide members 14 and 14a are movably supported by the same guide as the guide 12.

Further, in order to open (separate) the claws 2 from each other, a slider member 18 is connected to the guide member 14 via a rod 19 having a threaded portion, and the guide member 14a
The slider member 18 via a similar threaded rod 19a.
a, and an actuator 20, preferably an air cylinder, is installed in the vicinity thereof, and the tip of the drive shaft of the actuator abuts the slider members to move the guide members 14, 14a together with the slider members. It is supposed to.

Preferably, each wire 6a, 6b is provided with their guide member 1 so that the initial position of the claw 2 can be adjusted.
The screw mechanisms 21, 21a connected via the 4, 14a are installed on the corresponding slider members. The screw mechanism 21 includes the rod 19, and a thread portion at the tip of the rod 19 is fitted into an internal thread of the guide member 14, and by rotating the rod 19 together with the screw mechanism 21, the relative position of the guide member 14 to the slider member 18 is increased. It is possible to change the position and thus the position of the opposing claws via the wire. The screw mechanism 21a also has the same configuration as the threaded portion of the rod 19a fitted into the female thread of the guide member 14a.

It is preferable to provide a stopper at an appropriate position. In this example, a stopper 22 is provided in which the connecting members 15, 15a abut against each other with the elasticity of the elastic bodies 16, 16a. 14a and wires 6a, 6
Each claw 2 is stopped at a predetermined closed position via b.

Preferably, a hole 17 is provided at substantially the center of the support surface 1 and communicates with a vacuum source, where a negative pressure is applied, and a linear groove 3 extending radially, preferably diagonally from the hole, as shown. Is formed so that the work can be temporarily sucked by the negative pressure.

At the time of positioning, the actuator 20 is actuated (moving shaft is advanced) and the guide members 14, 14a are moved through the slider members 18, 18a against the elasticity of the elastic members 16, 16a as shown by arrows in FIG. In the direction D, each claw 2 is opened, a work w is placed in the area A (FIG. 1) in the opened claw 2, and then the moving shaft of the operating device 20 is retracted and the elastic body 1 is moved.
With the elasticity of 6, 16a, the guide member and wires 6a, 6b
, Each pair of claws 2 approach each other, each abuts against the edge of the work, and positions the work. Since the claws 2 of each pair move through a common wire, they move at the same speed and at the same distance to approach each other. When the work is positioned, the work is temporarily sucked and fixed by a negative pressure through the hole 17 and the groove 3, then the claw 2 is opened, and the work is transferred to the next position by the handler. The next work is positioned.

In the case of handling a rectangular work, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, one pair of claws is set to 2c vs. 2d and 2e.
It is preferable to use a one-to-two hook. With such a configuration, for example, a step is provided at the slider members 18 and 18a that receive the contact of the tip of the driving shaft of the operating device 20, so that a one-to-two hook is first provided. If the positioning is performed by using the other pair of claws (2a and 2b), then there is an advantage that stable positioning can be performed with little movement.

When working with works of different dimensions,
The initial position (closed position) of each claw 2 can be adjusted by operating the screw mechanisms 21 and 21a in accordance with the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the work, so that it is possible to easily cope with the case where the dimensions of the work are different. .

In some cases, two pairs of claws 2 may be provided. In this case, one claw may be provided in the middle of the claws 2d and 2e in the above embodiment, or claws 2a and 2b. 7, two claws 2c may be used.
As shown in (2), when the work w is circular or pentagonal, two pairs of claws can sufficiently cope with it.

Further, for example, if the work is hexagonal,
As shown in FIG. 8, this can be handled by setting one pair of claws to be 1: 1 and the other pair of claws to be 2: 2. In this case, a pair of claws may be used instead of the claws 2c of the above embodiment.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the claws provided in a pair are positioned in contact with the edges of the opposite sides of the work, and the opposite claws are moved at the same speed and the same distance. As a result, the center of the positioned work is always located at a fixed position, thereby facilitating the handling of the work. Furthermore, since the movement of each claw is performed via a wire, it is possible with a simple mechanism. Further, since the initial position of each claw can be adjusted by the screw mechanism, it is possible to easily cope with a case where a work having a different size is handled.

When the work is rectangular, the work is provided by providing five claws and making one pair of claws 2: 1 so that the positioning of the pair of claws is performed before the positioning of the other claws. Positioning can be quickly performed with relatively little movement. Further, by providing a groove on which a negative pressure acts on a support surface for positioning the work, the work after the positioning can be temporarily fixed, whereby the work can be fixed.
To accurately handle the work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of a positioning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a claw operating mechanism with a support surface of the device shown in FIG. 1 removed.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line EE of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line FF of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing a relationship between a wire and a nail according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a conventional positioning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Support surface, 2: Nail, 3: Negative pressure groove, 6a, 6b: Wire, 16: Elastic body, 20: Actuator

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of positioning a precision plate-like component for positioning a workpiece, which is a precision plate-like component placed on a flat support surface, wherein each pair of claws approach or close to each other by elasticity on the support surface. A work is placed in an imaginary area formed by at least two pairs of the claws arranged to be separated from each other against elasticity, and each pair of claws is brought close to each other by elasticity so that each pair of claws is positioned at an edge of the work. Position the workpiece so that the center of the workpiece comes into contact and is at a fixed position on the support surface
At this time, the claw is a pair of wires stretched in a closed loop.
At least one pair for each opposed parallel
Is fixed so as to approach or separate from each other by the movement of
Moreover, the parallel portion of one of the pair of wires
And the parallel parts of the other wire are arranged at right angles to each other
Flat precision parts positioning method, characterized in that that. 2. A support surface on which a work, which is a precision component such as an electronic circuit board to be positioned, is placed, and at least two pairs of movable members which are positioned by contacting an edge of the work placed on the support surface. And a pair of wires, each of which is stretched in a closed loop and to which at least one pair of said claws is fixed, wherein the claws of each wire are closed so as to move closer to or away from each other by movement of the wires. The parallel portion of one wire and the parallel portion of the other wire are fixed to opposite parallel portions of the loop and are disposed at right angles to each other, and are resiliently connected to the respective wires so that the claws of the wires approach each other. A positioning device for a precision plate-shaped component, comprising: an elastic body for applying a force; and an actuator for moving each wire so that the claws are separated from each other. 3. The positioning device according to claim 2, further comprising a screw mechanism connected to each wire for adjusting a position of the claw via the wire. 4. The work is rectangular and comprises five of the claws, a pair of claws abutting one and the other of the opposite sides of the work and the other two claws and the remaining one. 3. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the two claws are paired and abut on one and the other of the opposite sides of the work. 5. A single hole to which a negative pressure is applied is provided at the center of the support surface for temporarily sucking a work, and a linear groove extending radially from the hole is formed. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein: