JP4121319B2 - Polyhedral inspection feeder - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a feeder over a polyhedron inspection, in particular, it relates to a polyhedron inspection feeder over which is suitable for examining the surface accuracy of the test object such as a chip forming the electronic component.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when inspecting the finished surface accuracy of a chip-shaped electronic component as an inspection object, each surface is manually inspected using a loupe or the like. However, in such an inspection, the chips are picked up one by one and are visually inspected, and in many cases, defects such as fine scratches and deformations are overlooked, resulting in a mixture of defective products in the product. Moreover, there are inconveniences that a person who is inspected becomes tired and the work load becomes heavy, and the inspection accuracy varies greatly depending on the degree of skill.
[0003]
Therefore, the present inventor has proposed a polyhedron inspection feeder adapted to automatically inspect the finished surface accuracy of the inspection object in the process of moving the inspection object in a predetermined direction (Japanese Patent Application 2000- 127248). The feeder is configured to include a passage forming member provided with a groove that can move the inspection object in a predetermined direction by applying a certain vibration while receiving the inspection object. The groove of the passage forming member includes a rotation feed portion whose left and right inclination angles change along the moving direction of the inspection object, and the rotation feed portion allows the inspection object forming a polyhedron to follow the spiral trajectory. It can move while rotating in the form, and the finished surface can be inspected with a certain accuracy by taking an image with an inspection camera.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, although the proposed polyhedral inspection feeder is supplied with inspection objects one by one from a predetermined supply means, it has sufficient reliability to keep the mutual separation distance of the inspection objects along the moving direction constant. It is not guaranteed. Therefore, for example, when two or more inspection objects move continuously in a state where the front end surface of the next inspection object is in contact with the rear end surface of the inspection object positioned forward in the moving direction, This makes it impossible for the camera to recognize the position of the second and subsequent inspection objects, causing an inspection omission and inadequate discharge of defective products.
[0005]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been devised by paying attention to such inconveniences, and the object of the present invention is to reliably move the inspection object one by one and to ensure the reliability of the inspection accuracy. and to provide a feeder over a polyhedron inspection.
[0006]
Another object of the present invention, when the posture when moving the polyhedron is not appropriate to provide a feeder over a polyhedron test can avoid erroneous determination by eliminating the polyhedron.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a polyhedron inspection feeder according to the present invention is provided with a passage forming member having a groove for forming a passage of an inspection object, movably along the groove, and the inspection object. And a moving means for engaging with the inspection object in a state where the inspection surface is exposed to the outside of the groove,
The passage forming member includes a rotation feed unit that rotates the inspection object by a predetermined angle in the process of moving the inspection object,
The moving means is configured to include a belt, and the belt passes through the groove in a state in which the surface thereof is substantially vertical, and the inspection objects are engaged one by one. A configuration is adopted in which an engagement region allowing rotation is provided at predetermined intervals . With such a configuration, the inspection objects that are engaged with the respective engagement areas are in a state of being spaced apart from each other in correspondence with the mutual intervals of the engagement areas, and a plurality of inspection objects are continuously provided. Therefore, the reliability of the inspection accuracy of each inspection object can be ensured. Further, the inspection object can be smoothly rotated following the inner surface shape of the groove, and the inspection object can be moved along the groove without concealing the inspection surface of the inspection object. In addition, when the inspection is performed by the camera, it is possible to prevent the irregular reflection of the illumination due to the background of the image captured image, that is, the groove, so that it is possible to eliminate the non-defective product discharge due to the erroneous inspection. Further, when the inspection object is a rectangular parallelepiped or the like, the inspection surface can be displayed symmetrically on each surface side of the belt, and the inspection can be efficiently performed.
[0010]
Further, the present invention further comprises a supply means of features have been inspected object on the moving means on the upstream side of the front Symbol passage forming member, said supply means, a test object in the moving direction a plurality of locations of said moving means It has a configuration in which a plurality of supply paths are provided. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce as much as possible the state in which the inspection object is not supplied to the engagement region of the moving means, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in inspection efficiency.
[0011]
Furthermore, it is preferable to provide an excluding means for removing the inspection object when the inspection object engaged with the moving means is not in an appropriate engagement posture. Thereby, only the inspection object always maintained in a constant posture is sent out to the passage forming member side, and also from this point, it is possible to suppress a decrease in inspection efficiency.
[0012]
Further, it may be configured to include a posture maintaining means for maintaining the inspection surface at a certain position when the inspection object reaches a predetermined inspection position. With such a configuration, the inspection can be performed with high accuracy while avoiding the possibility of the inspection surface becoming unstable.
[0013]
The rotary feed portion in the present invention is configured by a groove having a substantially V shape, a substantially U shape, and an intermediate shape that gradually changes between the two shapes in a cross-sectional shape and is connected in series. In addition, as the inspection object, a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube is a preferable object, but it does not prevent other solids from being targeted.
[0014]
In addition, unless otherwise indicated, the term which shows the direction or position in this specification shall use FIG. 1 as a reference | standard.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
[0016]
FIG. 1 shows a front view of a polyhedron inspection apparatus according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view thereof. In these drawings, the polyhedron inspection apparatus 10 includes a supply means 11 disposed on the upper portion of the frame F, a moving means 12 provided alongside the supply means 11, and the moving means 12 interacting with each other. In this embodiment, a polyhedron inspection feeder 13 that moves a ceramic chip capacitor (hereinafter referred to as a chip W) having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a first inspection unit that is arranged along the polyhedron inspection feeder 13 are configured. Or it comprises a fourth camera 14, 15, 16, 17 and a collection means 18 for sorting and collecting the chips W according to the result of the inspection, that is, whether the product is good or defective.
[0017]
The supply means 11 includes a hopper 20 that houses the chips W, and a shooter 22 that slides down the chips W toward the supply path forming block 21 in a manner connected to the open upper end of the hopper 20. The hopper 20 is a bowl feeder and is provided with a spiral passage 20A that is closer to the outside as it goes upward. W can be discharged sequentially.
[0018]
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, the supply path forming block 21 is formed by using a plurality of members. That is, the rear block 24 that is located directly below the shooter 22 and is provided with vibration by the vibrator described above, the front block 25 that is located on the opposite side of the rear block 24, that is, the front side, and the blocks 24, 25 and an intermediate block 26 provided between 25. In the rear block 24, the upper surface located inside the outer frame 27 is formed on the inclined surface 28 so that the upstream side is in the upper position, and the chip W sequentially moves the inclined surface 28 by vibration applied to the rear block 24. It is supposed to run up. As shown in FIG. 5, the intermediate block 26 has an inclined surface 29 whose upstream side is slightly above the downstream side, and supply grooves (supply paths) 31 for the chips W are gently formed at three locations in the longitudinal direction. It is formed along a locus that draws a curve. One end (rear end) of these supply paths 31 is located on the inclined surface 28 side of the rear block 24, while the other end (front end) is located on the front block 25 side. In the intermediate block 26, the tip W is moved from the upstream side to the downstream side (see FIG. 4), that is, opposite to the moving direction of the tip W in the rear block 24 by vibration of a vibrator (not shown). When the chip W dropped from the inclined surface 28 falls into the supply groove 31, the chip W moves along the supply groove 31 toward the front block 25. On the other hand, the chip W that is not supplied to the moving means 12 from the supply path 31 is transferred to the rear block 24 from the downstream region and is repeatedly cycled to run up the inclined surface 28 of the rear block 24 again. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, between the upper part of the front block 25 and the intermediate block 26, a slot 35 is formed at the upper end so as to continue to the support surfaces 33 and 34 having a substantially V shape. 35 is provided so as to receive a substantially lower half region of the belt B constituting the moving means 12 and run along the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 1, the belt B is connected to an output shaft of a motor M arranged at the upper part on the downstream end side, and rotates in a substantially horizontal plane. It is wound between the pulley 36 and a driven pulley 37 that rotates in substantially the same plane. Therefore, the belt B moves in a posture in which the surface thereof is substantially in the vertical plane. In the surface of the belt B, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, punching holes 38 as engagement regions are formed endlessly at equal intervals. The punching hole 38 is provided with a length along the moving direction of the belt B slightly longer than the long side dimension of the chip W, while two chips W enter the single punching hole 38 in a horizontally long state. The length cannot be set. Further, the vertical width of the punching hole 38 is set to a width that allows rotation of the chip W in the state shown in FIG. Therefore, while the belt B passes through the slot 35, the tip W can slip into the punching hole 38 by sliding on any of the three supply paths 31. At this time, with respect to the punching hole 38, the posture (the posture shown in FIG. 7) in which the long side of the tip W is oriented along the left-right direction is appropriate, and the two upper surfaces of the tip W are It is supported by the support surfaces 33 and 34 formed on the upper end side of the slot 35 and sent out downstream. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, when the tip W is in a posture that crosses the punching hole 38, the tip W is regarded as an inappropriate posture, and the removal means 39 that removes the tip W is in front. It is provided on the part block 25.
[0020]
The exclusion means 39 includes a nozzle 39A that always blows air through an air pump (not shown). The nozzle 39A blows air from above onto the portion of the tip W that protrudes larger than the punching hole 38, and this air pressure allows the tip W to be dropped from the punching hole 38 toward the intermediate block 26. Yes. A protrusion 26A is formed on the left side of the intermediate block 26, and a notch 26B for facilitating the dropping is formed immediately below the nozzle 39A in the protrusion 26A.
[0021]
The polyhedron inspection feeder 13 is connected to the downstream side of the supply means 11. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the polyhedron inspection feeder 13 includes an upstream-side passage forming member 40, a rotary feed portion 41 that is connected to the downstream side of the upstream-side passage forming member 40, and the rotary feed portion 41. And a downstream side passage forming member 42 connected to the downstream side. The upstream side passage forming member 40 and the downstream side passage forming member 42 are provided in the same shape. Therefore, the upstream side passage forming member 40 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the upstream side passage forming member 40 is configured by combining a pair of blocks 45 and 45. That is, each block 45 includes a base block 46 and an upright block 47 directed upward from one end side of the base block 46, and has a cross-sectional shape approximately similar to an L shape. An outer inclined surface 47A and an inner inclined surface 47B are formed at the upper end of the standing block 47. Therefore, the upstream side passage forming member 40 can be formed with a substantially V-shaped groove 48 on the upper end side by arranging the standing blocks 47 and 47 of the two blocks 45 and 45 so as to be back to back. As a result, a passage for the tip W is formed along the groove 48. At this time, the blocks 45, 45 are arranged so that a gap S having a size slightly larger than the thickness of the belt B described above is formed between the standing blocks 47, 47. The movement of the belt B is allowed. Further, in the upstream side and downstream side passage forming member 40, the standing block 47 is opened in a region corresponding to the lens portions of the first and fourth cameras 14 to 17 in a lower region of the punching hole 38. A vacuum hole 49 that constitutes the posture maintaining means is formed, whereby the pressure in the groove 48 is reduced through the vacuum hole 49 so that the chip W is adsorbed to the extent that the movement of the chip W is not hindered and the position of the inspection surface is constant. To be kept.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the rotary feed portion 41 includes a groove 50 that can rotate the tip W in a process in which the tip W is engaged with the punching hole 38 of the belt B and sent out. Configured. The rotary feed portion 41 is the same in other portions except that the shape of the groove 50 is different from the groove 48 of the upstream side passage forming member 40 and the downstream side passage forming member 42. Therefore, the description of the block forming the rotation feed portion 41 is also omitted by using the same reference numerals attached to the upstream side passage forming member 40.
[0023]
The inclined surfaces 50A and 50A that face each other so as to form the groove 50 of the rotary feed portion 41 are substantially provided in an inner surface shape similar to the previously proposed Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-127248. Accordingly, a detailed description of the cross-sectional shape is omitted here, but generally speaking, the groove 50 has an inner surface with a substantially V-shaped and a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape along the moving direction of the chip W. The shapes W are alternately provided, and the intermediate inner surface reaching the inner surface of the substantially V-shape and the substantially U-shape is provided in a gently curved shape so that the chip W passing through the groove 50 follows the spiral trajectory. It is provided to go straight while rotating smoothly. In the present embodiment, when the tip W passes, the inclined feed surfaces 41A and 50A gradually change so that the rotary feed portion 41 rotates approximately 180 degrees from the initial position (see “0 °” position in FIG. 12). It is provided so that it may be connected in series. The inner surface shape of the groove 50 is not limited to the illustrated configuration example as long as the chip W can be rotated.
[0024]
The first to fourth cameras 14, 15, 16, and 17 are supported on the upstream side and downstream side passage forming members 40 and 42 via a stand (not shown). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first and second cameras 14 and 15 are located on the upstream side passage forming member 40, and their lens portions are mutually opposite to the inspection surface of the chip W. It is arranged to face each other. That is, the first camera 14 inspects the inspection surface S1 (see FIG. 12) of the chip W, while the second camera 15 inspects the inspection surface S2 of the chip W. Further, the third and fourth cameras 16 and 17 are positioned on the downstream side passage forming member 42 and are inspected with respect to the chip W after being rotated approximately 180 degrees. That is, the lens portion of the third camera 16 is directed toward the inspection surface S3 of the chip W to inspect the inspection surface S3, while the lens portion of the fourth camera 17 is directed toward the inspection surface S4 of the chip W and The inspection surface S4 is inspected. These cameras 14 to 17 are subjected to a predetermined image processing inspection by the image processing apparatus, and pass / fail is determined.
[0025]
As shown in FIGS. 1, 13, and 14, the collecting means 18 includes a first suction pipe provided on the immediate downstream side of the second camera 15 in the region of the upstream passage forming member 40. 50, a second suction pipe 51 provided immediately downstream of the fourth camera 17 within the region of the downstream passage forming member 42, and a third suction pipe provided downstream of the second suction pipe 51. The recovery device 53 is configured. The first and second suction pipes 50 and 51 are for collecting defective products, and the third collection device 53 is configured to collect non-defective products. As shown in FIG. 13, an air supply hole 55 that opens into the groove 48 is formed in the block 45 on the opposite side corresponding to the opening positions of the distal ends of the first and second suction pipes 50, 51. Air is blown from the air supply holes 55 and the chips W in the grooves 48 are blown off toward the suction pipes 50 and 51, and the chips W determined to be defective by the suction pipes 50 and 51 are collected in the collection boxes 56 and 57, respectively. It has come to be. At this time, the first and second suction pipes 50 and 51 are always kept in a state of sucking, while the air supply hole 55 blows air on the condition that a defective product is determined. ing. Therefore, in a state where air is not blown from the air supply hole 55 to the tip W, the tip W can be moved in the groove 48 without being sucked by the suction force of the first and second suction pipes 50 and 51. Will be kept.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 14, the third recovery device 53 includes a cylindrical member 60 that is substantially positioned on a line through which the belt B passes and that has an opening 60 </ b> A below the belt B. Has been. Air is blown from above the cylindrical member 60, and the chip W as a non-defective product located in the punching hole 38 of the belt B is received by the blowing force of the air and the downstream passage forming member. The support by 42 is lost and it falls into the cylindrical member 60 and is collected in the collection box 62. Note that reference numeral 63 in FIG. 14 indicates a counter, and the counter 63 can sequentially count the number of non-defective products.
[0027]
Next, the overall operation of the polyhedron inspection apparatus 10 in this embodiment will be described.
[0028]
When the predetermined power is turned on, the belt B constituting the moving unit 12 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2, and at the same time, the chip W is supplied from the hopper 20 of the supply unit 11 via the shooter 22 onto the rear block 24. The chips W on the rear block 24 run up the inclined surface 28 and successively fall on the supply groove 31 of the intermediate block 26. At this time, the belt B is moving to the front end side of the supply groove 31, and the chips W that have passed through the supply groove 31 enter the punched holes 38 of the belt B one after another and engage with them. Become. At this time, since there are a plurality of supply grooves 31 in this embodiment, three rows are provided, chip empty feed into the punching hole 38 hardly occurs.
[0029]
When the chip W in the punching hole 38 is not in an appropriate posture, that is, when the chip W enters in a posture crossing the punching hole 38 as shown in FIG. Air is blown from the nozzle 39 </ b> A of the means 39, and the chip W falls off from the punched hole 38. Therefore, the chip W after passing through the position of the exclusion means 39 moves to the polyhedron inspection feeder 13 connected to the downstream side in a state where all of the chips W are maintained in an appropriate posture.
[0030]
In the polyhedral inspection feeder 13, in the region of the upstream-side passage forming member 40, as shown in FIG. 12, the two inspection surfaces S <b> 1 and S <b> 2 are exposed above the groove 48. And the 2nd cameras 14 and 15 image, and a predetermined test | inspection is performed in an image processing apparatus. Here, when it is determined that one of the inspection surfaces S1 and S2 is defective, air is blown into the groove 48 from the air supply hole 55, and the chip W is blown out of the groove 48, so that suction is always performed. The suction pipe 50 in the state is sucked and collected in the collection box 56.
[0031]
The chip W that is not regarded as a defective product in the upstream side passage forming member 40 is rotated approximately 180 degrees by passing through the rotary feed portion 41 (see FIG. 12). Then, the tip W moves into the groove 48 of the downstream side passage forming member 42 in a state where the inspection surfaces S3 and S4 are exposed. Here, the same inspection as that performed in the region of the upstream passage forming member 40 is performed by the third and fourth cameras 15 and 16, and the chip W determined as a defective product is sucked. The non-defective chips W that are not collected by the suction pipe 51 while being collected by the collection box 57 through the pipe 51 are sequentially counted by the counter 63 and then collected by the third collection device 53.
[0032]
Therefore, according to such an embodiment, since the configuration in which the chips W are moved one by one using the belt B is adopted, it is perfectly possible for the plurality of chips W to move while being in contact with each other. Therefore, the surface accuracy of each chip W can be inspected efficiently and with high accuracy.
[0033]
In the above embodiment, the punching hole 38 is formed so that the tip W can be engaged and moved, but the upper end side of the belt B may be a notch formed in a concave shape. The moving means 12 is not limited to the belt B as long as the chips W can be moved one by one at regular intervals. Further, the supply grooves 31 in the supply means 11 are not limited to three rows, but may be three rows or less or three rows or more.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above , according to the present invention, the inspection objects received and engaged in the respective engagement regions are spaced apart from each other at a constant interval corresponding to the mutual intervals of the engagement regions provided in the moving means. It will be in a state of being placed. Therefore, compared to the conventional configuration in which the inspection object is sent by applying vibration, it is possible to surely prevent the possibility that a plurality of inspection objects are continuous. It becomes possible to ensure the reliability of the inspection accuracy of an object.
[0035]
Also, inspection object, in addition to be able to rotate smoothly following the grooves of the inner surface shape, it is possible to move the inspection object along the groove without concealing the inspection surface of the inspection object .
[0036]
Further, if inspection object is a rectangular parallelepiped or the like, it is possible to expose the test surface on each side side of the belt symmetrically, it is possible to perform inspection efficiently.
[0037]
Also, the engagement area of the transfer Dodo means, as much as possible it is possible to reduce the state where the inspection object is not supplied, it is possible to suppress a reduction in inspection efficiency.
[0038]
Furthermore, only the object to be examined is kept constant posture always is to be delivered to the passage forming member side, also from this point, it is possible to suppress a decrease in inspection efficiency.
[0039]
Further, it is possible to perform inspection while maintaining the position of the inspection surface of the inspection object constant with high accuracy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an overall configuration of a polyhedron inspection apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the polyhedron inspection apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a supply unit.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of a supply unit.
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a supply unit in which a front block is omitted.
FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the inner surface side of the front block.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a chip is supplied in an appropriate posture.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a chip is supplied in an inappropriate posture.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the tip is moved by the passage forming member.
FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a rotation feed portion of a passage forming member.
FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a rotary feed unit.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of the rotation operation of the chip in the rotation feed unit.
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part showing a collecting means for chips determined to be defective.
FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a chip collecting means determined to be non-defective.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Polyhedron inspection apparatus 11 Supply means 12 Movement means 13 Polyhedron inspection feeder 31 Supply groove (supply path)
38 Punching hole (engagement area)
36 Drive pulley 37 Driven pulley 38 Punching part (engagement area)
39 Exclusion means 39A Nozzle 40 Upstream side passage forming member 41 Rotation feed part 42 Downstream side passage forming member 48 Groove 49 Vacuum hole (attitude maintaining means)
50 groove B belt (moving means)
W chip (inspection object)

Claims (4)

A passage forming member having a groove for forming a passage for the inspection object, and a movement forming member provided along the groove, and the inspection object is exposed to the outside of the groove. Moving means for engaging the object,
The passage forming member includes a rotation feed unit that rotates the inspection object by a predetermined angle in the process of moving the inspection object,
Said moving means is configured with a belt, the belt is adapted to pass through the groove with its plane is substantially vertically oriented, of the test object by engaging the test object one by one A polyhedron inspection feeder comprising an engagement region allowing rotation at predetermined intervals . It further includes supply means for supplying an inspection object provided upstream of the passage forming member, and the supply means includes a plurality of supply paths for supplying the inspection object at a plurality of locations in the movement direction of the moving means. equipped with feeders for polyhedral inspection of claim 1, wherein the are. 3. The polyhedron inspection feeder according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising an excluding means for removing the inspection object when the inspection object engaged with the moving means is not in an appropriate engagement posture. When the inspection target has reached a predetermined inspection position, polyhedral inspection feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises a position maintaining means for maintaining said inspection surface at a fixed position .

Images