JP4198626B2 - Substrate transfer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus that can change a conveyor width corresponding to the width size of a substrate to be transferred.

  For example, in printed circuit board production lines and electronic component mounting lines, the conveyor width can be made variable for substrates with different widths, and these substrates with different widths can be transported to increase the efficiency of productivity. A substrate transfer device is employed. Conventionally, this type of substrate transfer apparatus has a substrate transfer reference surface on the back side (one side across the substrate transfer path), and corresponds to the width size of the substrate to be transferred. Was moved away from and touching.

  However, if you want to set the transport reference plane in reverse (the back side of the device is a movable conveyor and the front side is a fixed conveyor), this cannot be done as it is, and simply the transport direction of the substrate transport device When the upstream side and the downstream side are reversely installed, the operation panel or the like is on the opposite side to the other devices, which may reduce operability.

  In order to solve such a problem, there is a substrate transfer device disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. FIG. 13 is a side view of a variable width mechanism in a conventional substrate transfer apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 121 denotes a base having a pair of side plates 122 and 123, and the side plates 122 and 123 are positioned so as to sandwich the conveyors 112 and 113 therebetween. A ball screw 124 penetrates the side plate 122, the conveyors 112 and 113, and the side plate 123, and a bearing 126 is inserted into the fitting portion. The driven pulleys 127 and 128 are attached to one end of the ball screw 124, and the rotation of the driving pulley 131 that is rotated by driving of the driving motor 130 is transmitted to the driven pulley 127 via the belt 132, so that the ball screw 124 is rotated. . Further, the other ball screw (not shown) is rotated through a driven pulley (not shown) around which a driven pulley 128 and a belt 133 attached to the ball screw 124 are stretched.

  The conveyors 112 and 113 are attached to nut bodies 134 and 135 fitted to the ball screw 124 via bearings 126, and locking portions 138 and 139 are fixed to the nut bodies 134 and 135 by bolts 142.

  Here, the case where the other conveyor 113 is moved toward and away from one conveyor 112 in order to change the width of the conveyors 112 and 113 will be described.

  Since the conveyor 112 side is used as a reference when the conveyor 113 is moved, the bolts 146 are fixed to the side plate 122 via the spacers 145 and fixed to the reference position. Thereby, even if the ball screw 124 rotates by the drive of the drive motor 130, the conveyor 112 is fixed at that position, and only the nut body 134 is idled. On the other hand, the conveyor 113 side is moved together with the nut body 135 by the rotation of the ball screw 124 by fixing the locking portion 139 of the nut body 135 and the conveyor 113 with bolts 148. As a result, the widths of the conveyors 112 and 113 can be changed using the conveyor 112 as the transport reference plane.

  Further, the conveyor 112 can be moved toward and away from the conveyor 113 using the conveyor 113 as a transport reference plane, which will be described below.

  In this case, the bolt 146 and the spacer 145 that fix the conveyor 112 and the side plate 122 are removed, and the conveyor 113 and the side plate 123 are fixed by the spacer 145 and the bolt 146 although illustration is omitted. Then, the bolt 148 that fixes the locking portion 139 of the conveyor 113 and the nut body 135 is removed, and the locking portion 138 of the conveyor 112 and the nut body 134 is fixed by the bolt 148 although illustration is omitted.

As a result, the conveyor 113 is fixed to the position even if the ball screw 124 is rotated by driving the drive motor 130, and only the nut body 135 is idled. The conveyor 112 is rotated together with the nut body 134 in a predetermined direction by the rotation of the ball screw 124. It becomes movable. That is, the conveyance reference plane is set in reverse.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-66100

However, the conventional substrate transfer apparatus described above has a structure in which the transfer reference plane is set in reverse, a conveyor support (nut body, locking portion) attached to each of a pair of conveyors, four parts of a bearing, and one fixed Since a total of five parts including the members (spacers) are required, there are problems that the number of parts is large, which is disadvantageous for downsizing and weight reduction of the apparatus, the structure is complicated, and the cost is increased.
In addition, since the conveyor support (locking portion) protrudes and attaches inside the pair of conveyors, if the width between the pair of conveyors is reduced, there is a possibility of contacting the connecting member, and the width of the substrate that can be transported There were restrictions.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and a first object of the present invention is to reduce the number of parts, reduce the size and weight of the apparatus, simplify the structure, and reduce the apparatus cost. It is to obtain a substrate transfer device. A second object is to obtain a substrate transfer apparatus that can transfer a substrate having a smaller width than that of a conventional apparatus.

Next, means for solving the above problems will be described with reference to the drawings corresponding to the embodiments.
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a substrate transfer apparatus 1 in which the width between the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 can be changed according to the width size of the substrate 17 to be transferred,
A pair of side plates 3, 4 spaced apart from the outside of the pair of conveyors 5, 6;
Both ends of the pair of side plates 3 and 4 are rotatably supported and driven to rotate, and screw shafts 10 that pass through the through portions 18 formed in the pair of conveyors 5 and 6, respectively,
Screwed to the screw shaft 10, and while being able to form passes through the through part 18 in a posture which is rotated around the screw shaft 10, the screw shaft 10 is moved by driving rotation of the pair A connecting member 19 that can be selectively fixed to one of the conveyors 5 and 6 (6);
A fixing member 28 capable of selectively fixing either the other 6 (5) of the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 and the side plate 4 located outside the other conveyor 6 (5);
It is characterized by comprising.

  According to such a structure, fixation of one conveyor 5 (6) and the connection member 19 is cancelled | released, and the connection member 19 is moved to the position of the other conveyor 6 (5) by rotating the screw shaft 10. The other conveyor 6 (5) is movable by removing the fixing member 28 that fixes the other conveyor 6 (5) to the side plate 4 (3) and fixing one conveyor 5 (6). While becoming free, one conveyor 5 (6) is fixed. That is, the conveyance reference plane can be set in reverse. Thus, conventionally, a total of five parts were required, that is, a conveyor support (nut body, locking portion) attached to each of the pair of conveyors 5 and 6, four parts of bearings, and one fixing member (spacer). On the other hand, the conveyance reference plane can be set reversely with a total of two parts, one connecting member and one fixing member.

  The substrate transfer device according to claim 2 is characterized in that the connecting member 19 is fixed to either one of the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 outside the conveyor.

  According to such a configuration, the conveyor support (locking portion) does not protrude inside the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 as in the conventional device, and the connecting member 19 is sandwiched between the pair of conveyors 5 and 6. The width between the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 can be narrower than that of the conventional apparatus.

The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the connecting member 30 includes a nut body 21 that is screwed onto the screw shaft 10, and a connecting plate 31 that is fixed to the nut body 21 and can be fixed to the conveyors 5 and 6. Become
The connecting plate 31 has a connecting portion 32 that generates a rotational moment due to gravity by positioning its center of gravity above the center of the screw shaft 10;
3. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the penetrating portion is formed in a shape that allows the connecting plate to pass through the connecting portion.

According to such a configuration, when the fixation with the conveyors 5 and 6 is released, the connecting member 30 is rotated to a posture in which the connecting portion 32 is positioned downward because the center of gravity is placed on the upper connecting portion 32. Will be placed and held in that position. Therefore, when the screw shaft 10 is rotated, the connecting member 30 is moved along the screw shaft 10, passes through the penetration portion 33, and can be disposed outside the conveyors 5 and 6.
Further, for example, when the connecting portion 32 is formed asymmetrically, the connecting member 30 rotates by itself due to an imbalance in the center of gravity of the connecting portion 32 when the fixing is released. That is, it becomes possible to automatically rotate and arrange the connection member 30 that has been released from the fixed state.

  The substrate transfer apparatus according to a fourth aspect is characterized in that the penetrating portion 40 is a cutout portion that is opened by removing a part or all of the passage portion of the connecting portion 32.

  According to such a configuration, at least a part of the hole formed so as to be able to pass through the connecting member 30 is removed to form a notch with an open peripheral edge, and the through portion 40 can be made smaller accordingly. Become.

  According to the substrate transfer apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the screw shaft is supported by the pair of side plates, and the through portion through which the screw shaft passes is formed in the pair of conveyors, and is screwed to the screw shaft. The connecting member that can be fixed to the conveyor is formed so as to be able to pass through the penetrating portion, and either one of the conveyors can be fixed to the side plate by the fixing member. A total of 5 parts were required: 4 parts for the support (nut body, locking part), bearing, and 1 fixing member (spacer), whereas 2 parts for 1 connecting member and 1 fixing member. The conveyance reference plane can be set in reverse. Thereby, the number of parts can be reduced, the apparatus can be reduced in size and weight, the structure can be simplified, and the apparatus cost can be reduced.

  According to the substrate transfer device of the second aspect, the connecting member is fixed to either one of the pair of conveyors on the outside of the conveyor, and the conveyor support (engagement member) on the inside of the pair of conveyors as in the conventional device. Since the stop portion does not protrude, the connecting member is not sandwiched between the conveyors, and the width between the pair of conveyors can be narrower than the conventional apparatus. As a result, a substrate having a smaller width can be transported.

  According to the substrate transfer apparatus of the third aspect, the connecting member includes the nut body and the connecting plate, the connecting plate has the connecting portion, and the through portion can pass through the connecting plate with the connecting portion positioned below. Since it is formed in a shape, when the fixation with the conveyor is released, the connecting member is in a posture with the connecting portion downward due to gravity, and the connecting member is moved along the screw shaft by rotating the screw shaft. , And can be disposed outside the conveyor through the penetration. Thereby, replacement of the connecting member from one conveyor to the other conveyor can be easily performed.

  According to the substrate transfer apparatus of the fourth aspect, since the penetrating portion is a cutout portion that is opened by removing at least a part of the passing portion of the connecting portion, the connecting member can be fixed and the connecting member can pass therethrough. Thus, the through portion can be formed smaller, and the device can be further reduced in size and weight.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 is a plan view showing a variable width mechanism in a substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a guide mechanism in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view of the variable width mechanism in FIG. FIG. 4 (a) is a front view, FIG. 4 (a) is an explanatory view showing a fixed state of the connecting member, and FIG. 4 (b) is an explanatory view showing a state when passing through the through portion.
The substrate transport apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the width W between the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 can be changed according to the width size of the substrate 17 to be transported. The present invention is suitably used for a printed circuit board production line arranged in parallel, an electronic component mounting line in which a plurality of electronic component mounting apparatuses are arranged in parallel, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a base having a pair of side plates 3 and 4, and the side plates 3 and 4 are positioned so as to sandwich the conveyors 5 and 6. That is, the side plates 3 and 4 are spaced apart from each other outside the pair of conveyors 5 and 6. Reference numeral 10 denotes a screw shaft (ball screw) that penetrates the side plates 3, the conveyors 5, 6 and the side plate 4, and is rotatably supported by the side plates 3, 4 via bearings 11. A drive motor 12 is attached to one end of the ball screw 10, and the ball screw 10 is rotated by driving the drive motor 12.

  The pair of conveyors 5 and 6 are supported on the side plates 3 and 4 by the guide mechanism 13. That is, both ends of the guide rail 14 are fixed to the side plates 3 and 4, and the guide rail 14 traverses the conveyors 5 and 6 downward as shown in FIG. 2, for example. A sliding member 15 is fixed to the lower surface of each conveyor 5, 6, and the sliding member 15 has a U-shaped opening 16 that opens downward. The pair of conveyors 5 and 6 can move toward and away along the guide rail 14 by engaging the opening 16 of the sliding member 15 from above the guide rail 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the ball screw 10 passes through a pair of conveyors 5 and 6 on the downstream side of the guide mechanism 13 in the transport direction of the substrate 17. Note that the positions of the guide mechanism 13 and the ball screw 10 may be arranged opposite to the illustrated example. The conveyors 5 and 6 are formed with through portions 18 through which the ball screw 10 passes. In the present embodiment, the penetrating portion 18 is formed as a rectangular hole that is long in the vertical direction, for example. Here, as for a pair of conveyors 5 and 6 penetrated by the ball screw 10 via the penetration part 18, only one conveyor 5 is supported by the ball screw 10 via the connection member 19, as shown in FIG. In the other conveyor 6, the ball screw 10 is passed through the penetrating part 18 with play. In FIG. 3, 20 and 20 represent conveying belts provided on the respective conveyors 5 and 6.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting member 19 includes a nut body 21 that is screwed into the ball screw 10, and a connecting plate 22 that is fixed to the nut body 21 and can be selectively fixed to one of the conveyors 5 and 6. Become. The nut body 21 and the connecting plate 22 are integrally fixed by a bolt 24 (see FIG. 5) inserted through the fixing hole 23. A connecting hole 25 is formed in the connecting plate 22. As shown in FIG. 4B, the connecting plate 22 is set so that the vertical dimension can pass through the through-hole 18. In the present embodiment, the connecting member 19 is configured such that the nut body 21 and the connecting plate 22 are fixed with bolts, but the nut body 21 and the connecting plate 22 are integrally formed. May be.

  Here, the ball screw 10 is eccentric above the center of the penetrating part 18 and penetrates the penetrating part. On the other hand, in the connecting plate 22, the hole 26 through which the ball screw 10 passes is biased to the opposite side to the one end side 22 a where the connecting hole 25 is drilled. Thereby, when the one end side 22a in which the connecting hole 25 is drilled is arranged upward in the state where the nut body 21 is screwed into the ball screw 10, the connecting member 19 has the one end side 22a on the periphery of the penetrating portion 18. It is supposed to overlap. One end side 22a that overlaps the periphery of the penetrating portion 18 is fixed to the conveyor 5 by a connecting bolt 27 (see FIG. 5).

  The connecting member 19 is attached to the ball screw 10 with the connecting plate 22 eccentric, so that when the fixing by the connecting bolt 27 is released, a rotational moment is generated by gravity, and even if the ball screw 10 is rotated, FIG. As shown in b), the one end 22a is held in a state of being disposed below.

  The connecting member 19 is fixed to either one of the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 outside the conveyors 5 and 6. That is, unlike the conventional apparatus, the conveyor support (locking portion) does not protrude inside the pair of conveyors, and the connecting member 19 is not sandwiched between the pair of conveyors 5 and 6. The width between them becomes narrower than that of the conventional device. As a result, a substrate 17 having a smaller width can be transported.

  The conveyors 5 and 6 are fixed to the side plate 4 by fixing members 28 on the side where the connecting member 19 is not fixed (conveyor 6 in the present embodiment). That is, the fixing member 28 can selectively fix either one of the pair of conveyors 5 and 6 to the adjacent side plates 3 and 4 located outside. For the fixing member 28, bolts and spacers similar to the conventional ones can be used.

Next, the operation of the substrate transport apparatus configured as described above will be described.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the penetrating portion showing a state at the time of releasing the connection member, FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the penetrating portion showing the connecting member that is rotatably arranged with respect to the penetrating portion, and FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a penetrating portion showing a connecting member that can be replaced by a reverse conveyor, and FIG. 9 shows a reverse conveyance reference plane. It is a front view which shows a width variable mechanism.

  In the present embodiment, the conveyor 6 is fixed to the side plate 4 by the fixing member 28 in the initial setting, thereby serving as a conveyance reference surface. Thus, when the ball screw 10 is rotated by driving the drive motor 12, the conveyor 5 is moved toward and away from the conveyor 6 through the connecting member 19. It will only idle. Thereby, the width | variety of the conveyors 5 and 6 can be changed by making the conveyor 6 into a conveyance reference plane.

  On the other hand, in order to change the setting of the conveyance reference plane from 6 to the conveyor 5, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the connecting bolt 27 that fixes the connecting plate 22 to the conveyor 5 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the connecting member 19 is rotated so that the one end side 22 a of the connecting plate 22 faces downward. When the ball screw 10 is driven by the drive motor 12 in this state, the rotational position of the connecting member 19 is held by gravity, so that the nut body 21 of the connecting member 19 is rotated relative to the ball screw 10, as shown in FIG. , Moved along the ball screw 10 in the direction of the conveyor 6.

  Next, when the connecting member 19 passes through the through portion 18 of the conveyor 6, the connecting member 19 is manually rotated so that the one end side 22 a of the connecting plate 22 is on the upper side, and the connecting plate 22 is connected to the conveyor using the connecting bolt 27. Fix to 6. Next, the fixing member 28 that fixes the conveyor 6 and the side plate 4 is removed, and the conveyor 5 and the side plate 3 are fixed by the fixing member 28 as shown in FIG.

  As a result, the conveyor 5 is fixed to the position even if the ball screw 10 is rotated by the drive motor 12, and the conveyor 6 can move in a predetermined direction together with the nut body 21 of the connecting member 19 by the rotation of the ball screw 10. . That is, the conveyance reference plane is set in reverse.

  According to such a substrate transfer apparatus 1, the ball screw 10 is supported by the pair of side plates 3, 4, and the through portions 18 through which the ball screw 10 passes are formed in the pair of conveyors 5, 6 and screwed to the ball screw 10. The connecting member 19 that can be fixed to any one of the conveyors 5 and 6 is formed so as to be able to pass through the penetrating portion 18, and the other conveyor 5 and 6 can be fixed to the side plates 3 and 4 by the fixing member 28. Therefore, in the past, a total of 5 parts including a conveyor support (nut body, locking portion) attached to each of a pair of conveyors, 4 parts of bearings, and 1 fixing member (spacer) are required. The conveyance reference plane can be set in reverse by using a total of two parts including one connecting member 19 and one fixing member 28. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced, the apparatus can be reduced in size and weight, the structure can be simplified, and the apparatus cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the structure of the connection member 19, the penetration part 18, and the guide mechanism 13 mentioned above is not limited to it, In the board | substrate conveyance apparatus which concerns on this invention, it can replace with the structure of the following modifications, and can also be provided. .

FIG. 10A is an explanatory view showing a fixed state of the connecting member according to the modification, and FIG. 10B is an explanatory view showing a state when passing through the through portion.
In this modification, the connecting member 30 includes a nut body 21 screwed into the ball screw 10 and a connecting plate 31 fixed to the nut body 21 and fixed to the conveyors 5 and 6. The connecting member 30 has a connecting portion 32 that projects a part of the outer shape upward from the center of the ball screw 10 and is asymmetrical. For example, the connecting portion 32 can be formed in a substantially U shape as shown in the figure. Further, the penetrating portion 33 is formed in a shape that allows the connecting member 30 to pass therethrough as shown in FIG.

  In this modification, since the connecting plate 31 has the connecting portion 32 and the through-hole 33 has a shape that can pass through the connecting plate 31 when the connecting portion 32 is positioned below, the connecting plate 31 is a conveyor. When the fixation with 5 and 6 is released, the connecting portion 32 is automatically rotated due to the imbalance of the center of gravity of the connecting portion 32 and the connecting portion 32 is in a downward position. Then, by rotating the ball screw 10, the connecting member 30 can be moved along the ball screw 10, and can be disposed outside the conveyors 5 and 6 through the through portion 33. Thereby, the replacement of the connecting member 30 from one conveyor 5 to the other conveyor can be easily performed.

Fig.11 (a) is explanatory drawing which shows the fixed state of the connection member which concerns on another modification, FIG.11 (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of a penetration part passage.
In this modification, the penetrating portion 40 is formed by a notch portion that is partially opened by removing a passing portion of the connecting portion 32. Therefore, the through-hole 40 through which the connecting member 30 can be fixed and through which the connecting member 30 can pass can be formed smaller, and the apparatus can be made smaller and lighter.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a variable width mechanism including a guide mechanism according to a modification.
In this modification, a pair of guide mechanisms 13 similar to the above are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the substrate 17 with the ball screw 10 interposed therebetween. The rest of the configuration is the same as that of the substrate transfer apparatus 1 described above. Therefore, by setting it as such a modification, the guide part of the conveyors 5 and 6 increases, the inclination of the conveyors 5 and 6 at the time of contact / separation movement can be suppressed, and a smoother movement is possible.

It is a top view of the width variable mechanism in the board | substrate conveyance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the guide mechanism in FIG. It is the front view which looked at the variable width mechanism in FIG. 1 from the board | substrate conveyance direction downstream. (A) It is explanatory drawing which shows the fixed state of a connection member. (B) It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the penetration part passage of a connection member. It is an expanded sectional view of the penetration part which shows the state at the time of fixed release of a connecting member. It is an expanded sectional view of the penetration part which shows the connecting member rotated and arranged so that passage to the penetration part is possible. It is a front view which shows the width variable mechanism in the process in which a connection member moves along a screw axis (ball screw). It is an expanded sectional view of the penetration part which shows the connecting member changed to a reverse conveyor. It is a front view which shows the width variable mechanism in which the conveyance reference plane was set upside down. (A) It is explanatory drawing which shows the fixed state of the connection member which concerns on a modification. (B) It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the penetration part passage of the connection member which concerns on a modification. (A) It is explanatory drawing which shows the fixed state of the connection member which concerns on a modification. (B) It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the penetration part passage of the connection member which concerns on a modification. It is a top view which shows the width variable mechanism provided with the guide mechanism which concerns on a modification. It is a side view which shows the width variable mechanism in the conventional board | substrate conveyance apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate conveyance apparatus 3, 4 ... A pair of side plate 5, 6 ... A pair of conveyor 10 ... Ball screw (screw axis)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 ... Through part 19, 30 ... Connection member 21 ... Nut body 28 ... Fixing member 31 ... Connection plate 32 ... Connection part W ... Width

Claims (4)

A substrate transfer device (1) capable of varying a width between a pair of conveyors (5, 6) according to a width size of a substrate (17) to be transferred,
A pair of side plates (3, 4) spaced apart from the outside of the pair of conveyors;
Both ends of the pair of side plates are rotatably supported and driven to rotate, and a screw shaft (10) that penetrates a through portion (18) formed in each of the pair of conveyors;
Either of the pair of conveyors is formed so as to be able to pass through the penetrating portion in a posture that is screwed onto the screw shaft and rotated around the screw shaft , and the screw shaft is moved by being rotationally driven . A connecting member (19) which can be selectively fixed to one side;
A fixing member (28) capable of selectively fixing either the other of the pair of conveyors and the side plate located outside the other conveyor;
A substrate transfer apparatus comprising:   The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is fixed to either one of the pair of conveyors outside the conveyor. The connecting member (30) comprises a nut body (21) screwed onto the screw shaft, and a connecting plate (31) fixed to the nut body and fixable to the conveyor,
The connecting plate has a connecting portion (32) for generating a rotational moment due to gravity by positioning its center of gravity above the center of the screw shaft,
The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the penetrating portion is formed in a shape that allows the connecting plate to pass by positioning the connecting portion downward.   4. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the penetrating part (40) is a notch part that is opened by removing a part or all of a passing part of the connecting part.

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