JP4349345B2 - Component supply method in electronic component mounting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a component supply method in an electronic component mounting apparatus that supplies an electronic component to a mounting head by a tape feeder arranged in a component supply unit in the electronic component mounting apparatus.

  As a method for supplying an electronic component to a mounting head in an electronic component mounting apparatus, a method using a tape feeder is known. In this method, a carrier tape holding an electronic component is pulled out from the tape reel and pitch-fed in synchronization with the mounting timing of the electronic component. When a part breakage occurs in the tape feeder during the mounting operation, a reel replacement operation is performed to replace the tape reel with a new one.

  In this reel replacement operation, a so-called tape splicing method in which carrier tapes themselves are joined in recent years has been adopted (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this method, since the end portion of the already mounted carrier tape and the beginning portion of the new carrier tape are joined, the head for performing tape alignment by attaching the beginning portion of the new tape to the tape feeder. The dispensing work can be omitted. Thereby, there is an advantage that a dead time due to stopping the mounting apparatus every time when a component cut occurs can be saved.

  When adopting the above-mentioned tape splicing, since the seam between the already-mounted carrier tape and the newly supplied carrier tape is performed manually, the pitch error between the component pockets at the joint of the two carrier tapes It is difficult to avoid alignment errors. For this reason, when the already installed carrier tape is engaged with the sprocket for tape feeding, the new carrier tape in the vicinity of the joint is shifted by such an error from the proper pickup position by the mounting head. It becomes.

In order to prevent a pickup operation failure due to such an error caused by tape splicing in advance, there is a case in which an empty tape portion in which electronic components are previously removed from the component pocket is provided in the vicinity of the joint portion of the carrier tape. is there. By providing such an empty tape, the portion of the empty tape passes through the pickup position while the already mounted carrier tape is engaged with the sprocket, so that a pickup operation failure does not occur.
JP 2003-237895 A

  However, in the conventional apparatus, while the empty tape passes the pickup position by the pitch feed of the carrier tape, the mounting head repeatedly performs the empty pickup operation of moving the suction nozzle up and down with respect to the empty component pocket. It was. For this reason, every time the joint portion by tape splicing passes through the pickup position, an idle operation time during which the electronic component is not picked up occurs, and the working efficiency of the electronic component mounting apparatus is reduced.

  Accordingly, the present invention prevents the occurrence of an idle operation time during which an electronic component is not picked up and improves the working efficiency of the electronic component mounting apparatus when an empty tape portion that does not hold the electronic component is provided at the joint portion of the tape splicing. An object of the present invention is to provide a component supply method in an electronic component mounting apparatus that can perform the above-described process.

The component supply method in the electronic component mounting apparatus according to the present invention is an electronic component mounting apparatus in which an electronic component is taken out from a component supply unit by a mounting head and mounted on a substrate, and the electronic component is held by a tape feeder arranged in the component supply unit. A component supply method in an electronic component mounting apparatus for supplying an electronic component to a pickup position by the mounting head by pitch-feeding the carrier tape, which is newly supplied with a carrier tape already mounted on the tape feeder upon tape splicing splicing the carrier tapes, the predetermined length range of the carrier tape sandwiching the joint portion and the empty tape the electronic component is not held, the tape feeding action to pitch feed the carrier tape to the component supply, electronic Parts pick-up mistakes continue a specified number of times If this occurs Te regarded as the seam portion reaches to a predetermined position upstream of the pickup position, the tape feeding in only a single feeding operation simultaneously feed length corresponding to the carrier tape to the predetermined length.

  According to the present invention, if the seam portion reaches a predetermined position upstream of the pickup position in the component supply operation for pitch-feeding the carrier tape, the carrier tape is tape-feeded by a single-feed operation for the batch feed length. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the idle operation time during which the electronic component is not picked up and improve the working efficiency of the electronic component mounting apparatus.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a plan view of an electronic component mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the electronic component mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a tape feeding mechanism in a tape feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating tape splicing according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a carrier tape seam detection means in the tape feeder of one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the tape feeding operation of the component feeding method in the electronic component mounting apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. These are operation | movement explanatory drawings of the tape feeding operation | movement of the component supply method in the electronic component mounting apparatus of one embodiment of this invention.

  First, the structure of the electronic component mounting apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 partially shows an AA cross section in FIG. In FIG. 1, a transport path 2 is disposed in the center of the base 1 in the X direction (substrate transport direction). The conveyance path 2 conveys the substrate 3 carried in from the upstream side and positions it on the mounting stage. On both sides of the conveyance path 2, component supply units 4 are arranged, and each component supply unit 4 has a plurality of tape feeders 5 arranged in parallel. The tape feeder 5 feeds an electronic component to a pickup position by a mounting head described below by pitch-feeding a carrier tape holding the electronic component.

  Y axis tables 6A and 6B are disposed on both ends of the upper surface of the base 1, and two X axis tables 7A and 7B are installed on the Y axis tables 6A and 6B. By driving the Y-axis table 6A, the X-axis table 7A moves horizontally in the Y direction, and by driving the Y-axis table 6B, the X-axis table 7B moves horizontally in the Y direction. Mounted on the X-axis tables 7A and 7B are a mounting head 8 and a substrate recognition camera 9 that moves integrally with the mounting head 8, respectively.

  By driving the Y-axis table 6A, the X-axis table 7A, the Y-axis table 6B, and the X-axis table 7B in combination, the mounting head 8 moves horizontally, and the electronic components are picked up from the respective component supply units 4 by suction nozzles 8a (see FIG. 2) and mounted on the substrate 3 positioned in the transport path 2. The substrate recognition camera 9 that has moved onto the substrate 3 captures and recognizes the substrate 3. In addition, a component recognition camera 10 and a nozzle holding unit 11 are disposed on the route from the component supply unit 4 to the conveyance path 2.

  When the mounting head 8 that has taken out the electronic component from the component supply unit 4 moves to the substrate 3 positioned on the mounting stage, the electronic component held by the suction nozzle 8 a is moved in the X direction above the component recognition camera 10. Thus, the component recognition camera 10 images the electronic component held by the suction nozzle 8a. Then, the recognition result is processed by a recognition processing unit (not shown) to recognize the position of the electronic component held by the suction nozzle 8a and identify the type of the electronic component. The nozzle holding unit 11 stores a plurality of types of suction nozzles 8a in a predetermined posture, and the mounting head 8 accesses the nozzle holding unit 11 to perform a nozzle replacement operation. The nozzle is replaced according to the above.

  The structure of the component supply unit 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the component supply unit 4 is provided with a feeder base 4 a for mounting a plurality of tape feeders 5. The tape feeder 5 is arranged in the component supply unit 4 by a feeder mounting carriage 12. The carriage 12 is provided with a reel holding portion 13 for holding a tape reel 14 in which a carrier tape 15 is stored in a wound state. The reel holding unit 13 includes a holding roller for rotatably holding the tape reel 14, and the carrier tape 15 can be pulled out by rotating the tape reel 14 arranged in the component supply unit 4. It has become.

  Next, the function of the tape feeder 5 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the frame member 5a attached to the feeder base 4a is provided with a tape traveling path 5b on which the carrier tape 15 travels. An electronic component P is held in a component pocket 16 a that is a concave portion for storing components formed on the carrier tape 15 at a constant pitch, and the top surface of the component pocket 16 a is covered with a top tape 17.

  The carrier tape 15 pulled out from the tape reel 14 is introduced from the rear end of the frame member 5a, and is sent to the downstream side (right side in FIG. 3) along the upper surface of the tape running path 5b. In the component supply operation for continuously supplying electronic components while feeding the carrier tape 15, if the carrier tape 15 wound around the supply reel 14 is consumed, the carrier tape 15 already mounted on the tape feeder 5 is consumed. The splicing is performed to join the head portion of the newly mounted carrier tape 15 </ b> A via the joint portion J at the end portion of.

  A sprocket 21 driven by the rotation drive mechanism 20 is disposed at the upper part of the downstream end of the frame member 5a. As shown in FIG. 4, the sprocket 21 is provided with a feed pin 21a that engages with a feed hole 16b (see FIG. 5) provided in the carrier tape 15 at a constant pitch. The rotational drive mechanism 20 is configured to rotationally drive the sprocket 21 via a bevel gear 24 by a motor 23 that can freely control the amount of rotation. Driving the motor 23 causes the sprocket 21 to rotate, whereby the carrier tape 15 is fed in the downstream direction. The sprocket 21 and the rotation drive mechanism 20 are tape feeding mechanisms that pitch-feed the carrier tape along the tape running path 5b.

  The motor 23 is controlled by a feeder controller 25, and the feeder controller 25 is further controlled by a mounting machine controller 27. The feeder control unit 25 includes a memory 26, and various tape feeding patterns can be written in the memory 26 by the mounting machine control unit 27. Then, the mounting machine control unit 27 outputs an operation command to the feeder control unit 25, so that the carrier tape 15 can be fed at an arbitrary feed speed or feed pitch. As a result, as will be described later, in the process of repeating intermittent pitch feed of the carrier tape 15 at a predetermined pitch, the carrier tape 15 can be tape-feeded by a single feed operation by a batch feed amount of a predetermined length. It has become.

  The front side of the sprocket 21 is a pickup position where the electronic component P in the component pocket 16 a is picked up by the suction nozzle 8 a of the mounting head 8. On the upper surface of the downstream portion of the frame member 5a, an upper guide portion 18 for covering and guiding the upper portion of the carrier tape 15 in the vicinity of the pickup position is disposed. The upper guide portion 18 is provided with a suction opening 18a corresponding to the pickup position by the suction nozzle 8a, and the downstream end of the suction opening 18a becomes a top tape peeling portion for peeling the top tape 17. Yes.

  In the process in which the carrier tape 15 travels below the upper guide portion 18, the top tape 17 is peeled off by the top tape peeling portion and folded back upstream. The electronic component P is picked up by the suction nozzle 8a from the component pocket 16a exposed by peeling off the top tape. The folded top tape 17 is fed into the tape collecting unit 5c by the top tape feeding mechanism 22 and collected.

  Next, tape splicing will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5A, in tape splicing, the end of the carrier tape 15 already attached to the tape feeder 5 and the beginning of the newly attached carrier tape 15A are connected via a butt line E. And joined together. Splicing tapes 28 and 29 are affixed from both the upper and lower sides at positions covering the component pocket 16a and the feed hole 16b, respectively, in the tape affixing margin where the butt line E is sandwiched in the base tape 16. Thereby, as shown in FIG.5 (b), the two carrier tapes 15 and 15A are joined by the joint part J, and become one continuous carrier tape.

  The splice tape 29 is provided with a slit 29a in the longitudinal direction. As a result, when the feed pin 21a of the sprocket 21 is fitted into the feed hole 16b from below, the feed pin 21a protrudes upward through the slit 29a so that the tape feeding is not hindered. 5A shows a state in which the top tape 17 is peeled off from the base tape 16, the splicing tape 28 is applied from the upper side of the top tape 17 in the tape splicing.

  This tape splicing work is performed using a dedicated jig, and the two carriers are set so that the pitch p * between the two component pockets 16a sandwiching the butt line E is equal to the predetermined pitch p of the base tape 16. The alignment of the tapes 15 and 15A is performed. At this time, due to a work error, the pitch p * does not necessarily match the prescribed pitch p completely, and after joining, a pitch error between the component pockets 16a occurs in the vicinity of the joint portion J, and the two carrier tapes 15, An error may occur in the alignment in the longitudinal direction of 15A.

  Due to such a pitch error or misalignment, there may be a case where the component pocket 16a is not pitch-fed to the correct pickup position when the joint portion J is close to the pickup position. That is, the positioning of the component pocket 16a is performed by engaging the feed pin 21a of the sprocket 21 with the component pocket 16a. However, when the pitch error and the alignment error as described above exist, each component pocket 16a. Are not necessarily aligned accurately, and the suction nozzle 8a cannot stably pick up the electronic component P in the component pocket 16a.

  In order to prevent such instability of the pickup operation, in this embodiment, the electronic component P is removed from the component pocket 16a in the predetermined length range sandwiching the joint portion J, and the empty tape without the electronic component P is present. A part is provided. Thereby, it is possible to prevent in advance pickup errors caused by the pickup nozzle 8a performing a pickup operation for the component pocket 16a in the vicinity of the joint portion J where the positions may vary.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, the electronic component P is previously removed from the two component pockets 16a at the end of the carrier tape 15 and the four component pockets 16a at the beginning of the carrier tape 15A, that is, the six component pockets 16a. As a result, an empty tape portion having a predetermined length L1 (= n (here, 6) × p) is formed on the carrier tape 15 after splicing shown in FIG. 5B. The predetermined length L1 is determined by quantitatively evaluating the degree of error in the joint portion J.

  Next, seam detection means for detecting the seam J in the tape feeding process of the carrier tape 15 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6A shows a plan view of the upper guide portion 18 provided at the distal end portion of the frame member 5a. A component pocket 16a is exposed in the suction opening 18a provided in the upper guide 18. The feed pin 21a of the sprocket 21 is engaged with the feed hole 16b on the downstream side of the suction opening 18a. A groove portion 18c for releasing the feed pin 21a is provided at a position corresponding to the sprocket 21 in the upper guide portion 18, so that the feed pin 21a protruding from the feed hole 16b to the upper surface side does not interfere with the upper guide portion 18. Become

  An opening 18b for joint detection is provided at a position corresponding to the upper side of the feed hole 16b in the upper guide 18 at a position separated from the suction opening 18a on the upstream side. As shown in FIG. 6B, a sensor 30 that is a reflective optical sensor is inserted from below in a position corresponding to the opening 18b in the frame member 5a. The detection signal from the sensor 30 is sent to the joint detection unit 31, and the joint detection unit 31 detects the joint portion J in the carrier tape 15 based on the detection signal of the sensor 30.

  That is, when the normal portion of the carrier tape 15 passes above the sensor 30, the light from the sensor 30 is transmitted to the feed hole 16b at the timing when the feed hole 16b is located between the sensor 25 and the opening 18b. It passes through the opening 18b upward. Therefore, at this timing, the sensor 30 does not detect the reflected light, and a signal indicating that the feed hole has been detected is sent. The feed hole detection signal is repeatedly output at intervals corresponding to the feed hole pitch, so that the joint detection unit 31 determines that there is no joint part.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the joint portion J in which the feed hole 16b is closed by the adhesive tape 29 passes above the sensor 30, the range in which the adhesive tape 29 is adhered. The light from the sensor 30 is reflected by the splice tape 29 and the feed hole 16b is not detected. Then, when this feed hole non-detection state continues for a predetermined time, the joint detection unit 31 detects that the joint J passes through the position of the sensor 30. Therefore, the sensor 30 and the seam detection unit 31 are seam detection means for detecting that the seam part J has reached a predetermined position upstream of the pickup position.

  This electronic component mounting apparatus is configured as described above. Hereinafter, in the electronic component mounting apparatus, the carrier tape 15 holding the electronic component by the tape feeder 5 is pitch-fed to the pickup position by the mounting head 8. A component supply method for supplying P will be described with reference to FIG. 8 along the flow of FIG.

In the component mounting operation, the component mounting operation of picking up and taking out an electronic component from the tape feeder 5 arranged in the component supply unit 4 by the suction nozzle 8a, and transporting and mounting it on the substrate 3 is repeatedly executed. In this process, when a component breakage occurs in any of the tape feeders 5 on the carrier tape 15 of the supply reel 14, the carrier tape 15 already mounted on the tape feeder 5 and the newly mounted carrier tape 15A are joined together. Tape splicing is executed (ST1). At this time, as described above, the predetermined length range (L1 = n × p range... See FIG. 8A) sandwiching the joint portion J is an empty tape in which the electronic component P does not exist in the component pocket 16a. Is done.

  After that, the electronic components are continuously picked up by the suction nozzle 8a, and the electronic components held on the already mounted carrier tape 15 are taken out by the suction nozzle 8a. In this process, as shown in FIG. 8A, the joint portion J reaches the position of the sensor 30 and is detected by the joint detection means shown in FIG. 6 (ST2). Then, by continuing to pick up the electronic components, as shown in FIG. 8B, the last electronic component P * held on the already mounted carrier tape 15 is picked up by the nozzle 8a, and the remaining components are picked up. Completion (ST3).

  Since the number of remaining parts held on the already mounted carrier tape 15 at the timing when the joint portion J reaches the position of the sensor 30 is known, when the pickup operation is repeated by the known number from the above timing, the joint portion It is detected that J has reached a predetermined position upstream of the pickup position. In response to this detection, the carrier tape 15 is fed by a single feed operation for a batch feed length L2 ((n + 1) × p) shown in FIG. 8B (ST4). The batch feed length L2 is determined based on the predetermined length L1.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 8C, the electronic component Pa located in the most advanced component pocket 16a in the newly mounted carrier tape 15A moves to the pickup position by the nozzle 8a. In this state, the feed pin 21a of the sprocket 21 is engaged with the feed hole 16b of the newly mounted carrier tape 15A. Therefore, in the suction opening 18a, the component pocket 16a in the correct relative position with respect to the feed hole 16b is in a stably positioned state. In this state, component pickup from the newly mounted carrier tape 15A is started (ST5).

  That is, in the above-described component supply method, when tape splicing is performed to join the carrier tape 15 already mounted on the tape feeder 5 and the newly supplied carrier tape 15A, the predetermined length L1 of the carrier tape sandwiching the joint portion J is set. The range is an empty tape in which the electronic component P is not held. Then, in the tape feeding operation for pitch feeding the carrier tape for supplying parts, if the joint portion J reaches a predetermined position upstream of the pickup position, the carrier tape is collectively fed based on the predetermined length L1. The tape is fed by a single feeding operation for the length L2.

  As a result, in order to prevent a pickup operation failure due to an error caused by tape splicing in advance, when an empty tape part in which electronic parts have been removed from a part pocket is provided in the vicinity of a joint part, it occurs in a conventional apparatus. In other words, there is no idle operation time due to repeated execution of the empty pickup operation by the mounting head while the empty tape portion passes the pickup position, and the work efficiency of the electronic component mounting apparatus is improved. be able to.

  In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which it is detected based on the detection result of the seam portion J by the seam detecting means shown in FIG. 6 that the seam portion J has reached a predetermined position upstream of the pickup position. However, the present invention can be applied even when a tape feeder that does not include such a seam detection means is used. In this case, instead of directly detecting the joint portion J, the approach of the joint portion J to the pickup position is indirectly detected according to the occurrence state of the component suction mistake by the suction nozzle 8a.

That is, as shown in FIG. Since the empty tape portion passes through the pickup position after the last electronic component P * of the already mounted carrier tape 15 is taken out, pickup mistakes in which the suction nozzle 8a cannot suck the electronic component continuously occur at this time. . At this time, if a pickup error occurs continuously a predetermined number of times (for example, 3 times), it is considered that the joint portion J has reached a predetermined position where the carrier tape should be collectively fed, and similarly, a single feed operation is performed. Batch tape feed of a predetermined length is performed. This method can also reduce a decrease in mounting operation efficiency due to repeated empty pick-up operations many times.

  The component supply method in the electronic component mounting apparatus of the present invention has the effect of preventing the occurrence of an idle operation time during which the electronic component is not picked up and improving the working efficiency of the electronic component mounting apparatus. This is useful for a component supply method in which an electronic component is taken out from a tape feeder and supplied to a mounting head.

The top view of the electronic component mounting apparatus of one embodiment of this invention The fragmentary sectional view of the electronic component mounting device of one embodiment of the present invention Structure explanatory drawing of the tape feeder of one embodiment of this invention Structure explanatory drawing of the tape feeding mechanism in the tape feeder of one embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing of tape splicing in one embodiment of the present invention Explanatory drawing of the joint detection part of the carrier tape in the tape feeder of one embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the tape feeding operation | movement of the component supply method in the electronic component mounting apparatus of one embodiment of this invention Operation explanatory diagram of tape feeding operation of component supply method in electronic component mounting apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

3 Substrate 4 Component supply unit 5 Tape feeder 8 Mounting head 8a Nozzle 15, 15A Carrier tape 16 Base tape 16a Component pocket 17 Top tape E Butt wire J Joint portion P Electronic component

Claims (1)

In an electronic component mounting apparatus for taking out an electronic component from a component supply unit by a mounting head and mounting the electronic component on a substrate, the mounting head is pitch-fed by a carrier tape holding the electronic component by a tape feeder arranged in the component supply unit. A component supply method in an electronic component mounting apparatus for supplying an electronic component to a pickup position by
When splicing the carrier tape already mounted on the tape feeder and the newly supplied carrier tape, a predetermined length range of the carrier tape sandwiching the joint portion is an empty tape that does not hold an electronic component, and the component In the tape feeding operation in which the carrier tape is pitch-fed for supply, if a pickup mistake of the electronic component occurs continuously a predetermined number of times, it is considered that the joint has reached a predetermined position upstream of the pickup position, and the carrier A component supply method in an electronic component mounting apparatus, wherein a tape is fed by a single feed operation for a batch feed length corresponding to the predetermined length.

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