JP4425400B2 - Work equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For example, when a suction head that sucks a component is moved up and down in a surface mounting device and mounted on the substrate, the substrate to be mounted is recognized, or the industrial robot holds the component at the tip. The present invention relates to a working device that is used for recognizing the above-mentioned other components or the like to be mounted when the arm is moved and mounted on another component or the like on a jig.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as this type of working device, there has been known an apparatus in which the holding state of the component sucked by the suction head with respect to the suction head in the surface mounting field is image-recognized by the imaging means to detect the suction position shift. (For example, refer to Japanese Patent No. 2810579). In this device, an image of a component sucked by the suction head is taken into the imaging means through a plurality of reflecting mirrors, half mirrors and a guide relay mirror group, and a deviation of the suction position is detected by comparison with a predetermined position. The position of the suction head relative to the substrate is corrected during the mounting operation according to the suction position deviation.
[0003]
In the surface mounting field, a camera is usually used as a means for recognizing a substrate mark (fiducial mark) provided on a substrate to be mounted when a component sucked by a suction head is mounted on the substrate. It is used.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described recognition technology using the image pickup means recognizes a plane that is fixedly located at a predetermined distance, such as a component attracted by the suction head or a board mark provided on the board. Therefore, it cannot be applied when the position of the recognition target changes variously. For this reason, the use of the imaging means is limited only when a specific condition is satisfied, and lacks versatility.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide versatility to an imaging means provided in a work apparatus so that it can be widely used.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a working means for detachably holding a component at a tip and moving forward and backward in at least one axial direction to mount the component on a work target, and moving the working means forward and backward. Advancing / retreating means, an imaging means for imaging a specific part of the work target, a position changing means for changing a relative position of the imaging means with respect to the specific part with respect to the uniaxial direction, and the working means being movable in a uniaxial direction A frame that supports the frame, and a support that supports the frame so that the position of the frame can be changed in a uniaxial direction, and the advance / retreat means is configured to move the working means forward and backward in a uniaxial direction with respect to the frame. is the imaging means is fixed to said frame, said position changing means is one that is configured to move in the axial direction of the frame with respect to said support That.
[0007]
According to the apparatus of the present invention, even if the installation position of the uniaxial direction of the work target itself changes variously, or the position of the work target is fixed, the specific part that is the imaging target depends on the type of the part, etc. Even if the relative position in the uniaxial direction of the specific part changes variously due to the change, or after mounting a part on the work target, a new part is mounted using the mounted part as the work target. Even if the relative position with respect to the uniaxial direction changes variously due to the change of the work object itself as in the case of, for example, the relative position of the imaging means is changed by the position changing means according to the change of the uniaxial direction position. By doing so, the imaging means can be focused. For this reason, it is possible to clearly recognize the specific part of the work target, and if necessary, change the advance / retreat operation amount of the work means by the advance / retreat operation means based on the position change amount for focusing. Thus, it is possible to perform work such as mounting by reliably moving the part with respect to the work target. Thereby, wide utilization of an imaging means is attained and versatility can be provided.
[0008]
According to the apparatus of the present invention, when the position of the imaging unit is changed by the position changing unit, the working unit is also moved in one axis direction in synchronization with the imaging unit. For this reason, even if the uniaxial position of the work target to be recognized is changed, if the imaging means is focused on the work object by the position change, the uniaxial position of the work means is also changed accordingly. This makes it easier to align the working means with respect to the work target.
[0009]
In the above invention, the position changing means may be configured so as to adjust the position change amount of the imaging means performs a focusing of the imaging means with respect to a specific part of the work object, thereby the image pickup means the specific The position is automatically changed to the position of the focal length with respect to the part.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view when the present invention is applied to a surface mounting apparatus as an example of a working apparatus as the first or second embodiment of the present invention.
[0012]
In the figure, a substrate conveying conveyor 2 is arranged on a base 1, and a printed circuit board 3 (indicated by a two-dot chain line) as an object to be mounted is conveyed on the conveyor 2 and stops at a predetermined mounting position. It is like that.
[0013]
A component supply unit 4 is disposed on the side of the conveyor 2. The component supply unit 4 includes multiple rows of tape feeders 4a, and each tape feeder 4a stores and holds chip components (hereinafter simply referred to as “components”) such as ICs, transistors, and capacitors at predetermined intervals. The tape is led out from the reel to the component take-out section, and the tape is intermittently fed out by a ratchet-type feeding mechanism as the components are piped up by the head unit 5 described later.
[0014]
Above the base 1, a component mounting head unit 5 is provided. The head unit 5 is arranged in the X-axis direction (conveying direction of the conveyor 2) and the Y-axis direction (a direction orthogonal to the X-axis on a plane). ) Can be moved to.
[0015]
Specifically, a pair of rails 6 extending in the Y-axis direction are extended on the base 1, and a head unit support member 7 is installed on the rails 6. The head unit support member 7 is screwed with a ball screw shaft 9 via a nut portion 8, and this ball screw shaft 9 is connected to a rotation shaft of a Y axis servo motor 10. The head unit support member 7 is moved in the Y-axis direction via the ball screw shaft 9. The head unit support member 7 has a guide member 11 extending in the X-axis direction, and the head unit 5 is movable along the guide member 11. Then, the X-axis motor 12 is driven to move the head unit 5 in the X-axis direction via a ball screw shaft 13 (see FIG. 3) arranged in parallel with the guide member 11.
[0016]
Based on the above overall configuration, the configuration of the head unit 5a according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described next with reference to the front view of FIG. 2 and the partially omitted side view of FIG.
[0017]
In both figures, the head unit 5a includes a head unit main body 15 as a support and a frame 16 supported so as to be movable up and down in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction) as a uniaxial direction with respect to the head unit main body 15. A suction head 20 as a working means for detachably sucking and holding components on the frame 16 and a camera 40 (imaging means) for imaging and recognizing a specific part of the substrate 3 are supported. Yes.
[0018]
The frame 16 is moved up and down with respect to the head unit main body 15 by an entire vertical movement servomotor 21 as a part of position changing means and advancing / retreating means fixed to the head unit main body 15. That is, when the frame 16 is moved up and down by the entire vertical movement servomotor 21, both the suction head 20 and the camera 40 are moved up and down collectively.
[0019]
Specifically, a guide portion 22 (see FIG. 3) extending in the vertical direction and a ball screw shaft 23 are fixed to the head unit main body 15, while the frame 16 is screwed to the ball screw shaft 23. A nut portion 24 and a guided portion (not shown) guided by the guide portion 22 are provided. The ball screw shaft 23 is connected to the rotating shaft of the servo motor 21. When the ball screw shaft 23 is rotated around the Z axis by the servo motor 21, the frame 16 is moved in the Z axis direction. It can be moved up and down.
[0020]
As the suction head 20, in this embodiment, four suction heads 20, 20,... (See FIG. 2) are arranged side by side in the X-axis direction. Each suction head 20 is individually moved up and down in the Z-axis direction by an air cylinder 25 (see FIG. 3) as advancing and retreating means fixed to the frame 16, and by a rotating servo motor 26 (see FIG. 2). Each suction head 20 is rotated.
[0021]
Specifically, the suction head 20 includes a hollow nozzle shaft 27 (see FIG. 3), a head guide portion 28 that supports the nozzle shaft 27 so as to be movable up and down relative to the frame 16, and the nozzle shaft 27. The suction nozzle 29 is detachably attached to the lower end of the nozzle shaft 27, and the sleeve portion 31a integral with the piston 31 of the air cylinder 25 in a state where the upper end side portion of the nozzle shaft 27 allows rotation through the bearing 30. Combined with. As a result, if air is supplied from the air supply port 25a to the forward working chamber of the air cylinder 25, the suction head 20 is lowered, and if air is supplied from the air supply port 25b to the backward working chamber, the suction head 20 is raised. It is supposed to be. The piston 31 is formed with a communication passage that communicates with an air passage (not shown) in the nozzle shaft 27. A negative pressure or a positive pressure is applied to the suction head 20 from the negative pressure supply port 32 through the communication passage and the air passage. By supplying the pressure in a switchable manner, the suction head 20 performs suction of the component or separation of the sucked component. The negative pressure or the positive pressure is supplied to the negative pressure supply port 32 by switching control of a switching valve from a decompression device and a pressurization device (not shown).
[0022]
On the other hand, a belt 34 for transmitting a rotational force is provided between a pulley 26a connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating servo motor 26 (see FIG. 2) and a pulley 33 rotatably supported on the frame 16 side. The pulley 33 is rotated by the rotation operation of the servo motor 26 for rotation, and the rotation force is transmitted to each nozzle shaft 27 via the pulley 33 so that each suction head 20 is rotated. It has become.
[0023]
In addition, a camera 40 and an illumination device 41 that irradiates illumination light toward the substrate 3 that is an object to be imaged by the camera 40 are fixed to the frame 16 at predetermined positions. In the figure, reference numeral 40a denotes an input / output line for outputting image information or the like captured by the camera 40 to a control unit (not shown) or inputting an image capture command to the camera 40.
[0024]
In the first embodiment having the above-described configuration, the components are picked up from the component supply unit by the suction heads 20 of the head unit 5, and then the head unit 5 is moved onto the printed circuit board, and then the servo motor 21 for overall vertical movement is operated. is allowed by the particular portion of the substrate is a camera 40 and the component mounting target, for example, the distance between the corner portion or the substrate mark to change the Z-axis direction position of the camera 40 to so that the Itasu focus to the focal length of the camera 40. That is, the relative position to the substrate is adjusted to the focusing position of the camera 40. By changing the position of the frame 16 in the Z-axis direction along with this position adjustment, the position of each suction head 20 is also changed together with the camera 40, and the height position of the suction head 20 is adjusted. Then, by further operating the air cylinder 25 and lowering the suction head 20 by a predetermined stroke corresponding to the focal length, it is possible to mount components on the board.
[0025]
Further, after mounting the component on the board as described above, when another component is mounted on the component, the suction head 20 is raised, the head unit 5 is returned to the component supply position, After the other parts are sucked by the suction heads 20 and conveyed to the upper part of the substrate, the above process is repeated again with a specific part of the previously mounted part, for example, a corner or an identification mark as a recognition target. . That is, by moving the frame 16 to a position where the camera 40 is focused on the mounted component by the lowering operation of the whole vertical movement servomotor 21, the height position of the suction head 20 is adjusted by this, The suction head 20 may be lowered by the operation of the air cylinder 25. As described above, even if the position of the mounting target in the Z-axis direction changes, recognition by the camera 40 can be easily performed, and work by the suction head 20 can be efficiently performed on the mounting target.
[0026]
4 and 5 show a head unit 5b and a camera mounting portion according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This second embodiment is based on the overall configuration shown in FIG. 1 and allows the camera 40 to independently change the position in the Z-axis direction while sharing most of the configuration of the head unit 5a in the first embodiment. Is. Accordingly, the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0027]
Similarly to the first embodiment, the frame 16 is supported on the head unit 5b so as to be movable up and down by the entire vertical servo motor 21 with respect to the head unit main body 15. The suction heads 20, 20,. It is supported so as to be movable up and down and rotatable. The individual lifting operation of each suction head 20 is not shown, but is performed by the air cylinder 25 (see FIG. 3) as in the first embodiment.
[0028]
A camera 40 as an imaging unit is supported so as to be able to move up and down in the Z-axis direction with respect to the frame 16 and is moved up and down by a rotation operation of a camera servo motor 42 as a position changing unit.
[0029]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a guide portion 43 extending in the vertical direction is fixed to the frame 16, and a ball screw shaft 44 is rotatably held at a fixed position by a bearing member 45. On the other hand, the holding block 46 that holds the camera 40 on the one end 46a side is fitted to the guide portion 43 on the other end 46b side, guided so as to move only in the vertical direction, and is incorporated in the intermediate portion. A nut portion 46 c is screwed onto the ball screw shaft 44.
[0030]
The ball screw shaft 44 is connected to a rotating shaft 42 a of the servo motor 42 through a flexible joint 47. Thus, when the ball screw shaft 44 is rotationally driven around the Z1 axis by the servo motor 42, the camera 40 is moved up and down with respect to the frame 16.
[0031]
The lighting device 41 is connected to the holding block 46 via a bracket 48 so that the lighting device 41 is raised and lowered together with the raising and lowering operation of the camera 40.
[0032]
In the second embodiment having the above-described configuration, the camera 40 is recognized by the operation of the servo motor 42, with the substrate or a specific part of the component after being mounted on the substrate, for example, a part with a corner or an identification mark attached thereto being recognized. The process of changing in the Z-axis direction to the focus position with respect to the object can be performed independently of the up / down operation of the frame 16 or the individual up / down operation of each suction head 20 by the air cylinder 25. Thereby, the position change of the camera 40 to the in-focus position is independently performed regardless of the position of the recognition target in the Z-axis direction and regardless of the operation control of the overall vertical movement servomotor 21 or the air cylinder 25. Can be implemented.
[0033]
The present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above, but includes other various embodiments. That is, in the first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the surface mounting apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to a working apparatus such as a robot arm. .
[0034]
In the above embodiment, the case where the position of the camera 40 is changed to the focusing position and used for various operation controls using the focal distance as a reference has been described. In addition, the identification mark may be used as a recognition target for the purpose of grasping the presence / absence of a component based on the presence / absence of image detection of the identification mark, that is, whether or not the component has been mounted.
[0035]
Furthermore, various actuators can be employed as the advance / retreat means or the position change means, and other types of motors other than servo motors, fluid cylinders other than air cylinders, and the like may be used.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the working device of the present invention, even if the position of the work target itself or the position of the specific part of the work target is variously changed in the uniaxial direction, the position changing unit is accordingly changed. Thus, by changing the relative position of the imaging means, the recognition target can be reliably recognized. As a result, the use of the image pickup means can be expanded and versatile.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of first and second embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a surface mounting apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the head unit according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which a part of FIG. 2 is omitted and a part is cut away;
FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 of a head unit according to a second embodiment.
5 is a partially omitted side view of the camera portion of FIG. 4;
[Explanation of symbols]
15 Head unit body (support)
16 Frame 20 Suction head (working means)
21 Servo motor for overall vertical movement (position change means, advance / retreat means)
25 Air cylinder (advance / retreat means)
40 Camera (imaging means)
42 Servo motor for camera (position change means)

Claims (2)

A working means for detachably holding the component at the tip and moving forward and backward in at least one axial direction to mount the component on the work target, an advancing / retreating means for moving the work means forward and backward, and a specific portion of the work target Imaging means for imaging, position changing means for changing the relative position of the imaging means with respect to the specific part relative to the uniaxial direction, a frame for supporting the working means movably in the uniaxial direction, and the frame in the uniaxial direction A support that supports the position changeable, and the advance / retreat means is configured to move the working means forward and backward in a uniaxial direction with respect to the frame, and the imaging means is fixed to the frame, The change device is configured to move the frame in a uniaxial direction with respect to the support . It said position change means, the working apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is configured to perform focusing of the image pickup means for adjusting to a specific part of the work object position change amount of the imaging means .

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