JPH01247329A - Aligning and storing device for thin strip - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a strip-shaped thin plate to perform its smoothly straightened storage by dropping the continuously conveyed strip-shaped thin plate through a guide path to be straightened in a storage case, moved, stopped and braked by detection of an optical sensor so as to move a conveyer by a fixed length of distance. CONSTITUTION:A strip reed frame 9 of different shape, cut into a predetermined size by an upper mold 1 and a bottom mold 2 of a press machine, is fed transferring to a horizontal shutter 12 through a conveying part 3, sorter guide 4 and in-carry parts 5a, 5b. The reed frame 9 is detected for its arrival by a reed frame detecting sensor 6, after a fixed time, the horizontal shutter 12 is opened. Consequently, the reed frame 9 drops along a storage guide 7, being orderly loaded in a storage case 15 on a conveyer 16 stationary waiting in the bottom of the guide 7. Next the reed frame 9, when its predetermined quantity is loaded by a case 15, is conveyed by the conveyer 16 in a predetermined direction.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning and storing strip-shaped thin plates, and in particular, a device for aligning and storing strip-shaped thin plates such as irregularly shaped lead frames, etc., in a processing process that precisely aligns the strip-shaped thin plates and The present invention relates to a device for arranging and storing strip-shaped thin plates, which can be conveyed without causing any damage.

[Conventional technology]

Lead frames for electronic components are produced by punching a tape-shaped multi-lead frame supplied from a hoop material supply stand into a predetermined shape using a press, etc., and then transporting the cut strip-shaped lead frame to a storage case using a conveyor belt, etc. After that, the lead frames stacked and stored in the case are sent to a degreasing process, and the degreased lead frames are generally supplied to the market as electronic components. Therefore, in the lead frame processing process, a device is used that automatically aligns the cut single lead frames for storage in addition to the process of cutting the multiple lead frames.

6 and 7 show this type of storage and alignment device, 9
is an irregularly shaped strip lead frame cut into irregularly shaped strips,
15 is a storage case, 19 in Figure 6 is a rotating shutter,
Reference numeral 20 in FIG. 7 indicates a horizontal opening type shutter. For example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, when the irregularly shaped short lead frame 9 is transported to the rotary shutter 19 by a conveyor belt (not shown), it rotates about the fulcrum 21 and the shutter is opened. As a result, the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 naturally falls into the storage case 15 and is deposited there. In the configuration of FIG. 7, the shutter exhibits substantially the same function as the shutter of FIG. 7, except that it opens and closes by moving laterally (in the direction indicated by the arrow).

Here, when the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 transported via the transport section is dropped into the storage case 15, it is guided to a storage guide slightly wider than the storage case 15.

The storage guide has an upper shutter and an intermediate shutter that temporarily holds the lead frame 9 that falls during transportation by the transport means, and the lead frame 9 that has been guided to the storage guide falls from the upper shutter and passes through the intermediate shutter. Then, they are arranged and stored in the storage case 15 on the conveyor located below the storage guide. The conveyor is driven by a control motor and conveys the lead frame 9 in a predetermined direction. At this time, if the storage case 15 is placed near the transport conveyor or comes into contact with the Mitsutwitch, the control motor driving the transport conveyor is stopped, and the new storage case 15 is stopped below the storage guide. .

Thereafter, the intermediate shutter is opened to store the storage or one frame 9 in line in the storage case 15. According to this method, the storage case is moved by a fixed distance in a fixed pinch by interlocking the limit switch and the control motor, so that the falling lead frames can be stored in an orderly alignment.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the following problems have been pointed out with the conventional aligning and storing apparatus for strip-shaped thin plates, and improvements have been desired.

(1) Sometimes the strip-shaped lead frame is turned upside down while falling or is stored in an upright state. This causes a decline in product quality and a problem with accommodating subsequent frames, so it is necessary to manually rearrange the frames each time. In particular, when irregularly shaped strip lead frames are arranged and housed, the irregular shapes tend to result in poor balance and inverted or upright positions.

(2) The end faces (commonly known as "ears") of the strip-shaped lead frame are not aligned neatly, so manual realignment work (commonly known as "ears")
It is necessary to perform "ear alignment work").

(3) In order to detect the storage case using the limit switch and stop the control motor based on the detection,
There is a limit to the improvement in positional accuracy, and there are inconveniences such as the strip-shaped lead frame hitting the edge of the storage case and turning over.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a thin strip sheet that can smoothly align and store strip thin plates such as irregularly shaped lead frames, and omit manual operations such as rearranging work and edge alignment work. An object of the present invention is to provide an alignment storage device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for aligning and storing strip-like thin plates, which can move a storage case for aligning and storing strip-shaped thin plates by a fixed distance at a constant pitch and with high precision.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for arranging and storing strip-shaped thin plates in which lead frames loaded thereon do not fall over when the lead frames are moved by a conveyance means.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention allows the continuously conveyed strip-shaped thin plate to fall through a slightly wider guide path, and to When they are aligned in a storage case and moved in a predetermined direction, and an optical sensor installed at a predetermined position on the conveyor detects the storage case,
An object of the present invention is to provide a device for arranging and storing thin strips in which a conveyor is moved a fixed distance with high precision by applying a brake to a drive motor with a brake that is a drive source of a conveyance means.

That is, the apparatus for aligning and storing strip-shaped thin plates of the present invention includes the following means.

(1) Guidance and storage means This is for guiding, for example, lead frames cut by a press machine or the like to a predetermined alignment position, and is constituted by, for example, a four-sided guide box. The four-sided guide box has a passage cross section slightly wider than the lead frame,
It is preferable to have shutters in the upper and middle parts. The aforementioned lead frame is once received by the upper horizontal shutter, and then, when the horizontal shutter is opened, the lead frame is allowed to fall through intermediate shutter means, which will be described later.

(2) Intermediate shunter means Located in the middle of the above-mentioned guide and storage means, the intermediate shunter means is closed when the later-described transport means is transporting lead frames, thereby temporarily accumulating lead frames that fall from the above-mentioned horizontal shutter. When the conveying means, which will be described later, is stopped and the lead frames can be aligned and stored, it is opened and the accumulated lead frames are dropped.

(3) Conveyance means A conveyor made of plastic or the like, with storage cases placed at predetermined intervals,
The lead frames that have fallen from the aforementioned intermediate shutter/seventer means are aligned and stored, and transported to a predetermined position while maintaining the alignment state. For example, an induction motor with a brake is used as a drive source for this conveyance means, and when a stop signal is received from a control means to be described later, the drive of the motor is stopped and the brake is activated. Furthermore, the storage case protects the lead frame from the surroundings so that it does not fall over during transportation.

(4) Optical sensor means This is used to detect the conveyance means, that is, to detect the arrival of the storage case, and is installed at a predetermined position on the conveyor. This optical sensor means is composed of a light projector that emits light and a light receiver that receives the light from the projector.The light projector and the light receiver are installed so as to straddle the conveyor, so that when the storage case arrives, The light emitted from the projector is blocked by the storage case, thereby making it possible to detect the arrival of the storage case. When a storage case is detected, a detection signal is output to a control means to be described later.

(5) Control means When a detection signal detected by the above-mentioned optical sensor means detects passage of the conveying means is input, a control signal is output to the conveying means. This control signal is output to the induction motor with a brake, which is the drive source of the conveyance means, to stop the induction motor from driving and apply the brake. Further, when it is confirmed that the conveyance means has stopped, the intermediate shutter is opened.

[Effect]

In each of the above means, when the lead frames are transferred one by one from the press, they are placed on the horizontal shutter of the four-sided guide box. When the horizontal shutter is opened at a predetermined timing, the lead frame on the horizontal shutter passes through the open intermediate shutter and falls, is loaded into the storage case on the conveyor container, and the conveying means starts driving. . When the loaded storage cases come to the photosensor means provided at a predetermined position, the light output from the light projector to the light receiver is interrupted, and the storage cases are detected. When the storage case is detected, a detection signal is output to the control means, and the control means outputs a control signal to control the induction motor with a brake, which is the drive source of the conveyance means, to stop driving the motor and apply the brake. At this time, a new storage case is positioned below the four-way guide box so that the lead frame falling along the four-side guide box does not hit the storage case (a new storage case is located at a position where it can be stored, and the intermediate shutter is opened). The accumulated lead frames are dropped and stored in alignment.In this way, the positioning accuracy can be significantly improved when moving the storage case by a certain amount with a certain pinch, and the rectangular shape of irregularly shaped lead frames etc. that are falling can be significantly improved. The thin plates can be neatly arranged and stored without hitting the edges of the storage case.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the apparatus for aligning and storing strip-shaped thin plates of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and shows an outline of a press machine and a main body of the apparatus that cooperate with the apparatus of the present invention. 1 and 2
are upper and lower dies of a press machine, which cut a hoop-shaped lead frame (not shown) supplied in the direction of the arrow from a supply stand (not shown) into a predetermined shape and size. 3
Reference numeral 4 denotes a conveyance section that conveys strip-shaped thin plates such as odd-shaped strip lead frames cut by a press machine, and 4 is a guide for sorting the strip-shaped thin plates conveyed by the conveyance section 3 into carrying-in sections 5a and 5b. be. 1 Shipman's parts 5a and 5b guide the strip-shaped thin plate to the storage guide 7 (four-sided guide box), and the horizontal shank-1 provided in the storage guide 7
2 (upper shutter). Loading section 5・a, 5
A lead frame detection sensor 6 is provided above b to detect the arrival of a strip-shaped thin plate, and when a certain period of time (for example, several seconds) has elapsed after detecting the strip-shaped thin plate, the horizontal shutter 12 is opened. The placed strip-shaped thin plate is dropped. Below the storage guide 7, there is a storage case 15 provided on the conveyor container 16, in which the fallen short thin plates are arranged and stored. 17 and I8 are optical sensors that detect the storage case 15, 17 is a position detection sensor floodlight, 18
is a position detection sensor light receiver. In addition, conveyance conhair 1
6 is driven by an induction motor with a brake, and is controlled by a control built in the alignment/storage device 19. ff11
(not shown). This control is based on the detection results of the position detection sensor light emitter 17 and the position detection sensor light receiver 18.

That is, if the light projected from the position detection sensor light emitter 17 is blocked by the storage case 15 and does not reach the light receiving part of the position detection sensor light receiver 18, the control unit stops driving the induction motor with a brake of the conveyor 16. , and activate the brakes.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the carrying-in section 5a, in which 11 is a timing belt for carrying in the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 and carrying it in; 10 is a timing belt for carrying in 11;
Timing pulley for loading that transmits the driving force to, 8 is 11
This is a guide for entry that runs parallel to the manual combing helmet 11. Here, the opening of the loudspeaker guide 8 is set to be slightly wider than the width of the lead frame 9, and the width of the carry-in timing belt 11 is set to be narrower than that of the lead frame 9. Therefore, both left and right ends of the lead frame 9 come into contact with the carrying guide 8. As a result, the position of the lead frame 9 on the heald 11 is automatically regulated and stabilized, and no lateral displacement occurs.

Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the cooperative operation of each part of this device, and the functions of the components indicated by the same symbols as in Figures 1 and 2 are different from those in these figures. Since there is no such thing, the explanation will be omitted. 13 is the horizontal shutter 12
14 is an opening/closing stopper that reciprocates in the direction of the arrow, and when this is closed (dotted line), the conveyor converter 16 stops. , when it is open (solid line) moves in a predetermined direction (upper right direction in the case of FIG. 3). The width of the storage guide 7 is slightly wider than that of the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 (therefore, the position and posture of the lead frame that falls along this is automatically regulated, and the lead frame stands still and waits below it). Conveyor 16
The items are stacked neatly in the upper storage case 15. Further, the storage case 15 is installed on the conveyor container 16 with a predetermined distance between it and other storage cases 15, and a position detection sensor light emitter 17 and a position detection sensor light receiver 18 are installed.
The storage case 15 is detected by the transport conveyor 16.
When the storage case 15 stops, the new storage case 15 is stopped at an appropriate position below the storage guide 7, that is, at an extended position where the irregularly shaped short lead frame 9 falls along the storage guide 7. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lead frame from being reversed due to the fallen irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 hitting the edge of the storage case 15 or the like.

FIG. 4 shows the shape of the horizontal shutter (upper shutter) 12 of the storage guide 7, which has a tapered surface 12a that decreases in the direction of the arrow in which the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 arrives. As a result, the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 is placed on the horizontal shutter 12 and takes a forward-inclined posture under the force of descending the slide.

In the above configuration, the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 cut into predetermined shapes and dimensions by the upper mold 1 and lower mold 2 of the press machine is transported to the conveying section 3, and the sorting is carried out by the guide 4 and the carrying-in section 5a,
5b to the horizontal shutter 12. As mentioned above, the position of the lead frame 9 on the timing belt 11 for carrying in is precisely regulated by the function of the carrying guide 8, so that the rain center of the lead frame 9 and the horizontal shutter 12 (standby in the closed state) is The former is placed on top of the latter with the lines exactly aligned and in the forward tilted position described above. The arrival of the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 is detected by the lead frame detection sensor 6,
After a certain period of time (for example, several seconds), the horizontal shutter 12
will be released. For this reason, the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9
The containers fall along the storage guide 7 and are neatly stacked in the storage case 15 on the conveyor conveyor 16 stationary and waiting below.

Since the initial position and posture of the lead frame 9 at the start of falling are accurately regulated, the lead frame 9 is smoothly inserted into the storage guide 7 (its cross-sectional dimension is slightly larger than the dimension of the lead frame 9). Since the robot enters and falls while being guided by this, it can be aligned with high precision. In particular, by allowing the vehicle to adopt the forward-leaning posture described above, this posture is predominant during descent, thereby suppressing the occurrence of rollovers and the like.

When the storage case 15 has loaded a predetermined number of odd-shaped strip lead frames 9, the storage case I5 is conveyed in a predetermined direction by a conveyor 16 driven by an induction motor with a brake.

A position detection sensor light emitter 17 and a position detection sensor light receiver 18 provided on both sides of the conveyor 16 detect the storage case 15 provided on the conveyor conveyor. When the detected light is blocked by the storage case 15 and the position detection sensor light receiver 18 cannot receive or take the light, it outputs a detection signal to a control section (not shown) disposed within the alignment storage device 19. When the control unit receives the detection signal, it outputs a stop signal to the induction motor with a brake that is driving the conveyor conhair 16, stops driving the induction motor with a brake, and activates the brake to instantly stop the induction motor. make it stop. At this time, a new storage case 15 has arrived below the storage guide 7.
This position is such that when the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 is dropped, the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 falling along the storage guide 7 can be stored in an orderly manner without hitting the edge of the storage case 15. . The accuracy is significantly improved by the interlocking of the optical sensor and the motor with a brake compared to the conventional combination of a limit switch and a control motor. When the motor stops, the stopper 14 moves in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 3) to close the storage case 15 and open the intermediate shutter 13. The irregularly shaped strip lead frames 9 accumulated on the intermediate shutter 13 fall and are neatly arranged and stored in the storage case 15 below the storage guide 7. As shown in FIG. 5, the irregularly shaped strip lead frames 9 thus stored are neatly arranged and stored in the storage case I5 and transported in a predetermined direction without overturning the irregularly shaped strip lead frames 9.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the rectangular thin plate alignment and storage device of the present invention, the continuously conveyed rectangular thin plates are dropped through a guide path slightly wider than the rectangular thin plate, and are placed in the storage case on the conveyor. When the storage cases are aligned and moved in a predetermined direction, and an optical sensor installed at a predetermined position on the conveyor detects the storage case, the induction motor with a brake, which is the drive source of the conveyor, is stopped and the brake is applied. Since the conveyor is moved by a fixed distance by hanging, strip-shaped thin plates, especially irregularly shaped lead frames, can be aligned and stored smoothly. That is, it is possible to omit manual operations such as sorting operations and ear alignment operations. Furthermore, since the strip-shaped thin plates are stored in an aligned manner in the storage case, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped thin plates from becoming out of alignment or falling over during transportation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the carrying-in section of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the horizontal shutter of the storage guide of the present invention, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing irregularly shaped short lead frames arranged and stored in the storage case, FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional arrangement and storage device for strip-shaped thin plates. Explanation of symbols 1−・−・−−−−−Upper mold 2−−−−−−−
- Lower mold 3 ------- Conveying section 4 - - 11 ------- Sorting is done by guides 5 a and 5 b -
-11---- Carrying-in section 6----Lead frame detection sensor 7----1--
-Storage guide 8----Carrying guide 9--1--Irregularly shaped strip lead frame 10-
- Timing pulley for delivery 11 -
---1--... Timing belt for delivery 12...-
・−1−−−−Horizontal shutter 13−・−1−−−・
- Intermediate shutter 14 --- Opening/closing bar 15 --- Storage case 16 --- Conveyor 7

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) The strip-shaped thin plates such as irregularly shaped lead frames that are continuously conveyed are taken in one by one, and the system stands still and waits just below them via a guideway that has a passage cross section slightly wider than the strip-shaped thin plates. A guiding storage means for dropping a predetermined number of sheets onto the conveying means and arranging them in line, and a guiding storing means located at an intermediate portion between the guiding storing means and temporarily holding the falling strip-shaped thin plates while the conveying means is moving. an intermediate shutter means for detecting the arrival of the conveyance means loaded with the strip-shaped thin plate; and a control means for controlling a drive motor with a brake that is a drive source of the conveyance means; When the arrival of the transport means is detected by the sensor means, the control means stops driving the drive motor with a brake that drives the transport means, operates the brake, and temporarily opens the intermediate shutter. A device for arranging and storing strip-shaped thin plates, characterized in that the strip-shaped thin plates that have been held are dropped. (2) The apparatus for arranging and storing strip-shaped thin plates according to claim 1, wherein the conveying means includes a storage case that prevents the stacked strip-shaped thin plates from falling over.