JPH03141698A - Board conveying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use even if a clearance between a board and a chassis is small by inserting the end of a board lock to the hole of the board to hold the board, moving it vertically and laterally, and engaging it. CONSTITUTION:A board holder 1 has a conveying chuck 10 and a chucking shaft 11, engages the end of the shaft 11 by a board lock 14, and moves it in both horizontal and vertical directions by a moving unit 2 made of a vertically moving rod 21 and a driver 20 to the end of a horizontally moving arm 22. Both ends of the chuck 10 are rotatably mounted with the round rodlike shaft 11, and a board locking pawl 15 is formed at the connector 14 inserted into the locking hole 70 formed at the board W at the end of the shaft 11. A pawl through part 71 is formed in a key hole shape, and engaged with the board W from its lower side by the pawl 15. The shaft 11 is rotated by a command from a lock controller to engage or disengage the board W.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial application field> The present invention relates to a substrate transport device.

<Conventional technology> At present, machines and robots are being introduced in most of the manufacturing processes at assembly plants, and work automation is progressing. Furthermore, this automation is not limited to assembly work only; many transport machines for transporting parts and the like are also automated. When mounting a printed circuit board on a chassis on such an automatic assembly line, there are two methods of transporting the printed circuit board: an electromagnetic suction method in which an electromagnet is used to suck and transfer the board, and a suction cup is used to transport the board. A vacuum suction method that sucks and transports the board, a chuck method that forms a part of a specially shaped locking part on the substrate surface and holds this locking part with a chuck and transports it, and a chuck method that supports the outer part of the board with a support rail. <Problem to be solved by the invention> However, the electromagnetic adsorption method is naturally limited to those in which the substrate is magnetized, and even in those in which the substrate is magnetized, it cannot be used in tape recorders. It cannot be used if components that dislike magnetic force are attached, such as a head. Furthermore, if a power outage or the like occurs during transportation and the apparatus is stopped, there are safety problems such as the board being transported falling. The vacuum suction method requires a smooth flat surface for suctioning the suction cup to the substrate, and the flat surface must be enlarged in order to transport heavy objects, resulting in a large dead space. Furthermore, as with the electromagnetic adsorption method, there is a risk that the substrate will fall if the suction cup becomes detached due to, for example, a stoppage of the device during transportation. Further, in the case of the chucking method, there is a drawback that a locking portion of a special shape must be formed for chucking the substrate. Furthermore, the external support type 1 requires a dead space for support to be provided in the external part of the board, and has the disadvantage that it cannot be used when the clearance between the board and the chassis is small.

As described above, in the conventional configuration, there are restrictions on the substrates to be transported and there is a great risk of damage.

Means for Solving the Problems> The substrate transfer device of the present invention was developed to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and it has a substrate locking portion at the tip that is inserted into the hole. A substrate holding means, a first moving means for vertically moving the substrate holding means, a second moving means for moving the substrate holding means in a lateral direction, and a positional relationship between the substrate holding means tip and the substrate. A board detecting means for detecting the board, and a member for causing the board locking portion to take a locked state based on the output from the board detecting means! The invention is characterized by comprising: In addition to the substrate holding means, the moving means, the second moving means, and the substrate detecting means, the second invention also provides a method for moving the first moving means and the second moving means between predetermined coordinates. a movement control means for outputting a movement command; and a movement control means for causing the board locking part to take a locked state based on the output of the board detection means, and a movement control means for causing the board locking part to take a locked state based on an output when a predetermined coordinate is reached. It is characterized in that it is provided with a locking control means for causing the operation.

<Operation> In the first invention, the first moving means and the second moving means move the substrate holding means to a predetermined position.

When the board detecting means confirms that the board is in a predetermined position, the board locking part provided at the tip of the board holding means is inserted into the hole of the board, and the locking means is actuated to lock the board. The stop part assumes a locked state.

Further, in the second invention, the substrate holding means is moved to a predetermined position by the first moving means and the second moving means controlled by the movement control means. When the locking control means confirms that the substrate is at a predetermined position by the substrate detection means, it outputs an output to the transfer 1 control means to insert the substrate locking portion at the tip of the substrate holding means into the hole of the substrate. Then, the locking means is further actuated to cause the board locking portion to assume the board locking IF state. Thereafter, when the movement control means confirms that the substrate is held, it controls the first and second movement means to transport the substrate to a predetermined position. When the locking control means confirms this, it releases the locked state by the locking means.

<Example> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

This substrate transport device includes a substrate holding device 1 having a substrate locking portion 14, and a moving device 2 for driving this substrate holding device 1. A rotary actuator further includes a fiber sensor 4 that detects the positional relationship between the substrate W and the substrate holding device 1, and further causes the substrate locking portion 4 to take a locked state based on the output of the fiber sensor 4;
3. The moving device 2 is configured to be controlled by a movement control device 5, and the rotary actuator 3 is controlled by a locking control device 6.

The detection value of the fiber sensor 4 is configured to be input to the locking control device 6. The locking control device 6 also controls a pen cylinder 9, which will be described later. The movement control device 5 is equipped with a coordinate memory 8 and is configured to receive signals from the pallet motion detector 7.

The substrate holding device 1 includes a transport chuck 1 as shown in FIG.
0 and a chucking shaft 11, the tip of the chucking shaft 11 is connected to the substrate locking portion 1 described above.
It has become 4. The moving device 2 is a robot in this embodiment, and serves as both a horizontal and vertical moving device.

The transport chuck 10 of the substrate holding device 1 is a rectangular plate-shaped body, and is mechanically coupled to the moving device 2 at its center. The moving device 2 includes a horizontal moving arm 22 configured to be movable in the horizontal direction;
It is composed of a vertically moving rod 21 that is mounted on the tip of the vertically movable rod 21 and a moving part 20 that drives these rods. The movement device 2 is connected to a movement control device 5 as shown in FIG. 1, and is configured to move the vertical movement rod 21 and the horizontal movement arm 22 in the horizontal and vertical directions based on commands from the movement control device 5. It is composed of

The substrate holding device 1 is connected to the vertically moving rod 21 via a transport chuck 10, and is configured to move horizontally and vertically as the moving device 2 moves.

Round bar-shaped chucking shafts 11 are rotatably mounted on both ends of the transporting chuck 10, and rotary actuators 3 for rotating the chucking shafts 11 are mounted on the upper surface of the transporting chuck 10, respectively. It is provided. The tip of the chucking shaft 11 is connected to the substrate W.
The board locking portion 14 is inserted into a locking hole 70 formed in the board locking portion 14, and a board locking claw 15 is formed here.

In this embodiment, the locking hole 70 is a hole with a diameter of 8 mm through which a fixing column for fixing the mechanism is passed, and a pawl passage portion 71 is newly formed therein to form a keyhole shape. . By lowering the chucking shaft 11, passing the substrate locking pawl 15 through the pawl passage portion 71, and rotating the chucking shaft 11, the substrate W is locked from below by the substrate locking pawl 15. It is configured to do this.

The rotary actuator 3 that rotationally drives the chucking shaft 11 is connected to a locking control device 6 as shown in FIG.
The chucking shaft 11 is rotated in response to a command from the locking control device 6 to lock or unlock the substrate W as described above.

The fiber sensors 4 are mounted on the transport chuck 10 of the substrate holding device 1, and a total of two fiber sensors 4 are provided, one at each diagonal position with the vertically moving rod 21 at the center. The fiber sensor 4 consists of a main body 40 attached to the transport chuck 10 and a rod-shaped fiber detector 41 extending vertically downward from the main body 40. The height of the lower end of the fiber detector 41 is higher than the lower end of the chucking shaft 11.

The fiber sensor 4 emits light downward from the lower end of the fiber detector 41, detects the presence or absence of the substrate W near the tip of the fiber detector 41 by receiving the reflected light, and controls the locking control device 6. It is configured to output to . The fiber detector 41 is configured to detect the absence of the substrate W below the fiber detector 41, and also to detect when the substrate W is a predetermined distance ahead of the fiber detector 41.

The pen cylinder 9 is for assisting the substrate holding device 1 in holding the substrate, and like the fiber sensor 4, it is mounted on the transport chuck 10, and is positioned diagonally around the vertically moving rod 21. There are two in total, one each. The pen cylinder 9 is composed of a cylinder 90 and a suppressing part 91 that moves forward and backward when the cylinder 90 does not move, and is attached vertically downward from the conveyance chuck 10.

The pressing portion 91 pushes the substrate W downward.

By reliably engaging the substrate W with the aforementioned substrate locking claws 5, the substrate holding device can be held securely. Furthermore, when the substrate locking claw 15 releases the lock, the substrate W is pushed by the pressing portion 9 to cause the substrate W to be mounted on the chassis or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, this pen cylinder 9 is configured to be controlled together with the rotary actuator 3 by a locking control device 6.

The movement control device 5 and locking control device 6 that control the substrate holding device 1, the movement device 2, the rotary actuator 3, and the pen cylinder 9 described above are constituted by an electric circuit mainly composed of a single microcoscipulator. They send and receive signals to each other.

The movement control device 5 is configured to receive a detection signal from a pallet movement detector 7 that detects the movement of a pallet carrying a substrate W, which is an object to be transported, on an assembly line.

Furthermore, the movement control device 5 has a coordinate memory 8, which stores the position and movement route of the substrate holding device 1, the position where the substrate W is placed, and the like. The contents stored in the coordinate memory 8 are outputted to the movement control device 5 as appropriate, and are sequentially rewritten based on input from the movement control device 5.

The movement control device 5 confirms that the pallet is in a predetermined state based on the pallet detection signal from the pallet movement detector 7, and controls the movement device 2 to operate the vertical movement rod 21 and the horizontal movement arm 22. Then, the chucking shaft 11 is moved to a predetermined position according to the movement path preset in the coordinate memory 8, and the substrate latching portion 14 of the chucking shaft 11 is moved to a predetermined position based on the signal from the latching control device 6. It is configured to be inserted into the locking hole 70 of W. Further, when it is confirmed by human power from the locking control device 6 that the substrate W is held in a predetermined state by the substrate holding device d1, the moving device 2 is moved up and down based on the coordinate data stored in the coordinate memory 8. Directional movement rod 21
After operating the horizontal movement arm 22 and moving the substrate holding device 1 to a predetermined position, the chucking shaft 1] is pulled out from the locking hole 70.

On the other hand, the locking control device 6 uses human power from the fiber sensor 4 to confirm whether the board 41 is present at a predetermined position, and receives input from the FTF 5 made by the mobile control department to determine if the board is held 'i!'. !
When it is confirmed that the i-position 1 has reached a predetermined position, the rotary actuator 3 is controlled to rotate the chucking shaft 11 of the substrate holding device 1, thereby locking or releasing the locking of the substrate W by the substrate locking claw 15. have them do it. At the same time, the pen cylinder 9 is operated to assist in holding and releasing the holding of the substrate W. A locking control device (3) uses human power from the fiber sensor 4 to continuously confirm that the substrate W is being held even while the substrate W is being transported, and also to confirm that the holding has been released when the holding is released. It is configured to do this.

Next, the operation will be explained with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and 6.

After the system starts (step 50), the movement control device 5
When confirming that the pallet is in a stopped state based on the input from the pallet movement detector 7 of the pallet on which the chassis is placed (step 5]-), it controls the moving device 2 and moves the lot 21 vertically and horizontally. The arm 22 is operated to move the chucking shaft 11 to the position of the substrate supply device according to the movement path preset in the coordinate memory 8 (step 52). In this position, when the locking control device 6 detects the substrate W using the fiber sensor 4 (step 53), it sends a signal to the movement control device 5 to insert the chucking shaft 11 into the locking hole 70 of the substrate W (step 54). ). At this time, in order to allow the chucking shaft 11 to pass through the locking hole 70, as shown in FIG. put. When the chucking shaft 11 is inserted into the locking hole 70, the locking control device 6 controls the rotary actuator 3 to rotate the chucking shaft 81 and lock the board locking claw 1-.
5 and the pawl passing portion 71 to prevent the chucking shaft 11 from coming out of the locking hole 70 (step 56). As a result, the substrate W is supported from below by the substrate locking pawl 15. Can be locked. At the same time, the locking control device 6 operates the pen cylinder 9 to press the substrate W from above as shown in FIG.
is sandwiched from above and below between the suppressing portion 91 and the board locking claw 15 (step 57). This ensures that the substrate W is held securely. On the other hand, if the substrate cannot be detected in step 53, the process proceeds to step 55 and predetermined processing is performed.

When the movement control device 5 confirms that the substrate W is held by the signal from the locking control device 6 (step 58), it operates the movement device 2 and transports the substrate W to a predetermined position (step 58).
Step 59). Conversely, if holding the substrate is not confirmed, the process proceeds to step 60 and predetermined processing is performed. Even during the transportation in step 59, the locking control device 6 uses the fiber sensor 4 to confirm that the substrate W is being held (step 61).

At this time, if it is confirmed that an abnormality has occurred in the holding state of the substrate, the process proceeds to step 62 and predetermined processing is performed. When the locking control device 6 confirms that the substrate has been transported to a predetermined position based on the signal from the movement control device 5, it rotates the chucking shaft 11 to allow the substrate locking claws 15 to pass through the claw passing portion 71. (Step 63). Next, move! 1j A signal is sent to the control device 5 to pull out the chucking shaft 11 from the locking hole 70 and release the substrate holding state. When the chucking shaft 11 is pulled out, the locking control device 6 locks the pen cylinder 9 as shown in FIG.
Further extend the cylinder 90 of the chucking shaft 1.
The substrate W is continued to be held down until the tip of the substrate 1 is completely pulled out from the locking hole 70 (step 64). That is, by continuing to press the substrate W from above with the pen cylinder 9, the substrate W is
It is possible to accurately mount it in a predetermined position. Then, when the locking control device 6 confirms that the substrate W has been released based on the signal from the fiber sensor 4 (step 65
), then the chucking shaft 11 is moved by the movement control device f
It is returned to the predetermined position at the start of work by the control of f5 (step 66). Conversely, if the substrate is not released in step 65, the process proceeds to step 67 and predetermined processing is performed.

In addition to the above-mentioned substrate locking claws 15, the substrate locking portion 14 of the substrate holding device 1 may have a structure as shown in FIG. 7.

This board locking portion 14' includes an outer shaft 81, a piston 82, an inner shaft 83, and an elastic portion 84.

The outer shaft 81 is a hollow pipe with an open bottom end.

A vertically movable piston 82 is provided inside this outer shaft 81. An elastic part 84 is provided on the lower side of the piston 82 and expands outward as the piston 82 descends. It is configured to be locked by 85. In this configuration, when the piston 82 moves up and down, the elastic part 84 is caught between the piston 82 and the locking part 85, and due to its elasticity, the elastic part 84 itself protrudes outside the outer periphery of the outer shaft 81. That is, in the board locking portion 14', the outer shaft 8
The elastic portion 84 protruding from the outer periphery of the substrate 1 serves as a board locking portion.

When the circuit board locking part 14' is configured, unlike the configuration shown in FIG. There are advantages that cannot be compromised at all.

In the embodiment described above, the substrate W can be reliably held and transported by simply providing the locking hole 70 and the claw passage portion 71, regardless of the material and external shape of the substrate, and without requiring dead space on the substrate. Can be done.

Further, even in the event of a power outage, the substrate W does not fall off, so it is safe. Further, as the locking hole 70, it is also possible to use an existing fixing post hole or the like.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, the substrate conveying device of the present invention includes a substrate holding means having a substrate engaging part at the distal end that is inserted into a hole provided in the substrate, and a substrate holding means that moves the substrate holding means one step downward. a first moving means, a second moving means for laterally moving the substrate holding means, a substrate detecting means for detecting the positional relationship between the tip of the substrate holding means and the substrate, and an output from the substrate detecting means. A locking means for causing the substrate locking portion to assume a locked state based on the above is provided, and the substrate can be reliably transported without requiring a dead space or a holding member on the substrate. In addition, it can be used even when the clearance between the board and the chassis is small, and it also has the effect of ensuring safety even when the equipment is stopped due to a power outage, etc. In the invention, in addition to the above-described substrate holding section, first moving means, second moving means, and substrate detecting means, a movement command between predetermined coordinates is output to the first moving means and the second moving means. and a movement control means for causing the board locking part to take a locked state based on the output of the board detection means, and causing the board locking part to take a release action based on the output when the movement control means reaches a predetermined coordinate. Since the number of locking control means is small, automatic conveyance of the substrate becomes possible in addition to the effect of the first invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing its mechanical configuration, Figs. 3 to 5 are operation explanatory diagrams, Fig. 6 is a flow chart, and Fig. The figure is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment. Substrate holding device, 2: Movement device, z3: Rotary actuator, 4: Fiber sensor, 5: Movement control bag 1
tt, 6: Locking control device, 7: Pallet movement detector, 8
: Coordinate memory device, 9: Pen cylinder, 10: iFi feeding chuck, 1-coin chucking shaft, 14: Board locking part, 15: J plate locking claw, 20: Calling part, 21: Vertical direction Moving rond, 22: Horizontal movement arm 11.40: Main body, 41: Fa, fiber detector, 70: Locking hole, 71: Claw passage part, 81: Outer shaft, 82: Piston, 83: Inner shaft, 8
42 elastic part, 85: locking part, 90 cylinder, 91: suppressing part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A substrate holding means that is inserted into a hole provided in the substrate and has a substrate locking portion at its tip, a first moving means that moves the substrate holding means up and down, and the substrate holding means a second moving means for laterally moving the substrate; a substrate detecting means for detecting the positional relationship between the tip of the substrate holding means and the substrate; and a locked state in the substrate locking portion based on an output from the substrate detecting means. 1. A substrate transfer device, comprising: a locking means for causing the movement to take place; 2) a substrate holding means that is inserted into a hole provided in the substrate and has a substrate locking portion at its tip; a first moving means that moves the substrate holding means up and down; and a first moving means that moves the substrate holding means in a lateral direction. a second moving means; a substrate detecting means for detecting the positional relationship between the tip of the substrate holding means and the substrate; and a movement control means for outputting a movement command between predetermined coordinates to the first moving means and the second moving means. and locking control means for causing the board locking part to take a locked state based on the output of the board detecting means, and causing the board locking part to perform a release operation based on the output when the movement control means reaches a predetermined coordinate. A substrate transfer device comprising: .