JPH0512250B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] 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. 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 tape-shaped multiple lead frames supplied from a hoop material supply stand into a predetermined shape using a press machine, etc.
The cut strip-shaped lead frames are transferred to a storage case using a conveyor belt, etc., and then the lead frames stacked and stored in the case are sent to a degreasing process, and the degreased lead frames are supplied to the market as electronic components. is common. 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 alignment device, 9 is an irregularly shaped strip lead frame cut into irregular strips, 15 is a storage case, and 19 in FIG.
20 shows a rotary shutter, and 20 in FIG. 7 shows a side-opening shutter. For example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, when the irregularly shaped strip 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 is dropped 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, when the storage case 15 contacts a limit switch provided near the transport conveyor, the control motor driving the transport conveyor is stopped, and the new storage case 15 comes to stop below the storage guide. Thereafter, the intermediate shutter is opened and the accumulated lead frames 9 are arranged and stored in the storage case 15. According to this method, since the storage case is moved by a fixed distance at a fixed pitch by interlocking the limit switch and the control motor, the falling lead frames can be neatly aligned and stored.

[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 position. This causes a decline in product quality and impedes storage of subsequent frames, so it is necessary to rearrange them manually 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 lead frames are not aligned neatly, so it is necessary to manually realign them (commonly known as "ear alignment work").

(3) Since the storage case is detected by a limit switch and the control motor is stopped based on the detection, there is a limit to the improvement of position accuracy, and the strip lead frame may hit the edge of the storage case and turn over. There are some inconveniences.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a strip-shaped thin plate, in particular:
To provide a device for arranging and storing thin strips, which can smoothly align and store strips of thin strips such as irregularly shaped lead frames and omit labor-requiring operations such as rearranging work and edge alignment work.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement and storage device for strip-shaped thin plates that can move a storage case for aligning and storing strip-shaped thin plates at a constant pitch with high accuracy.

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 problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention causes strip-shaped thin plates that are continuously conveyed to fall through a guideway slightly wider than the guideway, and aligns them in a conveyor-like storage case to a predetermined position. When the optical sensor installed at a predetermined position on the conveyor detects the storage case, the conveyor is sized with high precision by applying a brake to the drive motor with a brake that is the drive source of the conveyor. A device for aligning and storing rectangular thin plates that can be moved is provided.

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

(1) Guiding and storing means This means guides, for example, lead frames cut by a press or the like to a predetermined alignment position, and is constituted by, for example, a four-way guide box. Preferably, the four-way guide box has a passage cross section slightly wider than the lead frame and has shutters at the top and middle. The aforementioned lead frame is once received by the upper horizontal shutter, and then, when the horizontal shutter is opened, it is dropped passing through intermediate shutter means, which will be described later.

(2) Intermediate shutter means Located in the middle of the above-mentioned guide storage means, this intermediate shutter 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 It consists of storage cases installed at predetermined intervals on a conveyor made of plastic or the like, and the lead frames that have fallen from the intermediate shutter means mentioned above are arranged and stored.
Convey while maintaining alignment at a predetermined position. For example, an induction motor with a brake is used as a drive source for this conveyance means, and upon receiving a stop signal from a control means 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 transport means, that is, to detect the arrival of the storage case, and is installed at a predetermined position on the transport conveyor. This optical sensor means is composed of a light emitter that emits light and a light receiver that receives light from the light emitter.By installing the light emitter and the light receiver so as to straddle the conveyor, it is possible to detect 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 the above-mentioned optical sensor means inputs a detection signal that detects passage of the transport means, it outputs a control signal to the transport 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 and apply the brake. Further, when it is confirmed that the conveyance means has stopped, the intermediate shutter is opened.

[Operation] In each of the above means, when lead frames are transferred one by one from the press, they are placed on the horizontal shutter of the four-way 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, and the conveyor 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, below the four-way guide box,
A new storage case is located at a position where the lead frames falling along the four-way guide box can be stored without hitting the storage case, and by opening an intermediate shutter, 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 at a fixed pitch, and the rectangular thin plates such as irregularly shaped lead frames that fall can be neatly handled without hitting the edges of the storage case. Can be stored in a row.

〔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. Reference numerals 1 and 2 denote upper and lower dies of a press machine, which cut a hoop-shaped lead frame (not shown) supplied from a supply stand (not shown) in the direction of the arrow into a predetermined shape and size. Reference numeral 3 denotes a conveyance section that conveys a strip-shaped thin plate such as a lead frame for irregularly short length cut by a press machine, and 4 conveys the strip-shaped thin plate conveyed by the conveyance section 3 to a carry-in section 5.
This is a sorting guide for sorting into a and 5b. The loading sections 5a and 5b guide the strip-shaped thin plates to the storage guide 7 (four-way guide box), and the horizontal shutter 12 (upper shutter) provided on the storage guide 7.
Place it on top. A lead frame detection sensor 6 that detects the arrival of a strip-shaped thin plate is provided above the carrying-in portions 5a and 5b, and when a certain period of time (for example, several seconds) elapses after detecting the strip-shaped thin plate, the horizontal shutter 12 is opened to allow the placed strip-shaped thin plate to fall. There is a storage case 15 provided on a conveyor 16 below the storage guide 7, and the fallen thin strips are arranged and stored therein. 17 and 1
8 is an optical sensor that detects the storage case 15;
7 is a position detection sensor light emitter, and 18 is a position detection sensor light receiver. Further, the conveyor 16 is driven by an induction motor with a brake, and is controlled by a control unit (not shown) built in the alignment and storage device 19. 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,
The light emitted from the position detection sensor light emitter 17 is blocked by the storage case 15 and is transmitted to the position detection sensor light receiver 18.
If the light does not reach the light receiving section, the control section stops driving the induction motor with a brake of the conveyor 16 and activates the brake.

FIG. 2 is a 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, and 10 is a timing belt for carrying in to transmit the driving force to the timing belt 11 for carrying in. The timing pulley 8 is a guide for carrying in that runs in parallel with and opposes the timing belt 11 for carrying in. Here, the interval between the carry-in guides 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 belt 11 is automatically regulated and stabilized, and no lateral displacement occurs.

FIG. 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 FIGS. 1 and 2 are as follows.
Since this is the same as in these figures, the explanation will be omitted. 13 is an intermediate shutter that temporarily holds the odd-shaped strip lead frame 9 that has fallen when the horizontal shutter 12 is opened, as required; 14 is an opening/closing stopper that reciprocates in the direction of the arrow; when this is closed (dotted line); The conveyor 16 stops, and when it is open (solid line) it moves in a predetermined direction (in the case of FIG. 3, to the upper right). The width of the storage guide 7 is slightly wider than that of the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9, so 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. They are stacked neatly in the storage case 15 on the conveyor 16. Further, the storage case 15 is installed on the conveyor 16 with a predetermined distance between it and other storage cases 15, and the storage case 15 is is detected and the conveyor 16 stops, the new storage case 15 stops at an appropriate position below the storage guide 7, that is, at an extended position where the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 falls along the storage guide 7. It's becoming like that. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lead frame from being reversed due to the dropped 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 receives a force that causes it to move down the slide in the horizontal shutter 12, and assumes a forward leaning posture.

In the above configuration, the irregularly shaped upper strip lead frame 9 cut into a predetermined shape and size by the upper die 1 and lower die 2 of the press machine is transferred to the horizontal shutter 12 via the conveyance section 3, the sorting guide 4, and the carry-in sections 5a and 5b. be transported up to. As mentioned above, due to the function of the loading guide 8, the loading timing belt 1
The position of the lead frame 9 on the shutter 1 is precisely regulated, so that the center lines of the lead frame 9 and the horizontal shutter 12 (standby in the closed state) are exactly aligned, and the forward tilted position described above is maintained. The former is placed above the latter. The arrival of the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 is detected by the lead frame detection sensor 6, and the horizontal shutter 12 is opened after a certain period of time (for example, several seconds) has elapsed.
Therefore, the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 falls along the storage guide 7, and the storage case 15 on the transport conveyor 16, which stands still and waits below the lead frame 9, falls along the storage guide 7.
They are stacked neatly inside.

Since the initial position and posture of the lead frame 9 when it starts falling is precisely regulated, the lead frame 9 smoothly enters the storage guide 7 (its cross-sectional dimension is slightly larger than the dimension of the lead frame 9). Since the objects fall while being guided by this, it is possible to align them 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 is loaded with a predetermined number of odd-shaped strip lead frames 9, the storage case 15 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. The light is blocked by the storage case 15 and the position detection sensor light receiver 1
8 cannot take the light, a control unit (not shown) arranged in the storage device 19 aligns the detection signal.
Output to. When the control unit receives the detection signal, it outputs a stop signal to the induction motor with a brake that drives the conveyor 16, stops driving the induction motor with a brake, and activates the brake to stop the induction motor. Stop it instantly. At this time, a new storage case 15 is located below the storage guide 7, and at this position, when the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 is dropped, the irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 that falls along the storage guide 7 is stored. It is in a position where it can be stored neatly without hitting the edge of the case 15.
Its accuracy is significantly improved by the interlocking of the optical sensor and motor with brake compared to the conventional combination of limit switch and control motor. When the motor stops, the stopper 14 moves in the direction of the arrow (Figure 3).
By moving to , the storage case 15 is closed and the intermediate shutter 13 is opened. The irregularly shaped strip lead frame 9 accumulated in the intermediate shutter 13 falls and is placed in the storage case 1 below the storage guide 7.
5. Store them in an orderly manner. As shown in FIG. 5, the irregularly shaped strip lead frames 9 stored in this manner are neatly arranged and stored in the storage case 15, and are 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 activated. Since the transport conveyor is moved by a fixed distance by applying the belt, it is possible to smoothly align and store strip-shaped thin plates, especially irregularly shaped lead frames. That is, it is possible to omit manual operations such as rearranging operations and ear alignment operations. Also,
Since the strip-shaped thin plates are arranged and stored in the storage case, it is possible to prevent the strip-shaped thin plates from becoming unaligned or falling over during transportation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a sectional view showing the configuration of the carry-in section of the present invention, Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the cooperative operation of the carry-in conveyor, storage guide, and conveyor of the present invention, and Figure 4 is the storage guide of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing irregularly shaped strip lead frames arranged and stored in a storage case. FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams showing a conventional arrangement and storage device for strip-shaped thin plates. . Explanation of symbols, 1...upper mold, 2...lower mold, 3...
Conveyance section, 4... Sorting guide, 5a, 5b... Loading section, 6... Lead frame detection sensor, 7...
Storage guide, 8... Carrying guide, 9... Irregularly shaped strip lead frame, 10... Timing pulley for carrying, 11... Timing belt for carrying, 12
...Horizontal shutter, 13...Intermediate shutter,
14...Opening/closing stopper, 15...Storage case,
16...Conveyor conveyor, 17...Position detection sensor emitter, 18...Position detection sensor light receiver, 19...
…Align storage device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A system that takes in strip-shaped thin plates such as irregularly shaped lead frames that are continuously conveyed one by one, and stops them immediately below them via a guide path that has a passage cross section slightly wider than the strip-shaped thin plates. a guiding storage means for dropping and arranging a predetermined number of sheets on a waiting conveying means; and a guiding storing means located at an intermediate part of the guiding storing means, for picking up the falling thin strips while the conveying means is moving. intermediate shutter means for temporarily holding the strips; optical sensor means for detecting the arrival of the conveyance means loaded with the strip-shaped thin plates; and control means for controlling a drive motor with a brake that is a drive source of the conveyance means. Preparation: When the optical sensor means detects the arrival of the conveying means, the control means stops driving the drive motor with a brake that drives the conveying means, and activates the brake; A device for arranging and storing strip-shaped thin plates, characterized in that the shutter is opened to drop the temporarily held strip-shaped thin plates. 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.