JPH0550221A - Solder suction robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer the solder suction robot which can eliminate automatically solder for closing a prepared hole in a prescribed position of a printed board to which a soldering is finished once. CONSTITUTION:A solder melting unit 4 having a soldering iron 44 for stretching upward in the lower part, of a desired printed board is attached to a moving part 2a of a positioning means, and constituted so that the soldering iron 44 moves to an arbitrary position on a plane. Also, said soldering iron 44 is constituted so as to be freely ascendable and descendable, and moreover, provided with an air suction part 5 for sucking air in the periphery of the tip of this soldering iron 44. In such a way, a work for eliminating solder for closing up a prepared hole of the printed board can be automatized, and even if there are prepared holes of a connector, electronic parts, etc., installed in the next, process, it becomes unnecessary to install and draw out a through-hole pin and to stick and eliminate a masking tape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a solder suction robot capable of removing an extra solder that blocks a prepared hole for mounting an electronic component formed on a printed circuit board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, when mounting electronic components built into electronic equipment products on a printed circuit board, necessary electronic components are mounted on the printed circuit board and then the lower surface of the printed circuit board is immersed in a solder bath. The soldering work is being automated by soldering the electronic components mounted on the printed circuit board.

[0003]

In this type of soldering work, electronic parts having terminal pins that are mounted and firmly held on the printed circuit board will not interfere, but they will be mounted and firmly held on the printed circuit board. When soldering electronic components that do not have terminal pins, electronic components vulnerable to high temperatures, or connector terminals to the printed circuit board, these components are soldered and mounted on the printed circuit board after soldering is completed. ing. Therefore, before immersing the printed circuit board in the solder bath, insert the through-hole pin into the prepared hole at the predetermined position of the printed circuit board or attach the masking tape, and then solder this to the rear through-hole pin. The masking tape must be removed or the masking tape must be removed. Since these operations are performed manually, there are drawbacks such as an increase in cost. Alternatively, there is also a method of applying a special resin that does not adhere to solder to the printed circuit board, but this has a drawback that the application device is extremely expensive.

The present invention is intended to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and provides a solder suction robot capable of automatically removing solder that closes a prepared hole at a predetermined position of a printed circuit board that has been soldered. To do.

[0005]

A positioning means having a moving part positioned at an arbitrary work position on a plane, an elevating means attached to the moving part, and a soldering iron ascending and descending by the elevating means are provided. It is composed of a solder melting unit having a heater section for heating the above, an air suction section for sucking air around the tip of the soldering iron, and a work holding means for disposing the printed circuit board above the solder melting unit.

A suction hole extending over the entire length of the soldering iron of the solder melting unit is provided, and a through hole formed in the unit body of the solder melting unit so as to communicate with the suction hole over the entire length thereof. The air suction portion is composed of an air injection hole that intersects downwardly at an acute angle and an air supply source that supplies air to this air injection hole, and is configured to discharge the solder to the outside at the same time when the air is discharged. May be.

[0007]

In this solder suction robot, the printed board having the electronic components soldered in the solder bath is placed on the work holder with its lower surface facing downward. When the positioning means is operated in this state, the moving portion moves on the plane in the predetermined direction for the predetermined distance, and the soldering iron of the solder melting unit reaches below the previously stored working position. When the positioning of the soldering iron is completed, the elevating means operates to raise the soldering iron of the solder melting unit until it comes into contact with the printed circuit board. At this time, since the soldering iron is kept at a high temperature by the heater portion, the tip of the soldering iron comes into contact with the solder that closes the pilot hole of the printed board, and the solder in the pilot hole is melted. Moreover, during the melting, the air suction portion operates to suck the air around the tip of the soldering iron, so that the molten solder adhering to the printed circuit board can be reliably removed.

Further, in the case where the soldering iron is provided with a suction hole, when air is jetted downward from the air jet hole communicating with the through hole of the unit body, the air in the through hole is simultaneously sucked, Air around the tip of the soldering iron is sucked. Therefore, at the same time that the air is discharged downward from the through hole, the molten solder near the tip of the soldering iron can be sucked and the molten solder can be discharged to the outside together with the air.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a solder suction robot, which is a moving unit 2 positioned at an arbitrary work position on a plane.
a solder melting unit including a positioning unit 2 having a, a lifting unit 3 attached to the moving unit 2a, and a heater unit (not shown) for heating the soldering iron 44 that moves up and down by the lifting unit 3. 4, an air suction portion 5 for sucking air around the tip of the soldering iron 44, and a work holding means 7 for disposing a desired printed circuit board 6 above the solder melting unit 4. The positioning means 2
Has a base 21 composed of two upright side plates 21a and a plurality of beam portions 21b which connect the side plates 21a to each other in parallel at a lower portion thereof at a predetermined interval, and one of the beam portions 21b which connects the upper portion thereof. An X-axis moving table 22 is fixed to the two lower surfaces and extends horizontally along the lower surface. A Y-axis moving table 23a of a Y-axis moving table 23 extending in a direction orthogonal to the X-axis moving table 22a of the X-axis moving table 22 is fixed to the X-axis moving table 22a. No.), the Y-axis moving table 23
It is configured to form a moving portion 2a which moves in two directions along the X axis and the Y axis which are orthogonal to each other on a plane. These motors are controlled by a control unit (not shown) of the solder suction robot 1, and when the positions of the prepared holes on the desired printed circuit board 6 which are stored in advance are sequentially called, the current positions of the respective motors are changed to this. The respective motors are driven so as to coincide with each other, and the tip of the soldering iron 44 is sequentially positioned below the prepared hole at a predetermined position. The positioning means 2 is a movable table 22, 2 extending in two orthogonal directions.
However, the robot may be a robot having an articulated arm (not shown) such as a teaching playback type robot.

The elevating means 3 includes a Y-axis moving table 23.
Has a U-shaped fixture 31 fixed to the tip of the unit 31. The fixture 31 has a unit base 32 to which the solder melting unit 4 is fixed, guided by two upright guide shafts 33 and slid up and down. It is movably arranged. Further, a ball screw shaft 34 is rotatably arranged on the fixture 31 in parallel between the guide shafts 33, and the ball screw shaft 3
4 is a bearing nut 34 fixed to the unit base 32.
a is screwed together. The ball screw shaft 34 is connected to a drive shaft 35a of a lifting motor 35 fixed to the lower portion of the fixture 31 so that the unit base 32 is rotated by the lifting motor 35 to move up and down. Has been done. The lifting motor 35
The rotation speed of is detected by the encoder 36, and the rotation speed is sent to the control unit. When the raising / lowering motor 35 rotates in response to the rising instruction signal from the control unit, the tip of the soldering iron 44 is The unit base 32 is configured to be raised to a position where it abuts on the solder that closes the prepared hole of the printed circuit board 6 and slightly presses it. The number of rotations of the lifting motor 35 is the amount of warpage of the printed circuit board 6,
Alternatively, it is set in consideration of the amount of swelling of the solder, and is configured so that the soldering iron 44 always stops at a height position where a constant pressing force is obtained. Further, the lifting motor 35 starts to suck air from the air suction unit 5, and at the same time, receives the descending command signal from the control unit and rotates, so that the unit base 32 is slowly lowered to return to the original position. It is configured. Instead of the ball screw shaft 34, a ball spline shaft (not shown) may be used so that the guide shaft 33 is not used. Also, the lifting means 3 is a cylinder (not shown).
The same effect can be obtained even if it is replaced with.

The solder melting unit 4 is a unit table 3
2, a unit main body 41 elastically biased and held in an upright direction, a trowel mounting base 42 that slides integrally with the unit main body 41, and a soldering iron 44 fixed to the trowel mounting base 42 through an adiabatic member 43 in the upright direction. ing. The unit body 41
Has a through hole 41 extending along its axis along its entire length.
a is bored, and the through hole 41a is formed in the air suction portion 5
Of the air suction path. Also,
The soldering iron 44 has a built-in heater portion, and is configured to heat the soldering iron 44 to melt the solder abutting the tip thereof. The soldering iron 44 is provided with a suction hole 44a extending along its axis over the entire length thereof, and the lower end thereof has the suction hole 44a.
It has a pipe portion 44b having an inner hole communicating with.
The lower portion of the pipe portion 44b is located inside the through hole 41a of the unit body 41, and the inner hole thereof communicates with the through hole 41a. Moreover, the periphery of the pipe portion 44b is sealed by the heat insulating seal member 45 held between the upper portion of the unit body 41 and the iron mounting base 42, and when the air in the through hole 41a is sucked, the suction hole is formed. The molten solder around the tip of the soldering iron 44 is sucked together with air through 44a, and is discharged from the lower portion of the through hole 41a to the outside.

The air suction portion 5 has a through hole 41a formed in the unit main body 41 and an air injection hole 41b intersecting with the through hole 41a downward at an acute angle. An air supply source (not shown) for supplying air for a predetermined short time is connected to the air injection hole 41b via a hose connecting fitting 46 connected so as to communicate with the hole 41b. When the positioning of the elevating means 3 is completed, the air supply source receives an air injection command signal from the control unit and supplies air from the air injection hole 41b to the through hole 41a for a short time to instantaneously move the air inside the through hole 41a. It is configured to suck air. Further, the lower portion of the through hole 41a is expanded toward the lower side so that the molten solder sucked together with the air around the tip of the soldering iron 44 does not remain in the receiving hole 41a and is easily discharged. Has been done. The air suction unit 5 may be a vacuum pump (not shown) having a tank for storing the solder slag.

Further, the work holding means 7 is a base 21.
Workpiece holder 71 mounted on the upper surface of the beam portion 21b forming a part of the workpiece, and the desired printed circuit board 6 placed on the workpiece holder 71.
Fixing means (not shown) for fixing the printed circuit board 6 so that the printed circuit board 6 can be fixed above the solder melting unit 4.

In the solder suction robot, when the solder attached to the prepared hole of the desired printed circuit board 6 fixed to the work holding table 71 is removed, the work position corresponding to the prepared hole is stored in the control unit in advance. .. After that, the printed circuit board 6 is fixed to the work holding table 71, one of the work positions stored in advance is called, the X-axis moving table 22 and the Y-axis moving table 23 are moved, and the work board is mounted on the Y-axis moving table 23. The soldering iron 44 of the solder melting unit 4 is positioned below the prepared hole. When this positioning is completed, a lift command signal is output to the lifting motor 35,
The elevating motor 35 rotates by a predetermined amount in consideration of the amount of warp of the printed circuit board 6 or the amount of swelling of the solder at the predetermined prepared hole position, and the ball screw shaft 34 rotates in accordance with the rotation. Therefore, the unit base 32 rises by a predetermined distance integrally with the bearing nut 34a screwed to the ball screw shaft 34, and the tip of the soldering iron 44 of the solder melting unit 4 contacts the back surface of the printed circuit board 6 as shown in FIG. Is positioned for a predetermined time. At this time, since the soldering iron 44 is heated by the heater portion, the solder that blocks the prepared hole that contacts the tip of the soldering iron 44 melts. After the predetermined melting time has elapsed, a descending command signal is output to the lifting motor 35, and the soldering iron 4
4 moves backward, facilitating the flow of air to the suction hole 44a of the soldering iron 44, and at the same time, an air supply command signal is output to the air supply source and air is supplied to the air injection hole 41b. From this, air is jetted into the through hole 41a of the unit body 41 of the solder melting unit 4 for a predetermined short time. Therefore, the through hole 41 of the unit body 41
The air in a is momentarily sucked, and the air around the tip is sucked through the suction hole 44a of the soldering iron 44 communicating with this. Simultaneously with this air suction, the molten solder that closes the prepared hole is sucked, and this molten solder passes through the suction hole 44a of the soldering iron 44 and is discharged from the lower portion of the through hole 41a to the outside.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, the solder melting unit having the soldering iron extending upward below the desired printed circuit board is attached to the moving portion of the positioning means to move the soldering iron to any position on the plane. Since the soldering iron is configured to be able to move up and down and the air suction part that sucks the air around the tip of the soldering iron is provided, the electronic parts are mounted on the printed circuit board and the bottom surface of the printed circuit board is immersed in the solder bath to perform the soldering work. When doing, it is possible to automate the work of removing the solder that blocks the pilot hole of the printed circuit board, and even if there is a pilot hole for the connector, electronic parts, etc. to be mounted in the next process,
The work of attaching and removing the through-hole pins or removing the sticking of the masking tape is not necessary, and there is no need to apply the masking liquid, so an expensive coating device is not required, and the rationalization of work and cost reduction can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of an essential part of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall explanatory view showing a state in which the present invention is rotated 90 degrees and the inside is disclosed.

3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of an essential part showing an operating state of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Solder suction robot 2 Positioning means 2a Moving part 21 Base 21a Side plate 21b Beam part 22 X-axis moving table 22a X-axis moving table 23 Y-axis moving table 23a Y-axis moving table 3 Lifting means 31 Fixture 32 Unit stand 33 Guide shaft 34 Ball Screw Shaft 34a Bearing Nut 35 Lifting Motor 35a Drive Shaft 36 Encoder 4 Solder Melting Unit 41 Unit Body 41a Through Hole 41b Air Injection Hole 42 Iron Mounting Base 43 Thermal Insulation Member 44 Soldering Iron 44a Suction Hole 44b Pipe 45 Insulation Seal Member 46 Hose connection fittings 5 Air suction part 6 Printed circuit board 7 Work holding means 71 Work holding table

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heating means for heating a soldering iron having a positioning means having a moving part positioned at an arbitrary work position on a plane, an elevating means attached to the moving part, and a soldering iron ascending and descending by the elevating means. A solder melting unit having a heater unit, an air suction unit for sucking air around the tip of the soldering iron into the solder melting unit, and a work holding unit for arranging a printed circuit board above the soldering iron. Suction robot. 2. The solder trowel of the solder melting unit is provided with a suction hole extending over its entire length, while the unit main body of the solder melting unit is provided with a through hole formed so as to communicate with the suction hole over its entire length and a downward direction thereof. 2. The solder suction robot according to claim 1, wherein an air suction portion is configured by an air injection hole that intersects with a sharp angle and an air supply source that supplies air to the air injection hole.