JPH061423A - Chip alignment and separation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an alignment hole from being clogged with chips. CONSTITUTION:Chips C stored in a chips storage chamber 3 are blown up intermittently by pressurized air. The blown-up chips C are made to run onto a rod 9 where an alignment groove is formed. The rod 9 oscillates in its longitudinal direction, and chips C which have run onto the rod 9 by the oscillation are fitted into the alignment groove. It is thus possible to align the chips completely without being clogged with chips, and take them out one by one.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When a chip is mounted on a printed circuit board, an automatic chip mounter is usually used to carry and mount the chip on the board prior to the mounting process. As part of this automatic chip mounter, a chip aligning / separating device that aligns a large number of chips in a line and separates the chips one by one is provided. The present invention relates to this chip alignment / separation device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional chip aligning / separating device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-280129. The chip aligning / separating apparatus described in the publication includes a chip storage chamber for storing a large number of chips in a loose state, and the chip storage chamber has an internal space so that the chips can move to the lower part of the storage chamber by their own weight. The peripheral surface is inclined downward, or the chip storage chamber itself is inclined downward. The tip storage chamber is connected to the tip alignment hole at its lower end, and a fumarole for intermittently ejecting air is provided near the connection location.
The chips accumulated in the lower part of the chip storage chamber are blown up by the air blown out from the fumarole, then fall by their own weight and enter the entrance of the chip alignment hole. The chip alignment holes are formed in conformity with the shape of the chips, and since only one chip can enter, the chips are aligned one by one in the chip alignment holes. After that, by pulling out the chips one by one from the chip alignment holes by an appropriate means,
It is possible to take out a large number of chips that are in a loose state one by one.

[0003]

However, in the chip aligning / separating apparatus described in the above publication, whether or not the chip successfully enters the chip aligning hole depends largely on the falling posture of the chip. Therefore, the probability that the chips do not enter the chip alignment holes is so large that it cannot be ignored, and the aligned state of the chips cannot be efficiently achieved. Further, if the chips do not enter the alignment holes properly, they may cause the chips to be clogged at the openings of the chip alignment holes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a chip aligning / separating apparatus which can efficiently arrange chips and take out the chips one by one.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a chip aligning / separating apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a chip storage chamber for storing a large number of chips in a loose state and in the vicinity of the bottom of the chip storage chamber. , Air jets that intermittently jet pressurized air upward, and chips blown up by the pressurized air are arranged so as to ride on the ends, and are formed according to the shape of the chips, and the length direction And a vibrating means for vibrating the rod for tip alignment in the longitudinal direction of the rod for tip alignment.

In a preferred embodiment, the bottom surface of the chip alignment groove is formed to be inclined, and a part of the upper edge of the inclined bottom surface has an inclined surface that opens outward from the upper edge. Has been formed. In a preferred embodiment, the inclination angle of the bottom surface of the chip alignment groove is about 5 degrees.

In a preferred embodiment, the tip storage chamber has a tip storage space for temporarily storing the tip above the end of the tip alignment rod. In a preferred embodiment, the chip alignment separation device comprises a dispenser. This dispenser has a first chip transfer passage extending vertically from the chip alignment groove,
A second chip transport passage, which is located below the first chip transport passage and offset from the first chip transport passage, and extends in the vertical direction, and an outlet of the first chip transport passage and an inlet of the second chip transport passage. It is composed of an intermediate passage which is connected and extends in the horizontal direction, and a rod which reciprocates between the outlet of the first chip transport passage and the inlet of the second chip transport passage in the intermediate passage.

[0008]

[Function] A large number of chips placed in the chip storage chamber are blown upward by the intermittently ejected pressurized air, and get on the end of the chip alignment rod located in the upper part of the chip storage chamber. . At this point, some chips directly enter the chip alignment grooves formed in the chip alignment rod. Since the chip aligning rod is vibrating by the vibrating means, among the chips that have climbed to the end of the chip aligning rod, the chips that have not entered the chip aligning groove are also affected by the vibration and enter the chip aligning groove. Further, since the vibration is performed in the length direction of the chip aligning rod, it is possible to align the chips by filling the space between the chips that have entered the chip aligning grooves and to advance the chips in the aligned state.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a chip aligning and separating apparatus according to the present invention. The chip aligning / separating apparatus 1 includes a housing 2, and a large number of chips C are provided inside the housing 2.
A chip storage chamber 3 is formed in which the chips are stored in a loose state. As for the chip C, a bulk case 4 (which is a commercially available bulk case 4) in which a large number (generally hundreds to thousands) of chips C are put in advance is attached to the housing 2. Is supplied to the housing 2 through the opening 5 above the housing 2. The chip storage chamber 3 is divided into a first chamber 3A and a second chamber 3B with an inner wall 6 therebetween. The chip C falls in the first chamber 3A by its own weight and is stored in the intermediate chamber 3C that connects the first chamber 3A and the second chamber 3B.

An air ejection port 7 is formed on the second chamber 3B side of the intermediate chamber 3C. Pressurized air supplied from a compressor (not shown) is intermittently ejected from the air ejection port 7, and the chips C stored in the intermediate chamber 3C are ejected from the second chamber 3C.
Blow up in B. The time interval of ejection of the pressurized air is several seconds, and is set to 3 seconds in this embodiment.

Above the inside of the second chamber 3B, there is formed a recess 8 for the chip C blown up by the pressurized air to temporarily climb up. Some of the chips C blown up by the pressurized air ride on the recess 8,
When a certain number of chips C are accumulated on the recesses 8, thereafter, some chips C drop from the recesses 8 each time the chips C are sequentially blown up.

A chip aligning rod 9 is arranged substantially horizontally below the recess 8. A partially enlarged view of the tip aligning rod 9 is shown in FIG. The chip aligning rod 9 has a chip aligning groove 1 extending in the length direction of the chip aligning rod 9 from an end portion 9A of the chip aligning rod 9 on its upper surface.
0 is formed. The chip aligning groove 10 is formed in conformity with the shape of the chip C so that the chip C is substantially fitted therein, and as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom surface 10A of the chip aligning groove 10 forms an angle α. It is formed to be inclined. The angle α is preferably in the range of 3 to 9 degrees, and is set to about 5 degrees in this embodiment.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the edge 1 is formed on the upper edge 10B of the inclined bottom surface 10A.
An inclined surface 11 that is open to the outside from 0B is formed. The chip aligning groove 10 is exposed between the end 9A of the chip aligning rod 9 and the inclined surface 11 to receive the chip C, but the aligned state of the aligned chip C is maintained after the inclined surface 11. Therefore, it is covered with the chip cover 12. Further, a pair of chip guides 13 for receiving a large number of chips C are provided at both ends of the chip aligning rod 9 at the tip of the chip aligning rod 9. The tip aligning rod 9 has an end surface 8A of the concave portion 8 between the end surface 9A of the tip aligning rod 9 and the starting point 11A of the inclined surface 11, and the end point 11B of the inclined surface 11 in the second chamber 3B. Arranged as if they were located.

The tip aligning rod 9 is attached to the base 14 at its lower surface. The base 14 is further attached to the vibrating body base 16 via leaf springs 15A and 15B. Iron plate 17 attached to the base 14
The chip aligning rod 9 vibrates in the lengthwise direction by repeatedly being attached to and detached from the electromagnet 18 whose ON / OFF is controlled.

The housing 2 is connected to a feeder block 20 via an elastic body 19. The housing 2 and the feeder block 20 are connected via the elastic body 19 in order to absorb the vibration of the tip alignment rod 9 in the elastic body 19. That is, only the tip aligning rod 9, the base 14 and the iron plate 17 attached to it vibrate, and the vibration is not transmitted to the housing 2 and the feeder block 20.

The feeder block 20 is provided with a chip feeder groove 21 which extends continuously in the vertical direction from the chip aligning groove 10. The chips C aligned in the chip aligning groove 10 are the chip feeder grooves 21. Sent to. A dispenser unit 22 is provided in connection with the feeder block 20. A partially enlarged view of the dispenser unit 22 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The dispenser unit 22 has a dispenser block 23 in contact with the feeder block 20, and a groove 24 having a substantially square cross section is formed between the feeder block 20 and the dispenser block 23 so as to extend in the horizontal direction. ing. Dispenser block 23
Is provided with a second chip feeder groove 25 at a position offset from the chip feeder groove 21, and the chip feeder groove 21 and the second chip feeder groove 25 are provided.
Are connected to each other via a groove 24. Groove 24 is chip C
It has a height slightly larger than the length of. This is to make it possible to absorb variations in the length of the chips C falling into the grooves 24.

A vacuum passage 26 is formed in the dispenser block 23 on an extension of the chip feeder groove 21, and the vacuum passage 26 is connected to a vacuum generator 27 which can be freely turned on and off. Similarly, the groove 25 for the second chip feeder is also connected to a vacuum generator (not shown) which can be freely turned on and off. Further, an atmosphere communication passage 28 is opened on an extension of the second chip feeder groove 25 of the feeder block 20, and the other end of the atmosphere communication passage 28 is open to the atmosphere.

A rod 29 is slidably arranged in the groove 24. The rod 29 has an opening 29A penetrating in a direction perpendicular to its axial direction. A bore 29B extending in the axial direction is formed at one end of the rod 29.
The spring 30 is fitted to 9B. The rod 29 is normally located at the first position as shown in FIG. 4 due to the elastic force of the spring 30. In this first position, the opening 2
9A is aligned with the chip feeder groove 21. The rod 29 moves to the second position shown in FIG. 5 when receiving the pressing force from the piston rod 31. This second position is rod 2
The tip 29C of 9 contacts the end 24C of the groove 24 and the opening 2
9A is a position aligned with the groove 25 for the second chip feeder. When the pressing force from the piston rod 31 disappears,
The rod 29 returns from the second position to the first position. That is, the rod 29 reciprocates in a stroke equal to the distance between the chip feeder groove 21 and the second chip feeder groove 25, and accordingly, the opening 29A is opened in the chip feeder groove 21 and the second chip feeder groove. It reciprocates so as to be aligned with 25 and 25, respectively.

A chip aligning / separating apparatus 1 having the above structure.
Works as follows. Bulk case 4 is housing 2
When the chip C in the bulk case 4 falls into the first chamber 3A of the chip storage chamber 3 and is stored in the intermediate chamber 3C, the chips C fall as the number of the dropped chips C increases.
Reaches the second chamber 3B. The chips C reaching the second chamber 3B are blown upward by the pressurized air jetted intermittently from the air jet port 7 so that some of the chips C ride on the recesses 8 or directly for chip alignment. Ride on the tip of the rod 9. The other chips C fall into the second chamber 3C and are thereafter periodically blown up by pressurized air. When the number of chips C riding on the recesses 8 reaches a predetermined amount, thereafter, every time a new chip C rides on the recesses 8, the chips C drop from the recesses 8 to the tip of the chip alignment rod 9 below.

In this case, if a large amount of chips C are stored in the intermediate chamber 3C, the chips C may not be blown upward even if the pressurized air is jetted from the air jet port 7. In order to prevent a large amount of the chips C from being stored, a substantially spherical chamber 3D is formed in the intermediate chamber 3C. Even if a large amount of chips C fall through the first chamber 3A, the chips C circulate in this chamber 3D as indicated by the arrow X, so that a large amount of chips C do not enter the second chamber 3B. The chips C that are constantly blown up by the pressurized air from the air ejection port 7 are stored near the air ejection port 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tip aligning rod 9
The chip C mounted on the tip of the chip fits well into the chip alignment groove 10 or partially fits into the chip alignment groove 10 depending on the attitude when dropped. Since the chip aligning rod 9 continuously vibrates, the chip aligning groove 1
The chip C that does not engage with 0 at all falls from the chip alignment rod 9 or fits into the chip alignment groove 10. Further, the chip C, which is only partially fitted in the chip aligning groove 10, is also fitted into the chip aligning groove 10 successfully by the vibration of the chip aligning rod 9. The chip C once fitted into the chip alignment groove 10
Since the bottom surface 10A of the chip alignment groove 10 is inclined at an angle α, the chip alignment groove 10 does not fall from the chip alignment groove 10 due to the vibration of the chip alignment rod 9.

The chips C fitted in the chip aligning grooves 10 are affected by the vibration of the chip aligning rod 9 in the lengthwise direction so that the spaces between the chips C are reduced in the chip aligning grooves 10. The sheets are fed in the direction of the feeder block 20 while being aligned. At this time, the chip alignment groove 10
The chip C which is not properly fitted into the above-mentioned chip falls from the inclined surface 11.

The chips C aligned in the chip alignment groove 10 are sent to the feeder block 20 and fall in the chip feeder groove 21, and the dispenser unit 2
Up to 2. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the chips C are aligned and fall in the chip feeder groove 21, the vacuum generator 27 is operated to pull the chips C in a vacuum through the vacuum passage 26. In addition to the weight of the chip C, the vacuum action ensures that the chip C falls into the groove 24. The vacuum generator 27 is stopped at the same time as or immediately after the cutting edge chip C1 falls into the groove 24, and suction of the chip C by vacuum is stopped. Then, the piston rod 31
Is operated to push the rod 29 from the first position (FIG. 4) to the second position (FIG. 5) to align the chip C1 with the second feeder groove 25. At this time, the groove 25 for the second feeder
1. Actuate a vacuum generator (not shown) leading to the. The chip C1 which has moved to the second position is subjected to suction by vacuum through the second feeder groove 25 and atmospheric pressure through the atmosphere communication passage 28, in addition to its own weight, and the second feeder groove. 25 is dropped. After this, the piston rod 31
Contracts, the rod 29 is returned to the first position (FIG. 4) by the elastic force of the spring 30, and at the same time, the vacuum generator 27 starts to operate.

The chip C1 that has fallen in the second feeder groove 25 is mounted on the printed circuit board through, for example, an automatic chip mounting device. FIG. 6 shows an example of the arrangement of the tip aligning rod 9. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of (15 in this embodiment) rods 9 for aligning chips are arranged in parallel and attached to a base 14, and the base 14 is vibrated by one electromagnet 18 and an iron plate 17. Two pairs of leaf springs 15A and 15B are arranged on both sides of the electromagnet 18. In order to properly align the chip alignment groove 10 and the feeder groove 21, the base 14 can be finely adjusted in the left-right direction in FIG.

[0025]

According to the present invention, since the groove is used instead of the hole as the means for aligning the chips, the probability that the chips can be aligned is increased. Further, since the chips are blown up to be engaged with the alignment grooves, the chips do not get stuck in the alignment holes provided below the stored chips unlike the prior art. Moreover, since the tip aligning rod is vibrated, the tips can be aligned regardless of the attitude of the tips when they are dropped.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a chip alignment / separation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tip portion of a tip alignment rod.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the tip alignment rod taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of the dispenser unit.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the operation of the dispenser unit.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the arrangement of alignment rods in the chip alignment separation apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Chip Alignment / Separation Device 2 Housing 3 Chip Storage Chamber 4 Bulk Case 7 Air Jet 9 Chip Alignment Rod 10 Chip Alignment Groove 11 Inclined Surface 14 Base 18 Electromagnet 20 Feeder Block 21 Feeder Groove 22 Dispenser Unit 25 Second Feeder Groove 26 Vacuum passage 28 Air communication passage 29 Rod

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A chip storage chamber for accommodating a large number of chips in a loose state, an air ejection port near the bottom of the chip storage chamber for intermittently ejecting pressurized air upward, The chip blown up by the pressurized air is placed so that it rides on the end, and it is formed according to the shape of the chip,
A chip aligning / separating device comprising: a chip aligning rod provided with a chip aligning groove extending in the lengthwise direction; and a vibrating means for vibrating the chip aligning rod in the lengthwise direction of the chip aligning rod. 2. The bottom surface of the chip alignment groove is formed to be inclined, and an inclined surface that opens outward from the upper edge is formed at a part of an upper edge of the inclined bottom surface. The chip aligning / separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The chip aligning / separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inclination angle of a bottom surface of the chip aligning groove is about 5 degrees. 4. The tip storage chamber has a tip storage space for temporarily storing the tip above the end portion of the tip alignment rod, according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The chip aligning / separating apparatus according to one item. 5. A first chip transport passage extending from the chip alignment groove in the vertical direction, a first chip transport passage below the first chip transport passage, arranged offset from the first chip transport passage, and extending in the vertical direction. An extending second chip transport passage, an intermediate passage that connects the outlet of the first chip transport passage and the inlet of the second chip transport passage and extends in the horizontal direction, and the first chip transport passage in the intermediate passage. 5. The chip aligning / separating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dispenser including a rod that reciprocates between an outlet and an inlet of the second chip transport passage.