JPH06321317A - Printed wiring board stocker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printed wiring board stocker capable of stocking plural printed wiring boards, each having a notch at a side edge, in a condition where the plates are laminated so as not to be separated, and also of arranging them between two conveyers having a different level to freely carrying in/out the printed wiring boards over these two conveyer upper parts and a stocker. CONSTITUTION:This stocker is provided with an elevating means 100 having a pair of standing walls 70a and 70b wherein plural pairs of guide rails 50a and 50b, supporting the right and left side edges of a printed wiring board 10 respectively, are provided facing inward, and elevating the pair of standing walls 70a and 70b with respect to a stocker main body 80. The guide rails 50a and 50b are provided with an endless chain for carrying the printed wiring board 10 respectively.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printed circuit board stocker for stocking a plurality of printed circuit boards for mounting electronic components in a stacked state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As the stocker, there is a stocker as shown in FIGS.

In this stocker, a pair of endless chains 20a and 20b each having a claw-shaped guide 12 for supporting the right and left side edges of the printed circuit board 10 are erected on a stocker body (not shown) to face each other at a predetermined interval. They are arranged side by side so that they can be visited. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the printed circuit board 1 is crossed over the left and right claw-shaped guides 12 facing each other at a plurality of positions of the pair of endless chains 20a and 20b.
0, respectively, and a pair of endless chains 20a, 2
The printed circuit boards 10 can be supported in a state of being laminated between 0b.

Below the pair of endless chains 20a and 20b, as shown in FIG. 6, a conveyor 30 is provided horizontally between the pair of endless chains 20a and 20b. And a pair of endless chains 20a, 20b
The printed circuit board 10 supported by the inner facing claw-shaped guides 12 can be lowered onto the conveyor 30 by circulating the pair of endless chains 20a and 20b downward. Then, the printed circuit board 10 is
A pair of endless chains 20a, 20 on the conveyor 30
It is designed so that it can be carried out through the space between b. At the same time, the printed circuit board 10 is mounted on the conveyor 30 so that the conveyor 30 can carry the printed board 10 between the pair of endless chains 20a and 20b. Then, the printed circuit board 10 is connected to the pair of endless chains 20.
The claw-shaped guides 12 facing a and 20b can be mounted and supported.

[0005]

However, in the above stocker, the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board 10 are supported in a point contact state on the facing narrow claw-shaped guides 12 inside the pair of endless chains 20a, 20b. Therefore, if the side edge of the printed board 10 is provided with a notch, the side edge portion of the printed board 10 having the notch cannot be accurately supported by the claw-shaped guide 12. Then, the printed circuit board 10 cannot be stably mounted and supported over the facing claw-shaped guides 12 inside the pair of endless chains 20a, 20b, and the printed circuit board 10 is not supported by the pair of endless chains 12a. It has fallen down between the chains 20a and 20b.

Further, a conveyor 30 for carrying the printed circuit board 10 into and out of the stocker is fixedly provided at a fixed position below the pair of endless chains 20a and 20b, and has a step for assembling the printed circuit board. It was not possible to arrange the stockers between the two conveyors and to freely and smoothly carry in and carry out the printed circuit board 10 over the two conveyors having the steps and on the conveyor 30 of the stocker. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to stack a plurality of printed boards having notches on their side edges so as not to fall off, and to stack them. A stocker for printed circuit boards (hereinafter referred to as "stocker") that can be placed between two conveyors with a certain space, and can carry in and carry out the printed board freely and accurately over those two conveyors and the stocker. It is intended to be provided.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a stocker of the present invention comprises a pair of guide rails that respectively support the left and right side edges of a printed circuit board, and an endless chain provided on each of the pair of guide rails. And a plurality of endless chains that respectively convey the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board along guide rails, a patrol means that circulates the endless chains, and the pair of guide rails that are spaced at predetermined intervals inside. It is characterized in that it is provided with a pair of standing walls facing each other and provided with a raising and lowering means for raising and lowering the pair of standing walls with respect to the stocker body.

In the stocker of the present invention, it is preferable that the stocker is provided with adjusting means for adjusting the distance between the pair of upstanding walls to a large or small value.

[0010]

In the stocker having the above construction, when the printed circuit board is carried into the stocker from above the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit board, the following steps are performed.

The pair of upright walls are moved up and down with respect to the stocker body by the lifting means. Then, the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails at the predetermined opposing portions inside the pair of standing walls are made to match the height of the upper surface of the conveyor.

Next, the conveyor is circulated in the direction for loading the printed circuit board. Then, the printed circuit board mounted on the conveyor is carried by the conveyor onto the upper surface of the pair of guide rails aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor. Then, the printed circuit board is mounted and supported on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails.

At this time, an endless chain provided on each of a pair of guide rails at a predetermined portion for carrying in the printed circuit board is circulated in the printed circuit board carrying-in direction by the circling means. With these endless chains, the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board are forcibly moved inward by the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails at a predetermined portion, and the printed circuit board is carried into the upper surface of the pair of guide rails by the endless chain. help.

Next, the pair of upstanding walls are moved up and down again with respect to the stocker body by the elevating means so that the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails at the other facing portions inside the pair of upstanding walls coincide with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor. . Then, the same operation as described above is performed, and the printed circuit board is carried in and supported over the pair of guide rail upper surfaces that match the height of the conveyor upper surface.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated,
A plurality of printed circuit boards are mounted and supported on the upper surfaces of a pair of guide rails at a plurality of opposing portions inside a pair of standing walls.

Then, a plurality of printed circuit boards can be stocked in a state of being stacked on the stocker.

Further, when the printed circuit board supported on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails facing each other inside the pair of upstanding walls as described above is carried out onto the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit board, the following is performed. To

The pair of upright walls are moved up and down with respect to the stocker body by the lifting means. Then, the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails at predetermined opposing positions inside the pair of upstanding walls that support the printed circuit board to be carried onto the conveyor are aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor.

Next, the endless chain provided on each of the pair of guide rails at the predetermined portion is circulated in the direction of carrying out the printed circuit board. Then, by these endless chains, the left and right side edges of the printed circuit boards respectively supported on the pair of guide rail upper surfaces aligned with the height of the conveyor upper surface are forcibly forced on the pair of guide rails in the printed circuit board unloading direction. To move. Then, the printed circuit board is carried out from the pair of guide rail upper surfaces to the conveyor upper surface.

At this time, the conveyor is circulated in the carrying-out direction of the printed circuit board, and the conveyor assists in carrying out the printed circuit board from the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails.

Next, the pair of upstanding walls are moved up and down again with respect to the stocker body by the elevating means, and the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails at the other facing portions inside the pair of upstanding walls supporting the printed board to be carried onto the conveyor. To the height of the upper surface of the conveyor. Then, by performing the same operation as above, the printed circuit board supported over the pair of guide rail upper surfaces of the other portions facing each other on the inside of the pair of upstanding walls, and on the conveyor from the pair of guide rail upper surfaces of the other portions. Carry out.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated,
A plurality of printed circuit boards supported on a pair of guide rail upper surfaces of a plurality of facing portions inside a pair of standing walls are successively carried out onto a conveyor.

Then, a plurality of printed circuit boards stacked in the stocker can be successively carried out on the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit boards.

Further, in the stocker provided with the adjusting means for adjusting the distance between the pair of upstanding walls, the adjusting means adjusts the distance between the pair of upstanding walls to the inside and outside of the pair of upstanding walls. It is possible to mount and support a printed circuit board having various widths over a pair of guide rail upper surfaces facing each other.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a preferred embodiment of the stocker of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a front view thereof, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of a guide rail thereof. 4 is a partial front sectional view of the guide rail. The stocker will be described below.

In the figure, 50a and 50b are a pair of guide rails for supporting the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board 10, respectively.

The guide rails 50a and 50b are substantially L-shaped in cross section, and the side edges of the printed circuit board 10 can be held on the inner upper surfaces thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the guide rails 50a and 50b are provided with the side edges of the printed circuit board 10 supported on the upper surfaces of the guide rails 50a and 50b.
It is provided with an endless chain 60 that conveys along the upper surfaces of a and 50b. More specifically, a nylon endless chain 60 is rotatably supported in a space inside the guide rails 50a and 50b via a sprocket 62. The upper surface of the endless chain 60 has guide rails 50a, 50b.
It is exposed on the top surface. And the guide rail 50
On the upper surface of the endless chain 60 exposed on the upper surfaces of a and 50b,
The side edges of the printed circuit board 10 supported on the upper surfaces of the guide rails 50a and 50b can be forcibly moved in the circulating direction of the endless chain 60.

Reference numerals 70a and 70b denote a pair of plate-shaped standing walls that are vertically arranged so as to face each other at predetermined intervals.

Inside the pair of upstanding walls 70a, 70b, a plurality of the pair of guide rails 50a, 50b are provided facing each other at a predetermined interval and arranged substantially horizontally.

The pair of upstanding walls 70a and 70b are vertically erected and supported by the stocker main body 80 side by side through a supporting means 90 having a sliding structure.

Reference numeral 64 is a circulating means for circulating the endless chain 60. The patrol means 64 includes a pair of standing walls 70a,
A plurality of guide rails 50a, 50b are provided side by side inside 70b, and a plurality of guide rails 50a, 50b are provided side by side independently on the outside portions of standing walls 70a, 70b. Then, by the plurality of patrol means 64, a plurality of guide rails 50a inside the pair of standing walls 70a, 70b,
The endless chains 60 provided in the respective 50b can be independently circulated.

The circulating means 64 is formed by a geared electric motor 64a for rotating a sprocket 62 supporting the endless chain 60. Then, the electric motor 64a
Is rotated to rotate the sprocket 62, so that the endless chain 60 can be circulated in the rotation direction of the sprocket 62.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a pair of upright walls 70a, 70 which are vertically erected on the stocker main body 80 and are supported side by side.
It is an adjusting means for adjusting the interval of b to be large or small.

The adjusting means 110 includes a pair of upstanding walls 70a,
An auxiliary standing wall 70c is provided to stand on the outside of one of the standing walls 70b and arranged side by side, and the auxiliary standing walls 70c are supported in series by partition walls 70d and 70e at upper and lower edges of the other standing wall 70a. And the other standing wall 70a and the auxiliary standing wall 7 through the four corners of the one standing wall 70b.
4 rotatably supported over 4 corners with 0c
Male ball screws 112a, 112b, 112c, 11
2d and their male ball screws 112a, 112b, 1
Four female ball screws 114a, 114b, 114c, 114d, which are slidably screwed into 12c, 112d and fixed at the four corners of one standing wall 70b, respectively.
Male ball screws 112a, 112b, 112c, 11
It is formed of a rotating means 120 for rotating 2d synchronously. Then, the four male ball screws 112a, 112b, 112c, 112d are synchronously rotated in the same direction by the rotating means 120 to make four female ball screws 114.
a, 114b, 114c, 114d are simultaneously moved forward and backward respectively of the four male ball screws 112a, 112b, 112c, 112d at the same speed, so that these four female ball screws 114a, 114b, 114c, 1
One standing wall 70b to which 14d is fixed is moved back and forth along the four male ball screws 112a, 112b, 112c, and 112d, so that one standing wall 70b and the other standing wall 70a opposite thereto. The interval of can be adjusted to large or small.

The rotating means 120, as shown in FIG.
Auxiliary standing wall 70c and one standing standing wall 70b opposite thereto
4 male ball screws 112a, 112b, 11 between and
Sprocket 122 fitted to 2c and 112d, respectively
a, 122b, 122c, 122d and their four sprockets 122a, 122b, 122c, 122d.
And an endless chain 124 that is looped around
An electric motor 126 mounted on the inner upper surface of the partition wall 70e,
It is formed of a sprocket 128 fitted to the output shaft of the motor and an endless chain 132 wound around a sprocket 130 fitted to one male ball screw 112d of the above four male ball screws. ing. Then, the output shaft of the electric motor 126 is connected to the sprockets 128, 130,
By rotating one male ball screw 112d connected through the endless chain 132 with the electric motor 126, the sprocket 122d is attached to the male ball screw 112d.
a, 122b, 122c, 122d, endless chain 12
The other three male ball screws 112a connected via 4;
The 112b and 112c can be synchronously rotated in the same direction as the male ball screw 112d.

Reference numeral 100 denotes the pair of standing walls 70a, 70a.
It is an elevating means for elevating and lowering b together with the auxiliary standing wall 70c.

The elevating means 100 is provided with racks 102a, 102 which are provided upright on the left and right inner side surfaces of the stocker body 80.
b, and pinions 104a and 104b meshed with the racks 102a and 102b, the pinions 104a fitted to both ends of the rotary shaft 106 rotatably supported by the upright wall 70a and the auxiliary upright wall 70c. 10,
4b and an electric motor 108 with a gear for rotating a rotary shaft 106 fitted with the pinions 104a, 104b.
The electric motor 108 with a gear mounted on the inner upper surface of the partition wall 70e. Then, the pinion 104a, 104b fitted to the rotary shaft 106 is rotated by the electric motor 108 with gears to rotate the pinion 104.
By rotating the racks 102a and 102b while meshing the racks a and 104b with the racks 102a and 102b, the rotary shaft 10 fitted with the pinions 104a and 104b.
6, the upright wall 70a and the auxiliary upright wall 70c supporting the rack 6 together with the pinions 104a and 104b.
The upper part b can be moved up and down with respect to the stocker body 80 at the same time.

The stocker shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is constructed as described above.

Next, an example of its use and its operation will be described.

When the printed circuit board is carried into the stocker from above the printed circuit board assembling conveyor, the following steps are performed.

The rotating means 120 causes the four male ball screws 112a, 112b, 112c and 112d to rotate synchronously in the same direction, respectively, and thereby the four female ball screws 114 are formed.
a, 114b, 114c, 114d are fixed on one standing wall 70b by four male ball screws 112a, 112b,
By moving them back and forth along 112c and 112d, the distance between the one standing wall 70b and the other standing wall 70a opposite to the one standing wall 70b is adjusted to be large or small according to the width of the printed circuit board 10. The printed circuit board 10 can be mounted and supported on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b provided inside the pair of standing walls 70a and 70b so as to face each other.

Next, by rotating the geared electric motor 108 of the elevating means 100, the pair of erecting walls 70a and 70b, which are vertically erected and supported side by side on the stocker body 80 via the supporting means 90, are supported as auxiliary auxiliary walls 70c. At the same time, the stocker body 80 is moved up and down. Then, the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a, 50b at the predetermined opposing positions inside the pair of standing walls 70a, 70b are made to match the height of the upper surface of the conveyor (not shown) for assembling the printed circuit board.

Next, the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit board is circulated in the direction for loading the printed circuit board 10. Then, the printed circuit board 10 mounted on the conveyor is carried by the conveyor onto the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b at a predetermined portion that is aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor. The pair of guide rails 50a and 50b at the predetermined portion
The printed circuit board 10 is mounted and supported on the upper surface.

In this case, the geared electric motor 64a of the patrol means 64 is rotated, and the endless chain 60 provided on the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b for carrying the printed circuit board 10 is circulated in the carrying direction of the printed circuit board 10. Let
Then, the pair of guide rails 5 is connected by the endless chain 60.
0a, 50b The upper and lower sides of the printed circuit board 10 to be loaded onto the upper surfaces of the guide rails 50a and 50b are forcibly moved inward to carry the printed circuit board 10 onto the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b. Chain 60
Help with.

Next, the electric motor with gear 108 of the elevating means 100 is rotated again, and the pair of standing walls 70a, 70a, 7
0b is moved up and down with respect to the stocker main body 80 together with the auxiliary standing wall 70c, so that the pair of standing walls 70a, 70a
b A pair of guide rails 50 at the other internal parts facing each other
The upper surfaces of a and 50b are aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit board. Then, the same operation as above is performed, and the printed circuit board 10 is placed over the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b which are aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor.
Mounted and supported.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated,
A plurality of printed circuit boards 10 are mounted and supported on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a, 50b at a plurality of opposing positions inside the pair of standing walls 70a, 70b, respectively.

Then, a plurality of printed circuit boards 10 can be stocked in a state of being stacked on the stocker.

In addition, as described above, the pair of upstanding walls 7
A pair of guide rails 50 facing each other inside 0a, 70b
When carrying out the printed circuit board 10 supported on the upper surfaces of a and 50b onto the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit board,
Do the following:

Electric motor with gear 10 for lifting means 100
8 is rotated to move the pair of upstanding walls 70a and 70b up and down with respect to the stocker body 80 together with the auxiliary upstanding wall 70c. Then, the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a, 50b at a predetermined opposing position inside the pair of upstanding walls 70a, 70b supporting the printed circuit board 10 to be carried out onto the conveyor are aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor.

Then, the endless chain 60 provided on each of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b whose upper surfaces are aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor is rotated by the geared electric motor 64a of the patrol means 64 so as to rotate the printed circuit board 10. Circulate in the carrying-out direction. Then, the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board 10 supported on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b, which are matched with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor, are carried out by the endless chain 60 on the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b. Transport in each direction. Then, the printed circuit board 10 is attached to the pair of guide rails 50a, 5a.
0b is carried out on the conveyor from the upper surface.

At that time, the conveyor is connected to the printed circuit board 10.
The conveyor helps the printed circuit board 10 to be carried out from the upper surface of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b onto the conveyor by circulating the printed board 10 in the carrying-out direction.

Then, the electric motor with gear 108 of the elevating means 100 is rotated again, and the pair of standing walls 70a, 70a, 7
0b is moved up and down with respect to the stocker main body 80 together with the auxiliary standing wall 70c, so that the pair of standing walls 70a supporting the printed circuit board 10 to be carried out on the conveyor, and a pair of guide rails 50a at the other inside of the standing walls 70a, 70b. 5
The upper surface of 0b is aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor. Then, the same operation as described above is performed, and the pair of upright walls 70a, 70a
A pair of guide rails 50 on the other side inside 0b
a, 50b, the printed circuit board 10 supported on the upper surface,
It is carried out onto the conveyor from the upper surface of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b in the other part.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated,
The plurality of printed circuit boards 10 supported on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a and 50b at a plurality of opposing positions inside the pair of standing walls 70a and 70b are sequentially carried out onto a conveyor.

Then, the plurality of printed circuit boards 10 stacked in the stocker can be successively carried out onto the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit boards.

Further, when the stocker is arranged between two conveyors for assembling a printed circuit board having steps, one of the stepped conveyors or the other conveyor has an upper surface facing the inside of the pair of standing walls 70a, 70b of the stocker. The heights of the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails 50a, 50b at the predetermined portions are made to coincide with each other, and the printed circuit board 10 is placed over one or the other conveyor and the upper surface of the pair of guide rails 50a, 50b at the predetermined portion. By carrying in and carrying out, the printed circuit board 10 can be carried in and out freely and accurately across the two conveyors and the stocker having steps.

The printed board 1 having a constant width is used as a stocker.
When only 0 is stocked, the pair of upstanding walls 70a and 70b is fixedly held according to the width of the printed circuit board 10 without providing the adjusting means 110, and is moved up and down on the stocker body 80. You may stand up freely and arrange them side by side to support them.

[0058]

As described above, in the stocker of the present invention, the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board stocked in the stocker are widely supported in the surface contact state on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails.

Therefore, according to the stocker of the present invention,
Even if a notch is provided on the side edge of the printed circuit board, it is possible to stably support the printed circuit board with the notch on the side edge so that it does not fall over the upper surface of the pair of guide rails of the stocker. it can.

Further, in the stocker of the present invention, the pair of guide rails for supporting the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board are respectively provided with the endless chains, and the endless chains are circulated to be supported on the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails. The left and right side edges of the printed circuit board can be forcibly carried in and out of the guide rail. At the same time, a pair of standing walls provided with a pair of guide rails facing each other inwardly are arranged so that they can be raised and lowered with respect to the stocker body by the raising and lowering means.

Therefore, according to the stocker of the present invention,
The pair of upright walls is moved up and down by the elevating means, and the upper surfaces of the pair of guide rails at predetermined portions provided inside the pair of upright walls are aligned with the height of the upper surface of the conveyor for assembling the printed circuit board. By circulating the endless chains provided on the pair of guide rails of each part, the printed circuit board can be freely and accurately carried over the upper surface of the pair of guide rails of the predetermined part and on the conveyor having various heights. You can carry it out.

As a result, according to the stocker of the present invention,
A stocker is arranged between two conveyors for assembling a printed circuit board having a step, and the printed circuit board can be carried in and out freely and accurately over the two conveyors having a step and the stocker.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a stocker of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged plan view of a guide rail of the stocker of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged front sectional view of a guide rail of the stocker of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a schematic structure of a conventional stocker.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a conventional stocker.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Printed Circuit Board 12 Claw-shaped Guide 20a, 20b Endless Chain 30 Conveyor 50a, 50b Guide Rail 60 Endless Chain 62 Sprocket 64 Circulating Means 64a Electric Motor with Gears 70a, 70b Standing Wall 70c Auxiliary Standing Wall 80 Stocker Main Body 90 Supporting Means 100 Lifting Means 102a, 102b Rack 104a, 104b Pinion 108 Electric motor with gear 110 Adjusting means 112a, 112b, 112c, 112d Male ball screw 114a, 114b, 114c, 114d Female ball screw 120 Rotating means 122a, 122b, 122c, 122d Sprocket 124 Endless chain 126 electric motor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of guide rails respectively supporting left and right side edges of a printed circuit board, and an endless chain provided on each of the pair of guide rails, the left and right side edges of the printed circuit board being respectively along the guide rails. An endless chain to be conveyed, a patrol means for circulating the endless chains, a pair of standing walls provided with the pair of guide rails facing each other at a predetermined interval and facing each other, and a pair of the standing walls. A stocker for a printed circuit board, comprising: an elevating means for elevating the stocker with respect to the stocker body. 2. The printed circuit board stocker according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting means for adjusting a distance between the pair of upstanding walls to a large or small value.