JPH0632435B2 - Positioning and connecting device for printed electrical wiring boards - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a small electronic device, and in particular, has a large number of parallel conductors in a plurality of stations while a non-flexible printed electric wiring board is transferred by a step forward conveyor. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning and connecting device for a printed electric wiring board, which is used to connect electric parts to a predetermined position of a pattern on a board by matching respective conducting wires.

The width of each conductor of the electrical component connection to the board is 0.6 to
When it is about 0.8 m / m, the conductors are easily matched on the basis of the hole or the outline, so that mechanization is easy in mass production.

However, with the recent miniaturization and high density of electronic devices,
Electrical parts, especially in flexible printed electric wiring boards (hereinafter referred to as flexible boards), dozens of conducting wires are arranged in parallel with a conductor width of 0.4 to 0.1 m / m. It is impossible to exactly match the lead wire (hereinafter referred to as the printed circuit board), and it is not possible for the operator to use a magnifying glass to align the position, perform tack welding, and then connect using a welding machine. Currently, the efficiency is extremely poor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of automatically locating the electric component having the fine conductive wire at each station of the connection line along the conveyor and performing the welding connection.

The positioning and connecting apparatus for a printed electric wiring board according to the present invention is provided with a conveyor for stepping the printed board forward and a plurality of stations arranged along the conveyor for mounting respective electric parts at predetermined positions on the printed board. As at least part of the station, a magazine that supplies electrical components, a transport device that extracts electrical components from the magazine and transports them toward the printed circuit board, and a welding machine that welds and connects the conductors of the electrical components on the printed circuit board are assembled. In the above, a holding device that holds an electric component in the station and is movable in the XYθ directions, a sensor device that compares an image of at least a part of the electric component with a reference image pattern, and a sensor device that receives and holds the output of the sensor device. And a controller for moving the device to bring the electrical components into position.

With the above-described configuration, it is possible to accurately position and connect electric parts using thin conductors in an automatic assembly line, and it is possible to easily mass-produce small-sized and high-density parts.

Examples and drawings illustrating the present invention will be described. In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same parts or components.

FIG. 1 shows a positioning / connecting device for a printed electric wiring board according to the present invention, that is, a device for welding and connecting a flexible board or a large number of conductive wires such as ICs and LEDs in line with a large number of parallel conductive wires on the printed board. An overview map is shown. Although the present invention was developed for connecting a flexible substrate, it can be easily applied to connecting other components having a large number of parallel conductors.

Referring to FIG. 1, a printed circuit board supply device 1 uses a printed circuit board 10 (FIG. 2) manufactured in a previous step from a stocker (not shown) to a positioning pin on a conveyor 2 for transferring the printed circuit board 1 to the positioning pins.
The zero positioning holes are aligned and placed on the conveyor 2. The conveyor 2 is a straight-moving intermittent feed conveyor that stops the substrate platform 11 at a predetermined position. The conveyor 2 is an endless conveyor,
The return path is near the floor of the work table, and the platform 11 returns.

The details of the flexible board transfer device 3 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, but the movable board is movable in the X, Y, and Zθ directions. As a predetermined direction. In the magazine case 4, flexible substrates and the like are stacked and housed, and the magazine case 4 is pushed up one by one by spring pressure and sent to the carrier device 3, that is, the suction arm of the robot.

The welding device 5 is a device that heats and cools between the connecting portions of both boards, and a flexible board or the like is soldered to a predetermined position of the printed board 10 by the vertical movement of the heater chip portion and cooled by blowing air.

The sub-conveyor 6 is a main conveyor, and the processing which is difficult to directly work is performed on the sub-conveyor 6 and returned to the main conveyor 2 after the work.

The sensor device 7 is represented by the TV camera 7 of FIG. 3 as a representative, and the TV camera includes a positioning command calculation mechanism such as a signal processing CPU, an I / F, a pulse motor driver, and the like. Set the position.

FIG. 1 shows a plurality of sets of a flexible board or other carrying mechanism 3, a magazine case 4, a welding machine 5, and a sensor device 7 provided along a carrying conveyor 2, and the required flexible boards and the like are arranged in parallel on a printed board 10. Match and connect the conductors.

2 and 3 show a detailed view of a set of stations having the above-described transfer device 3 such as a flexible substrate. In the illustrated example, both ends of the short flexible substrate 12 are accurately aligned with predetermined positions of the printed circuit board 10. It is a device to be connected. This device can be applied to a component having a size that can be adsorbed by one adsorption arm of the robot 3, and most of the devices shown in FIGS.

The transport device for the flexible substrate 12, that is, the robot 3 makes the slide base 21 mounted on the frame 20 slidable in the movement direction of the conveyor 2, and the guide rod 2 mounted on the movable base 21.
2 and 22 are perpendicular to the moving direction of the conveyor. A robot main body 25 is vertically movably attached to a vertical guide rod 24 of a support frame 23 slidably supported by the guide rod 22. Thus, the robot body 25 is movable in the XYZ directions. Each relative movement is controlled by the pulse motors 26, 27, etc., and a predetermined cycle is performed. Further suction arm 1
3 is controlled by a pulse motor 28 so that the main body 25 can turn 180 °. The suction arm 13 is connected to a vacuum device (not shown) to suction and open the flexible substrate 12.

The welding machine 5 has a heater chip 14 and a blower cooling device (not shown), and a driving device 30 causes the heater chip 14 to perform three-dimensional movement similar to a robot and to rotate the heater chip 14 in a predetermined direction. . Operation control in each direction XYZθ is performed by a pulse motor.

The sensor device sets the television camera 7 on a predetermined position on the printed circuit board 10 by a driving device (not shown). Positioning control is performed by a control device combined with the television camera 7.

The operation of the device of the present invention will be described below.

In the illustrated example, the flexible substrate 12 is a printed circuit board 1 as a member having the explanation portions 31 and 32 at both ends as shown in the figure.
The heater chip 14 has a structure in which a large number of conductive wires of the both-end connecting portions 31 and 32 are aligned and welded to a predetermined position of 0.
Also has a configuration having two heads 33 and 34 corresponding to this.

First, the conveyor 2 is stopped at a predetermined position, and the printed circuit board 10 on the base 11 is stopped at a predetermined position by the base 11 by the connection between the positioning pins (not shown) and the positioning holes.
The flexible substrates 12 are stacked in the magazine case 4, and the uppermost one is ready to be taken out.

Here, the robot 3 is guided by the slide base 21 and the guide rod 22 so that the suction arm 13 of the main body 25 is directly above the magazine case 4. Here, the main body 25 is moved downward along the guide rod 24 so that the suction end 35 of the suction arm 13 is almost brought into contact with the uppermost flexible substrate 12 in the magazine case 4. By operating a vacuum device (not shown), the flexible substrate 12 is gripped by the suction end 35.

Next, the main body 25 is raised along with the suction arm 13 along the guide rod 24, the entire robot 3 is advanced along the guide rod 22, and the suction end 35 is located directly above the required position of the printed circuit board 10. If necessary, the slide base 21 of the robot 3 is moved with respect to the frame 20, and the suction arm 13 is rotated with respect to the main body 25 to move the flexible board 12 to the printed board 1.
A predetermined position and a predetermined direction with respect to 0. Body 2 here
5. The suction arm 13 is lowered along the guide rod 24 so that the flexible board 12 has a slight gap with respect to the printed board 10. The vacuum action continues and the suction end 35 holds the flexible substrate 12.

At this point, the television camera 7 sends the images of the connecting portions 31, 32 to the control device, which compares the image with a predetermined pattern and sends an error signal to the pulse motors 26, 28 etc.
Correct the deviation in the Yθ direction. If the image of the TV camera 7 matches a predetermined pattern, the robot body 25 and the suction arm 13 are lowered to move the flexible board 12 to the printed board 10.
In close contact with.

At this point, the welding machine 5 is moved forward by the driving device 30 and, if necessary, also moved in the direction of movement of the conveyor to bring the heater chip 14 to a desired position and lower the heater chip 14 to
The heads 33 and 34 are brought into close contact with the connecting portions 31 and 32, respectively. The heater chip 14 is energized to weld the connecting portions 31 and 32, and is cooled and solidified by the blower attached to the welding machine 5. The welder is retracted and the connection is complete. Here, the robot body 25 and the suction arm 13 are lifted up along the guide rod 24, and then retracted along the guide rod 22 to bring the suction arm 35 to the position on the magazine case 4.

In the above description, when only one type of flexible board 12 handled by the robot 3 is used and only one step of connecting to a specific position of the printed board 10 is performed, the robot 3 and the welding machine 5 are parallel to the movement of the conveyor 2. No need to move
The structure does not require rotation of the suction arm. By this,
Robot 3, suction end 35 of welding machine 5, heater chip 1
4 is simply an up-down and forward-backward in-plane motion. However, in the case of fine control by the control device, the robot 3 needs to move in the XYθ directions.

The conveyor 2 advances to set the next printed circuit board 10 to a predetermined position, and the suction end 35 of the robot 3 vacuum-holds the flexible circuit board 12 in the magazine case 4 to start a new sequence.

In the above description, the both-end connecting portion 31 of the flexible substrate 12,
Although 32 is connected at the same time, it goes without saying that it is possible to handle a component having only one end connected.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, one or both of the cases where the relative positions of both ends 41, 42 of the long flexible substrate 40 are different between the flat state in which the magazine 4 is inserted and the mounted state on the printed circuit board 10 are different. The details of a station for mounting the correct relative position by moving the ends of the robot are shown. In the example shown in the drawing, an XY line is provided between the robot 50 and the printed circuit board 10.
While the θ table device 60 is placed and the device is moved,
The sensor device 7 gives an instruction to the XYθ table device to perform image matching and set a predetermined relative position. This station is a special station among the stations shown in FIG. 1 because it is for parts that require two suction arms for holding.

In the example shown in the figure, the printed circuit board 10 is positioned on the mounting table 11 of the conveyor 2 by four positioning pins 18. The conveyor 2 is made to move stepwise, and the printed circuit board 10 is stopped at a predetermined position.

The flexible substrate 40 is a long substrate having connection portions 41 and 42 at both ends, and is stacked and accommodated in the magazine case 4 in a flat posture.

The robot 50 has a main body 54 movable along a guide rod 52 mounted on a movable base 51, which is slidable in a direction parallel to the conveyor, at right angles to the conveyor, and further movable along a vertical rod 53 in a vertical direction. . Four adsorption parts 55, 56, 5 connected to a vacuum device (not shown) on the main body 54
7, 58 are provided. The two suction parts 55, 56 are the main body 54
The suction portions 57 and 58 can be pivoted with respect to the main body 54 in the later precision alignment. The suction parts 55 and 56 take out one long flexible substrate 40 from the magazine 4 and pass it to the XYθ table device 60 when the main body 54 advances.

The XYθ table device 60 includes an XYθ table 61 and a movable XYθ table 62 that is arranged obliquely with respect to the XYθ table 61. Table 6 of each
Pulse motors 1 and 62 can be adjusted in the XYθ directions. Θ arranged on each table 61, 62
The directionally adjustable gripping members 63 and 64 communicate with the respective vacuum devices to receive the respective end portions of the flexible substrate 40 from the suction portions 55 and 56 of the robot 50, and pass them to the suction portions 57 and 58 after position adjustment. To

The movable XYθ table 62 is further reciprocated in an oblique direction (arrow in FIG. 4) by a guide device (not shown), and the gripping member 64 is further rotated by a predetermined angle so that the flexible substrate 4 is moved.
The connection end portion 42 of 0 is set as the position of the chain double-dashed line in the figure,
The flexible substrate 40 itself is in a position where it is twisted and deformed from a flat position.

After the tables 61 and 62 are at the positions indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure, an image is aligned by a sensor device (not shown), for example, a television camera, and the two tables 61 and 62 are XY aligned.
Fine adjustment is performed in the θ direction to adjust the relative position and relative angle.

After this adjustment, when the robot 50 reaches the position shown in the figure, the front suction portion 57 contacts the substrate end portion on the gripping member 63,
The suction portion 58 on the rear side contacts the end portion of the substrate on the gripping member 64 after being rotated and moved, and delivers the substrate 40.

The welding machine 5 has two heater chips 71 and 72 because the connection ends 41 and 42 of the substrate 40 are separated. The welding machine 5 moves forward and backward and moves up and down in a substantially vertical plane to weld the connection ends 41 and 42 to predetermined positions on the printed circuit board 10, and after the welding, cool them by a blower cooling device.

The operation of the illustrated apparatus will be described.

The flexible substrate 40 is housed in the magazine case 4 and pushed up one by one. The rear suction portions 55 and 56 of the robot body 54 descend onto the magazine case 4 to suction the flexible substrate 40. The robot body 54 that has attracted the flexible substrate 40 rises along the guide rod 53, then advances along the guide rod 52 and then descends, and the attracting portion 55 coincides with the gripping member 63 of the table 61 of the XYθ table device. , The vacuum of the suction part 55 is released, and the gripping member 6
The vacuum of 3 acts to grip the end of the flexible substrate 40. At the same time, the suction portion 56 of the main body 54 coincides with the holding member 64 of the table 62. As in the previous case, the other end of the flexible substrate 40 is delivered to the grip member 64 by switching the vacuum device. The robot body 54 moves up and down again.

When the robot main body 54 rises and separates from the XYθ table device 60, the movable XYθ table 62 moves in an oblique direction, that is, in the lower left direction in the figure, and at the same time, the gripping member 64 starts rotating. By this movement and rotation, the connection end portion 42 of the flexible substrate 40 comes to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure. After this movement is completed and the above-mentioned position adjustment is performed, the robot main body 54 in the rear position moves downward. As a result, the rear suction portions 55 and 56 take out the flexible substrate 40 from the magazine case, and the front suction portions 57 and 58 are aligned with the gripping members 63 and 64 which are at new positions.

Here, the front suction portions 57 and 58 come into contact with the deformed and grasped flexible substrate 40 in the vicinity of the connection ends 41 and 42, and similarly the substrate 40 is transferred to the robot body 54 by switching the vacuum. It

In the robot body 54, the rear suction portions 55 and 56 hold the flat flexible substrate 40, and the front suction portions 57 and 58 hold the deformed flexible substrate 40 and move upward.

When the flexible substrate 40 is separated from the XYθ table device 60, the movable XYθ table 62 moves in an oblique direction, and the grip member 64 rotates to return to the solid line position in the figure.

The robot body 54 advances along the guide rod 52 and then descends along the guide rod 53. Front suction part 57,
The flexible substrate 40 held by 58 has both connection end portions 4
1, 42 are predetermined positions of the printed circuit board 10 on the conveyor 2. At the same time, the flat flexible substrate 40 held by the rear suction portions 55 and 56 coincides with the gripping members 63 and 64 of the XYθ table device 60. The delivery of the flat substrate 40 by switching the vacuum device is as described above.

The flexible substrate 40, which is in a predetermined position on the printed circuit board 10, is kept in a correct position by the adjustment on the XYθ table device 60 described above, and the conductors of the connecting portions of both the substrates 10 and 40 are aligned with each other. . If necessary, after a simple confirmation work, the main body 54 is lowered slightly to move the substrate 40 to the substrate 1.
Press on 0.

Here, the welding machine 5 is moved forward by a predetermined distance and then lowered to energize the heater chips 71 and 72 to weld the connection ends 41 and 42 of the flexible board 40 to predetermined positions of the printed board 10. When welding is completed, the air blower in the welder 5 is operated to cool and solidify the welded portion. The welder 5 is raised and retracted and retracted to the position shown in the figure.

The robot body 54 is raised and retracted. During this time, mobile X
The Yθ table 62 moves and rotates to rotate the flexible substrate 40.
Transform. When the retracted robot body 54 descends, the rear suction portions 55 and 56 hold the flat flexible substrate, and the front suction portions 57 and 58 receive both end portions of the deformed flexible substrate 40 from the gripping members 63 and 64.

As described above, according to the present invention, a station including a robot that takes out and conveys a flexible substrate from a magazine, a sensor device for accurate alignment, and a welding machine that performs welding connection after alignment forms a printed circuit board. By arranging a plurality of parts along the conveyor which is stepped forward, automatic parts can be attached to the printed circuit board and manpower can be significantly saved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a line of a positioning and connecting device for a printed electric wiring board according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of one of the stations shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an end view of the same. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing details of the station according to another embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an end view of the same. 1 ... Printed circuit board supply device 2 ... Conveyor 3, 50 ... Robot 4 ... Flexible substrate magazine 5 ... Welding machine 6 ... Sub-conveyor 7 ... Sensor 10 ... Printed circuit board 11 ... Stand 12, 40 ...... Flexible substrate 13,55,56,57,58 …… Suction arm 14,71,72 …… Heater chip 25,54 …… Robot body 31, 32,41,42 …… Connecting end 60 …… XY table Devices 63, 64 ... Gripping members

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device for mounting an electric component in which a large number of conductors are arranged in parallel at a predetermined position of a non-flexible printed electric wiring board so that the respective conductors are aligned with each other and the board is positioned and placed thereon. At least one of a plurality of stations arranged along the conveyor to attach the electric components at predetermined positions of the substrate, and the electric components are stacked and stored. A magazine for supplying one component to one piece, a robot main body having a suction arm that sucks an electric component from the magazine and performs an up-and-down front-back operation and a rotation operation with respect to the conveyor to convey the electric component to the substrate, A television camera that obtains an image of each conducting wire before the substrate and the conveyed electrical components are in close contact with each other, and the image of the television camera is compared with a reference image pattern. A welding machine having a controller for receiving the output of the error signal to move the suction arm to match the electric component with a predetermined position, and a heater chip for welding and connecting each conductor wire of the electric component that is closely contacted with the predetermined position of the substrate. And a position setting / connecting device for a printed electric wiring board, which comprises: 2. A magazine for accommodating and stacking a large number of flexible boards in a device for connecting a flexible board in which a large number of conductors are arranged in parallel at a predetermined position of an inflexible printed electric wiring board so that the respective conductors are aligned with each other. , A suction arm for suction-holding the uppermost one flexible board in the magazine, a robot body for moving the suction arm in the XYZθ directions, and a printed electric wiring board positioned and placed thereon,
A conveyor that intermittently feeds and stops at the mounting position of the flexible board, and a television camera that obtains an image of the connecting portion when the robot body sucks and holds the flexible board on the printed electric wiring board almost at the mounting position,
A control device for comparing the image with a predetermined pattern and receiving an error signal output to move the suction arm to bring the flexible substrate into alignment with a predetermined position, and each conductive wire of the flexible substrate in close contact with the substrate in a predetermined position. And a welding machine having a heater chip for welding and connecting the above. 3. A device for connecting a plurality of conducting wires in parallel to each other at predetermined positions of a non-flexible printed electric wiring board by connecting the conducting wires of both end connecting portions of the flexible board to each other. When the relative position between the connecting parts is different between the posture in which the flexible printed circuit board is placed flat and the posture in which the flexible printed circuit board is mounted on the printed circuit board, the printed circuit board is positioned and placed intermittently, and the flexible circuit board is mounted at the mounting position. Each conveyor is sucked and held by a conveyor that stops, a magazine that stacks and stores a large number of flexible boards in a flat posture and pushes them up one by one, and a suction section that is arranged corresponding to both ends of one flexible board in the magazine. A second holding having a first holding arm and a suction portion arranged corresponding to each conductor connecting position of the flexible board on the printed electric wiring board. A magazine for transporting a flat flexible board toward a printed electric wiring board having a welding machine, and a welding machine having a heater chip for connecting both ends of the flexible board to the printed electric wiring board by welding. A first and second table in which a gripping member for adsorbing and holding both ends of the flexible substrate is arranged is provided between the conveyor and the conveyor, and at least one of the first and second tables is moved to flatten the relative position between the two tables. A robot for moving both end portions of the flexible board between a first position for receiving the flexible board and a second position corresponding to the connecting position on the printed board, and the robot when both tables are in the first position. The second set of holding arms of the robot when the flat flexible substrate is received from the first set of holding arms of the robot and both tables are in the second position. Positioning connecting device printed electrical wiring board, characterized in that for conveying receiving a flexible substrate on a printed electric circuit board.