JPH07176893A - Square chip components supplying method and equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To separate every one of many square chip components, which are accommodated in a hopper to be in the state of bulk, by using simple mechanism without utilizing compressed air, and feed the components in the aligned state. CONSTITUTION:The equipment consists of the following; a hopper 13 which accommodates square chip components and moves up and down, a separation alignment pipe 55 having a square through hole in which each of the square chip components in the hopper is dropped, and square trench shoots 51, 62 wherein a components feeding path whose one end is connected with the square through hole of the separation alignment pipe 55, and whose other end reaches a components pickup position are arranged. Lateral direction feeding of the square chip components in the components feeding path is performed by air suction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chip component supplying method and device used in a chip component mounting machine or the like for mounting a chip component on a printed circuit board, and more particularly to a bulk (bulk component) square chip component. The present invention relates to a chip component supplying method and device suitable for separating, aligning, and supplying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to separate and align bulk-shaped chip components, a funnel-shaped storage chamber is provided so that the chip components can be stored under the weight thereof, and a chip alignment hole is provided at the bottom of the chamber. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-280129 discloses a structure in which an injection port for intermittently ejecting air is provided in the vicinity. In this structure, the chip components in the storage chamber are separated by the air from the ejection port and dropped into the chip alignment holes.

Further, there is a structure in which a storage space (storage space) for chip parts is provided inside the cassette and an alignment passage is provided for communicating with the storage space for aligning and taking out chip parts. It is disclosed in JP-A-63-82975. Also in this conventional example, in order to prevent the chip parts from blocking the entrance of the alignment passage, a blowing passage for blowing compressed air to the chip parts near the entrance is formed.

[0004]

In each of the above-mentioned conventional examples, compressed air is intermittently blown into the storage chamber or the storage space in order to separate the chip parts and take them into the chip alignment holes or the alignment passages. However, the intermittent use of compressed air requires a solenoid valve and a control device for the solenoid valve, resulting in a high cost. In addition, since compressed air is used, there is a problem that dirt (such as lubricating oil particles contained in compressed air) is generated.

Further, the transfer of the chip component in the chip alignment hole or the alignment passage is carried out by dropping by gravity, and the position holding of the chip component at the tip of the chip alignment hole or the alignment passage becomes unstable. It is easy to become.

A first object of the present invention is to separate a plurality of square chip parts housed in bulk in a hopper one by one,
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for supplying rectangular chip parts that can be fed in an aligned state.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for supplying angular chip parts capable of separating and aligning a large number of angular chip parts housed in bulk in a hopper with a simple mechanism.

A third object of the present invention is to supply angular chip parts in which a large number of bulky angular chip parts are accommodated in a hopper by a clean and dust-free mechanism which does not use compressed air. A method and apparatus are provided.

Other objects and novel features of the present invention will be clarified in Examples described later.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a method of supplying a square chip component according to the present invention is configured so that a hopper accommodating the square chip component is moved up and down to pass through a through-angle hole of a component separating member. Each of the square chip components in the hopper is dropped into the square groove, and the square chip components are fed to the component pickup position through the component feeding path connected to the through-angle hole or the square groove.

Further, the square chip component device of the present invention has a hopper that accommodates the square chip component and moves up and down, and a component having a through-angle hole or a square groove through which the square chip component in the hopper falls. The separation member and the alignment chute having one end connected to the through-angled hole or the square groove of the component separation member and the other end provided with a component feeding path to reach the component pickup position are provided.

[0012] It is desirable that the upper end side opening of the square hole or the square groove formed in the component separating member is expanded in a tapered shape so that the wall thickness becomes thinner toward the upper end of the component separating member. It is desirable that a taper is also formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the component separating member.

Further, a component detection sensor for detecting a corner chip component alignment end is provided in the middle of the alignment chute,
The vertical movement of the hopper may be stopped when the amount of square chip components in the component feeding path exceeds a certain amount.

[0014]

In the method and apparatus for supplying a square chip component of the present invention, the component separating member is moved in and out of the hopper by the vertical movement of the hopper, and the square chip component is inserted into the through-angle hole or the square groove of the component separating member. The chip components are separated by dropping them one by one, and the chip components are taken into the square holes or grooves of the component separating member, and compressed air is intermittently blown to separate the chip components. Since it is not necessary, the generation of dirt due to compressed air is eliminated, and devices such as solenoid valves are not required, so that the device can be simplified.

Further, on the tip side of the alignment chute having a component feeding path connected to the square hole or the square groove of the component separating member,
An opening for picking up a component corresponding to a position for picking up a component is provided, a shutter for opening and closing the opening and an air suction path communicating with the component feeding path are provided, and inside the component feeding path with the shutter closed. When the air suction is performed and the air suction path is shut off when the shutter is open, the air is sucked in the component feed path with the shutter closed to allow the component to be fed from the entrance of the component feed path. The square chip parts can be reliably fed without relying on gravity to reach the take-out opening. In addition, since the square chip parts are transferred by air suction, the parts supply path is less likely to be contaminated, and dust and other particles are not scattered to the outside of the device, so it can be used in a clean room. .

The upper end side opening of the square hole or the square groove of the component separating member is formed by expanding it in a tapered shape, and the wall thickness is reduced toward the upper end of the component separating member. When a taper is formed on the outer circumference of the upper end portion of the component separating member, the area of the upper end surface of the component separating member having the square hole or the square groove opening can be reduced (being sharpened), and a square chip component. Can be prevented from riding on the upper end surface of the component separating member to block the square hole or the square groove opening, and the square chip component can be reliably taken into the square hole.

Further, a component detection sensor for detecting the corner chip alignment end is provided in the middle of the alignment chute, and the vertical movement of the hopper is stopped when the amount of the corner chip components in the component feed path exceeds a certain amount. With such a configuration, since the corner chip components in the hopper are not agitated more than necessary, damage to the corner chip components can be suppressed.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a method and apparatus for supplying rectangular chip parts according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the overall construction of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a right side view of the same. In these drawings, the phantom line 1 indicates the supply unit base of the chip component mounting machine, and the main body frame 10 of the square chip component supply device is placed on the supply unit base 1. .

A precision ball slide 11 is vertically slidably mounted on the right end of the main body frame 10, and an L-shaped hopper base 12 is attached to the precision ball slide 11.
The vertical portion 12A of the hopper base 1 is fixed.
A hopper (storage chamber) 13 is attached to the second horizontal portion 12B.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hopper 13
The lower portion of the hopper 1 is formed in a funnel shape and a component supply port 14 is provided at the lower end thereof, and a large number of bulk-shaped (bulk component) square chip components 15 are housed in the hopper 13.
A lid body 17 having an air hole 16 is fitted in the upper opening of 3. Further, a shutter 18 for opening and closing the component supply port 14 is provided below the hopper 13. The shutter 18 is movable in the lateral direction as indicated by an arrow R in FIG. 3. For example, assuming that the shutter 18 closes the component supply port 14 in the state of FIG. When moved to the left in FIG. 3, the component supply port 14 is opened. Further, the fitting recess 1 is provided in a portion of the hopper 13 below the position where the shutter 18 is provided.
9 are continuously formed in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 (in the lateral direction of FIG. 3).

On the other hand, the horizontal portion 12B of the hopper base 12
A hopper receiving resin component 23 fitted to the lower portion of the hopper 13 is fixed to the. The hopper receiving resin component 23 is provided with a fitting convex portion 20 for fitting with the fitting concave portion 19 at an intermediate portion thereof in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 (in the lateral direction of FIG. 3) and at the lower portion. A mounting flange 21 is formed, and a through hole 22 communicating with the component supply port 14 is formed vertically.

In the horizontal portion 12B of the hopper base 12,
As shown in the plan view of FIG. 4, a notch 24, a screw hole 25, and a groove 26 are provided. The hopper receiving resin component 23 is mounted and fixed to the horizontal portion 12B by inserting the resin component 23 into the notch 24 from the right direction in FIG. 4 so that the mounting flange 21 is located on the back surface side of the horizontal portion 12B. Fit the screws 2 from the bottom of the mounting flange 21 as shown in FIG.
It is performed by screwing 7 into the screw hole 25.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the mounting member 31 for fixing the hopper 13 is L-shaped on the front side along the corner of the hopper base 12 and long on the side surface facing the vertical portion 12A. It has a hole 32 and a pressing portion 33 on the upper part, and is fixed by a fixing screw 34 which is inserted through the elongated hole 32 and screwed into the vertical portion 12A. The mounting bracket 31 is movable in the vertical direction along the elongated hole 32 with the fixing screw 34 loosened, and the pressing portion 33 can be fitted into the concave groove 26 of FIG. 4 of the hopper base 12. Mounting bracket 3
When 1 is lowered, it does not project from the upper surface of the horizontal portion 12B, and when it is raised, it projects to the upper surface of the horizontal portion 12B.
Can be prevented from coming off in the lateral direction.

The hopper 13 can be attached to and detached from the hopper base 12 as a single hopper (moved in the direction of arrow U1 in the lateral direction of FIGS. 1 and 3 to be attached, and moved in the direction of arrow U2). When the hopper 13 is mounted on the hopper base 12, the pressing portion 33 of the mounting bracket 31 is retracted into the groove 26 of FIG. 4, and the fitting concave portion 19 is set to the hopper receiving resin part 23. After fitting into the fitting convex portion 20 on the side and fitting in the direction of the arrow U1 so as to be positioned on the upper surface of the hopper base 12, the mounting bracket 31 arranged at the corner of the hopper base 12 is fixed by the fixing screw 34 at the rising position. It is fixed and fixed by the pressing portion 33 protruding from the upper surface of the horizontal portion 12B. That is, the pressing portion 33 can prevent the hopper 13 from coming off in the lateral direction. Further, by loosening the fixing screw 34, the pressing portion 33 of the mounting bracket 31.
The hopper 13 can be detached from the hopper base 12 by returning the hopper 13 to the recessed groove 26 and moving the hopper 13 in the direction of the arrow U2. In this way, the hopper 13 can be easily attached to and removed from the hopper base 12.

The lid 17 can be removed from the hopper 13 and the square chip component 15 can be replenished from the upper opening, and the square chip component 15 is accumulated below by its own weight.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a motor mounting plate 41 is fixed on the lower right side of the main body frame 10,
A DC motor 42 for raising and lowering a hopper is fixed to the mounting plate 41. This motor 42 has a decelerator 42A, and a cam 43 is fixed to its rotation shaft. A pin 43A fixed to the cam 43 is fitted in a long hole 44A of a cam follower 44 fixedly connected to the lower end of the hopper base 12. There is. Therefore, the rotation of the motor 42 causes the hopper base 12 and the hopper 13 to reciprocate vertically. However, FIG. 1 shows the raised position of the hopper 13. In addition, DC for raising and lowering the hopper
The motor 42 is turned on and off by operating the switch 45. The switch 45 is on during operation, but it is off during replacement of the hopper.

An arcuate square groove chute 51 forming a part of the alignment chute is erected and fixed at a position above the disposing position of the DC motor 42 for raising and lowering the hopper in the main body frame 10 (on the right end side of the main body frame 10). The arc-shaped square groove chute 51 has a rectangular cross-section, and has an arc-shaped (almost 1/4 arc) portion from the vertical direction (upward and downward direction) at the upper end to the horizontal direction (lateral direction) at the lower end. Square groove 5 forming the feeding path
Two are provided. The square groove chute 51 is configured by forming an arc-shaped lid 54 on a block portion 53 having an arc-shaped surface having an open square groove.

On the upper part of the square groove chute 51, a separation / alignment pipe 55 as a component separation member is vertically (vertically).
Is vertically fixed by a pipe fixing block 56. The upper portion of the separating / aligning pipe 55 is inserted into the through hole 22 of the hopper receiving resin component 23. When the hopper 13 descends, the upper portion of the separating / aligning pipe 55 projects into the hopper 13 from the opening of the through hole 22. It is supposed to do.
In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the separating and aligning pipe 55 has a square cross section and the square groove 52 of the square groove chute 51.
A through-angled hole 57 that forms a component feeding path having the same cross-sectional size as the above is formed, and the lower end opening of the square hole 57 communicates with the square groove 52. As shown in these drawings, the short side (height) X1 of the rectangular cross section of the square hole 57 is the short side of the rectangular end face 15A located at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the rectangular parallelepiped rectangular chip component 15 shown in FIG. It is formed to be slightly smaller than twice a certain thickness T (for example, 2T-0.1 mm), and the long side (width) Y1 of the square hole 57 is slightly smaller than the length L in the longitudinal direction which is the maximum side of the square chip component 15. Is formed to be small (for example, L-
0.2 mm). However, Y1 needs to be smaller than twice the lateral width W of the rectangular chip component 15. As a result, even if the square chip component 15 enters the square hole 57 in an inclined state,
Always, one of the end faces 15A located at both ends in the longitudinal direction is directed and dropped toward the front. In addition, a tapered surface 58 for facilitating entry of the rectangular chip component 15 is formed along the long side Y1 in the upper end opening 57A of the square hole 57, and the length in the short side X1 direction is widened toward the upper end. There is. Separation and alignment pipe 5 located outside the long side Y2 of the upper end opening 57A
A taper surface 59 is formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of 5 to assist the separation of the corner chip parts 15. By thus reducing the area of the tip surface of the separation and alignment pipe 55 (by making it sharp), it is possible to prevent the corner chip component 15 from being placed on the tip surface and closing the opening of the square hole 57, and thus the corner chip component 15 can be prevented. Is designed to easily enter the square hole 57.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the upper side of the main body frame 10, a linear square groove 62 communicating with the square hole 57 of the separating and aligning pipe 55 and the circular arc groove 52 of the circular arc groove chute 51. And a linear square groove chute 61 forming a part of the alignment chute is provided. The square hole 57 of the separation / alignment pipe 55 and the arcuate square groove 52 of the arcuate square groove chute 51 communicate with each other in the same cross section, and the right end of the straight square groove 62 of the straight square groove chute 61 has a circular arc angle. Groove 5
They are connected in the same cross section as 2. The groove width of the linear square groove 62 becomes narrower toward the tip (the left end in FIG. 1) corresponding to the width W which is the long side of the rectangular end surface 15A of the square chip component 15 (the groove width of the chute 61 is It is slightly wider than the width W.). The straight rectangular groove chute 61 is a straight base 63 fixed to the main body frame 10 and having a square groove opening to the upper surface, and a chute lid 64 is covered on the upper surface of the chute lid 64. It is fixed to the linear base 63 by screwing the use screw 65 into the screw hole on the side of the linear base 63.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, the tip end (left end) side of the linear base 63 has a thin wall thickness, and a straight line is formed in the step portion changing from the thick wall portion 63A to the thin wall portion 63B. A chute tip member 67 having a linear square groove 66 communicating with the square groove of the base 63 in the same cross section is fixed. Linear base 6 including the chute tip member 67
A tip side chute lid 68 is fixed to the upper surface of the thick portion of the three parts on the tip side by screwing a lid mounting screw 69 into a screw hole on the linear base 63 side. An alignment chute is formed by connecting the arc-shaped square groove chute 51 and the linear square groove chute 61, and the square hole 57 of the separation alignment pipe 55 is formed.
With respect to the lower end, the arc-shaped square groove 5 of the arc-shaped square groove chute 51
2. A component feeding path is formed in which the linear square groove 62 of the linear square groove chute 61 and the linear square groove 66 of the chute tip member 67 communicate with each other. It is preferable that the component feeding path be substantially airtight except for the openings at both ends.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, a component stopper 71 is provided at the tip (left end) position of the linear square groove 66 on the chute tip member 67 (fixed to the linear base 63). ). Further, a shutter 73 is slidably supported in the lateral direction by a guide 72 fixed to the thin portion 63B of the linear base 63. The component stopper 71 causes the end of the most advanced corner chip component 15 to abut against the corner chip component 15 to pick up the corner chip component P.
Positioning is performed by (the one-dot chain line in the figure), and a gap is provided so as not to block the entire surface of the square groove 66 in order to allow air suction. The shutter 73 is provided with an air suction hole 74 which is open to the tip side of the chute tip member 67 and communicates with the square groove 66. Shutter 7 shown in FIG.
3 is in a closed state and is brought into contact with the tip of the tip side chute lid 68, and at this time, the air suction hole 73 is formed in the linear base 63.
It communicates with the air suction hole 75 provided in the thin portion 63B. Further, the tip of the shutter 73 closes the upper surface of the linear square groove 66 in the shutter closed state, and the component pickup opening 100 at the component pickup position P shown in FIG. 10 (the square groove 66 when the shutter 73 is at the retracted position). It is a position that covers a gap between the upper shutter 73 and the chute lid 68).

The opening at the lower end of the air suction hole 75 communicates with a barb joint 76 provided on the body frame 10, and is fixed to the body frame 10 via a hose 77 of FIG. 1 connected to the barb joint 76. It is connected to a vacuum generator (vacuum ejector) 78 as a negative pressure source.
That is, when the shutter 73 is closed, the shutter 73
The air suction hole 74 on the side is communicated with the air suction hole 75 on the side of the linear base 63, and the barb joint 76 and the hose 77 are connected.
Through to the vacuum generator 78. A filter for removing dust and the like may be provided in the middle of the air suction path.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the side surface of the guide 72 slidably supporting the shutter 73 is
An external communication hole 79 is formed. The external communication hole 79
When the shutter 73 closes the component pickup opening 100 at the component pickup position P as shown in FIG. 8, it is blocked by the shutter 73 and cannot communicate with the outside. An air passage communicating with the outside is formed. The state in which the external communication hole 79 serves as an air passage to the outside continues until the shutter 73 is further opened and the air suction hole 74 is disengaged from the air suction hole 75 on the linear base 63 side. Of air suction is substantially disabled. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, when the shutter 73 is fully opened, the bottom surface of the shutter 73 closes the upper end opening of the air suction hole 75 to block the air suction path and the component extraction opening 100 is opened, and the vacuum generator is opened. Even if the air suction by 78 continues, the suction force does not act on the chip component 15. As described above, since the suction force is not applied when the shutter 73 is open, it is possible to prevent unnecessary force from being applied to the corner chip component 15 located in the component extraction opening 100 due to the suction of air. It is possible to prevent the lifted posture of the square chip component 15 from being disturbed.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pin 81A at the upper end of a shutter opening / closing arm 81 is engaged with the shutter 73. The shutter opening / closing arm 81 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 82 fixed to the main body frame 10, and an engaging portion 83 is provided at the lower end. The support shaft 8
A rotary lever 84 is also rotatably supported on the rotary lever 84. The rotary lever 84 is provided with an engaging pin 85 with which the engaging portion 83 is engaged, and one end of a connecting arm 86 is provided at the lower end. Is pivotally attached. The shutter opening / closing arm 81 and the rotating lever 84 are connected by a tension spring 87, and urges the engaging portion 83 of the shutter opening / closing arm 81 in a direction to engage with the engaging pin 85 on the rotating lever side. . That is, when the rotation lever 84 rotates counterclockwise, the shutter opening / closing arm 81 rotates counterclockwise so that the engaging portion 83 follows the engaging pin 85, and the shutter 73 slides leftward to be in the open state. When the rotating lever 84 rotates to the right, the shutter opening / closing arm 81 rotates to the right due to the engaging portion 83 being pushed by the engaging pin 85, and the shutter 73 slides to the right to close.

The other end of the connecting arm 86 is pivotally attached to the operating lever 88. The operating lever 88 is rotatably supported by a support plate 89 fixed to the main body frame 10, and an operating portion 91 provided on the upper portion receives an operating force F on the chip component mounting machine side. It is designed to rotate counterclockwise. It should be noted that the operating force F is lowered by the suction pin 2 when the suction pin (component pickup pin) 2 on the chip component mounting machine side shown in FIG. 10 sucks the square chip component 15 at the component pickup position P. It is designed to be added together. A tension spring 92 is provided between the lower end of the operating lever 88 and the main body frame 10, and the suction pin 2 returns to the raised position to operate the operating force F on the operating portion 91.
When is released, the operating lever 88 is urged to rotate clockwise. The operating lever 88 is the operating force F of the drive source.
When the operation lever 88 is received, the operation lever 88 rotates counterclockwise, pulls the connecting arm 86, and rotates the rotation lever 84 counterclockwise.
When the operating force F of the drive source applied to the operating lever 88 is released, the operating lever 88 rotates clockwise by the tension spring 92, pushes the connecting arm 86, and rotates the rotating lever 84 clockwise.

As described above, opening and closing the shutter 73
The shutter opening / closing arm 81, the rotating lever 84, the connecting arm 86, and the operating lever 88 are interlocked with each other. At that time, since the shutter opening / closing arm 81 and the rotating lever 84 are connected by the tension spring 87, and the left rotation of the shutter opening / closing arm 81 is made to follow the left rotation of the rotating lever 84, the shutter 73 is opened (left). (Sliding in the direction), if any force is applied to prevent the shutter opening / closing arm 81 from rotating to the left, that is, a force equal to or greater than the tension force of the tension spring 87 is absorbed by the tension spring 87 expanding. Shutter open / close arm 8
1 does not forcibly follow the left rotation of the rotary lever 84. Further, rotating the shutter opening / closing arm 81 and the rotating lever 84 to the right is performed via the connecting arm 86 by using the pulling force of the tension spring 92 provided on the operating lever 88 (biasing the operating lever 88 in the right rotating direction). By doing so, some trouble occurs during the operation of closing the shutter 73 (sliding to the right), and a force that prevents the shutter opening / closing arm 81 and the rotating lever 84 from rotating to the right, that is, a force equal to or greater than the pulling force of the tension spring 92. When is added, the rotation of the operation lever 88 is stopped, and the shutter opening / closing arm 81 and the rotation lever 84 are prevented from being forcibly rotated to the right. Therefore, when the shutter 73 is opened and closed, the corner chip component 15 is a gap between the shutter 73 and the tip side chute lid 68 where the component take-out opening 1 is located.
If something goes wrong, such as being caught in 00,
It is designed so that the opening / closing operation cannot be performed forcibly.

As shown in FIG. 11, an optical sensor 95 as a component detection sensor is arranged to the left of the middle portion of the linear square groove chute 61. The optical sensor 95 has a light emitting element and a light receiving element (not shown) that face each other across the square groove 62 of the linear square groove chute 61, and these are attached to the body frame 10 side. A minute transmission hole 96 is formed in the chute lid 64 and the linear base 63 so that the light beam from the light emitting element can be transmitted to the light receiving element, and an optical path between the light emitting element and the light receiving element (one-dot chain line S ) Passes through the linear square groove 62. Figure 11
As described above, the presence of the corner chip component 15 on the optical path of the optical sensor 95 in the square groove 62 blocks the optical path, and the presence of the corner chip component 15 is detected. And
When the optical sensor 95 detects the presence of the square chip component 15, the DC motor 42 is turned off and the hopper 13
Is stopped to stop the supply of the square chip parts 15. It should be noted that the sensor 95 momentarily turns on and off when the parts pass, but the motor 42 has inertia and does not actually stop. As shown in FIG. 11, when the square chip parts 15 are connected in a row from the part stopper 71 and the aligned end thereof continuously blocks the light of the optical sensor 95, the DC motor 42 is stopped. As a result, an appropriate number of square chip parts 15 are present in the square groove 62.

Although the transmission type optical sensor in which the light emitting element and the light receiving element are opposed to each other is used here, the reflection type light sensor in which the light emitting element and the light receiving element are integrally arranged in parallel on the linear square groove 62 is used. A sensor may be used. In this case, the chute lid 6
Form a transmission hole only in 4. (The light emitting element and the light receiving element should be as close as possible in order to make the transmission hole small.)

A feeder lock lever 101 and a lock claw 102 are attached to the lower side of the main body frame 10. The feeder lock lever 101 and the lock claw 102 are pivotally attached to the main body frame 10, respectively, and both are connected via a connection link 103.
Although not shown, a spring for urging the feeder lock lever 101 in the locking direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 1) is arranged between the feeder lock lever 101 and the main body frame 10. When the feeder lock lever 101 is pulled up as shown by the phantom line Q in FIG. 1, the lock claw 102 is in a state of being disengaged from the pin 104 provided on the supply unit base 1 of the chip component mounting machine, and the main body frame 10 is pulled from the base 1. And it is possible to remove all the mechanisms attached to it. When the feeder lock lever 101 is in the state shown by the solid line in the figure, it is in the mounted state, and the lock claw 102 engages with the pin 104.

Next, the operation of the overall structure of the above embodiment will be described. Here, a hopper 13 that accommodates a large number of square chip components 15 is mounted on the hopper base 12, and a shutter 18 at the lower part of the hopper is opened to supply the square chip components 15. First, the switch 45 is turned on to set the DC motor 42 for raising and lowering the hopper to a rotatable state. The optical sensor 95 is a linear square groove chute 6
When the aligned ends of the square chip parts 15 in one line in the linear square groove 62 of 1 are not detected, the DC motor 42 rotates, and the hopper base 12 and the hopper 13 are vertically moved via the cam mechanism. Let it be done. Therefore, the bulk-shaped (loose) square chip parts 15 in the hopper enter (fall) one by one into the square holes 57 of the separating and aligning pipe 55 that goes in and out of the hopper 13 from the part supply port 14 at the bottom of the hopper. . The square chip component 15 drops through the square hole 57 in the vertical portion of the arc-shaped square groove 52 formed in the arc-shaped square groove chute 51, gradually turns sideways, and reaches the left end of the horizontal portion. In the horizontal part, the chip component feeding action due to gravity disappears. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, the shutter 73 closes the component take-out opening 100 at the component pick-up position P on the tip side of the linear square groove chute 61,
Only the upper end of the separation / alignment pipe 55 is substantially opened, and the vacuum generator 78 is used to draw the air suction holes 74, 7
5. Vacuum suction is performed in the air suction path of the barb joint 76 and the hose 77. As a result, the air flow passing through the air hole 16 of the lid 17 and the inside of the hopper 13 and passing through the component feeding path formed by the square hole 57, the arc-shaped square groove 52, the straight square groove 62 and the square groove 66 communicating with each other. The chip component 15 in the straight angular grooves 62, 66 is generated from the horizontal portion of the arc-shaped angular groove 52 and receives the feeding force in the left direction, and the leading edge chip component 15 comes into contact with the component stopper 71 and stops. . That is, the most advanced chip parts 15
Is a component pickup position P of the component extraction opening 100.
Positioning will be stopped. Since the component feeding path is substantially airtight, the square chip component 15 has a square hole 5
Since the feeding force by vacuum suction works from 7 also in the arc-shaped square groove 52, the square chip component 15 can be smoothly and surely dropped.

After that, the suction pin 2 on the chip component mounting machine side
While lowering, the operating force F is applied to the operating portion 91 of the operating lever 88, the connecting arm 86 and the rotating lever 84 are interlocked, the shutter opening / closing arm 81 is rotated leftward, and the shutter 73 is slid leftward. As a result, first, when the shutter 73 is in the half-opened state, the external communication hole 79 forms an air passage that communicates with the outside, and air suction of the air suction hole 74 is substantially disabled, and when the shutter 73 is opened, the bottom surface of the shutter 73 is opened. Becomes a state in which the upper end opening of the air suction hole 75 is blocked, the air suction path is blocked, and the state where air suction does not continue to work on the chip component 15 continues.
Then, in the fully opened state of the shutter 73 of FIG. 10 (fully opened state of the component take-out opening 100), the suction pin 2 on the mounting machine side descends to suck and lift the most advanced corner chip component 15 at the component pickup position P. Transfer. During this transfer operation, air suction is continued up to the air suction hole 75 on the side of the linear base 63.
The air suction holes 74 communicating with 2 do not exert a suction force on the chip parts 15 in a state where air suction is stopped, so that a lateral feeding force does not work on each chip part and they are in a loosened state. There is no failure in taking out the chip component 15 with the suction pin 2.

If chip components are continuously provided from the horizontal portion to the vertical portion of the square groove 52, a lateral force due to gravity may be applied to the most advanced chip component 15.
Further, even if the suction is stopped, if there is a rear part to which a force due to gravity is applied, the parts in a row do not become loose. Therefore, the optical sensor 95 located in the middle of the linear square groove chute 61 detects a row (alignment end) of the chip components 15 at the position where the optical sensor 95 is arranged, and detects the aligned alignment of the chip components. At this time, the operation of the DC motor 42 is stopped, the vertical movement of the hopper 13 is stopped, and the supply of the chip components to the component feeding path is stopped. Therefore, when the chip component is sucked by the suction pin 2, each chip component is positioned only on the linear square groove chute 61.

Then, the suction pin 2 attracts the rectangular chip component 15 and ascends, whereby the operating force F of the operating lever 88 to the operating portion 91 is released, and the tension spring 92 rotates the operating lever 88 to the right. Connecting arm 86, rotating lever 8
4 interlocks to rotate the shutter opening / closing arm 81 clockwise,
Slide the shutter 73 to the right. As a result,
The shutter 73 is closed and the component take-out opening 100 is closed, the air suction hole 74 and the air suction hole 75 on the side of the linear base 63 are communicated, and the air suction of the air suction hole 74 becomes effective. Then, due to the air suction, the square chip component 15 receives a feeding force in the left direction, the leading edge chip component 15 comes into contact with the component stopper 71, and the positioning is stopped at the component pickup position P of the component extraction opening 100, and the suction pin. It becomes a standby state for taking out parts by 2.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

A large number of corner chip parts 15 are moved by the vertical movement of the hopper 13 and the separation / alignment pipe 55 is moved in and out of the hopper 13, and the square chip parts 1 are inserted into the square holes 57.
The square chip parts 15 are separated by taking in (falling) 5 pieces one by one, and compressed air is not required for separating and arranging the square chip parts, so that contamination by the compressed air is eliminated and the solenoid valve is removed. No need for equipment such as
The device can be simplified.

Transfer of the square chip component 15 from the entrance of the component feed path (opening of the square hole 57 of the separation alignment pipe 55) to the tip of the component feed path (tip of the linear square groove 66 of the chute tip member 67). Since air suction is used, the inside of the component feeding path is less likely to be contaminated and dust and the like are not scattered to the outside of the device, so that it can be applied to a clean room.

In the component taking-out opening 100 for taking out a component by the suction pin 2, when the shutter 73 is closed, the leading corner chip component 15 comes into contact with the component stopper 71 by the air suction force and is positioned. Therefore, when the shutter 73 is in the half-opened state, the external communication hole 79 serves as an air passage communicating with the outside, and air suction is substantially disabled, and in the fully opened state, the air suction path is blocked. When the component is taken out (when the shutter 73 is fully opened), unnecessary force is not applied to the leading square chip component 15, and the square chip component 15 can be accurately positioned at the component pick-up position P to have a stable posture. Therefore, the square chip component 15 can be stably taken out by the suction pin 2.

Since the hopper 13 alone can be easily attached to and detached from the hopper base 12, it is possible to easily replenish the corner chip parts and replace the hopper.

Since the tapered surface 58 is formed inside the opening of the square hole 57 and the tapered surface 59 is formed outside the opening, the area of the upper end surface of the separation alignment pipe 55 is made small (the tip has a pointed shape). ), Square chip parts 15
Can be prevented from riding on the upper end surface to block the opening of the square hole 57, and the square chip component 15 can be reliably dropped into the square hole 57.

The short side (height) X1 of the square hole 57 is slightly smaller than twice the thickness T which is the minimum side of the square chip part 15, and the long side (width) Y1 is the maximum of the square chip part 15. Since it is slightly smaller than the length L which is the side and smaller than twice the width W of the corner chip component, the separation and supply capacity can be increased, and the direction of the corner chip component 15 is always positioned at both ends in the length direction. Either end surface 15A can be defined so as to face forward.

An optical sensor 95 as a component detection sensor is provided, and when a certain amount or more of the square chip components 15 are present in the lateral portion (horizontal portion) of the component feeding path, the DC motor 42 for raising and lowering the hopper is stopped. Since the vertical movement of the hopper 13 is stopped and the square chip parts 15 in the hopper 13 are not agitated more than necessary, the square chip parts 1
The damage of 5 can be suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the separating and aligning pipe 55 is used as the component separating member. However, as shown in FIG. 13, instead of the separating and aligning pipe 55, a pair of half-split cylinders 55A and 55B have corners. It is also possible to use a component separating member in which the grooves 57P and 57Q are formed and which face each other or face each other. The dimensions X1 and Y1 in this case are the same as the dimensions X1 and Y1 of the square hole 57 of the separation / alignment pipe 55 in the above embodiment, and the taper 5 is formed on the upper end portion of the component separating member in FIG.
The formation of 8, 59 is similar to the case of the separating and aligning pipe 55 of the above embodiment.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to this and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims. Let's do it.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The hopper accommodating a large number of bulk-shaped square chip components is moved up and down, and the square chip components in the hopper are dropped into the through-angle holes or the square grooves of the component separating member one by one. Alternatively, since it is configured to feed to the component pickup position through the component feed path connected to the square groove, the mechanism for separating and aligning the bulky square chip components is simple, and the compression is performed for separating the square chip components. Since no air is required, the generation of dirt due to compressed air is eliminated and a device such as a solenoid valve is not required, and the device can be simplified. Further, the problem of dust scattering due to the use of compressed air does not occur, and it can be used in a clean room.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of a method and apparatus for supplying rectangular chip components according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view showing a cross section of a part of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing a portion including a hopper and a hopper base of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an upper surface of a hopper base in the example.

FIG. 5 is a right side view showing the upper part of the hopper base and the mounting bracket in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an upper end surface of a separation / alignment pipe as a component separation member in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view showing a structure of an upper portion of the separation and alignment pipe.

FIG. 8 is a front cross-sectional view showing a shutter closed state in the structure on the front end side of the alignment chute which is a main part configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a left side view of the structure on the front end side of the alignment chute which is a main part configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a front cross-sectional view showing a state in which the shutter is fully opened in the structure on the front end side of the alignment chute which is a main part configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view showing the arrangement of an optical sensor as a component detection sensor in the example.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of a square chip component.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another configuration example of the component separating member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Supply Unit Base 2 Suction Pin 10 Main Frame 11 Precision Ball Slide 12 Hopper Base 13 Hopper 14 Component Supply Port 15 Square Chip Component 23 Hopper Receiver Resin Component 31 Mounting Bracket 42 Hopper Elevating DC Motor 51 Arc-Shaped Square Groove Chute 52 Arc-Shaped Square groove 55 Separation and alignment pipe 57 Square hole 58, 59 Tapered surface 61 Straight square groove chute 62, 66 Straight square groove 63 Straight base 64 Chute lid 67 Chute tip member 68 Tip side chute lid 71 Parts stopper 72 Guide 73 Shutter 74,75 Air suction hole 78 Vacuum generator 95 Optical sensor

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A through hole is formed by vertically moving a hopper accommodating a square chip component to drop the square chip components in the hopper into a through square hole or a square groove of a component separating member. Alternatively, a method of supplying a square chip component is characterized in that the square chip component is fed to a component pickup position through a component feeding path connected to the square groove. 2. The method for supplying a corner chip component according to claim 1, wherein the lateral feed of the corner chip component in the component feeding path is performed by air suction. 3. A hopper for accommodating a square chip component and moving up and down, a component separating member having a through-angled hole or a square groove in which each of the square chip components in the hopper falls, and one end of which is the component. An angular chip component supply device, comprising: an alignment chute which is connected to a through-angled hole or a rectangular groove of a separating member and has a component feed path whose other end reaches a component pickup position. 4. A component pickup opening is provided at a component pickup position on the tip side of the alignment chute, and a shutter is provided for opening and closing the component pickup opening.
An air suction path for sucking air in the component feeding path is provided,
4. The corner chip component supply device according to claim 3, wherein air is sucked in the component feeding path when the shutter is closed, and the air suction path is blocked when the shutter is opened. 5. The upper end side opening of the square hole or the square groove formed in the component separating member is tapered and widens, and the wall thickness is reduced toward the upper end of the component separating member. The square chip component supply device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a taper is formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the component separating member. 6. A component detection sensor for detecting an alignment end of a square chip component is provided in the middle of the alignment chute, and when the square chip component in the component feeding path exceeds a certain amount, the hopper is vertically moved. The corner chip component supply device according to claim 3, 4 or 5, which is stopped.