JPH09117692A - Device and method for separating electronic part chip and medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely and efficiently separate a magnetic, electronic part chip containing nickel in internal electrode from a nonmagnetic medium which is used to grind the chip. SOLUTION: A conveyor 26 with a belt 22, in which an upwardly sloped transfer surface 27 is formed, is provided, and magnets are embedded in the belt 22 to impart magnetism to the surface 27. A mixture of electronic part chips 8 and media 9 is placed on the surface 27, whereby the chips 8 are transferred, while the chips 8 are attracted to the surface 27 by magnetic forces so that the chips are recovered into a chip recovery box 30, and the media 9 are allowed to rotate and fall along the surface 27 under the force of gravity to recover the media into the box 29.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for separating electronic component chips and media used when processing electronic component chips, and more particularly,
The present invention relates to a sorting device and a sorting method using magnetism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When manufacturing a ceramic electronic component such as a monolithic ceramic capacitor, the electronic component chip is subjected to a polishing treatment in order to prevent chipping or cracking in the ridge portion of the electronic component chip mainly made of ceramic. . Such a polishing treatment is usually carried out in a state in which a medium called a cobblestone made of a ceramic such as alumina is mixed with an electronic component chip. As a result, the media must be separated from the electronic chip when processing is complete. To sort such media and electronic component chips, for example, a sorting apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. 3 is used.

Referring to FIG. 3, the sorting apparatus 1 includes a belt 2
And a pair of belt wheels 4 and 5 which winds the belt 2 and drives the belt 2 to circulate in the direction of arrow 3. Transfer surface 7 provided by belt 2
Has a suitable upslope. The above-mentioned mixture of the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9 is supplied to the portion of the transfer surface 7 on the relatively start side. As a result, spherical media 9
Is rolled and dropped along the upwardly inclined transfer surface 7 as indicated by an arrow 10 based on each gravity, and is collected in the media collecting box 11. On the other hand, the electronic component chip 8 has, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape and has a shape that does not easily roll. Therefore, the electronic component chip 8 is transferred according to the circulation operation of the belt 2 while remaining on the transfer surface 7 having an upward slope, It is collected in the collection box 12. In this way, the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9 are separated.

[0004]

However, since the above-mentioned classification utilizes the difference in rollability between the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9, the medium 9 is repeatedly used. As a result, the electronic component chip 8 may be worn or chipped to be deformed into a shape other than a spherical shape, or the electronic component chip 8 may be naturally easy to roll, or the electronic component chip 8 may slip due to the action of an abrasive or the like. When it is in an easy state, it may be difficult to properly sort.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sorting apparatus and a sorting method for sorting electronic component chips and media, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated, the present invention intends to utilize magnetism and to discriminate based on the difference in magnetism. Therefore, the electronic component chips and the media to be separated have different magnetisms. For example, in the case of separating the electronic component chip from the medium used for polishing the electronic component chip, the electronic component chip is provided with an electrode containing a magnetic substance such as nickel on at least one of the inner surface and the outer surface thereof. Or has a chip body made of a magnetic material, and at least a part thereof has magnetism, while the medium is made of a non-magnetic material such as ceramics such as alumina. The present invention can also be applied to the separation of electronic component chips from the media used when electroplating them. In this case, for example, the medium is made of a magnetic material, while the electronic component chip is slightly magnetic like an electrode containing a magnetic material, even if it does not contain a magnetic material at all. You may have.

The present invention is directed first to an apparatus for separating a plurality of electronic component chips and a plurality of media used when processing the electronic component chips. The sorting apparatus includes a conveyor having a belt providing an upwardly sloping transfer surface for transferring a mixture of electronic component chips and media, and a relatively strong magnetic field of either the electronic component chips or the media on the transfer surface. First having
Magnetic force applying means for applying a magnetic force capable of adsorbing only the object. The gradient of the transfer surface is selected to be a size that allows the second object having a relatively weak magnetism, either the electronic component chip or the medium, to drop along the transfer surface due to gravity.

In such a fractionation device, the mixture is
Placed on the transfer surface of the belt. At this time, only the first object having a relatively strong magnetism contained in the mixture is adsorbed on the transfer surface by the magnetic force and transferred with the movement of the belt. On the other hand, the second object having a relatively weak magnetism is separated from the first object by dropping along the inclined transfer surface.

In the present invention, preferably, the belt includes a magnet, and the belt itself constitutes magnetic force applying means. Further, in this belt, a plurality of magnets may be regularly distributed. In addition, a plurality of regularly distributed recesses may be formed on the transfer surface of the belt. The present invention is also directed to a method for separating a plurality of electronic component chips and a plurality of media used when processing the electronic component chips. This sorting method comprises the steps of providing a conveyor having a belt, which forms an upwardly sloping transfer surface and is provided with a magnetic force on the transfer surface, and electronic component chips and media on the transfer surface. Of the electronic component chip and the medium so that only the first object having a relatively strong magnetism of the electronic component chip and the medium is attracted onto the transfer surface based on the magnetic force, and the electronic component chip and the medium are relatively moved. And a step of dropping a second object having a weak magnetism along the transfer surface due to gravity.

In this specification, it is pointed out that the expression "having relatively weak magnetism" includes the case where magnetism is not present at all.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the first object transferred along with the movement of the belt on the upwardly inclined transfer surface is attracted to the transfer surface by the magnetic force. Therefore, in a normal state, even if the slope is easy to roll or slip, the first object can be made difficult to drop along the transfer surface, and therefore, the slope of the transfer surface can be set without any problem. , Can be relatively large. As a result, the second object can be smoothly dropped along the transfer surface based on the gravity acting according to the gradient. As described above, according to the present invention, the electronic component chip and the medium can be efficiently, reliably, and highly reliably separated with the help of magnetism.

In the present invention, as described above, a plurality of magnets are regularly distributed in the belt,
If the plurality of concave portions are regularly distributed and formed on the transfer surface of the belt, the first objects can be regularly arranged during the transfer on the transfer surface. Therefore, if the first objects arranged regularly are handled afterwards while maintaining the array state, convenience in handling the first objects can be expected. For example, when the first object is an electronic component chip, it is possible to efficiently handle the electronic component chip such as supplying to a holder for holding a plurality of electronic component chips in an aligned state.

[0013]

1 is a perspective view showing a sorting device 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This sorting device 2
1 is used to separate a plurality of electronic component chips 8 from the media 9 used when polishing them, as in the above-described sorting device 1. Here, the electronic component chip 8 has an electrode containing a magnetic substance such as nickel on at least one of the inside and the outer surface thereof, or has a chip body made of a magnetic substance. The first object has magnetism and has relatively strong magnetism. On the other hand, the medium 9 is made of a nonmagnetic material such as ceramics such as alumina, and corresponds to a second object having relatively weak magnetism.

Referring to FIG. 1, the sorting device 21 is similar to the sorting device 1 in that a belt 22 is wound around the belt 22 and a pair of belt wheels 24 and 25 for circulating the belt 22 in the direction of arrow 23. And a conveyor 26 including. The transfer surface 27 provided by the belt 22 has an upward slope greater than that of the transfer surface 7 described above. A magnetic force capable of attracting only the electronic component chip 8 is applied to the transfer surface 27. More specifically, the belt 22 is made of a magnet, or the magnet is embedded or attached to the belt 22, so that the magnetic force applying unit that gives the magnetic force described above is realized. Alternatively, the belt 22 may be made of a magnetizable material, and a magnet serving as a magnetic force applying unit may be placed in contact with or in proximity to the belt 22. In addition, these magnets
It may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.

The mixture of the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9 is supplied to the portion of the transfer surface 27 on the relatively front end side. As a result, the medium 9 rolls and falls along the upwardly inclined transfer surface 27 as indicated by the arrow 28, and is collected in the medium collection box 29. On the other hand, the electronic component chip 8 is transferred by the circulation operation of the belt 22 while remaining on the transfer surface 27 while being attracted to the transfer surface 27 based on the magnetic force described above, and is recovered in the chip recovery box 30. In this way, the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9 are separated.

Incidentally, when the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9 placed on the transfer surface 27 overlap with each other, separation may be hindered. A stirring member that comes into contact with the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9 while swinging above the transfer surface 27 may be provided. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a sorting device 31 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Also in this sorting apparatus 31, a plurality of electronic component chips 8 each having a difference in magnetism from each other and the media 9 used when polishing the electronic component chips 8 are sorted.

Referring to FIG. 2, the sorting device 31 is similar to the sorting device 21 in that a belt 32 and a pair of belt wheels 34 and 35 that wind the belt 32 to circulate and drive the belt 32 in the direction of arrow 33. And a conveyor 36 including.
The transfer surface 37 provided by the belt 32 has a relatively large upslope, like the transfer surface 27 described above.

On the transfer surface 37, regions where a magnetic force capable of attracting only the electronic component chips 8 is applied are regularly distributed in a plurality of places. More specifically, the plurality of magnets 38
However, as shown by the broken line, the belts 32 are regularly arranged.
Embedded or attached to. These magnets 38 may be permanent magnets or electromagnets. The mixture of the electronic component chip 8 and the medium 9 is supplied to the portion of the transfer surface 37 on the relatively front end side. As a result, as in the case of the above-described embodiment, the medium 9 rolls and drops along the upward-sloping transfer surface 37 as indicated by the arrow 39,
It is collected in the media collection box 40.

On the other hand, the electronic component chips 8 are regularly arranged on the transfer surface 37 by being attracted to each of the magnets 38 one by one as they are transferred along with the movement of the transfer surface 37. To be done. Then, the electronic component chips 8 are transferred to the end of the transfer surface 37 in accordance with the circulation operation of the belt 32 while maintaining this arrayed state. Transfer surface 37
Facing the end of the chip holder 41 shown schematically
Is arranged. As described above, the electronic component chips 8 that are regularly arranged and transferred are taken out by the chip holder 41 while the arranged state is maintained. The chip holder 41 is, for example, in the vertical direction and the conveyor 36.
On the other hand, the electronic component chips 8 that have been arrayed and transferred are taken out row by row by operating in the direction of approaching and separating. The chip holder 41 includes a plurality of electronic component chips 8
Of the electronic component chip 8 after that while keeping them aligned.
Or a type in which a plurality of electronic component chips 8 are temporarily held in an aligned state and transferred to another holder or the like. Good.

In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of magnets 38 are regularly distributed on the transfer surface 37 in order to regularly arrange the electronic component chips 8 on the transfer surface 37. However, instead of this, or In addition to this, on the transfer surface 37,
A plurality of recesses for receiving the electronic component chips 1 one by one may be formed by being regularly distributed. These recesses will be formed at positions corresponding to the positions where the magnet 38 is shown in FIG.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the illustrated embodiments, but within the scope of the present invention,
Various embodiments can be adopted. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a step of separating an electronic component chip and a medium made of a magnetic material used for plating the electronic component chip in the process of manufacturing the electronic component. In this case, the medium becomes the first object having relatively strong magnetism, and the electronic component chip becomes the second object having relatively weak magnetism. Therefore, in the separation, the medium is transferred while being attracted to the transfer surface by the magnetic force, and the electronic component chips are dropped along the transfer surface by the gravity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a sorting device 21 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a sorting device 31 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional sorting device 1 which is of interest to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 8 Electronic Component Chip 9 Media 21, 31 Sorting Device 22, 32 Belt 26, 36 Conveyor 27, 37 Transfer Surface 29, 40 Media Collection Box 30 Chip Collection Box 38 Magnet 41 Chip Holder

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for separating a plurality of electronic component chips and a plurality of media used when processing the electronic component chips, wherein the electronic component chips and the media are A magnet having a difference from each other in magnetism, a conveyor having a belt providing an upwardly sloping transfer surface for transferring a mixture of the electronic component chip and the medium, and on the transfer surface, the electronic component chip and the Magnetic force applying means for applying a magnetic force capable of adsorbing only the first object having relatively strong magnetism of the medium, and the gradient of the transfer surface is relatively weak in either the electronic component chip or the medium. A sorting device selected to have a size capable of dropping a second magnetic object along the transfer surface due to gravity. 2. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt includes a magnet, and the belt itself constitutes the magnetic force applying means. 3. The sorting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the belt has a plurality of the magnets regularly distributed. 4. The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt has a plurality of regularly distributed recesses formed on the transfer surface. 5. The electronic component chip is at least partially magnetic and serves as the first object, and the medium is made of a non-magnetic material used when polishing the electronic component chip. And the second
The sorting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is the object of claim 1. 6. A method for classifying a plurality of electronic component chips and a plurality of media used when processing the electronic component chips, wherein the electronic component chips and the media are A conveyor having a belt, which has a difference in magnetism, forms an upslope transfer surface, and is configured to give a magnetic force on the transfer surface, prepares a conveyor having the electronic component on the transfer surface. A mixture of a chip and the medium is placed so that only the first object of the electronic component chip or the medium having a relatively strong magnetism is attracted to the transfer surface based on the magnetic force, and Each step of dropping a second object having a relatively weak magnetism, either the electronic component chip or the medium, along the transfer surface based on gravity How to sort. 7. The electronic component chip is at least partially magnetic and serves as the first object, and the medium is made of a non-magnetic material used when polishing the electronic component chip. And the second
The sorting method according to claim 6, wherein the sorting object is the object.