JPH11145651A - Flexible substrate insertion device and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable quick insertion of a flexible substrate into a connector by a method wherein a chuck head grasping the flexible substrate is rotated by an epicyclic gear mechanism so that the connector insertion part of the flexible substrate comes to its insertion position of the connector. SOLUTION: A printed board 2 mounted with a connector 4 and a flexible substrate 6 is positioned by a connector guide unit 7 with the position of the connector 4 as a reference to place the board 2 on a jig 1 having a floating mechanism. A chuck head 21 provided with a pawl 23 for flexible substrate grasp use for grasping the substrate 6 in the vicinity of a connector insertion part of the substrate 6 is provided so that the head 21 is rotated by an epicyclic gear mechanism 22 so that the connector insertion part of the substrate 6 comes to its insertion position of the connector 4. Thereby, quick insertion of the substrate 6 into the connector 4 and space-saving of an equipment become possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic board insertion technique, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for inserting a flexible board into a connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an operation of inserting a flexible substrate into its connector is automated, it is necessary to use a combination mechanism of an orthogonal coordinate type four-axis robot and an air chuck attached to a rotary actuator for gripping the flexible substrate. Many.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional configuration, a series of operations are performed by the motion of the robot,
The operation time is lengthened by complicatedly combining the gripping of the flexible substrate with the air chuck and the rotation of the rotary actuator, and the work space is increased due to the necessity of multiple units including the robot. However, the method of adjusting the device by teaching has various uncertainties, and thus has a problem in that the quality of the device itself is not guaranteed at the time of design, that is, the design guarantee of the device cannot be clarified.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is intended to increase the speed of insertion of a flexible substrate into a connector.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible board insertion apparatus and an insertion method which clarify design assurance of equipment space, elimination of a robot operation process, and design assurance of the apparatus itself and products produced by the apparatus. Note that misalignment of the connector on the printed circuit board causes insertion failure of the flexible board into the connector, which reduces the non-defective product rate.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a flexible board insertion apparatus comprising: a jig having a floating mechanism; and a printed circuit board mounted on the jig and having a connector and a flexible board mounted thereon, the position of the connector being determined by reference. A connector setting guide unit for positioning the connector, a chuck head having a flexible board holding member for holding the flexible board near the connector insertion portion, and a chuck head holding the flexible board, the connector of the flexible board A planetary gear mechanism for turning the insertion portion so as to come to the insertion position to the connector is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to speed up the insertion of a flexible board into a connector and to save space in equipment, and to clarify the design assurance of the apparatus itself and the products produced by the apparatus. it can.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 are drawings showing the configuration of an embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention applied to the production process of a mobile phone. FIG. 1 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a right side view, and FIG. 4 is a view as seen from the direction of the arrow in FIG. In FIG. 1, 1 is a printed circuit board stationary jig having a floating mechanism, 2 is a printed circuit board of a mobile phone placed on the printed circuit board stationary jig 1, 3 is a component,
Reference numeral 4 denotes a connector. The component 3 is incorporated in the printed circuit board 2, and when a flexible substrate 6 of the component 3 described later is inserted into the connector 4, the two are electrically connected. In addition, a connector lock slope for facilitating insertion of the flexible substrate 6 is provided in the insertion portion of the connector 4. Reference numeral 5 denotes an insertion unit which grips the flexible board 6 of the component 3, winds it up, and inserts it into the connector 4 on the printed board 2, and its main driving device is composed of a pneumatic device and a planetary gear. Reference numeral 7 in FIG. 2 denotes a connector setting guide unit for positioning the printed circuit board 2 based on the position of the connector 4. The positional relationship between the insertion unit 5 and the connector setting guide unit 7 is as shown in FIG. I have. On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows a state in which the shape of the flexible board 6 is changed by the insertion operation of the flexible board 6 into the connector 4 by the insertion unit 5, and 6a in FIG.
The flexible substrate 6 before the insertion operation step indicated by (5) is gripped and entangled by the operation of the insertion device described later, and is inserted into the connector 4 in the state shown in 6b.

Hereinafter, this series of insertion operations will be described with reference to the drawings. 5 to 15 are drawings showing each insertion operation step in one embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state of the jig wedge release in the insertion operation step 1, and FIG. Is the insertion operation process 2
7 is a plan view showing the state of the connector setting guide of FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a right side view showing the state of the connector setting guide of the insertion operation step 2, and FIG. 9 is a front view showing a state of gripping the flexible substrate in the insertion operation step 4, FIGS. 10 to 12 are drawings showing a chuck head turning state when the flexible substrate is gripped in the insertion operation step 5, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state during the rotation of the chuck head, FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state after the rotation of the chuck head, and FIG. 13 is an insertion unit for explaining the state of the rotation of the chuck head. FIG. 14 is a side view, FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing the state of the flexible substrate accompanying the turning of the chuck head, and FIG. It is.

Insertion operation step 1 This is a jig wedge releasing step.
5 is released by lowering the first cylinder 9 to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and the wedge 8 shown in FIG. 5 fixing the position of the jig is fixed. The floating mechanism allows the printed circuit board 2 to be freely positioned on the jig in the longitudinal direction (left and right directions in the drawing).

Insertion operation step 2 This is a printed circuit board position setting step. First, the connector setting guide 10 is placed on the printed circuit board 2 by the second cylinder 11 shown in FIG. 7 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6 and the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7 and engages with the connector 4, the connector 4 is regulated as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7, and the printed circuit board 2 is positioned based on the position of the connector 4.

Inserting operation step 3 This is a chuck head moving step, in which the insertion unit 5 is moved in the direction of the arrow by the third cylinder 12 shown in FIG.
Move to the position that sandwiches.

Insertion operation step 4 This is a flexible board holding step in which the claw 23 of the chuck head 21 holds the flexible board 6 by the fourth cylinder 13 shown in FIG. The claw 23 has been subjected to Teflon coating, and the flexible substrate 6
Is configured to generate a slip while securely grasping the flexible substrate 6 so that an unreasonable force is not applied to the flexible substrate 6.

Inserting operation step 5 This is a chuck head turning step, which is performed by a planetary gear mechanism. First, the fifth cylinder 14 shown in FIG. A link 16 attached to the tip of the shaft gives rotational movement to the second shaft 17, and the second shaft 17
The shaft 17 rotates from the state shown in FIG. 10 to the state shown in FIGS. The fifth cylinder 1
Reference numeral 4 is configured to swing freely around the point B shown in FIG. When the second shaft 17 rotates in this manner, as shown in FIG.
The first gear 18d fixed to the second shaft 17 rotates and transmits a rotational motion to the second gear 19 of the chuck head 21 fixed to the second shaft 17 via the housing 20. The first gear 18d has the same diameter and the same coaxial
7 is provided with a fixed first gear 18s which is loosely fitted, and as a result of the second gear 19 meshing with both of them, a planetary gear mechanism 22 is formed, thereby rotating and revolving,
The entire chuck head 21 holding the flexible substrate 6 connected thereto rotates and revolves. The manner in which the chuck head 21 itself rotates as the fifth cylinder 14 moves as described above is shown in FIGS. 10 to 12.

FIG. 14 shows a change in the shape of the flexible substrate 6 caused by the rotation of the chuck head 21 holding the flexible substrate 6 in this manner. In the figure, when the first gear 18 rotates 59.98 °, the second gear 19, that is, the chuck head 21 itself, rotates 59.98 °.
In addition to the revolving motion of the flexible substrate 6, the trajectory of the leading end of the flexible substrate 6 at this time is as shown by 6a. In addition, 18a is the pitch circle diameter of the first gear 18d, 19a is the pitch circle diameter of the second gear 19, 23a is the position of the claw before the turning operation of the chuck head 21, and 23b is the claw position after the turning operation of the chuck head 21. Each position is shown. Conventionally, in the chuck head turning process, the robot was controlled in a complicated manner, so that the adjustment and the like were complicated. However, in the present embodiment, the flexible substrate 6 is wound into a U-shape, and This is realized by using a simple mechanism called a planetary gear to form a position change trajectory in a space for positioning the insertion portion above the connector 4.

Insertion operation step 6 This is a flexible board insertion step, in which the sixth cylinder 24 shown in FIG.
Is moved so that the connector insertion portion of the flexible substrate 6 is arranged at a position along the connector lock slope provided at the insertion portion of the connector 4. Next, the seventh cylinder 25 shown in FIG. 3 is moved (downward in the drawing) to lower the chuck head 21, and the connector insertion portion of the flexible board 6 held by the claw 23 is pushed down along the connector lock slope, Insertion into the connector 4 completes the insertion operation. In FIG. 15, 23c indicates the position of the claw 23 before the movement of the seventh cylinder 25, and 23d indicates the position of the claw 23 after the movement of the seventh cylinder 25.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the production process of a portable telephone is illustrated, but the present invention can be applied to the production process of other industrial products. Further, as the driving means of each of the cylinders, any of a pneumatic device and a hydraulic device can be used, and an electric drive actuator can also be used.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to speed up work, save space, and obtain design assurance by a complete mechanical mechanism without using a robot in the process of inserting a flexible board into a connector. Becomes possible.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the printed board on the stationary jig having the floating mechanism is positioned by the setting guide, and the flexible board holding member itself rotates and revolves by the planetary gear mechanism. This realizes the insertion of the flexible board into the connector, so that it is possible to obtain the advantageous effects that the operation can be speeded up, the space can be saved, and the design can be guaranteed by a complete mechanical mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a flexible substrate insertion device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a right side view showing a configuration of an embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a jig wedge release state in an insertion operation step 1 in one embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state of a connector setting guide in an insertion operation step 2 in one embodiment of the flexible board insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a right side view showing a state of a connector setting guide in an insertion operation step 2 in one embodiment of the flexible board insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a state of chuck head movement in an insertion operation step 3 in one embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing the state of gripping the flexible substrate in the insertion operation step 4 in one embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state before the chuck head is turned in an insertion operation step 5 in one embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the chuck head is being rotated in the insertion operation step 5 in the embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a state after the chuck head is turned in the inserting operation step 5 in the embodiment of the flexible substrate inserting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the insertion unit for explaining the state of the chuck head turning in the insertion operation step 5 in one embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a state of the flexible substrate accompanying the rotation of the chuck head in the insertion operation step 5 in the embodiment of the flexible substrate insertion device of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a state when inserting a flexible board in the insertion operation step 6 in one embodiment of the flexible board inserting apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 printed board stationary jig 2 printed board 3 component 4 connector 5 insertion unit 6 flexible board 7 connector regulation guide unit 8 wedge 9 first cylinder 10 connector regulation guide 11 second cylinder 12 third cylinder 13 fourth cylinder 14 fifth cylinder 15 first shaft 16 link 17 second shaft 18 first gear 19 second gear 20 housing 21 chuck head 22 planetary gear mechanism 23 pawl 24 sixth cylinder 25 seventh cylinder

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazushige Saito 4-3-1 Tsunashima Higashi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akihiko Nakamoto Tsunashima, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] A jig having a floating mechanism; a connector setting guide unit for positioning a printed circuit board mounted on the jig and mounting a connector and a flexible board on the basis of a position of the connector; A chuck head having a flexible substrate gripping member that grips the vicinity of the connector insertion portion of the substrate, and a chuck head that grips the flexible substrate, such that the connector insertion portion of the flexible substrate comes to an insertion position into the connector. A flexible board insertion device comprising a planetary gear mechanism for turning. 2. The flexible board insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible board holding member is a claw coated with Teflon. 3. A step of mounting a printed board on which a connector and a flexible board are mounted on a jig having a floating mechanism, a step of positioning the printed board based on a position of the connector, and inserting a connector into the flexible board. Gripping the vicinity of the flexible substrate with a chuck head having a flexible substrate gripping member, and turning the chuck head holding the flexible substrate by a planetary gear mechanism so that a connector insertion portion of the flexible substrate comes to an insertion position into the connector. A method for inserting a flexible substrate, comprising a step of moving.