JPH11334878A - Substrate feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely take out and feed the substrates one by oine by roating an arm of which the movement is inhibited by a comb member about a rotary shaft at a specific angle to be separated from another arm, and comprising a substrate conveyor for conveying the substrate held by the other arm from a rack. SOLUTION: The comb teeth 46 are fixed. The clockwise rotary angle of the arms 12-2 through 12-20 depends on the dropping amount in the direction shown by an arrow 48, of a lifter conveyor 31, so that the dropping amount is determined to obtain the desired rotary angle. The wide space is taken between the lowermost arm 12-1 and the next upper arm 12-2, and a substrate 20 accommodated between the arms 12-1 and 12-2 and a substrate 20 accommodated between an arm 12-2 and 12-3 are separated from one another. A number of rollers are mounted in such manner that they are contacted with a lower face of the substrate 20, and the substrate 20 held by the arm 12-1 is conveyed left to be discharged from a rack 10 when each roller drives the substrate conveyor rotated in the anticlockwise direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate supply apparatus for supplying substrates used for printed wiring one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a processing step of forming a conductor pattern on a substrate used for printed wiring and attaching electronic components to the substrate on which the conductor pattern is formed, the substrates cut to a predetermined size are processed one by one. Must be automatically supplied to the processing device that performs the processing. As an apparatus for automatically supplying a substrate to a processing apparatus, for example, a rack similar to the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is conventionally used. In a conventional rack, a plurality of frame members are horizontally arranged at a predetermined pitch, and a substrate to be processed is stored between adjacent frame members. A roller conveyor having a number of rollers is provided below the rack. When the roller of the roller conveyor is rotated and brought into contact with the lower surface of the substrate at the lowest position of the rack, the substrate is driven by the roller, carried out of the rack, and sent to the processing device. Next, the rack is lowered by the predetermined pitch, and a roller is brought into contact with the lower surface of the second substrate from the bottom, whereby the substrate is unloaded from the rack in the same manner as described above. By repeating the above operation, the substrates are automatically supplied to the processing device one by one.

In the above-described conventional substrate supply apparatus, when a relatively thick substrate having a thickness of 1.5 mm or more is supplied, the operation is stable, but the thickness is 0.1 to 0.5 mm. When a thin substrate is supplied, the following problems occur.

[0004]

The dimensions of the boards accommodated in the rack are not constant and are usually larger than the dimensions of the frame member both vertically and horizontally. Occasionally, a large substrate that protrudes 100 to 150 mm from the outer periphery of the frame-shaped member may be stored. When such a large and thin substrate having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5 mm is stored in a rack, the ends of the substrate may hang down, and vertically adjacent substrates may come into contact with each other. When the lower substrate is driven by the rollers as described above and is carried out in a state where the adjacent substrates are in contact with each other, the upper substrate in contact with the lower substrate may also be carried out. For this reason, a thin substrate cannot be stored in a conventional rack and automatically supplied.

According to the present invention, the thickness is 0.1 to 0.5 mm.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate supply apparatus and a substrate supply method capable of reliably supplying thin substrates one by one.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

According to the substrate supply apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of frame-shaped arms having a rotation axis at one end are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and the arms can be rotated by a predetermined angle around the rotation axis. A lifter conveyor holding the rack so that the board inserted between the plurality of arms is substantially horizontal, and a lifter conveyor inserted between the plurality of arms to prevent movement of the arms In the state in which the comb member is inserted between the arms,
Lowering the lifter conveyor by a predetermined distance, rotating the arm blocked by the comb member by a predetermined angle around the rotation axis, and separating the substrate held by the driving means and the other arm from the other arm. It has a board transfer conveyor for unloading from the rack. In the substrate supply method according to the present invention, a plurality of frame-shaped arms having a rotation axis at one end are arranged at a predetermined pitch, and the arms are rotated around the rotation axis by a predetermined angle by a rack. A step of holding the rack by a lifter conveyor so that a substrate held between the plurality of arms is substantially horizontal; and a comb tooth for preventing movement of the arm between the plurality of arms. Inserting a member, lowering the lifter conveyor by a predetermined distance while the comb member is being inserted, and rotating an arm that has been prevented from moving by the comb member around the rotation axis to separate it from the other arm And carrying out the substrate held by the other arm from the rack by the substrate transport conveyor.

When the lifter conveyor is lowered by a predetermined distance in a state where the comb member is inserted between the arms, the arm in contact with the comb member rotates. On the other hand, since the arm not in contact with the comb member does not rotate, the rotating arm is separated from the non-rotating arm, and a space is created between the two. Therefore, even when a substrate having a large size and protruding from the arm and having a small thickness is stored, the substrate does not protrude and hang down, and the end does not come into contact with the end of another substrate.
It is possible to carry out one sheet at a time.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments Preferred embodiments of the substrate supply apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rack 10 for storing substrates in the substrate supply device of the present invention. The board accommodated in the rack 10 is, for example, a board for printed wiring, and has an outer dimension of a square or a rectangle having a side of 300 mm to 500 mm. The thickness is 0.1 mm to 2.0 mm.
In the rack 10, a frame-shaped arm 12 is rotatably supported by a shaft 13 on a rack base 11. For example, 20 arms 12 are provided, and the adjacent arms 1
The substrate 20 is stored between the two.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the rack 10. In FIG. 2, the left end arm is indicated as arm 12-1 and the right end arm is indicated as 12-20. Arms 12-1 to 12
The −20 support portions 14 are configured such that the respective support portions 14 are in contact with the linear side portions 14A. A stopper 16 is provided at the left end of the rack base 11.
The side portion 14A of the support portion 14 of the left end arm 12-1 is positioned in contact with the stopper 16. In this state, for example, the arm 12-1
It is made to incline. The second arm 12-2 from the left has an arm 12
-1 tilts 12 degrees to the left in contact with the side 14A, and becomes parallel to the arm 12-1. Similarly, the arm 12-
3 to 12-20 are also inclined 12 degrees to the left. By tilting the arms 12-1 to 12-20 to the left, all the arms 12-1 to 12-20 rotatably supported by the shaft 13 become parallel. FIG. 3 is a front view of the rack 10.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the overall structure of a substrate supply apparatus for supplying the substrates 20 stored in the rack 10 described above. The substrate supply operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. The rack 10 containing the substrates 20 is placed on the horizontally installed upper-stage stock conveyor 30 and transported in the direction of arrow A, and the lifter conveyor 31 is made horizontal.
Moved to

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which the rack 10 has been moved to the lifter conveyor 31. Lifter conveyor 31
Has a rack guide 32, and both ends of the rack base 11 of the rack 10 transferred to the lifter conveyor 31 are held by the rack guide 32. In FIG. 4, the lifter conveyor 31 is turned about 78 degrees counterclockwise about the lower shaft 31A by a rotating means (not shown) and stands upright. As a result, the arms 12-1 to 12-2 of the rack 10
0 is horizontal. When the dimensions of the boards stored in the rack 10 are larger than the dimensions of the arms 12-1 to 12-20 and the thickness is 0.1 to 0.5, the front of the rack 10 in FIG. As shown in the figure and the side view of (b), the portions of the substrate 20 protruding from the arms 12-1 to 12-20 hang down, and the ends of the adjacent substrates 20 may come into contact with each other. With the ends touching each other,
As shown in FIG. 4, in order to supply the substrates 20, a substrate transport conveyor 36 is arranged at the lower part of the rack 10, and the lowermost position of the substrate 20 is transferred to the left side of the figure. The substrate 20 may be transferred together. In the substrate supply device, it is necessary to supply the substrates 20 one by one. Therefore, if a plurality of substrates are simultaneously transferred as described above, the substrate is not supplied normally.

In the present embodiment, the following configuration and execution are carried out in order to surely transport the thin substrates 20 whose edges are sagged one by one. FIG. 7 is a side view of the lifter conveyor 31 that stands up while holding the rack 10. In the figure,
The lifter conveyor 31 includes a ball screw 41 that is moved up and down by a screw shaft 42 disposed in parallel with the lifter conveyor 31.
It is connected to. By the rotation of the screw shaft 42, the lifter conveyor 31 moves up and down diagonally as indicated by an arrow N.

The lifter conveyor 31 is provided with a substrate pushing plate 33 parallel to the lifter conveyor 31. When the substrate push-out plate 33 is moved to the left in the drawing by driving means such as an air cylinder, which is not shown, the substrate push-out plate 33 is moved to the window 31A of the lifter conveyor 31 and the two windows 10A of the rack 10 shown in FIG. Through the arm 12-1
And press the left end of the substrate 20 housed between 12-20. As a result, a gap of about 30 mm is provided between the end of the board 20 and the bottom of the rack 10.

FIG. 8 is a view of the lifter conveyor 31 of FIG. 7 as viewed from the left side. In the figure, lifter conveyor 31
The comb teeth 46 are arranged in parallel with the first and second teeth. The comb teeth 46 are moved by arrows 47 by driving means (not shown) such as a cylinder.
It is adapted to move rightward as shown in FIG. Comb teeth 4
When 6 moves to the right, the teeth 46A are pressed against the ends of the substrates 12-1 to 12-20 and the rack 10 by pressing the ends of the substrates 12-1 to 12-20 by the substrate pushing plate 33. Inserted in the gap. The inserted comb teeth 46 are shown by dashed lines.

Next, the lifter conveyor 31 is rotated by 10 to 15 m as shown by an arrow 48 by rotating the screw shaft 42 shown in FIG.
m. At this time, the comb teeth 46 are fixed.
As a result, as shown in FIG.
-20 is pushed up by the tooth 46A, rotates clockwise about 10 degrees from the horizontal position, and faces obliquely upward. Since the clockwise rotation angle depends on the amount of downward movement of the lifter conveyor 31 in the direction indicated by the arrow 48, the amount of downward movement may be selected so as to obtain a desired rotational angle. At this time, arm 12
Since only -1 does not touch the comb teeth 46, it remains in the original horizontal state. In this manner, a wide space is provided between the lowermost arm 12-1 and the upper arm 12-2, and the substrate accommodated between the arms 12-1 and 12-2 is provided. 20, arms 12-2 and 12-3
It is separated from the substrate 20 housed between them. As a result, even when a large thin substrate 20 whose end hangs down is stored, adjacent substrates 20 do not come into contact with each other. In this state, when a number of rollers are disposed so as to be in contact with the lower surface of the substrate 20, and each roller drives the substrate transport conveyor 36 which rotates counterclockwise, the arm 1
The substrate 20 held by 2-1 is conveyed to the left in the figure and discharged from the rack 10. Each roller of the substrate transport conveyor 36 has a tip region inside the arms 12-1 to 12-20 and an outer side portion so as not to interfere with each arm 12 when the arms 12-1 to 12-20 move up and down. Are located in

When the substrate 20 is discharged, the lifter conveyor 31 is lifted up by 10 to 15 mm and returned to the original position.
Return -2-12-20 to the original position. And comb teeth 46
Is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow 47 in FIG. 8 to pull the teeth 46 </ b> A away from the rack 10. Next, the screw shaft 42 is rotated to lift the lifter conveyor 31 from the arms 12-1 to 12-2.
It is lowered by a distance equal to the pitch of 0, for example, 20 mm, as shown by arrow 49. As a result, the substrate 20 stored between the second arm 12-2 from the bottom and the arm 12-3 above the second arm 12-2 comes to a position in contact with the substrate transport conveyor 36. In this state, the comb teeth 46 are moved again in the direction of the arrow 47, and the teeth 46A are inserted between the arms 12-3 to 12-20. Then, lifter conveyor 31 is moved to 10
Lower by １５15 mm. As a result, arms 12-3 to 12
Similarly, -20 is supported by the teeth 46A and faces obliquely upward, and the space between the arms 12-2 and 12-3 is greatly opened. Next, when the substrate transport conveyor 36 is operated, the arm 12-
The substrate 20 supported by 2 is transported leftward by the substrate transport conveyor 36 and discharged from the rack 10. When the transfer is completed, the lifter conveyor 31 rises by 10 to 15 mm, and the arms 12-3 to 12-20 return to their original positions and become horizontal. When the comb teeth 46 move in the direction opposite to the arrow 47 and move away from the rack 10, the lifter conveyor 31
m. By repeating the above series of operations sequentially to the arm 12-20 as shown in FIG. 10,
All the substrates 10 stored in the rack 10 are unloaded and supplied to the substrate 20 processing apparatus.

After all the substrates 20 have been discharged, the lifter conveyor 31 is moved downward in the figure indicated by the arrow D. Next, the lifter conveyor 31 is rotated horizontally by 78 degrees in the clockwise direction, and the empty rack 10 having no substrate is conveyed in the direction of arrow C by the lower stock conveyor 50. Finally, the lifter conveyor 31 is moved upward in the direction opposite to the arrow D to complete the one cycle process.

In the above embodiment, the substrate supply operation for taking out the substrates one by one from the rack 10 in which the substrates 20 are previously stored has been described. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. It is also possible to perform a substrate storing operation for storing the substrates 20 one by one in the rack 10.

In the board storing operation, the empty rack 10 is transferred to the lifter conveyor 31 from the lower stock conveyor 50 shown in FIG. Next, the lifter conveyor 31 is erected, and the movement between the comb teeth 46 and the movement of the lifter conveyor 31 moves the arm 12-19 at the uppermost position and the adjacent arm 12-20 in the same manner as the above-described substrate supply operation. Open and provide a large space. Next, the substrate transport conveyor 36
The substrate 20 is transferred onto the substrate transfer conveyor 36 by another transfer device (not shown) while rotating each of the rollers in the clockwise direction opposite to that during the substrate supply operation. The board 20 advances in the direction opposite to the arrow B in the figure and is stored in the rack 10. Thereafter, the comb teeth 46 and the lifter conveyor 31 are operated in the same manner as in the substrate supply operation to
The substrate 20 is stored between -1 and 12-20. The rack 10 in which the substrates 20 are stored is conveyed in the opposite direction of the arrow A by the lift and the clockwise rotation of the lifter conveyor 31 and the operation of the upper-stage stock conveyor 30.

[0020]

According to the present invention, when taking out a board housed between the arms of the rack, even if the portions of the board that protrude from the arm hang down and the adjacent boards are in contact with each other, the comb teeth are provided. Is used to rotate the upper arm to open the adjacent arms widely so that the adjacent substrates do not come into contact with each other. Thus, the substrates can be reliably taken out and supplied one by one. Further, since the space between the adjacent arms is largely opened, the board can be stored in the rack even for a board having a large warp. As described above, the substrate supply device of the present invention can supply substrates from a rack to another device, and can reliably store substrates one by one in the rack.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rack for storing substrates used in an embodiment of a substrate supply apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the rack.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the rack.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the substrate supply device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a rack, a lifter conveyor, and a connecting portion according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a front view showing a state in which a thin substrate is stored in a rack, and FIG.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a lifting mechanism of the lifter conveyor.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing the configuration of the rack and the comb teeth.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the rack, showing a state where the lowermost arm and the arm above it are opened by the comb teeth.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state in which a space between adjacent arms is opened by comb teeth.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 rack 10A rack window 11 rack base 12-1 to 12-20 arm 13 shaft 14 support 16 stopper 20 substrate 30 upper stock conveyor 31 lifter conveyor 32 rack guide 33 substrate extrusion plate 36 substrate transport conveyor 41 ball screw 42 screw shaft 46 Comb teeth 46A Teeth 50 Lower stock conveyor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rack comprising a plurality of frame-shaped arms having a rotation axis at one end arranged at a predetermined pitch, wherein the arms are configured to be rotatable by a predetermined angle around the rotation axis. A lifter conveyor holding the rack so that the substrate held between the plurality of arms is substantially horizontal; a comb-shaped member inserted between the plurality of arms to prevent movement of the arms; With the comb member inserted between the arms,
Driving means for lowering the lifter conveyor by a predetermined distance, rotating the arm prevented from moving by the comb tooth member around the rotation axis, separating the arm from the other arm, and the substrate held by the other arm A substrate transport conveyor that unloads the substrate from the rack. 2. The substrate supply device according to claim 1, wherein when the rack is held horizontally, each arm is inclined by 12 degrees with respect to a normal line of the rack. A step of arranging a plurality of frame-shaped arms having a rotation axis at one end at a predetermined pitch; a step of rotating the arms by a rack around the rotation axis by a predetermined angle; Holding the rack by a lifter conveyor so that a substrate held between the plurality of arms is substantially horizontal; and inserting a comb member for preventing movement of the arm between the plurality of arms. Lowering the lifter conveyor by a predetermined distance while inserting the comb-shaped member; rotating the arm blocked by the comb-shaped member around the rotation axis to separate from the other arm; and Transporting the substrate held by the other arm from the rack by a substrate transport conveyer. 4. The substrate supply method according to claim 3, wherein when the rack is held horizontally, each arm is maintained so as to be inclined by 12 degrees with respect to a normal line of the rack.