JPS635900B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a micro-component suction device suitable for use with micro-components, particularly micro-sized electronic components such as IC chips and capacitors.

[Prior art]

Generally, a large number of electronic components such as IC chips are arranged on a board to form a predetermined electronic circuit. Automation is being promoted due to demands for improved reliability and reduced costs.

By the way, when positioning this type of part in an automatic machine, it is first necessary to hold the part, but when holding parts with minute dimensions, it is difficult to use a so-called claw-type holding (gripping) mechanism. Therefore, the vacuum adsorption method is generally used. In this case, unless the suction surface of the suction device has an appropriate shape and area that matches the surface on which the mating part is held, it will not be possible to generate sufficient suction force, that is, holding force. be.

On the other hand, it is normal for IC chips, capacitors, etc. that form electronic circuits to have different physical shapes and dimensions for each component, and this tendency is particularly noticeable as electronic circuits become more sophisticated, as a wide variety of components are used. Become something.

Due to the above-mentioned circumstances, with conventional suction devices used for this type of purpose, if the shape of the suction surface cannot be covered by a single suction surface, a suction surface that is suitable for the shape and dimensions of the target part is used. Either a plurality of suction devices with the same type of suction device are prepared and these are attached together to a moving element (hereinafter referred to as a head portion) connected to a predetermined drive shaft system for positioning, or a head portion is provided for each suction device. It was put into practical use.

However, according to conventional devices, in the former case, the weight acting as a load on the head section, especially the inertial load, increases, and this increase in load has an adverse effect on speeding up the positioning operation. Moreover, in the latter case, there are disadvantages such as the number of drive mechanisms increases and becomes complicated. In addition, when using any of these methods, if there are multiple suction devices, a mechanism for positioning the reference center of the suction device with respect to the target part is required for the number of suction devices, and this is required because the parts are small. The relatively high positioning accuracy also makes it difficult to provide an inexpensive device.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. Specifically, the component suction part of a micro component suction device is divided into an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle that are coaxially arranged and have a common vacuum suction path for component suction. Accordingly, the inner nozzle is configured to be able to slide in the axial direction inside the outer nozzle, and when the inner nozzle is used, a predetermined pressure is applied to the upper end surface of the inner nozzle to cause the inner nozzle to protrude and to provide a certain buffering function. On the other hand, when using the outer nozzle, the upper end surface of the inner nozzle is vacuum-suctioned and the inner nozzle is housed above the outer nozzle, thereby reducing the weight of the device and improving the positioning mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a micro-component suction device that is simple and can deal with a wide range of differences in shape and size of target components.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram including a micro component suction device and peripheral devices that are an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a micro-component suction device, and for convenience of explanation, its main part is shown in cross section to show its internal structure. Reference numeral 2 denotes a microcomponent (hereinafter simply referred to as a component) to be held by suction. Reference numerals 3 and 4 denote an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle, respectively, and the shapes and dimensions of nozzle tip portions 3a and 4a at the tips thereof are appropriately selected in advance according to the shape and dimensions of the parts. 5
is a hollow conduit whose lower end is connected to the inner nozzle 3
The opening is completely closed by a sliding plug 6 at the upper end.
Further, a negative pressure introducing pipe 7 is attached to the midway side of the hollow conduit 5 so as to open into the hollow part of the hollow conduit 5, and a collar 8 is fixed to the midway outer periphery of the hollow conduit 5. Reference numeral 9 denotes a spring seat, and the spring seat 9 is pressed against the upper end surface of the outer nozzle 4 by a spring 10, and the spring 10 is adapted to restrict the upward movement of the outer nozzle 4 in the axial direction. It's getting old. Reference numeral 11 denotes a pressure chamber forming hole, which is slidably fitted into the sliding plug 6 and has a pressure introduction pipe 12 on its side.
is connected. Here, reference numeral 13 denotes a housing, which forms the pressure chamber forming hole 11 and holds the pressure introduction pipe 12, and is fitted with the outer circumferential surface of the outer nozzle 4 as a sliding surface, and the negative pressure introduction pipe 7.
It has a notch 14 so as not to impede the vertical movement of the holder.

The micro component suction device 1 configured in this way is
The micro component suction device 1 is positioned by being attached to the aforementioned head portion 15 and moving the head portion 15 by a drive device (not shown). Generally, it is necessary to move the head section 15 in the XYZ directions orthogonal to the drawing.
Here, if the directionality of the component 2 is a problem, if the upper end of the micro component suction device 1 is used as the rotating shaft 16 and the head section 15 supports this, the component can be sucked in the θ direction shown in the figure. This can be dealt with by rotating the device 1.

Next, the pneumatic system associated with the present invention will be explained. First, the negative pressure introduction pipe 7 is connected to a communication pipe 17 formed using a pipe or tube, and the communication pipe 17 is connected to a solenoid valve 18. This allows the communication pipe 17 to reach the exhaust port 19 in a normal state (not energized) and to the vacuum generator 20 in an energized state. on the other hand,
The pressure introduction pipe 12 is first connected to a flow rate control valve 21 through a communication pipe 17', and then connected to a solenoid valve 22.
connected to one port of the This solenoid valve 22
The connection state of the port is such that the communication pipe 17 leads to the pressure generator 23 in the non-excited state and to the vacuum generator 20 in the energized state.

FIGS. 2a and 2b are a vertical cross-sectional view and a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC, respectively, showing a more detailed internal structure of the micro-component suction device 1 of the above embodiment. In the figure, the housing 13 is the lower housing 13 for convenience of assembly etc.
a and an upper housing 13b.
Moreover, the hollow conduit 5 fits into the inner surface of the outer nozzle 4,
And it is slidable in the axial direction. The other configurations are the same as in FIG. 1.

Next, the operation of the micro component suction device configured as described above will be explained below.

First, assume that a relatively small component 2a is to be held by suction. In this case, the arrow shown in Figure 2
The pressure chamber 11 is passed through the pressure introduction pipe 12 in the direction of _P1 .
Air at pressure P ₁ is added to a. Such air pressure P ₁
is supplied by the pressure generator 23 shown in FIG. 1, and is provided via the electromagnetic valve 22 and the flow control valve 21 in a non-excited state. As a result, the sliding plug 6 that fits into the pressure chamber forming hole 11 slides downward under the action of the air pressure _P1 , and as a result, the hollow conduit 5, which is integrally formed with the sliding plug 6,
Nozzle tip portion 3a, negative pressure introduction pipe 7 and collar 8
When the collar 8 hits the stepped portion on the inner surface of the outer nozzle 4, it stops and becomes ready for suction.
Thereafter, the head portion 15 moves, and the nozzle tip portion 3a of the inner nozzle 3 in the micro component suction device 1 approaches a predetermined position near the component 2a.
Here, although it depends on the shape, weight, vacuum suction force, etc. of the part 2a, it is necessary to securely hold the part 2a.
Generally, it is desirable to stop the nozzle tip 3a of the inner nozzle 3 in a state where the tip of the nozzle tip 3a and the component 2a are slightly in contact with each other. However, if there is no cushioning effect at the time of contact, there is a risk of damage to the component 2a, and this is a point that must be especially taken into account when handling minute components. In this embodiment, the air pressure _P1 in the pressure chamber 11a effectively prevents damage. That is, these act as air springs. Therefore, if it is desired to adjust the buffering force of this air spring, it can be easily done by adjusting the flow rate control valve 21 shown in FIG. However, the flow rate control valve 21
is not indispensable for the configuration of the present invention, and depending on the parts, no inconvenience may occur even if the pressure of the pressure generator 23 is used as is.

Next, when performing a suction operation, an excitation voltage EV ₁ is applied to the solenoid valve 18 in FIG. 1. This is typically provided by an external sequence controller (not shown). Solenoid valve 1
8 is excited, the negative pressure introduction pipe 7 and the vacuum generator 20 are brought into communication, and suction is caused in the hollow conduit 5 of the micro parts suction device 1 in the direction of arrow P ₂ shown in FIG. Negative pressure P ₂ is generated. That is, since the upper end of the hollow conduit 5 is completely closed by the sliding plug 6, the inside of the nozzle tip 3a, the hollow conduit 5, and the negative pressure introduction tube 7 are in a vacuum state.
The component 2a that is in contact with the tip surface of the nozzle tip 3a of the inner nozzle 3 is attracted to, that is, held, by the tip surface of the nozzle tip 3a.

Next, the head section 15 is moved again while maintaining this suction state, and the solenoid valve 18 shown in FIG. is opened, and the positioning work of the part 2a is completed.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, a case will be described in which a relatively large component 2b is held by suction. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the micro component suction device 1 shown in FIG. In this case, the inner nozzle 3 is housed inside and above the outer nozzle 4 to perform suction and holding. That is, if the pressure chamber 11a is vacuum-suctioned through the pressure introduction pipe 12 in the direction of the arrow _P'1 shown in the figure, the sliding plug 6, which had been pushed down, will be removed from the pressure chamber 1.
Since the inside of 1a becomes a vacuum state, it moves upward, and at this time, the hollow conduit 5, nozzle tip 3a, negative pressure introduction pipe 7, and collar 8 are also pulled upward together, and the collar 8 is attached to the spring seat 9. If hit, it will stop. The suction pressure P′ ₁ related to the vacuum suction is obtained by applying an excitation voltage EV ₂ to the solenoid valve 22 in FIG. 1 to change the connection of the port of the solenoid valve 22 from the pressure generator 23 side to the vacuum generator 20 side. It is brought about by doing. Further, the excitation voltage EV ₂ is normally supplied from an external sequence device (not shown). Here, if the return side of the flow rate adjustment valve 21 is set as the non-control side of the direction control valve, the air pressure P ₁
This is convenient for performing the suction operation smoothly without being affected by the adjustment.

Through these operations, the tip of the inner nozzle 3 is pulled upward and inward from the tip of the outer nozzle 4,
It becomes possible to suction and hold the component 2b by the outer nozzle 4. The suction operation of the component 2b is exactly the same as the suction operation of the component 2a shown in FIG. 2 described above. In this case, the air flow path of the air having the suction pressure P ₂ is the one that reaches the hollow conduit 5 and the negative pressure introduction pipe 7 via the nozzle opening of the nozzle tip portion 3a.

Note that the upper end surface of the outer nozzle 4 receives an elastic force from a spring 10 via a spring seat 9, and this is due to the elastic force applied to the upper end surface of the outer nozzle 4 when the outer nozzle 4 contacts the component 2b.
It acts as a buffer to prevent damage to the material. In this case, the parts picked up by the outer nozzle 4 are generally larger than the parts picked up by the inner nozzle 3, so it is sufficient to use a compression coil spring, etc. as shown in the figure, and there is no need to adjust the spring force so much. .

FIGS. 4a and 4b are a longitudinal cross-sectional view and a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of a micro-component suction device according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiments described above, the orientation of the parts during suction was not a problem. However, for electronic components such as IC chips, it is necessary to ensure the direction of the component during suction due to the arrangement of its connection terminals. Therefore, after the direction in which the component is placed is detected in advance by a predetermined detection mechanism, the relative relationship between the direction of the micro component suction device and the component direction is always kept constant and the component is picked up. This is to prevent short circuits caused by parts being mounted diagonally when parts are placed on the board.

For this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, a guide body 24 is provided between the outer circumferential surface of the negative pressure introducing pipe 7 and the side surface of the notch 14, so that the hollow conduit 5 can be rotated about its axis. It is effective to have a configuration that prevents this. In other words, the reason why the hollow conduit 5 is configured in this way is that the hollow conduit 5 slides slightly upward in the axial direction when picking up the parts, so in order to maintain the directionality of the parts, it is necessary to restrict the rotational movement around the axis. Because there is. The guide body 24 may be a rolling bearing, for example, and if it is configured so that it is held in the negative pressure introduction pipe 7 and the outer ring of the rolling bearing rolls on the side surface of the notch 14, it is simple and easy to use. Highly accurate guiding movement can be achieved.

In the above explanation, the lower end surfaces of the inner nozzle 3 and outer nozzle 4 shown in FIGS. Correspondingly, even if the nozzle tip surface is curved, this does not impede the present invention in any way.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the micro component suction device of the present invention, the outer nozzle is inserted into the housing so as to be movable up and down a predetermined distance, the outer nozzle is caused to protrude from the lower end of the housing by the biasing member, and the outer nozzle An inner nozzle is inserted into the inner nozzle so as to be movable up and down a predetermined distance, positive pressure or negative pressure is introduced into the pressure chamber above the inner nozzle through a pressure introduction pipe to cause the inner nozzle to protrude or retract from the lower end surface of the outer nozzle, and Since negative pressure is introduced into the inner nozzle through the negative pressure introducing pipe and the inner nozzle is made to attract minute parts, the following remarkable effects can be obtained. That is, (a) it is possible to provide a micro-component suction device that can deal with a wide range of differences in the shape and size of components and that can suction and hold with high precision.

(b) Damage to parts can be effectively prevented.

(c) The positioning mechanism can be simplified because the inner and outer nozzles are coaxial.

(d) The device can be made lighter and smaller.

(e) Since the control element is mainly pneumatic, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and robust device as a whole.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram including peripheral devices of a micro component suction device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 a and b are longitudinal sectional views of a micro component suction device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the inner nozzle in the above-mentioned embodiment when it is retracted, FIG. 4 a and b are longitudinal sectional views of another embodiment of the present invention, and It is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC. 1...Minute parts suction device, 2, 2a, 2b...
Micro parts, 3...Inner nozzle, 4...Outer nozzle, 4
... Outer nozzle, 7 ... Negative pressure introduction pipe, 11 ... Pressure chamber forming hole, 11a ... Pressure chamber, 12 ... Pressure introduction pipe, 13 ... Housing, 14 ... Notch, 24
...Guidance body. Note that the same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A micro-component suction device that suctions and holds micro-components using vacuum suction means, which includes a housing having an outer nozzle sliding hole and a pressure chamber forming hole following the outer nozzle sliding hole, and an inner nozzle sliding hole. an outer nozzle inserted into the outer nozzle sliding hole of the housing so as to be movable up and down a predetermined distance; and an attachment that urges the outer nozzle downward and causes the lower end surface of the outer nozzle to protrude from the lower end surface of the housing. a pressure chamber formed by the pressure chamber forming hole at the upper part of the inner nozzle; A pressure introduction pipe that introduces positive pressure or negative pressure to cause the inner nozzle to protrude or retract from the lower end surface of the outer nozzle, and negative pressure is applied into the inner nozzle through a notch formed in the housing and the outer nozzle. A micro component suction device comprising: a negative pressure introduction pipe for introducing a negative pressure into the inner nozzle to cause the micro components to be suctioned. 2. The negative pressure introduction pipe is provided with a guide body that is inserted between the negative pressure introduction pipe and the notch of the housing and slides and guides the negative pressure introduction pipe along the notch. A micro-component suction device according to claim 1.