KR100625855B1 - Lens barrel combining apparatus for camera module and combining method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an assembly apparatus for performing a lens barrel assembly process by a PCB strip unit in which a plurality of PCB units assembled with a lens housing are integrally assembled, and an assembly method using the same, and an assembly process for transporting each PCB strip. It is characterized in that one or more installed than the assembly robot to perform. It is also equipped with a position detection camera that can acquire the reference position of PCB strip loaded on the transfer line and the position data of each lens housing, while securing the position data for each lens housing of the PCB strip in one transfer line. The line is characterized in that the lens barrel can be assembled.

According to the present invention, in assembling the lens barrel of the camera module, the process delay caused by the time required for acquiring the position data of each PCB unit can be compensated, and the assembly robot can be stopped without stopping through the function of the prealign area. Since the assembly work, the productivity per unit time can be significantly increased. In addition, by detecting and controlling the rotation torque, there is an effect of improving the quality by detecting the defect assembly and self defect in advance.

Camera Module, Lens Housing, Lens Barrel, PCB Strip, Position Detection Camera

Description

Lens barrel combining apparatus for camera module and combining method using the same

1 is an exploded perspective view of a typical camera module

2 is an assembly cross-sectional view of a typical camera module

3a and 3b is a plan view and a side view of a PCB strip that is put into the lens barrel assembly equipment

4 is a block diagram of a conventional lens barrel assembly equipment

5 is a plan view of the lens barrel assembly equipment according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a block diagram of a robot for lens barrel assembly

7 shows a method of matching the alignment of the lens barrel and lens barrel picker.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 5.

9 and 10 are a schematic perspective view and a plan view of a lens barrel assembly apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention

11 is a view illustrating the use state of the tray picker;

12 and 13 are a schematic perspective view and a plan view of a lens barrel assembly apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

10: PCB unit 12: circuit pattern

14: lens housing junction 20: image sensor

30: lens housing 40: lens barrel

42 lens 50 infrared filter

60: PCB strip 100: lens barrel assembly equipment

110: main body 111,112,113: first, second, third transfer line

114: loading table 115: first flipper

116: second flipper 117: unloading table

120: loading unit 121: loading elevator

122: loading magazine 123: pusher (pusher)

130: unloading unit 131: unloading elevator

132: magazine for unloading 140: robot for loading

150: position detection camera 160a, 160b: the first and second assembly robot

161: guide member 161a, 161b: upper and lower body

161a-1: z-axis drive unit: back pump 163: connecting member

164: position detection sensor 165: assembly head

166: rotary drive unit 167: coupling

168 lens barrel picker 170 lens barrel supply

171, 172: 1st, 2nd tray magazine 173: Lens barrel tray

174 tray lift 175 tray picker

176: tray picker drive unit 177: guide rail

178: Lens barrel supply robot 180: Unloading robot

191,192: 1st, 2nd assembly area 210,220: 1st, 2nd lens barrel detection camera

230,240: First and second prealign area 232,242: Drive motor

250,260: First and second pre-aligned rotating plate

The present invention relates to a device for manufacturing a mobile phone built-in camera module, and more particularly to a device for assembling a lens barrel in the lens housing of the camera module.

In general, a mobile phone built-in camera module mounts an image sensor on a PCB unit printed with a circuit pattern, attaches a lens housing to the image sensor, inserts a lens barrel into the lens housing, and then electrically connects the circuit pattern of the PCB unit. It is completed by attaching a flexible printed circuit (FPC).

Looking at the configuration of the camera module with reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view, after mounting the image sensor 20 in the center area of the PCB unit 10, the circuit pattern 12 is printed, the image sensor Bonding the lens housing 30 around the 20 and assembling the lens barrel 40 with the lens 42 attached to the upper portion of the lens housing 30 to isolate the image sensor 20 from the outside to remove foreign substances such as dust Protect from

The image sensor 20 is a semiconductor device that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and is often divided into a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor and a CMOS image sensor.

The CCD image sensor is a device in which individual MOS (Metal Oxide Silicon) capacitors are located in close proximity to each other and accumulate charge carriers before they are transferred, whereas CMOS image sensors accumulate and transfer charge like CCD image sensors. It takes advantage of low power consumption and low price because it takes a method of reading the generated charges into a semiconductor switch, rather than the method.

The lens housing 30 is a cylindrical structure having an upper and lower opening, and the bottom edge thereof is bonded along the bonding portion 14 of the upper surface of the PCB unit 10 so that the image sensor 20 is included therein. This is done. The lens barrel 40 for collecting the optical image is assembled on the upper part of the lens housing 30, and the infrared filter 50 for blocking infrared rays is built in the lens housing 30.

Since the circuit pattern 12 on the PCB unit 10 is not only electrically connected to the image sensor 20 but also to the above-described FPC, the image signal collected through the lens 42 of the lens barrel 40 is converted into an image sensor ( 20) is converted into an electrical signal and then transmitted to the mobile phone through the circuit pattern (12).

In order to produce the camera module having such a configuration, a process of bonding the image sensor 20 to the PCB unit 10 on which the circuit pattern 12 is printed by wire bonding or flip chip bonding, and the lens housing 30 thereon. ), The process of assembling the lens barrel 40 on the upper portion of the lens housing 30, the process of bonding the PCB unit 10 to the connecting means such as FPC, etc. should be performed sequentially. have.

However, in the actual process, the PCB strip 60 in which a plurality of PCB units are integrally assembled as shown in FIG. 3A for process efficiency, without using individual PCB units 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. ). 3B shows the side of the PCB strip 60.

That is, without performing an image sensor mounting process or a lens housing attaching process for one PCB unit 10, a plurality of PCB units 10 are integrally connected and all PCB units have the same circuit pattern 12. The PCB strip 60 having the image sensor 20 mounting equipment, the lens housing attaching equipment in order to sequentially process all the processes.

3A illustrates a PCB strip 60 in which 4 * 13 PCB units 10 are assembled, but the number of PCB units 10 is not limited thereto.

As such, after the mounting process of the image sensor 20 and the lens housing 30 attaching process to all the PCB units 10 of the PCB strip 60, the PCB strip 60 is assembled again to the lens barrel 40 assembly equipment. To be put into the lens barrel 40 to be assembled to the upper portion of the lens housing 30, the present invention relates to such a lens barrel assembly equipment.

Typical lens barrel assembly equipment, as shown in Figure 4, the transfer line 70 for carrying the PCB strip 60, each lens housing of the PCB strip 60 transferred to the assembly area along the transfer line 70 ( 30) an assembly robot 80 for assembling the lens barrel 40, a PRS camera 90 attached to the assembly robot 80, and acquiring position data of the lens housing attached to each PCB unit. It is done by

When the PCB strip 60 enters the upper portion of the transfer line 70 and reaches the assembly area, the PRS camera 90 acquires the reference position of the PCB strip 60 and the position data of the lens housing.

Subsequently, the assembling robot 80 picks up the lens barrel 40 from the lens barrel supply unit (not shown) and assembles the lens barrel 30 to the lens housing 30 of the PCB unit 10, and assembles the lens barrels for all the lens housings 30. After the process is finished again the PCB strip 60 through the transfer line 70.

However, in the conventional assembling equipment, in order to assemble the lens barrel 40 to one PCB strip 60, a process of acquiring position data for each lens housing 30 and the assembly robot 80 are performed. Since the process of picking up the lens barrel and assembling it into the lens housing is repeated, there is no limit to increasing the productivity of the entire assembly process.

The present invention is to solve this problem, to provide a lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module that can overcome the productivity degradation caused by the time required to obtain the accurate position data of the lens housing attached to the PCB strip. will be.

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a plurality of PCB units are integrally connected, a circuit pattern is printed for each PCB unit, and an image sensor and a lens housing surrounding the image sensor are bonded to each circuit pattern. Regarding the equipment for assembling the lens barrel in each lens housing for the PCB strip

A plurality of transfer lines carrying at least one PCB strip and having at least one assembly area in which a lens barrel assembly process is performed; A loading robot for loading PCB strips into each of the transfer lines; A position detection camera for acquiring a reference position of the PCB strip loaded on the transfer line by the loading robot and position data of each lens housing; A lens barrel supply unit providing a lens barrel; An assembly robot which picks up the lens barrel from the lens barrel supply unit and moves to the assembly area to assemble each lens housing of the PCB strip and has a smaller number than the transfer line; An unloading robot for unloading the PCB strips from which the lens barrels are assembled from the transfer lines; It provides a lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module including a control unit for controlling the operation of each element.

The position detection camera may be attached to the loading robot and move together with the loading robot.

The assembly robot may be attached with a lens barrel detection camera that detects the alignment of the lens barrel to be picked up and transmits the detected data to the controller.

In addition, the lens barrel assembly equipment of the present invention is located on the side of the equipment, the loading magazine for loading a plurality of PCB strips with the lens housing facing down, the loading elevator for lifting the loading magazine, the loading A loading unit including a feeding means for feeding the PCB strip from the magazine into the equipment; Located on the other side of the equipment, and further comprising an unloading magazine for loading the PCB strips completed lens housing assembly, the unloading unit including an unloading elevator for lifting the unloading magazine.

It may include a flipper that flips the PCB strip introduced from the loading magazine so that the lens housing faces upward.

The lens barrel supply unit includes: a lens barrel tray for housing a plurality of lens barrels; A pre-aligned area for sequentially placing the lens barrel between the lens barrel tray and the transfer line; The lens barrel supply robot may include a lens barrel supply robot that picks up the lens barrel from the lens barrel tray and lowers the lens barrel on the prealigned area.

A lens barrel detection camera may be installed on the prealline area to detect an alignment state of the lens barrel to be picked up and transmit the detected data to the controller.

The pre-aligned region may have a bar shape that slides horizontally or a disk shape that rotates.

The assembly robot includes: a guide member connected to a horizontal moving shaft installed above the transfer line and slidingly driven; An assembly head having a lens barrel picker for picking up the lens barrel and a rotation driving unit for rotating the lens barrel picker; A connection member connecting the assembly head and the guide member; It is installed on the connection member includes a position sensor for detecting the vertical displacement of the lens barrel picker.

Meanwhile, the present invention provides a method of assembling a lens barrel on a PCB strip using a lens barrel assembly apparatus of the camera module, comprising: loading a PCB strip on any one of a transfer line; Acquiring position data of the PCB strip and each lens housing loaded in the transfer line; Calculating a necessary transfer distance using the obtained position data and then transferring the PCB strip to the assembly area; An assembly robot reciprocating the assembly area and the lens barrel supply unit to assemble the lens barrel in each lens housing of the PCB strip, while the loading robot loads another PCB strip on another transfer line; For all lens housings may include the step of taking out the PCB strip assembled in the lens barrel to the outside in the transfer line.

 Hereinafter, the configuration of the lens barrel assembly equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings in detail.

First embodiment

5 shows a planar configuration of the lens barrel assembly apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates an example in which two robots 160 for assembling the lens barrel are assembled.

The lens barrel assembly apparatus 100 is largely composed of a main body 110, a loading part 120 and an unloading part 130 provided at left and right sides of the main body 110, respectively.

The main body 110 has a space separated from the outside in order to protect the PCB strip 60 and the lens barrel 40 from contaminants, and includes three transfer lines 111, 112, and 113 installed in the transverse direction, and each transfer line A lens for supplying the lens barrel 40 to one side of the transfer line is provided with a robot for loading 140, a robot for assembly (160a, 160b) and the unloading robot 180 in the vertical direction from the top of the The barrel supply unit 170 is provided.

The PCB strip 60 is transferred to one of the first and second assembly areas 191 and 192 for assembling the lens barrel after being loaded at one end of the transfer line by the loading robot 140 and again after the assembly. Along the way to the unloading area.

Each of the transfer lines 111, 112, and 113 transfers the PCB strip 60 loaded from the upper side by the driving motor (not shown) from left to right (based on the drawing), and moves along the transfer line while placing the PCB strip 60 on the upper side. It may be provided with a loading plate.

The loading robot 140 picks up the PCB strip 60 introduced into the main body 110 and loads the PCB strip 60 into any one of the first, second, and third transfer lines 111, 112, and 113, and a guide located above the transfer line. Move along the rail 142.

Positioning camera 150 is coupled to the loading robot 140, the position detection camera 150 is obtained by obtaining the reference position and position data of each lens housing 30 of the PCB strip 60 loaded in the transfer line The controller transmits the control to the equipment (not shown), and the equipment controller accurately transfers the moving distance of the PCB strip 60 using the calculated value based on the obtained position data, and then accurately transfers it to the assembly area.

The assembling robots 160a and 160b assemble the lens barrel 40 based on the position data of the lens housing 30 obtained at this time.

In this case, the position detection camera 150 may be mounted on a separate robot without being attached to the loading robot 140.

On the other hand, the unloading robot 180 serves to take out the PCB strip 60, which has been assembled, to the outside of the equipment, and picks up the PCB strip 60 from the transfer line and transfers it to the unloading position. It moves along the guide rail 182 which is located.

Each of the transfer lines 111, 112, and 113 has the same number of assembling areas as the assembly robot on the way, and FIG. 5 shows two assembling robots 160a and 160b and two assembling areas 191 and 192.

The first assembly area 191 is the first assembly robot 160a, the second assembly area 192 is the second assembly robot 160b to assemble the lens barrel 40 to each lens housing of the PCB strip. Work area.

Since the number of transfer lines is three, the number of assembly robots 160a and 160b is one less than the number of transfer lines. For example, the position detection camera 150 after loading the PCB strip in the first transfer line 111. While acquiring the reference position of the PCB strip 60 and the position data of each lens housing 30 using), the second and third transfer lines 112 and 113 are already positioned in the respective lens housings through the position sensing camera 150. It is to allow the lens barrel assembly process to proceed with respect to the PCB strip 60 is secured the position data of 30).

That is, if the number of transfer lines is the same as the number of assembly robots, the loading robot 140 loads the PCB strip on an arbitrary transfer line and then uses the position detection camera to display the position data of each lens housing 30. During the acquisition, one building robot must be on standby. Therefore, even if the transfer line is installed a lot of waiting time for the assembly robot waits for the time to obtain the position data of the lens housing 30 in the PCB strip 60 loaded in each transfer line.

However, if the number of transfer lines is larger than the number of assembly robots, all assembly robots perform lens barrel assembly operations in other transfer lines while acquiring position data for the lens housing 30 in one transfer line. This greatly increases the productivity of the equipment.

From this point of view, the number of transfer lines may be two or more than the number of assembly robots. However, in the present invention, only one transfer line is configured than the assembly robot in consideration of the size of the equipment and the production efficiency. .

When the first assembly robot 160a is currently working, the PCB strip 60 loaded in the transfer line is transferred to the second assembly area 192, and the second assembly robot 162 is currently working. The PCB strip 60 is transferred to the first assembly area 191.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the two assembling robots 160a and 160b are arranged to move in the vertical direction of each of the transfer lines at the top of the three transfer lines 111, 112, and 113. The moving direction of 160b) may be different from this.

The configuration of the first assembly robot 160a is schematically illustrated in FIG. 6, which includes a guide member 161 and a guide member 161 coupled to a horizontal moving shaft for guiding a horizontal movement of the assembly robot 160a. It includes a connection member 162 connected to the lower side of the assembly head 165 to be coupled to the connection member 162.

The guide member 161 is divided into an upper body 161a and a lower body 161b, the upper body 161a includes a z-axis driving unit 161a-1, and the z-axis driving unit 161a-1 is a lower body ( 161b).

Here, the z-axis drive unit 161a-1 may use various means such as a cylinder, a linear motor, a ball screw, etc., thereby elevating the lower body 161b.

A connecting member 163 for connecting the assembly head 165 and the lower body 161b to each other is coupled to the lower side of the lower body 161b, and the connecting member 163 detects the vertical moving distance of the assembly head 165. Position detection sensor 164 for is installed.

The assembly head 165 is slidably coupled with respect to the connection member 163 and has a rotation driving unit 166 thereon. The rotary driver 166 rotates the lens barrel picker 168 connected to the lower part to screw the lens barrel 40 and the lens housing 30, and as the rotary driver 166 rotates, the lens barrel picker ( 168) descends.

The lens barrel picker 168 picks up the lens barrel 40 using a recess formed at the end, and since the lens barrel 40 generally has a hexagonal or octagonal plane, the recess of the lens barrel picker 168 also corresponds thereto. It has a cross-sectional shape.

Meanwhile, when the rotation driving unit 166 rotates, the lens barrel 40 picked up by the lens barrel picker 168 descends and is screwed to the lens housing 30. In the related art, the operator visually checks whether the assembly is properly performed. As it was checked one by one, not only takes a lot of time to check, but there was also a problem of low reliability.

Therefore, in the present invention, the rotation driving unit 166 is connected to a control unit (not shown) for controlling the operation of the lens barrel assembly equipment 100 of the present invention, and when the lens barrel 40 is screwed with the lens housing in the control unit When the torque is sensed, if there is a torque abnormal, it is regarded as an assembly failure, and the rotation driving unit 166 is reversely rotated to remove the lens barrel 40 or to issue a warning signal to the operator.

The first and second lens barrel detection cameras 210 are attached to the first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b, respectively, and the first lens barrel detection camera 210 is a lens placed in the lens barrel tray 173. Position data regarding the shape, rotational degree, etc. of the barrel 40 are obtained, and the obtained data serves to align the lens barrel picker 168 with the lens barrel 40.

The first and second lens barrel detection cameras 210 may be installed above the point where the lens barrels are picked up without being attached to the first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b, which is the second embodiment of the present invention. It applies to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 regarding an example.

The operation of the first assembly robot 160a having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

When the first assembly robot 160a moves along the horizontal movement axis and is positioned above the lens barrel tray 173 of the lens barrel supply unit 170, the z-axis driving unit 161a-1 drives to guide the guide member 161. The lower body 161b is lowered.

As the lower body 161b is lowered, the assembly head 165 connected to the lower body 161b is also lowered, and the lens barrel picker 168 under the assembly head 165 has a lens barrel tray 173 through back suction. Pick up the lens barrel (40).

At this time, the first lens barrel detection camera 210 attached to the first assembly robot 160a obtains position data regarding the shape, rotational degree, etc. of the lens barrel 40 placed in the lens barrel tray 173, thereby controlling the control unit ( If not, the control unit picks up the lens barrel 40 by lowering the lens barrel picker 168 after matching the shape and position of the lens barrel picker 168 to the lens barrel 40.

The lens barrel 40 may have a cylindrical shape but may have a hexagonal or octagonal cross section. In the latter case, the insertion groove formed at the end of the lens barrel picker 168 should also have an inner surface corresponding to the lens barrel 40.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, when the alignment state of the lens barrel 40 and the alignment state of the lens barrel picker 168 do not coincide with each other, the lens barrel 40 is not inserted into the insertion groove of the lens barrel picker 168 and is picked up. You will not be able to.

Therefore, when the pick-up point detects the state of the lens barrel 40 using the first lens barrel detection camera 210, and transmits the detected data to the control unit, the control unit based on the detection data, the first assembly The lens barrel picker 168 of the robot robot 160a is rotated by a predetermined angle φ to match the alignment state of the lens barrel 40.

After picking up the lens barrel 40, the first assembly robot 160a moves to the assembly area along the horizontal movement axis, and is positioned on the PCB strip 60, and the lens barrel 40 is positioned on the PCB strip 60. In order to be assembled to the lens housing 30 of the upper part, the lower body 161b is driven by driving the z-axis driving part 161a-1.

The lowering of the lower body 161b continues to the position where the lens barrel picker 168 can complete the assembly of the lens barrel 40 in the lens housing, and the rotation driving unit 166 of the assembly head 165 is a z-axis driving unit ( When 161a-1) completes the lowering, it starts to rotate and continues to monitor the torque while rotating by the number of revolutions designated by the operator.

At this time, when the torque is out of the tolerance is detected, the rotary drive unit 166 automatically rotates and displays the situation so that the operator can know.

In addition, when the rotation is completed, the rotation driving unit 166 through the control unit to check the insertion depth of the lens barrel 40 through the position detection sensor 164 installed in the assembly robot to compensate for the desired depth ascend or descend. The rotation angle is instructed to adjust the correct insertion depth, and after the work is completed, the lens barrel picker 168 is lifted by the z-axis driving unit 161a-1 after blocking the barrel and stopping the rotation.

After assembling one lens barrel 40, the first assembly robot 160a moves back to the lens barrel supply unit 170 along the horizontal axis to pick up the lens barrel 40 again. The above process is repeated.

One side of the main body 110 is provided with a lens barrel supply unit 170 for supplying a lens barrel to the first and second assembly robot (160a, 160b), as shown in Figure 5 lens barrel supply unit 170 And a lens barrel tray 173 for placing the lens barrel therein.

A plurality of lens barrel trays 173 are stacked in the first and second tray magazines 171 and 172 corresponding to the respective assembly robots 160a and 160b, and then the assembly robots 160a and 160b are moved by the tray picker. The lens barrel 40 is transferred to the position where it can be picked up.

The first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b pick up the lens barrels 40 one by one from the lens barrel tray 173 and move them to the first and second assembly areas 191 and 192 on the transfer line, respectively. To each lens housing (30).

Although two tray magazines are shown in the drawing, it is of course possible to have only one tray magazine.

The PCB strip 60, which has been processed in each assembly area 191 and 192, moves to the unloading position along the transfer line, where it is picked up by the unloading robot 180 and transferred to the unloading position.

On the other hand, the lens barrel assembly device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a loading portion 120 on one side of the main body 110, the unloading portion 130 on the other side, first loading portion 120 ) Includes a loading elevator 121 and a loading magazine 122 that moves up and down by this, and the loading magazine 122 has a plurality of PCB strips 60 loaded thereon.

PCB strip 60 is a plurality of PCB units are integrally connected as described above, the image sensor and the lens housing is coupled to the upper surface of each PCB unit, in particular in the embodiment of the present invention contamination due to fine dust, etc. In order to prevent the lens housing 30 is turned upside down to the PCB strip 60 to be loaded in the loading magazine 122.

When the loading magazine 122 having the PCB strip 60 loaded thereon is lifted up by the loading elevator 121 to reach the feeding position, the main body 110 is separated by a separate feeding means, for example, a pusher. It is injected inside.

The injected PCB strip 60 is first placed on the loading table 114, and the first flipper 115 absorbs the PCB strip 60 from the top and then flips it so that the lens housing is directed upward. The inverted PCB strip 60 is located in the area shown by the dotted lines.

On the other hand, when the PCB strip 60 is located on the loading table 114, it is preferable to go through the process of removing contaminants attached to the lens housing using an air blower (not shown), the first flipper 115 When the inverted PCB strip 60, the loading robot 140 picks up the PCB strip 60 and loads it on any one of the first, second, and third transfer lines 111, 112, and 113.

After completing the lens barrel 40 assembly process, the PCB strip 60 is picked up by the unloading robot 180 and placed in the second flipper 116.

The second flipper 116 waits at the dotted line position, and when the PCB strip 60 is placed thereon, the second flipper 116 is placed on the unloading table 117 located on the front side of the unloading unit 130 after being absorbed by the vacuum. . If the second flipper 116 is omitted, the unloading robot 180 places the picked-up PCB strip 60 directly on the unloading table 117.

The unloading unit 130 includes an unloading elevator 131 and an unloading magazine 132 which is lifted and lifted through the unloading unit 131, and the PCB strip placed on the unloading table 117 is unloaded by a separate transfer means. Imported into the loading magazine 132.

However, the reason for having the first and second flippers 115 and 116 in the equipment according to the embodiment of the present invention is to prevent the contamination due to the fine dust by directing the lens housing downward when the PCB strip is loaded into the magazine. When loading the PCB strip in the magazine, when the lens housing is loaded to face upward, the first and second flippers 115 and 116 may be omitted because the PCB strip does not need to be flipped.

In this case, the loading robot 140 directly picks up the PCB strip 60 from the loading table 114 and transfers it to the transfer line, and the unloading robot 180 unloads the picked-up PCB strip 60. The table 117 is placed.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 5 and shows a state in which the loading robot 140 picks up the PCB strip 60 and moves on the upper portions of the first, second, and third transfer lines 111, 112, and 113. It is shown.

In addition, the side of the third transfer line 113 is inserted into the main body is shown the state that the first flipper 115 is absorbed and flipped over the PCB strip 60 placed on the loading table 114.

Hereinafter, a process of assembling the lens barrel in the lens barrel assembly apparatus having the above configuration will be described in order.

First, when the PCB strip 60 is inserted into the equipment main body 110 while the lens housing is turned upside down from the loading magazine 122 of the loading unit 120 and placed on the loading table 114, the air blower The cleaning process is performed using (not shown).

The first flipper 115 rotates the PCB strip 60, which has been cleaned, from the top, and then rotates it upside down so that the lens housing is turned upward.

Subsequently, the loading robot 140 picks up the PCB strip 60 placed on the first flipper 115 and loads it into one of the first, second, and third transfer lines 111, 112, and 113, and the PCB strip is loaded on the transfer line. Thereafter, the position detecting camera 150 attached to the loading robot 140 or driven by a separate robot acquires the reference position of the PCB strip and the position data of each lens housing 30.

The equipment control unit calculates the exact moving distance of the PCB strip 60 by using the acquired position data, and then moves the PCB strip to the assembly area in which the current operation is not performed among the first and second assembly areas 191 and 192 along the transfer line. Move it.

That is, when the first assembly robot 160a is being assembled, the PCB strip 60 is placed in the second assembly area 192 of each transfer line, and when the second assembly robot 160b is being assembled. The PCB strip 60 is positioned in the first assembly area 191 of each transfer line, and the PCB strip 60 reaching the assembly area stops at the position to be assembled according to the position data of each lens housing that has already been obtained. .

On the other hand, the loading robot 140 loads the PCB strip into any one of the transport lines that the assembly robot is not currently operating and acquires the position data using the position detection camera 150 and then uses the other PCB strip 60. Repeat the process of loading onto another transfer line and acquiring position data.

PCB strip 60, which has been processed in each transfer line, is transferred to the end of the transfer line, and then picked up by the unloading robot 180 and placed in the unloading table 117. Then, the unloading magazine 132 Are exported.

When the second flipper 116 is provided, the unloading robot 180 places the PCB strip 60 on the top of the second flipper 116, and the second flipper 116 rotates so that the lens housing is lowered. The PCB strip 60 is settled on the unloading table 117 so as to be directed, and the PCB strip 60 is unloaded from the unloading table 117 to the unloading magazine 132 outside the equipment main body 100. do.

Second embodiment

9 is a perspective view showing a schematic arrangement of the lens barrel assembly equipment according to a second embodiment of the present invention and Figure 10 is a view showing a plane of the assembly equipment manufactured by applying this.

The second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the lens barrel supply unit 170 is configured differently from the first embodiment.

That is, in order to shorten the moving distance of the first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b, the first and second lens barrels 40 are arranged in advance between the third transfer line 113 and the lens tray 173. 2 Pre-align areas 210 and 220 are provided, and the first and second lens barrels are detected on the pick-up point where the lens barrel 40 is picked up in the first and second pre-align areas 210 and 220. Cameras 230 and 240 were installed.

Accordingly, the first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b move the lens barrel 40 in the first and second free alignment regions 210 and 220 on the way without moving to the lens barrel tray 173 as in the first embodiment. Since it is necessary to pick up, it can be seen that productivity per unit time can be greatly improved in view of assembling tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of lens barrels.

The lens barrel supply robot 176 (FIG. 10) plays a role of transferring the lens barrel 40 from the lens barrel tray 173 to the first and second free alignment areas 210 and 220, and the lens barrel supply robot is a lens tray. The lens barrel 40 placed at 173 is sequentially picked up and placed on the first or second free alignment regions 210 and 220.

The first and second free alignment regions 210 and 220 are installed in parallel with the transfer line and are slidably driven, and are moved left and right by driving motors 212 and 222 connected to one end thereof.

Therefore, when the first assembly robot 160a moves to the lens barrel pick-up point of the first pre-aligned region 210 and picks up one lens barrel 40, the driving motor 212 moves to the first pre-alignment. The area 210 is moved horizontally so that the next lens barrel 40 is positioned at the pickup point.

As such, the reason for firmly fitting the lens barrel 40 to the pickup point by horizontally moving the first and second pre-aligned regions 210 and 220 is to use the first and second lens barrel detection cameras 230 and 240 to place the lens barrel at the pickup point. It is for detecting the alignment of the 40.

The first and second lens barrel detection cameras 230 and 240 may be attached to the first and second assembly robots 161a and 161b as shown in FIG. 5 without being fixed to the upper portion of the lens barrel pickup point.

In addition, the lens barrel supply unit 170 of the assembly apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a tray lifter 174, a tray picker 175, a tray picker driver 176, etc. for elevating the lens barrel tray 173. The loading unit 12 includes a pusher 123 for injecting the PCB strip 60 of the loading magazine 122 into the main body 110.

The tray picker 175 has a rectangular ring shape as shown in FIG. 11 and maintains horizontality and aligns positions by pressing an edge of the thin vinyl lens barrel tray 173 that holds the lens barrel. Do it. In addition, a barrel hole 175a for sucking the lens barrel tray 173 is provided.

The lens barrel tray 173 is stacked on the tray elevator 174 below the tray picker 175. When the tray picker 175 adsorbs the lens barrel tray 173 on the uppermost layer, the tray elevator 174 descends. The lens barrel supply robot 178 picks up the lens barrel 40 from the lens barrel tray 173 adsorbed on the tray picker 175 and supplies the lens barrel 40 to the first and second prealigned regions 230 and 240.

When all the lens barrels 40 of the lens barrel tray 173 are picked up, the tray picker driver 176 drives the tray picker 175 to transfer the empty tray to another place.

Looking at the operation of the lens barrel assembly device 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, first from the magazine magazine for loading of the loading unit 120 while the PCB strip 60 is inverted so that the lens housing is directed downwards. When pushed into the equipment main body 110 by the pusher 123 and placed on the loading table 114, the cleaning operation is performed using an air blower (not shown) and a vacuum.

The first flipper 115 rotates the cleaned PCB strip 60 from the top and then flips the lens housing upward.

Subsequently, the loading robot 140 picks up the PCB strip 60 placed on the first flipper 115 and loads it into one of the first, second, and third transfer lines 111, 112, and 113, and the PCB strip is loaded on the transfer line. Thereafter, the position detection camera 150 coupled to the loading robot 140 acquires the reference position of the PCB strip and the position data of each lens housing 30.

At this time, the equipment control unit calculates the exact moving distance of the PCB strip by using the obtained position data, and then moves the PCB strip to the first assembly region 191 or the second assembly region 192 along the transfer line.

In this case, when the first assembly robot 160a is being assembled, the PCB strip 60 is positioned in the second assembly area 192 of each transfer line, and when the second assembly robot 160b is being assembled, the first assembly is performed. The PCB strip 60 is positioned in the assembly region 191.

On the other hand, the loading robot 140 loads the PCB strip 60 in any one transfer line and acquires the position data using the position detection camera 150 and then transfers another PCB strip 60 to the other transfer line. The procedure of loading and acquiring position data is repeated.

The first assembling robot 160a picks up the lens barrel 40 from the first pre-aligned region 210. At this time, the position data of the lens barrel 40 reaching the pickup position is detected by the upper portion of the first lens barrel. Acquire through the camera 230.

The controller of the equipment rotates the lens barrel picker 168 by a predetermined angle according to the alignment state of the lens barrel 40 based on the acquired data, and then picks up the lens barrel to form the first assembly area 191 of each of the transfer lines 111, 112, and 113. ) Into the lens housing of the PCB strip (60).

The second assembling robot 160b picks up the lens barrel 40 in the same manner as the first assembling robot in the second pre-aligned region 220 and the lens housing in the second assembling region 192 of each transfer line. Assemble to

The lens barrel supply robot 176 picks up the lens barrel 40 from the lens barrel tray 173 so that the assembly robot can work continuously, and then the lens barrel is empty in the first and second free alignment areas 210 and 220. Supply where it is.

PCB strip 60, which has been processed in each transfer line, is transferred to the end of the transfer line, and then picked up by the unloading robot 180 and placed on the second flipper 116, and the PCB strip 60 is rotated. The second flipper 116 is placed on the unloading table 117 and then carried out to the unloading magazine 132 outside the equipment main body 100.

Third embodiment

12 is a perspective view showing a schematic arrangement of the lens barrel assembly equipment according to a third embodiment of the present invention, Figure 13 is a view showing a plane of the assembly equipment manufactured by applying this.

In the second embodiment, the first and second pre-aligned regions 210 and 220 of the lens barrel supply unit 170 operate in a linear sliding manner, whereas in the third embodiment, a disk shape that rotates while the lens barrel 40 is settled is mounted. Since there is a feature in using the first and second free aligning plates 250 and 260, only the differences will be described below.

When the lens barrel supply robot 178 picks up the lens barrel 40 from the lens barrel tray 173 and places the lens barrel 40 at the predetermined positions of the first and second free alignment rotating plates 250 and 260, the first and second free alignment rotating plates ( 250 and 260 are rotated to move the first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b to pick up the lens barrel 40.

First and second lens barrel detection cameras 230 and 240 are positioned above the lens barrel pickup position to detect the alignment of the lens barrel 40, and the controller of the equipment is based on the detected information. Before the first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b pick up the lens barrel, the lens barrel picker 168 is rotated by a predetermined angle in accordance with the state of the lens barrel 40. The first and second lens barrel detection cameras 230 and 240 are not fixed to the pick-up position, and may be attached to the first and second assembly robots 161a and 161b as shown in FIG. 5.

In the second embodiment, the lens barrel supply robot 178 continues to supply the lens barrel 40 to the vacant portions of the first and second prealigned regions 210 and 220, which are slidingly driven. Since the lens barrel 40 is supplied to the first and second aligning plates 250 and 260, the moving distance of the lens barrel supply robot 178 is reduced and the transport time is shortened.

That is, the lens barrel supply robot 178 only needs to put the lens barrel 40 on the first and second pre-aligner rotating plates 250 and 260 at a fixed position, and thereafter, the first and second pre-aligner rotating plates 250 and 260 are provided. ) Rotates the lens barrel 40 to the pickup position while rotating by a specified angle.

In addition, since the sliding unit in the lateral direction is omitted, the manufacturing cost of the equipment can be reduced, and the distance between the first and second assembly robots 160a and 160b can be reduced, thereby reducing the size of the entire equipment.

In the above described only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be carried out by various modifications or variations by those skilled in the art, even if the technology is modified or modified as described in the claims to be described later As long as the technical spirit of the present invention is included in the scope, it belongs to the scope of the present invention.

According to the present invention, in assembling the lens barrel of the camera module, the process delay caused by the time required for acquiring the position data of each PCB unit can be compensated, and the assembly robot can be stopped without stopping through the function of the prealign area. Since the assembly work, the productivity per unit time can be significantly increased.

In addition, by detecting and controlling the rotation torque, there is an effect of improving the quality by detecting the defect assembly and self defect in advance.

Claims (11)

A plurality of PCB units are integrally connected, a circuit pattern is printed for each PCB unit, and a lens barrel is attached to each lens housing with respect to a PCB strip having an image sensor and a lens housing surrounding the image sensor bonded to each circuit pattern. As for the equipment to assemble, A plurality of transfer lines carrying at least one PCB strip and having at least one assembly area in which a lens barrel assembly process is performed; A loading robot for loading PCB strips into each of the transfer lines; A position detection camera for acquiring a reference position of the PCB strip loaded on the transfer line by the loading robot and position data of each lens housing; A lens barrel supply unit providing a lens barrel; An assembly robot which picks up the lens barrel from the lens barrel supply unit and moves to the assembly area to assemble each lens housing of the PCB strip and has a smaller number than the transfer line; An unloading robot for unloading the PCB strips from which the lens barrels are assembled from the transfer lines; Control unit for controlling the operation of each element Lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module including a The method of claim 1, The position detection camera is attached to the loading robot lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module to move with the loading robot The method of claim 1, The assembly robot lens barrel assembly equipment for detecting the alignment of the lens barrel to be picked up, and the lens barrel detection camera is attached to transmit the detected data to the control unit The method of claim 1, Located on the side of the equipment, a loading magazine for loading a plurality of PCB strips with the lens housing facing down, a loading elevator for lifting the loading magazine, the PCB strip from the loading magazine into the equipment A loading unit including an inserting means; Located on the other side of the equipment, the unloading unit including an unloading magazine for loading the PCB strip, the lens housing assembly is completed, an unloading elevator for lifting the unloading magazine Lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module further includes The method of claim 4, wherein Lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module including a flipper for flipping the PCB strip input from the loading magazine so that the lens housing is upward. The method of claim 1, The lens barrel supply unit, A lens barrel tray for placing a plurality of lens barrels; A pre-aligned area for sequentially placing the lens barrel between the lens barrel tray and the transfer line; A lens barrel supply robot that picks up a lens barrel from the lens barrel tray and lowers it to the prealigned area. Lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module including a The method of claim 6, Lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module is installed on the upper portion of the pre-aligned area to detect the alignment state of the lens barrel to be picked up, and to transmit the detected data to the control unit The method of claim 6, The pre-aligned area has a bar shape, and the lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module sliding horizontally The method of claim 6, The pre-aligned area has a disk shape, and the lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module that rotates The method of claim 1, The assembly robot, A guide member connected to a horizontal moving shaft installed at an upper portion of the transfer line and slidingly driven; An assembly head having a lens barrel picker for picking up the lens barrel and a rotation driving unit for rotating the lens barrel picker; A connection member connecting the assembly head and the guide member; Position detection sensor installed in the connecting member for detecting the vertical displacement of the lens barrel picker Lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module including a In the method of assembling the lens barrel to the PCB strip using the lens barrel assembly equipment of the camera module of claim 1, Loading the PCB strip into any one of the transfer lines; Acquiring position data of the PCB strip and each lens housing loaded in the transfer line; Calculating a necessary transfer distance using the obtained position data and then transferring the PCB strip to the assembly area; An assembly robot reciprocating the assembly area and the lens barrel supply unit to assemble the lens barrel in each lens housing of the PCB strip, while the loading robot loads another PCB strip on another transfer line; Assembling the lens barrel of the camera module, which includes the steps of exporting the PCB strip after the lens barrel assembly for all the lens housing to the outside from the transfer line.

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