KR100839503B1 - Inline Buffer Apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a compact and inexpensive inline buffer device having high efficiency of temporary storage operations. A temporary storage mechanism 22 disposed on the conveying path of the conveyor apparatus 11 and being pushed from the lower portion thereof to the conveying path to temporarily lift the inspected substrate 12 upwards, and temporarily storing the temporary holding mechanism 22; ) Is provided with an elevating mechanism 23 for raising and lowering the upper and lower sides thereof, and a positioning mechanism 24 for attaching the substrate 12 under test to the temporary storage mechanism 22. The temporary storage mechanism 22 is provided with a plurality of props 27 which are lifted and pushed up from the bottom of the conveying path of the conveyor apparatus 11, and a plurality of props which are supported on the conveyed material by the rise of the props. It comprises a board | substrate receiver 28 which lifts, and the stopper 30 which positions the board | substrate 12 to be tested. The positioning mechanism 24 is provided with a sensor 45 for detecting the position of the inspected substrate 12, and the temporary storage mechanism 22 has a width adjusting portion for adjusting the width thereof to match the width of the inspected substrate 12. Equipped with 29.

In-line buffer device, board to be tested, lifting device, temporary storage device, positioning device, conveyor device

Description

Inline Buffer Apparatus}

1 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention is assembled to a conveyor device.

Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of a conventional buffer device, conveyor device and inspection device.

3 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of an inline buffer device, a conveyor device, and an inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a front view showing an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a left side view of the inline buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a plan view showing the operation of the panel clamp according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing a state in which the inline buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention is assembled to the conveyor device.

9 is a plan view showing a state in which the inline buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention is assembled to a conveyor device.

Description of the main symbols in the drawings

1: conveyor 2: buffer

3: inspection device 4, 5: moving mechanism

11: conveyor apparatus 12: test target substrate

13: inspection device 14: moving device

15: inline buffer device 17: conveying roller

18: drive shaft 22: temporary storage mechanism

23: lifting mechanism 24: positioning mechanism

27: prop 28: substrate receiver

29: width adjustment part 30: stopper

32, 43: guide 33, 44: rail

35: lifting plate 36: guide rod

37: driving rod 38: base plate

39: drive motor 40: frame

41: panel clamp 42: cylinder

45: sensor

Field of invention

The present invention relates to an inline buffer device for temporarily storing a conveyed article when the conveyed article is pushed.

Background of the Invention

Buffer devices are generally known in conveyor conveying equipment. An outline of this buffer device is shown in FIG. 1 in the figure is a conveyor. A buffer device 2 and an inspection device 3 are provided at one side of the conveyor 1. Moving mechanisms 4 and 5 are provided between the conveyor 1 and the buffer device 2 and between the conveyor 1 and the inspection device 3 to change the inspection plate as appropriate.

By this structure, a test plate is conveyed to the conveyor 1, and it is moved to the test | inspection apparatus 3 by the moving mechanism 5, and is examined. After the inspection, it returns to the conveyor 1 again and is conveyed.

At this time, when the inspection is pushed due to the occurrence of an obstacle in the inspection apparatus 3 or the like, the inspection plate conveyed to the conveyor 1 is transferred to the buffer device 2 by the moving mechanism 4 and temporarily stored.

There are various types of the buffer device 2. For example, as in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 11-322024, there is a case where the buffer device 2 is stacked next to the conveyor 1.

However, if the buffer device 2 is arranged beside the conveyor 1 in this way, a space for the buffer device 2 is required. In addition, it is also necessary to provide a moving mechanism 4 for moving the inspection plate between the conveyor 1 and the buffer device 2. Space for the moving mechanism 4 is also required.

As a result, the apparatus becomes large and large.

Moreover, since the moving mechanism 4 is needed, manufacturing cost increases.

In addition, when the test plate is moved between the conveyor 1 and the buffer device 2 by the moving mechanism 4, the work efficiency is poor.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention is to provide a space-saving, high work efficiency, compact and low cost inline buffer device.

The above and other objects of the present invention can be achieved by the present invention described below.

Summary of the Invention

An in-line buffer device of the present invention is disposed on a conveying path of a conveyor apparatus, and is temporarily held on the conveying path by lifting it from its lower side, temporarily holding a conveyed object upward, and temporarily lifting the temporary storage device up and down. It is characterized by consisting of a lifting mechanism.

The temporary storage mechanism is constituted by a prop which rises and pushes up from the bottom of the conveying path of the conveyor apparatus, and a receiver which is provided in one or a plurality of the posts to support and lift the conveyed material by the rise of the prop. desirable.

Moreover, it is preferable to provide the positioning mechanism for attaching the said conveyed thing conveyed by the said conveyor apparatus to the temporary storage mechanism.

Preferably, the positioning mechanism is provided with a sensor that detects the conveyed object passing through and stops the conveyor apparatus at a predetermined position.

It is preferable to have a width adjusting portion for adjusting the width of the temporary storage mechanism in accordance with the width of the conveyed material.

Detailed Description of the Invention

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the inline buffer apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated, referring an accompanying drawing. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention is assembled to a conveyor device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of an inline buffer device, a conveyor device, and an inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a front view showing an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a left side view showing an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a plan view showing the operation of the panel clamp according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a front view showing a state in which the inline buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention is assembled to the conveyor apparatus. Is a plan view showing a state in which an inline buffer device according to an embodiment of the present invention is assembled to a conveyor device.

First, the whole configuration will be described based on FIG.

11 in the figure is a conveyor apparatus. The conveyor apparatus 11 is arrange | positioned by predetermined length, and the test | inspection board | substrate 12 (refer FIG. 1) is conveyed. The inspection apparatus 13 is provided next to the conveyor apparatus 11. The moving device 14 is arranged between the inspection device 13 and the conveyor device 11. The inspection apparatus 13 carries out the test | inspection board | substrate 12 conveyed by the conveyor apparatus 11 to the inspection apparatus 13, and an inspection is performed by the inspection apparatus 13. As shown in FIG. When the test | inspection in the test | inspection apparatus 13 is complete | finished, the test | inspection board | substrate 12 is returned to the conveyor apparatus 11 by the moving apparatus 14, and is conveyed. The inline buffer device 15 is disposed on the conveyance path of the conveyor device 11.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor apparatus 11 carries a conveyance roller 17 and a conveyance roller 17 for moving the inspected substrate 12 in direct contact with the lower surface of the inspected substrate 12. It consists of a drive shaft 18 which supports a plurality of integrally, and the side plate parts 19 and 20 which rotatably support the both ends of the said drive shaft 18, and rotationally drive all the drive shafts 18. As shown in FIG. It is. Moreover, the conveyor apparatus 11 is provided with the drive motor which rotates the said drive shaft 18, the control apparatus which controls the whole operation | movement, and the like.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4 to 6, the inline buffer device 15 is mainly composed of a temporary storage mechanism 22, a lifting mechanism 23, and a positioning mechanism 24.

The temporary storage mechanism 22 is a mechanism (cassette) for temporarily holding the inspection target substrate 12 upward by pushing it upward from its lower side on the conveying path of the conveyor apparatus 11. The temporary storage mechanism 22 is composed of a support 27, a substrate receiver 28, a stopper 30, and a width adjusting portion 29.

The struts 27 are arranged so as to face each other on both sides, and are pillars for supporting the inspected substrate 12 at one of four locations. Each strut 27 is fixed at its proximal end and not at its upper end. Each strut 27 is arrange | positioned 4 in the same interval as each drive shaft 18 of the conveyor apparatus 11, and is arrange | positioned. As a result, the support 27 is pushed upwards freely between the drive shafts 18 of the conveyor apparatus 11 in a state where the proximal end thereof is fixed.

The board | substrate receiver 28 is provided in each support | pillar 27, and is a support piece for directly supporting the test | inspection board | substrate 12 from the lower side. The board | substrate receiver 28 is comprised from the board piece pushed horizontally from the support | pillar 27. As shown in FIG. Each board | substrate receiver 28 is provided in four struts 27 at the same height position, respectively. Similarly, each of the four posts 27 on the opposite side is provided at the same height position with each substrate receiver 28. Thereby, the to-be-tested board | substrate 12 is supported in the state maintained horizontally. The stopper 30 is provided in the last board | substrate receiver 28 (right-end board | substrate receiver 28 in FIG. 6) among the board | substrate receivers 28 provided in four support | pillars 27. As shown in FIG. The stopper 30 is for positioning the inspected substrate 12. The other end part of the board | substrate 12 to be tested which presses one end part by the positioning mechanism 24 is located in contact with the stopper 30, and is positioned.

The substrate receiver 28 is set to a plurality of stages. Here, it is laminated | stacked and arrange | positioned in 6 steps of top and bottom. For this reason, six board | substrate receivers 28 are arrange | positioned at each strut 27 at regular intervals. The set number of stages of the substrate receiver 28 is determined according to all conditions such as the number of sheets per unit time of the substrate 12 to be inspected passing through the conveyor apparatus 11. For this reason, the board | substrate receiver 28 is seven stages or more or five stages or less. It is usually set to about 10 steps.

The width | variety adjustment part 29 is an apparatus for adjusting the width | variety (width of the left-right direction in FIG. 5) of the support | pillar 27 arrange | positioned 4 by right and left. The width adjustment part 29 is mainly comprised by the base end support part 31, the guide 32, and the rail 33. As shown in FIG. The base support part 31 is a member for integrally supporting the four struts 27. The base end support part 31 is comprised from the board | substrate arrange | positioned horizontally, hold | maintains each strut 27 at a predetermined space | interval, and fixes the base end part, and supports it vertically. The guide 32 is attached to both ends of the base end support part 31, and supports the four support | pillars 27 fixed to the base end support part 31 so that a movable movement can be carried out integrally along the rail 33. As shown in FIG. The rail 33 is a member for closely spaced apart from the four struts 27 which face the four struts 27 with the guide 32 and the base end support part 31 interposed therebetween. The rail 33 is arrange | positioned in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance path | route of the conveyor apparatus 11. As shown in FIG. The guide 32 slides the rail 33 to be fixed at a predetermined position. The slide and fixing of the guide 32 are adjustments to match the width of each strut 27 to the width of the substrate 12 to be inspected, and are automatically performed by mounting a drive motor (not shown). The width of the strut 27 is automatically adjusted in accordance with the size of the inspected substrate 12. It may also be done manually. This width adjustment is performed only once in accordance with the size of the inspected substrate 12 before the inspection starts.

The lifting mechanism 23 is a mechanism for raising and lowering the temporary storage mechanism 22 up and down. The lifting mechanism 23 is composed of a lifting plate 35, a guide rod 36, a driving rod 37, a base plate 38, and a driving motor 39.

The pedestrian plate 35 is a plate for holding and supporting the rail 33 of the temporary storage mechanism 22. The lifting plate 35 supports and lifts the temporary storage mechanism 22 with the rail 33 therebetween.

The guide rod 36 is a rod for supporting the lifting movement of the lifting plate 35. Four guide rods 36 are disposed downward in the vicinity of four corners of the lower surface of the elevating plate 35. The guide rod 36 is slidably inserted into the guide hole (not shown) of the base plate 38 to move up and down to support the lifting movement of the lifting plate 35.

The drive rod 37 is a rod moved up and down by the drive motor 39. The drive rod 37 is provided at the center of the rear surface of the elevating plate 35. The drive rod 37 is moved up and down by the drive motor 39, thereby elevating the temporary storage mechanism 22 with the lifting plate 35 interposed therebetween.

The base plate 38 is a plate material fixed integrally with the conveyor apparatus 11 side with the frame 40 etc. interposed. In the base plate 38, the temporary storage mechanism 22 and the elevator tool 23 are supported. Guide holes (not shown) are provided near four corners of the base plate 38. The guide hole is a hole for slidably supporting the guide rod 36. Guide rods 36 are inserted into the respective guide holes, and the lifting plate 35 is lifted and lowered smoothly while keeping the level.

The drive motor 39 is a motor for moving the drive rod 37 up and down. Since the drive motor 39 needs to adjust the height of the board | substrate receiver 28 of the temporary storage mechanism 22 correctly with the to-be-tested board | substrate 12, the thing which can perform precise position adjustment is used. Various methods are possible as a drive system. For example, a screw thread (not shown) is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the driving rod 37, and the nut (not shown) fitted to the thread is accurately rotated to drive the driving rod 37 up and down accurately.

The positioning mechanism 24 is a device for attaching the inspected substrate 12 conveyed to the conveyor apparatus 11 to the temporary storage mechanism 22.

The positioning mechanism 24 is mainly composed of a panel clamp 41, a cylinder 42, a guide 43, a rail 44, and a sensor 45.

The panel clamp 41 is a member for moving the inspected substrate 12 in contact with the periphery of the inspected substrate 12. The panel clamp 41 is made of a synthetic resin having elasticity formed in a low circumferential shape, and is elastically in contact with the periphery of the substrate 12 to be inspected. The panel clamp 41 adjusts the position by moving the inspected substrate 12 in contact with the periphery of the inspected substrate 12. Two panel clamps 41 are provided on the support plate part 47, and two panel clamps 41 push the periphery of the board | substrate 12 to be tested.

The cylinder 42 is for driving the panel clamp 41 up and down. As for the cylinder 42, the piston shaft (not shown) is provided in the support plate part 47, and the piston clamp drives the panel clamp 41 up and down by driving.

The guide 43 is a member for moving the panel clamp 41 in the conveying path direction (left and right directions in FIG. 4). The guide 43 is integrally provided at the proximal end of the cylinder 42 and supports the cylinder 42 to move the panel clamp 41 in the conveying path direction.

The rail 44 is a member for supporting the guide 43 to guide the movement in the conveying path direction. The rail 44 is provided on the support base 48 in the conveying path direction. On the support base 48 side, a driving unit (not shown) for moving the guide 43 is installed. The guide 43 is moved in the conveyance path direction by the drive unit, and the inspected substrate 12 is positioned by the panel clamp 41.

The sensor 45 is a sensor for detecting the position of the inspected substrate 12 and stopping at a predetermined position. As the sensor 45, various things can be used. For example, an optical sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element can be used as the sensor 45. The said sensor 45 detects the reflected light when the board | substrate 12 under test has just passed, and detects the time when this reflected light was interrupted as the periphery of the board | substrate 12 under test. The sensor 45 is connected to a control unit (not shown) of the conveyor apparatus 11, and functions as a stop sensor of the conveyor apparatus 11 when the inspection is pushed and the substrate 12 is temporarily stored.

Each drive portion of the inline buffer device 15 described above is connected to a control device of the conveyor device 11, respectively. The control apparatus has functions of normal conveyance processing and temporary storage processing, and is switched to temporary storage processing when the inspection is pushed.

[action]

The inline buffer device 15 configured as described above operates as follows.

In a normal inspection operation, the control device performs a normal conveyance process. As a result, the temporary storage mechanism 22 of the inline buffer device 15 is lowered downward by the elevating mechanism 23 to be in a standby state. The board | substrate 12 to test moves on the conveyance roller 17 of the conveyor apparatus 11, passes through the temporary storage mechanism 22, and is conveyed to the inspection apparatus 13.

When the conveyance of the test | inspection board | substrate 12 is pushed by the failure | occurrence | production of the inspection apparatus 13, etc., the said processing apparatus is switched to temporary storage process. As a result, the inline buffer device 15 is operated to perform the next temporary storage process.

The conveyor apparatus 11 is stopped by detecting the peripheral part of the test | inspection board | substrate 12 by the sensor 45. FIG. Thereby, the board | substrate 12 to test is located in the vicinity which passed the sensor 45. FIG.

Next, the drive motor 39 of the lifting mechanism 23 is operated to slightly raise the temporary storage mechanism 22 supported by the lifting plate 35. Specifically, the stopper 30 of the substrate receiver 28 blocks the movement path of the substrate 12 to be inspected, and the substrate receiver 28 is set to a height that does not block the movement path of the substrate 12 to be inspected. do.

Subsequently, the cylinder 42 of the positioning mechanism 24 is extended to extend the panel clamp 41 upward. Subsequently, the guide 43 slides along the rail 44 to bring the panel clamp 41 into contact with the periphery of the substrate 12 to be inspected. In addition, the guide 43 is slid to move the inspected substrate 12 until it comes into contact with the stopper 30 (from the solid line state in FIG. 7 to the two-dot chain line state).

Subsequently, the temporary storage mechanism 22 is further raised so that the substrate 12 under test is supported by the substrate receiver 28 and lifted from below.

Subsequently, in the case of temporarily storing the second inspection target substrate 12, the stopper 30 of the second stage substrate receiver 28 blocks the movement path of the inspection target substrate 12, and the substrate receiver 28 The temporary storage mechanism 22 is raised to a height that does not block the movement path of the inspected substrate 12.

Subsequently, the conveyor apparatus 11 is operated to stop the conveyor apparatus 11 at the time when the sensor 45 detects the periphery of the substrate 12 to be inspected, and the substrate 12 to be inspected by the positioning mechanism 24. The temporary storage mechanism 22 is raised by adjusting the position of, and the above process is repeated.

When passing the test target substrate 12 passing through the conveyor apparatus 11 without temporarily storing the stopper 30 of the substrate receiver 28 immediately below the substrate receiver 28 supporting the test target substrate 12. ) Is adjusted to a position where the moving path of the substrate 12 to be inspected is not blocked, or the temporary storage mechanism 22 is raised so that the lowermost substrate receiver 28 is positioned above the conveying roller 17.

Next, when returning the temporarily inspected board | substrate 12 to the conveyor apparatus 11, the temporary storage mechanism 22 is dropped by the lifting mechanism 23. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the inspected substrate 12 supported by the substrate receiver 28 is placed on the conveying roller 17 of the conveyor apparatus 11, and the stopper 30 fixes the conveying path of the inspected substrate 12. Lower to the position where you do not block.

Subsequently, the conveyor apparatus 11 is operated to convey the substrate 12 to be inspected.

As described above, when the flow of the test target substrate 12 is pushed, the in-line buffer device 15 pushes the temporary storage mechanism 22 up from the bottom of the conveyance path of the conveyor apparatus 11 to the test target substrate 12. ) Is temporarily stored by lifting upwards, and furthermore, if necessary, the substrate 12 is stacked in multiple stages as needed to temporarily lift and temporarily stored and the temporary storage mechanism 22 at the time when the jungle is released. Since the test substrate 12 temporarily stored and returned to the conveyor apparatus 11 are sequentially returned to the conveyor apparatus 11, the temporary storage process is facilitated and the temporarily stored test substrate 12 is easily transferred to the conveyor apparatus 11. Can be reversed. As a result, the efficiency of temporary storage operations is improved.

Since the inline buffer device 15 is disposed on the conveyor device 11, the inline buffer device 15 can be compactly installed, and space can be omitted.

The conventional moving mechanism 4 is not required, and the cost can be reduced by that much.

A plurality of temporary holding mechanisms 22 are provided on the conveying path of the conveyor apparatus 11 so as to be pushed up from the bottom thereof, and a plurality of temporary holding mechanisms 22 are provided to support the inspection target board 12. Since the board | substrate receiver 28 which raises is provided and comprised, the test | inspection board | substrate 12 can be easily put into temporary storage state only by raising the support | pillar 27, and only by lowering the support | pillar 27 is avoided. The inspection board 12 can be easily returned to the conveyor apparatus 11, and the efficiency of temporary storage operation can be aimed at.

Since the substrate 12 is positioned when the substrate 12 to be inspected is attached to the temporary storage mechanism 22 by the positioning mechanism 24, the substrate receiver 28 accurately fixes the substrate 12 to be inspected. It can be supported and lifted up and stored stably.

Since the sensor 45 detects the position of the inspected substrate 12 and stops the conveyor apparatus 11 when the inspected substrate 12 moves near the temporary storage mechanism 22, the inspected substrate 12 ) Can be easily attached to the temporary storage mechanism 22.

In addition, since the width of the temporary storage mechanism 22 is adjusted to the width of the inspected substrate 12 by the width adjuster 29, an inline buffer device 15 can be used for the inspected substrate 12 having various widths. Can be.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

This invention has the effect of the invention which can realize space omission, and can provide an inline buffer apparatus which is good in work efficiency, compact, and low cost.

Simple modifications and variations of the present invention can be readily used by those skilled in the art, and all such variations or modifications can be considered to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (5)

A temporary storage mechanism (22) disposed on the conveying path of the conveyor device (11) and installed under the conveyor device to push the conveying object upward from the lower part of the conveying path to temporarily lift the conveyed object; And An elevating mechanism 23 for elevating the temporary storage mechanism 22 up and down; Is equipped with The temporary storage mechanism 22 is disposed below the conveyor apparatus 11 and can be freely pushed upwards between the drive shafts of the conveyor apparatus 11 while being spaced apart from each other between the drive shafts of the conveyor apparatus. A plurality of struts 27 which are adapted to the width of the conveyed article; One or more substrate receivers 28 installed on each support 27 to support and lift the conveyed material by the rise of the support 27; And A width adjustment unit for adjusting the interval of each post to the width of the conveyed material; Inline buffer device characterized in that the configuration. The in-line buffer device according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning mechanism (24) for moving the conveyed material conveyed to the conveyor apparatus (11) to be mounted on a temporary storage mechanism (22). The in-line buffer device according to claim 2, wherein the positioning mechanism (24) is provided with a sensor (45) for detecting the conveyed object passing through and stopping the conveyor device (11) at a predetermined position. delete delete

Images